Lords of the Fallen was anticipated to make waves in the Souls-like genre, garnering considerable excitement over recent months. Unfortunately, the game has amassed a sizable number of negative reviews on Steam, predominantly due to technical issues. This article aims to delve into the crux of these issues, specifically focusing on the game’s underwhelming performance on the Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card at 4K Ultra settings.

Why Performance Matters in Lords of the Fallen

It is no longer unusual for newly released games to debut with a less-than-perfect version for PC users. This trend has irked the PC gaming community, leading to an influx of negative reviews. Lords of the Fallen serves as a prime example of this, demonstrating that even a highly anticipated title can falter due to technical constraints.

Technical Specifications and Testing Overview

The performance testing for Lords of the Fallen was carried out by DSOGaming, revealing a significant drop in frame rate when played at 4K Ultra settings on the RTX 4090. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor accompanied the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 during these tests. At ultra settings, the game could merely churn out an average frame rate of around 48FPS.

Role of Unreal Engine 5 and Graphical Components

The game employs Unreal Engine 5, giving it stunning visual quality. Furthermore, Lords of the Fallen utilizes advanced technologies like Lumen and Nanite to enhance its world graphics. However, this high-quality visual rendering comes at the cost of performance, as even the RTX 4090 struggled to sustain the game at 60FPS at 4K settings without DLSS support.

DLSS and Its Effects on Performance

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is Nvidia’s AI-powered technology designed to improve game performance without severely compromising visual quality. For Lords of the Fallen, employing DLSS 3 Frame Generation could potentially push the frame rate above 100FPS. Despite its capabilities, it should be noted that DLSS 3 has been temporarily disabled by Hexworks, the game’s developer, due to reported crashes.

Pending Developer Actions and Updates

Hexworks is currently collaborating with Nvidia to roll out a new driver update targeted to alleviate these issues. Hence, RTX 4000 series users are advised to be on the lookout for forthcoming updates that could potentially improve game performance.

Best Settings for Optimal Performance

While Lords of the Fallen struggles with performance at ultra settings, adjusting the graphics settings to ‘high’ at 4K allows the GeForce RTX 4090 to maintain a steady 60FPS. This appears to be the current optimal configuration for PC gamers interested in smoother gameplay.

Final Thoughts

Lords of the Fallen illustrates a prevailing issue among modern PC game releases — the challenge of delivering both high-quality visuals and optimized performance. For a game to succeed in today’s competitive market, balancing these two elements is crucial. As consumer expectations rise, developers like Hexworks must be swift and effective in their post-launch updates to remedy technical issues.

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