Gamers have been eagerly awaiting the release of Black Myth: Wukong, and its recently launched PC port has certainly generated buzz. Ideally positioned as an action role-playing game, it's based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Despite its visually stunning graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5, some players are encountering frustrating performance problems. Among the most notorious issues is the frequent "Out of Video Memory" error, which crashes the game on launch.
This error tends to occur at the shader pre-compilation phase, right when the game is gearing up for the first-time experience. Generally, players expect the game to run smoothly after setting up their audio and display preferences, but this isn't always the case.
Once they get past the shader compilation, they should find themselves immersed in the gameplay. Unfortunately, many users reported crashes before reaching this point.
Fortunately, there are achievable fixes for the "Out of Video Memory" error. One effective solution is simply restarting the application, which often clears out temporary session issues.
Another helpful step is to utilize the built-in file verification tool available on platforms like Steam. Running this can address potential problems with corrupted installation files, especially for Black Myth: Wukong, which takes up over 100 gigabytes and is prone to errors during installation.
Corrupted files can occur frequently, especially when downloads are interrupted. Players confronted with this issue should make file verification their first troubleshooting step.
If after verifying the game files the error persists, players should check their system settings. For those who are overclocking their graphics cards or CPUs, reverting them back to stock settings might help alleviate the problem.
Adjusting graphical settings can also play an important role. Lowering texture quality to medium or low can significantly reduce VRAM load, especially for systems with lower-end GPUs.
Black Myth: Wukong is demanding on systems and can push beyond the available VRAM limit. This frequently happens during transitions between different game environments or cutscenes.
Settings adjustments are particularly recommended for players operating with six gigabytes of VRAM or less. They should keep the texture quality at lower settings to avoid overwhelming their hardware.
Visual optimizations such as toggling the Lumen settings can also impact VRAM usage. For those experiencing stuttering or freezing, play around with the Low or Medium presets to find the right fit for their setups.
Another cause for stuttering can be the game's heavy reliance on storage bandwidth, especially considering it utilizes both Lumen and Nanite features. Black Myth: Wukong developers, Game Science, have strongly advised players to install the title on SSDs for optimal performance.
Those using traditional HDDs may encounter significantly longer load times and performance-related issues. Despite supporting HDD, the game is clearly optimized for SSDs.
Several users have also pointed out stuttering problems during gameplay, particularly when fast traveling or transitioning between significant areas. Even with the proper settings and hardware, these framerate drops can still emerge.
When switching between environments, the game may exceed the memory allocated, causing glitches. Quantum leaps during cutscenes or big transitions can become particularly troublesome.
Another thing to note is the lengthy shader pre-compilation step when booting the game for the first time on PC. The pre-compilation process is necessary to provide players with the smoothest experience possible afterwards.
