Phantom Blade Zero kicks off its launch with a day one patch that offers improvements to ray tracing and some bug fixes to boot
Phantom Blade Zero has launched with a day-one update that its developers say improves ray tracing and path-tracing performance and fixes several bugs. The patch’s arrival is implied by a Steam post, though the article says it could not confirm whether it was available at the time; the update also lacks detailed patch notes.
The update adds about 5GB to the download, on top of an initial install reported as 145GB, temporarily requiring up to 300GB. The developers say the game’s visuals are designed to work with ray tracing off and that it should run on mid-range and lower-end PCs and handhelds. They also report instability with NVIDIA driver 621.01 and recommend version 617.42 until a newer driver is released.
In short
- A 5GB launch update targets ray tracing performance and bugs.
- Developers recommend NVIDIA driver 617.42 over 621.01.
- The game’s install can temporarily require up to 300GB.
Explained simply
Phantom Blade Zero is an action game from Chinese studio S-Game, set in a fantasy world inspired by martial arts stories. Players follow a warrior caught up in a conspiracy, fighting enemies with fast-paced sword combat.
Ray tracing is a graphics technique that simulates how light reflects and casts shadows; path tracing is a more demanding version. These features can improve how a game looks, but they can also affect performance, so players may adjust them to suit their computer.
The game’s large download and reported graphics-card driver problems matter because they can affect how easily players install and run it. S-Game says the visuals are designed to work without ray tracing, and has advised some NVIDIA users to use an earlier driver while it investigates instability.