Phantom Blade Zero Day-One Update Brings Performance Improvements, Nvidia Driver Warning

Phantom Blade Zero is here and it’s taking over Steam’s most-played chart already, but there’s a day one patch that you should install before you play.

As well as fixing a slew of bugs, the patch offers performance advantages for PC and console players. It’s approximately 5GB in size on PC and 2GB on PS5 (on PS5 the patch appears as version 1.301.524).

The patch improves ray tracing and path tracing, making the real-time lighting and shadows pop even more, with rasterization (the process of converting 3D models to real-time) improvements “ensuring the scene’s art style is perfectly conveyed, even with ray tracing disabled.”

In other words, it should still look good on mid-range PCs and even handheld devices like the Steam Deck. Though the game is not yet Steam Deck Verified by Valve, developer S-Game said handheld devices have been “extensively tested,” so it’s likely verification is just around the corner.

For PC players, the developer said it had noticed some performance issues on the latest Nvidia drivers: 621.01. “We found that Nvidia’s latest driver 621.01 has some unstable performance issues,” S-Game said in the patch announcement.

The developer recommends rolling back to 617.42 for optimal performance, but Nvidia will likely roll out a new driver soon anyway.

Here's the detail of Phantom Blade Zero's day-one patch, from Soulframe LIANG, creative director and CEO of S-Game:

We’ve prepared a day-one patch ahead of launch. The update is approximately 5 GB and significantly improves ray tracing and path tracing performance, alongside several bug fixes. If you’ve already pre-loaded the game, please download and install the update before launching. If you haven’t pre-loaded, your download will automatically include the latest version.

We’ve spent a great deal of time refining the game’s rasterized visuals so that each environment stays true to our art direction even with ray tracing turned off. We’ve also extensively tested the game on mid-range and lower-end PCs, as well as handhelds, and encourage you to give it a try.

We’ve observed some performance instability with Nvidia’s latest 621.01 driver. Based on our testing, version 617.42 currently offers the best experience in Phantom Blade Zero. If you’ve installed a driver newer than 617.42, we recommend rolling back to 617.42 and choosing the clean installation option. Please stay on this version until Nvidia releases its next driver update, which we expect to arrive soon.

News broke earlier that the original Phantom Blade Zero protagonist actor had been replaced. Instead, Sonic the Hedgehog himself, Roger Craig Smith, takes the lead role for the full launch.

IGN's Phantom Blade Zero review returned a 9/10. We said: "Phantom Blade Zero is an unbelievably smooth action game filled with memorable boss fights, compelling combat, and limitless swagger."

Before you step into the Phantom World, we’ve put together a helpful list of Things Phantom Blade Zero Doesn’t Tell You. We’ve also got a step-by-step Phantom Blade Zero Walkthrough in progress, plus guides for the game’s Weapons, Accessories, and Phantom Edges.