Returnal PC Gets 30FPS Boost with DLSS 3, Is Finally Stutter-Free
As per NVIDIA's announcement, the PC version of Returnal received a patch yesterday (around 500MB in size) that added NVIDIA DLSS 3 and NVIDIA Reflex support, besides adding a bugfix for the Nemesis boss fight while playing in co-op.
By far the most important addition of the update is NVIDIA DLSS 3, also known as Frame Generation. Returnal, a highly acclaimed blend of bullet-hell, fast-paced third-person shooter and roguelike elements in a unique science fiction/horror setting, launched on February 15th for PC after winning over fans (and even publisher Sony, which opted to acquire developer Housemarque after the game's success) on PlayStation 5 since April 2021.
As mentioned in the day one article available here, Returnal (ported on PC by Climax Studios) seemed to be ticking all the right boxes on the platform: NVIDIA DLSS 2/AMD FSR 2 support, Ultrawide and Super-Ultrawide display support, full support for the DualSense controller's features, Dolby Atmos support, HDR display support, ray traced reflections and shadows, FoV slider, in-game frame rate cap, an extremely detailed built-in benchmark tool, and a plethora of tweakable graphics settings.
Unfortunately, it performed poorly on the most important count, the performance, due to constant stuttering and hitching that was present both during traversal and combat, even on high-end PCs. It might have been fine if the game had been a relaxed, laid-back RPG title focused on bringing the user into its world. However, Returnal is actually one of the most hardcore triple-A games on the market, requiring pin-point precision with dodging and shooting lest the user be forced to restart the cycle all over again upon death.
It was an unforgivable blemish upon the launch experience
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