Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is out on Steam and GamePass. A gorgeous adventure built using Unreal Engine 5, Hellblade 2 features Nanite and Lumen global illumination. The game is understandably taxing even on modern hardware but includes multiple upscaling options to take the edge off. We tested the Xbox exclusive on our primary rig and have posted our optimization guide and GPU benchmark review. Windows-level optimizations such as Resize BAR, XMP, HAGs, etc, can be found in the former.
Test Builds
| Motherboard | CPU | GPU | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 ($99) | Intel Core i5-12400F ($127) | AMD RX 6600 ($189) | 8GB x2 D4 ($40) |
| GIGABYTE B450M DS3H WIFI ($84) | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X ($144) | NVIDIA RTX 4060 ($299)/ NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti ($299- Used) | 8GB x2 D4 ($40) |
| Alienware x14 (2023) | Intel Core i7-13620H | NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 8GB x4 |
To remove the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, add the following lines (without bullets) at the end of the “engine.ini” file located in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Hellblade2\Saved\Config\WinGDK:
- [SystemSettings]
- r.NT.AllowAspectRatioHorizontalExtension=0
- r.NT.EnableConstrainAspectRatio=0
Hellblade 2: 1080p Performance Benchmarks
Using the “High” quality preset at 1080p yields an average framerate of 26 FPS on our Radeon RX 6600 PC. The “Medium” preset averages 44.5 FPS, while “Low” manages 51 FPS. FSR 3 “Balanced” upscaling nets 44.5 FPS on average, while our “optimized” settings (below) along with the upscaler post an average of 63 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 4060 desktop graphics card averages 53.6 FPS at 1080p “High.” All you need to do is enable DLSS “Quality” with Frame Generation or FG with DLAA, and you’re set. GeForce RTX 3060 users will have to reduce “Reflection Quality” in addition to the former.
The GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU produces an average of 32.6 FPS at 1080p “High.” Reducing the reflections to “Low,” and enabling DLSS upscaling will get you to 60 FPS. The x14 offers pre-configured CPU and GPU overclocking profiles (Overdrive) that offer a healthy performance boost over the stock hardware. You won’t even need a cooling pad, but make sure not to keep the device on your lap.
Hellblade 2 Best Settings for Low-End PC
| Graphics Settings | AMD RX 6600 | NVIDIA RTX 4060 | NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti | NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p | 1080p | 1080p/1440p | 1080p |
| Texture Quality | High | High | High | High |
| Shadow Quality | Medium | High | High | High |
| Reflection Quality | Medium | High | High | High |
| Draw Distance | Medium | High | High | High |
| Global Illumination | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| Foliage Quality | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| Volumetrics | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| Upscaling | FSR 3 B | DLSS Q FG | DLSS Q/DLSS B | DLSS Q FG |
