Dying Light: The Beast began as a planned add on for Dying Light 2 but soon became a full game. Although it is smaller and more linear than earlier games in the series, it uses upgraded technology from the previous title. The developers made some changes to the game engine to improve how it looks and runs.
Techland, the game maker, listed high system requirements for running the game, which might be worrying if your computer is not very new. Luckily, actual testing shows that Dying Light: The Beast runs well on a wide range of modern PCs. Even on lower settings, the graphics still look good and frame rates are decent. However, systems with only 6 gigabytes of video memory (VRAM) can experience stuttering, so ideally your graphics card should have at least 8 gigabytes.
The game currently does not have ray tracing options, although they should return in a future update. Even so, the visuals are nice and you do not need a top of the line CPU. Most gaming PCs from the last five years will handle the game fine, especially if you stick to popular resolutions like 1080p or 1440p.
There are four main graphics presets: Very Low, Low, Medium, and High. Even on Very Low, the game looks surprisingly good and there is not a huge difference in performance or visuals between the presets. Older hardware, like a PC with a Core i7 9700K and a Radeon RX 5700 XT, can run the game close to 60 frames per second at 1080p.
Handheld devices and laptops with low VRAM still struggle. For example, the Asus ROG Ally and laptops with an RTX 4050 and 6 gigabytes of VRAM will experience stutters. This is because the game needs more memory, especially when moving into new areas. In these cases, aiming for a graphics card with at least 8 gigabytes of VRAM is better.
Changing from Very Low to Low settings does not make a big difference. Only texture and shadows quality change slightly, and these adjustments do not have a large impact either on performance or on visuals. Techland deserves credit for making the game look good even on low settings.
Performance is tied closely to your screen resolution. Increasing the resolution from 1080p to 1440p can cause your frame rate to drop by around a third on some systems. Upscaling technology can help by reducing the workload on your graphics card.
The Medium and High presets slightly improve lighting, shadows, and detailed effects such as fog, but the differences are subtle while you play. Some visual effects, like lens flare and chromatic aberration, can be too strong, but you can turn them off in the settings.
On High, the game looks its best, especially in weather effects, but you do not need to worry if you cannot use this preset. The game is playable even if your frame rate is below 40 fps. Techland appears to have designed it to play smoothly at around 30 fps on a wide range of PCs and consoles.
Upscaling features like AMD FSR and Nvidia DLSS work well in the game, helping boost frame rates without a large loss in visual quality. However, on devices with very low performance, upscaling alone cannot fix heavy stutters or low frame rates. On higher end laptops and desktops, upscaling and frame generation provide better performance and smoother gameplay, although sometimes the lowest frame rates can dip when using these features.
The game requires a good graphics card more than it needs a powerful CPU. Tests show that even older CPUs handle the game without much trouble. Most of the heavy work is managed by the graphics card.
In summary, Dying Light: The Beast offers solid graphics and enjoyable performance even on mid range PCs. You do not need the latest hardware. Just make sure your graphics card has at least 8 gigabytes of memory. Advanced graphics features like ray tracing may come later, but they are not needed for a good experience. Controls are responsive, crashes are rare, and the game is stable. Whether you are running, climbing, or fighting off zombies, you should find the gameplay smooth and fun.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/dying-light-the-beast-pc-performance-analysis-decent-performance-all-round-mildly-marred-by-the-mystery-of-the-missing-ray-tracing-mode/
