Phantom Blade Zero launches as developer warns of Nvidia driver instability

Action game Phantom Blade Zero is out today on PC and PS5 with a launch update, while developer S-Game warns of performance instability with Nvidia driver 621.01. The studio recommends that PC players who installed a driver newer than 617.42 roll back to that version and choose a clean installation.

A roughly 5 GB update for preloaded copies

In a message on Steam, director and S-Game CEO Soulframe Liang said the launch update improves ray tracing and path tracing performance and fixes several bugs. The studio said the update is approximately 5 GB. Players who preloaded the game should download and install it before starting. Anyone downloading the game now will receive the updated version as part of the download, the studio said.

Before launch, the developer asked PC players to reserve 300 GB for the preload process, although the installed game takes about 145 GB. Our earlier story has the storage details.

The driver recommendation has changed

Liang said the team observed performance instability with version 621.01 and that, in S-Game’s tests, version 617.42 provided the best experience in the game. The recommendation to roll back applies to Nvidia cards and replaces the studio’s earlier general advice to update graphics drivers before playing.

Phantom Blade Zero is an action game inspired by Chinese martial arts fiction. Players control Soul, a fighter with 66 days left to live, and combine sword attacks, blocks and dodges against enemies and bosses.