Black Myth: Wukong GPU Performance Breakdown, Optimization, and the Incredible RTX Visuals

Black Myth: Wukong, the new cinematic action RPG based on the iconic Chinese 'Journey to the West' myth, is one of the most talked about, played, and celebrated games of the year. It's the first major release from developer Game Science, and with an expansion on the way and a potential sequel, the adventures of the Destined One are set to continue for several years.

While millions of PC gamers are enjoying Black Myth: Wukong's fast-paced and engaging Souls-like action and incredible boss encounters, they're also falling in love with the game's impressive cinematic detail. Built on the latest version of the Unreal Engine, the game implements cutting-edge Path Tracing or Full Ray Tracing on PC. And when you add performance-boosting technologies like DLSS and Frame Generation, the result is an experience that is as smooth to play as it is stunning to look at.

In this article, we examine Black Myth: Wukong's graphics, review the different options, and explain what the game's Full-Ray Tracing mode adds to the experience. We also discuss the performance you can expect across the entire GeForce RTX 40 Series, with the proper settings and GPU for the perfect 1080p, 1440p, or 4K gaming experience.

Performance-wise, we'll show you what to expect with cards like the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 GAMING OC 12G and the super stylish GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER AERO OC 16G. Finally, we'll also discuss optimizations, tweaks, and settings you can apply to boost performance even further without hugely impacting visual fidelity. GIGABYTE is currently offering a free copy of the game with eligible purchase of a GeForce RTX 40 Series desktop GPU or GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop.

Black Myth: Wukong's Visuals and the Difference Ray Tracing Brings

Black Myth: Wukong is a game optimized to run on a range of hardware, with or without ray-tracing, but turning the cutting-edge effect on is like leveling up the entire game. The environments in Black Myth: Wukong leans heavily toward fantasy, from lush jungles to frozen mountain peaks to sand-swept deserts; with RT, the level of detail is just about photorealistic. Lighting plays an essential role in a game's appearance, and with Path Tracing, playing Black Myth: Wukong is like taking part in a cinematic blockbuster film.

10

10

Ray-traced reflections on water and other surfaces accurately reflect objects, particles, and light. Black Myth: Wukong also uses ray-traced Water Caustics to ensure that rivers and streams refract and bend light in a way that is realistic and true to nature. All light sources in the game are fully ray-traced, from torches lighting up dimly lit caves to sunlight streaming through branches. And with that, all shadows are ray-traced, too, from leaves blowing in the wind to giant hulking monsters barreling toward the Monkey King in a fit of rage.

10

10

However, the Full Ray Tracing mode is night and day compared to the 'RTX Off' version. Screenshots and videos can showcase this, but the effect is truly appreciated once you play the game for a few hours. By going through multiple environments and action setpieces, you become fully immersed in an experience that feels more like a CGI film than a videogame.

Performance and the Optimal Settings for the GeForce RTX 4060 up to the GeForce RTX 4090

Black Myth: Wukong is one of the most visually impressive PC games you can play in 2024, with the Full Ray Tracing detail sitting right up there with Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake II, and Star Wars Outlaws. Being on the cutting edge of real-time rendering, Full Ray Tracing is incredibly hardware-intensive. Per interviews with developers like CD Projekt Red, it is only possible thanks to technology like NVIDIA DLSS and Frame Generation pushing performance beyond 60 FPS.

10

The good news is that all current GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards can deliver a version of this impressive RT experience.

1080p Settings and Performance for the GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti

1080p or Full-HD is the most popular resolution among PC gamers, and for a cinematic single-player action game like Black Myth: Wukong, you want to hit an average frame rate of around 60 FPS to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. With 1080p being the most popular resolution, two of the most popular GPUs that excel here would be the GeForce RTX 4060 and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.

10

And yes, these cards can handle the game's incredible ray-traced visuals, thanks to DLSS and Frame Generation. With these AI-powered technologies enabled and DLSS set to Quality, alongside the in-game Graphics Preset set to 'High' with 'Low' ray-tracing (which still looks great), the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 GAMING OC 8G can deliver an average frame-rate of 64 FPS. In comparison, the more powerful GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GAMING OC 8G delivers an average frame-rate of 76 FPS.

1440P Settings and Performance for the GeForce RTX 4070, RTX 4070 SUPER, and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER

1440P is the current sweet spot for enthusiast PC gamers looking for visual fidelity and performance. GPUs like the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 GAMING OC provide excellent value for upgrading or building a new rig. With DLSS set to Quality, Frame Generation enabled, and Black Myth: Wukong's Graphics Preset set to 'Very High' with ray-tracing detail set to 'Medium,' you've got an exceptional experience for the entire GeForce RTX 4070 Series line-up, which also includes the RTX 4070 SUPER and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.

10

Per the chart above, we see the GeForce RTX 4070 hits an average frame rate of 70 FPS, the GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER hits an average frame-rate of 79 FPS, and the beefy GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER pushes performance to an impressive 90 FPS.

4K Settings and Performance for the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER and RTX 4090

4K gaming, with ray-tracing, is the realm of high-end enthusiast cards like the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER AERO OC 16G and the absolute beast that is the AORUS GeForce RTX 4090 MASTER 24G. Here, NVIDIA's most advanced graphics hardware, GIGABYTE's excellent cooling and tuning, and more VRAM than you need. You can crank Black Myth: Wukong's Graphics Preset to the maximum 'Cinematic' setting and ray-tracing to 'Very High,' with DLSS set to Performance Mode and Frame Generation enabled.

10

Here, the GeForce RTX 4080 delivers an average frame rate of 70 FPS, while the absolute king of all GPUs, the GeForce RTX 4090, delivers an average frame rate of 90 FPS.

Optimize Black Myth: Wukong to Get Even More Frames

Above are the best settings for all GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards. The game's incredible Full Ray Tracing visuals deliver incredible cinematic visuals with performance. However, by going into the game's individual graphics options and tinkering with settings, you can improve performance by up to 30% without drastically impacting visual fidelity. Dropping the Shadow Quality down one step can provide a double-digit performance gain, which applies to all the settings and resolutions covered.

10

Another setting that will improve performance in the game's many boss battles is Hair Quality, and reducing this setting by one step can also provide an additional double-digit improvement. The final setting to adjust would be Vegetation Quality, which reduces the number of leaves, trees, and grass you can see; however, as Black Myth: Wukong's environments are densely packed with vegetation, lowering this setting improves performance anywhere between 5% and 10% while still looking great.