Returnal PC stuttering and performance issues: How to fix, possible reasons, and more

PlayStation and developer Housemarque's sci-fi roguelike action game, Returnal, has finally made its way to PC. As the very first true "next-gen" PS exclusive to make a jump to computers, this title boasts some really breathtaking visuals. From advanced volumetrics and lighting to ray-traced shadows, it comes feature-complete with all modern graphical bells and whistles.

While Returnal does look exceptionally great on PC, its visual fidelity does not come cheap, with the game demanding beefy system specifications to run it at high resolutions and stable framerates. Though this game performs quite well without exhibiting any performance-related issues, for the most part, players may face instances of stuttering as well as texture-related problems.

The former issue is something that is very common in most DX12-based Unreal Engine 4 games. More often than not, it can be attributed to incomplete shader compilation, which manifests as frametime stutters during gameplay. Fortunately, there are a few ways that can help players eliminate stuttering and performance issues in the game.

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What are the possible reasons for stuttering and performance issues in Returnal?

Performance issues in video games on PC can occur due to a host of reasons. This includes the system not meeting an offering's minimum system requirements or a game not being properly optimized to use the hardware provided.

Fortunately, Retunral's PC port, for the most part, is very well optimized and uses both CPU and GPU as it should. The game is also fairly scalable, giving full control to players to tweak the game's visuals to get the best performance.

This title's stuttering and performance issues mostly stem from the shader compilation and the title being limited by either the CPU or VRAM. As a PlayStation 5 exclusive, Returnal also uses a lot of VRAM as well as physical memory, or RAM.

The recommended virtual and physical memory limit for the game is 8GB and 16GB, respectively, which are things players need to make sure they have to run the game at a stable framerate. With that out of the way, here's how you can fix performance problems in the title.

How to fix the stuttering and performance issues in Returnal

There are three key troubleshooting parameters that you can follow to reduce, if not eliminate, stuttering and other performance issues in the game:

• Check system requirements (minimum as well as recommended).
• Reduce graphics settings based on the CPU/ GPU load.
• Verify game file integrity using Steam.

It should also be mentioned that players should have their operating system (Windows 10/ 11) alongside their systems' GPU drivers up-to-date before they start playing Returnal.

Having drivers, as well as OS firmware, that have been updated beforehand can massively help alleviate many performance-related issues with games. That being said, here are the troubleshooting steps that you can use to potentially fix the performance issues in Returnal.

Check system requirements

As a general rule of thumb, you should always check a game's system requirements before investing your hard-earned $60/$70 in it. While meeting Returnal's minimum system requirements is enough to get a playable experience, it is its recommended specifications that you need to focus on if you want to get the best possible gameplay experience without having to compromise on visuals to get smoother framerates.

Here are the minimum, recommended, and ray-tracing system requirements for Returnal:

Minimum (720p @60fps)

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 (4 core 2.7GHz) AMD Ryzen 5 1500X (4 core 3.5GHz)
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) AMD Radeon RX 580 (8 GB)
• Storage: 60 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD Recommended

Recommended (1080p @60fps)

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
• Processor: Intel i7-8700 (6 core 3.7 GHz) AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (8 core 3.7 GHz)
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super (8 GB) AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB)
• Storage: 60 GB available space

Ray tracing (4K @60fps with DLSS)

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1903)
• Processor: Intel i9-11900K (8 core 3.5 GHz) AMD Ryzen 9 5900X (12 core 3.7 GHz)
• Memory: 32 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3080 (12 GB) AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (16 GB)
• Storage: 60 GB available space

While this title's minimum specifications do allow you to boot up the game, it is best to have a machine that is closer to the recommended system specifications to get an enjoyable experience without compromising on visuals. It should also be mentioned that while the offering can technically be played from a traditional 7200rpm HDD, it is best to install it on a SATA or NVMe SSD to reduce any possible lag spikes that might occur due to asset streaming.

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Reduce graphics settings to reduce overall system load

Returnal boasts some truly spectacular graphics, which demand a lot of system resources to output its breathtaking visuals at a stable enough framerate. Fortunately, Housemarque has implemented a fantastic FPS and resource monitoring tool within the game itself, allowing you to individually tweak each graphical setting and see its effect on both the CPU and GPU in real-time.

The main culprit that can cause Returnal's performance issues is the texture Quality and Volumetric Lighting settings, both of which massively affect GPU usage. It is also recommended to use at least a six-core CPU to eliminate any processor-related bottlenecks — since this can also result in the game lagging due to complete CPU utilization.

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Verify integrity of game files using Steam

One of the best tools to use while troubleshooting any performance or crashing-related issues is Valve's PC client, Steam itself. With modern games usually weighing in at more than 50 gigabytes in size, if not more, there is a good chance of files getting corrupted either while downloading the title or playing it for the first time. In such cases, Steam's game file integrity verification tool comes as a saving grace for players.

Verifying Returnal's file integrity essentially scans through the game's installation directory to look for any missing/corrupted/damaged files and replaces them with fresh ones without forcing you to re-download the whole title. Here's how you can easily verify Returnal's game files on Steam:

• Launch Steam > Click on Library.
• Right-click on Returnal from the list of games.
• Click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• It will take some time while Steam checks for the missing/ damaged components in the game's directory.
• Once done, launch the title.

Verifying the title's file integrity using Steam not only saves the hassle of having to uninstall and re-download the whole game from scratch but is also much faster and often takes just a few minutes.

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Returnal is a fairly robust PC port with plenty of options for players to tweak and change to get the best performance. While it does exhibit stuttering, most of the performance issues it had at launch can be fixed with the above-stated troubleshooting tips until Housemarque and PlayStation roll out an official patch for the game.