Phantom Blade Zero PC Benchmarks Reveal Demanding Graphics Performance With NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and Path Tracing

Phantom Blade Zero has launched on PC with advanced graphics features, including NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, ray tracing, and path tracing. Built using Unreal Engine 5, the action RPG delivers detailed environments and fast-paced combat, although performance benchmarks indicate that achieving high frame rates at maximum settings requires powerful graphics hardware.

Phantom Blade Zero Brings Advanced Graphics Technology to PC

Developed by Chinese studio S-Game, Phantom Blade Zero combines martial arts-inspired combat with cinematic environments and demanding boss encounters.

The game follows the growing international success of Chinese-developed AAA titles, including Black Myth: Wukong. Its combat emphasizes rapid attacks, precise timing, and challenging encounters rather than relying entirely on traditional Soulslike mechanics.

The PC version uses Unreal Engine 5.7.4 and provides extensive customization options to accommodate different hardware configurations.

Graphics Settings and NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Support

Players can adjust resolution, display mode, frame-rate limits, HDR, V-Sync, motion blur, sharpness, and other visual settings.

The graphics menu supports several upscaling technologies:

• NVIDIA DLSS

• AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR)

• Intel Xe Super Sampling (XeSS)

• Unreal Engine Temporal Super Resolution (TSR)

Frame generation is also supported, with AMD offering up to 2x, Intel up to 4x, and NVIDIA up to 6x modes on compatible hardware.

NVIDIA RTX graphics cards additionally support DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction, which is designed to improve image quality when ray tracing or path tracing is enabled.

Phantom Blade Zero PC Performance Benchmarks

Testing was conducted using an Intel Core i9-13900K processor, an MSI MEG Z790 ACE motherboard, and 32GB of DDR5-7600 memory.

The benchmarks demonstrate substantial performance differences between graphics presets, particularly at 4K resolution.

4K Performance: RTX 5090 Leads the Results

At native 4K resolution with Ultra settings, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 was the only tested graphics card to exceed 60 frames per second.

These results highlight the game’s demanding rendering requirements, even on high-end hardware.

1440p and 1080p Performance

At 1440p Ultra settings, the RTX 5090 achieved 100 FPS, followed by the RTX 4090 at 84 FPS and RTX 5080 at 72 FPS.

The RTX 5070 Ti recorded 62 FPS, while the Radeon RX 9070 XT reached 57 FPS.

At 1080p Ultra, performance improved considerably. The RTX 5090 delivered 122 FPS, the RTX 5080 achieved 86 FPS, and the Radeon RX 9070 XT recorded 67 FPS.

However, mainstream GPUs such as the RTX 5060 and RTX 4060 struggled to maintain 60 FPS without reducing settings or enabling upscaling.

Ray Tracing and Path Tracing Increase GPU Demands

Path tracing is among the game’s most demanding visual features, providing more sophisticated lighting, reflections, and shadows.

Testing with the RTX 5090 at 4K showed the following performance:

RTX 5090 performance at 4K

Native rendering results by graphics preset, in frames per second. Higher is better.

The preset-scaling test recorded approximately a 20–22% performance reduction when enabling ray tracing compared with native Ultra rendering. Path tracing reduced frame rates by roughly 50% compared with native Ultra settings.

These rendering technologies are particularly noticeable in environments featuring rain, thunderstorms, complex lighting, and particle-heavy combat sequences.

Frame Generation Significantly Boosts Displayed FPS

NVIDIA Multi Frame Generation can substantially increase displayed frame rates on supported RTX graphics cards.

In the reported 4K Ultra tests, the RTX 5090 increased from 63 FPS without frame generation to 119 FPS at 2x, 229 FPS at 4x, and 333 FPS at 6x.

With path tracing and DLAA enabled, the RTX 5090 produced 43 FPS without Multi Frame Generation and reached 227 FPS using 6x mode.

However, generated frames do not provide the same responsiveness benefits as increasing the game’s underlying rendered frame rate.

Best Graphics Settings for Phantom Blade Zero on PC

The benchmark findings suggest that High and Very High presets offer a practical balance between visual quality and performance.

Medium settings provide relatively modest visual improvements over Low, while High introduces noticeably better lighting, sharper textures, and more detailed environments.

Ultra settings deliver additional visual refinements but impose greater GPU demands.

For players using mainstream graphics cards, reducing graphics quality and enabling DLSS, FSR, or XeSS may be necessary to maintain smoother gameplay.

Final Verdict: Impressive Visuals Come With High Hardware Requirements

Phantom Blade Zero demonstrates the visual capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and modern GPU rendering technologies.

Its detailed environments, fast-paced combat, and advanced lighting effects make it a demanding PC release, particularly at 4K.

While NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 and frame generation can significantly improve displayed performance, players seeking consistently high native frame rates will need powerful hardware or carefully optimized graphics settings.