Horizon Forbidden West (HFW) is a visually stunning game, but for those playing it on PC, optimizing the graphics settings is key to achieving the best performance without sacrificing the visual appeal. Whether you're aiming for smooth FPS or immersive visuals, adjusting the in-game settings can make a world of difference. Here's a guide to the best graphics settings for Horizon Forbidden West that can help you get the most out of your PC setup.
Display Settings
These settings directly impact how Horizon Forbidden West runs and looks on your screen. By tweaking these options, you can improve frame rates and ensure smooth gameplay.
Window Mode: Fullscreen
Fullscreen mode ensures that your system prioritizes the game, improving overall performance by utilizing all available resources for HFW.Display Resolution: Native
Keep this at your monitor’s native resolution for the sharpest visuals. Scaling down the resolution will reduce the workload on your GPU but could result in less clarity.Refresh Rate: Should match your monitor’s refresh rate
If your monitor supports a 144Hz or higher refresh rate, set Horizon Forbidden West to match that value for a smoother experience. For 60Hz monitors, set it to 60Hz.V-Sync: Off
V-Sync can limit your FPS to your monitor’s refresh rate, which may introduce input lag and reduce smoothness. Turning it off will allow Horizon Forbidden West to run at higher frame rates and reduce input lag.NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency: On
If you have an NVIDIA GPU, enabling Reflex will reduce system latency, improving responsiveness during fast movements or combat sequences.Dynamic Resolution Scaling: Off
While dynamic resolution scaling automatically adjusts resolution to maintain FPS, turning it off ensures you’re playing at a consistent native resolution for sharper visuals, albeit with slightly less FPS optimization.
Anti-Aliasing and Upscaling
Anti-aliasing and upscaling methods help smooth out jagged edges and improve performance. These settings are crucial for balancing visuals and FPS.
Anti-Aliasing: SMAA
Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing (SMAA) is a great choice because it offers high-quality anti-aliasing with minimal performance loss compared to heavier techniques like TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing).Upscaling Methods: DLSS (for RTX cards) or AMD FSR 2.2 (for AMD cards)
For players with an NVIDIA RTX card, enabling DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) improves performance without sacrificing visual quality. For AMD users, FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) 2.2 offers a similar upscaling boost. Both methods can make the game run smoother while maintaining sharp visuals.Upscale Quality: Quality
Set the upscale quality to 'Quality' to get the best visual results when using DLSS or FSR. This option strikes a balance between performance and visuals, ensuring that the game still looks great while running efficiently.DLSS Frame Generation: On
Frame Generation with DLSS can further enhance FPS, especially in graphically demanding areas, by producing frames using AI technology.
Graphics Settings
The following settings impact the core visual quality of Horizon Forbidden West. Adjusting them appropriately can boost performance without sacrificing too much graphical fidelity.
Texture Quality: Very High (depends on your VRAM)
Set texture quality to Very High if you have enough VRAM (at least 8GB recommended). For lower VRAM, consider reducing this setting to High or Medium.Texture Filtering: 16x Anisotropic
This setting ensures textures remain sharp, even when viewed at steep angles. 16x Anisotropic filtering provides the best balance between image quality and performance.Shadow Quality: Low
Shadows can be quite taxing on your GPU. Reducing shadow quality to Low can lead to better performance without significantly affecting visual quality.Screen Space Shadows: Off
Disabling screen space shadows further reduces graphical load. You won’t lose too much visual fidelity, but FPS will benefit.Ambient Occlusion: Low
This setting enhances the depth and realism of lighting but is often demanding. Setting it to Low strikes a good balance between visuals and performance.Screen Space Reflections: Low
Reducing reflections lowers the GPU workload, especially in areas with water and reflective surfaces, improving performance without compromising much on the visual experience.Level of Detail (LOD): Medium
Medium LOD ensures that distant objects look sufficiently detailed without overburdening your system. Higher LOD settings may increase graphical fidelity at the cost of performance.Hair Quality: Medium
Hair and fur in Horizon Forbidden West can be demanding on the system. Set Hair Quality to Medium for good visual results and better performance.Crowd Quality: Medium
Lowering crowd quality reduces the number of high-detail NPCs in crowded areas, which can boost FPS during busy scenes without sacrificing too much immersion.Terrain Quality: Medium
Medium terrain quality ensures that the game world looks realistic without putting too much strain on your hardware. It's a good middle ground for optimal performance.Water Quality: Medium
Water reflections and effects are visually appealing but performance-heavy. Setting this to Medium ensures that water looks great but doesn’t hamper performance.Clouds Quality: Low
Clouds don’t significantly affect gameplay but can reduce performance if set to high. Keep them on Low for better FPS while still enjoying the environment.
Other Visual Settings
Field of View: Medium/Default
A moderate field of view ensures the game’s environment is visible without distorting visuals. You can adjust this based on personal preference, but sticking with the default or medium setting helps with performance.Depth of Field: Off
Disabling depth of field will stop the blurring effect in the background, which can enhance clarity and boost performance.Bloom: Off
Bloom adds light intensity and glow to scenes, but it can be GPU-heavy. Turning it off improves performance without major visual drawbacks.Motion Blur Strength: 0
Motion blur can affect clarity and reduce FPS. Turning it off provides smoother, clearer gameplay and avoids the FPS dip caused by motion blur effects.Sharpness: 5
Sharpness at 5 ensures that textures and details in the game world are clear, with a crisp visual experience. It’s a subtle tweak that enhances the overall image quality.Lens Flares: Off
Lens flares can distract from the visuals and lower performance. Disabling them ensures a cleaner and more consistent visual output.Vignette: Off
Vignetting darkens the edges of the screen, which some may find distracting. Turning it off can improve focus and clarity in the game world.Radial Blur: Off
Radial blur can cause visual distortion and reduce FPS, so it's best turned off to improve performance and clarity.Chromatic Aberration: Off
Chromatic aberration adds color fringing around objects, which can negatively impact visual fidelity and performance. Turning it off ensures crisp visuals and a smoother experience.
Conclusion
How to get started Horizon Forbidden West (HFW)?
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