Horizon Forbidden West: Best PC Settings

Window Mode

Select whether you want the game to utilize the entire screen or a portion of it. Fullscreen mode allows you to Alt + Tab out of the game smoothly.

Fullscreen

Display Resolution

Select the resolution of the game. Native is highly recommended for the best visuals.

Native

Aspect Ratio

Choose between different aspect ratios that decide the game's width and height. Native or Auto is recommended as it will use the entire screen.

Auto

Cinematics Letterboxing

It adds letterboxing when playing the game at a non-16:9 aspect ratio. Enable to counter any visual bugs around the edges of the screen.

On

Refresh Rate

Decides the Refresh Rate of the game. Choose the highest one available for your monitor. Only tweakable if Exclusive Fullscreen is selected in Window Mode

Native

VSync

Enabling removes screen tearing but caps the game framerate to your monitor's refresh rate and increases input lag. Disabling removes any cap but may cause screen tearing. Enable for a smoother experience.

On

NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency

Reduces system latency and makes the game more responsive. Only available on NVIDIA GPUs. Enabling it causes stutters in our testing, so turn it off.

Off

Dynamic Resolution Scaling

Automatically reduces the game's resolution to match the targeted framerate. Disable as turning it on caused the game to look extremely grainy.

Off

Anti-Aliasing

Reduces aliasing and makes the game look smoother. Can't be selected if any Upscale Method is chosen. Choose DLAA if you have an RTX 2000 or above card. If not, then select TAA.

DLAA or TAA

Upscale Method

Choose between various upscaling technologies to boost the game's framerate at the cost of a minor visual hit. DLSS is only available for the NVIDIA RTX 2000 or above series.

DLSS or Off

Upscale Quality

Select the quality mode for the chosen upscaling technology. Higher quality increases render resolution, and high performance uses lower resolution but grants more frames. Choosing DRS automatically sets this option to Dynamic.

Quality

DLSS Frame Generation

Uses AI to create "fake frames" that increase the game's overall FPS. It makes the game look smoother but causes input lag. Only available on RTX 4000 series GPUs.

On

Texture Quality

Determines the quality of the textures of the game. Higher quality uses more GPU VRAM. Very High can be selected by 8 GB VRAM GPUs. Choose lower-quality textures if VRAM is filled.

Very High

Texture Filtering

Determines the quality of the textures when viewed at a different angle. Little to no impact on performance.

16x Anisotropic

Shadow Quality

Determines the quality of the shadows in the game. High impact on GPU performance. Do not select OFF.

Medium

Screen Space Shadows

Determines if screen space shadows are enabled or not. Little to no impact on performance.

On

Ambient Occlusion

Determines if Ambient Occlusion tech is used or not. Little to no impact on performance.

SSAO

Screen Space Reflections

Determines the quality of SSR. Available Options are Off, Low, and High. Little to no impact on performance.

High

Level of Detail

Determines the quality of far-away objects. High impact on both GPU and CPU performance.

Medium

Hair Quality

Determines the density and curvature of the character's hair. Little to no impact on performance.

High

Crowd Quality

Determines the quality of far-away NPCs. Little to no impact on performance.

High

Terrain Quality

Determines the quality of the Terrain rendering. Little to no impact on performance.

Very High

Water Quality

Determines the quality of Water rendering. Little to no impact on performance.

High

Clouds Quality

Determines the quality of Clouds rendering in the game. Medium impact on GPU performance.

High

Translucency Quality

Determines the quality of translucent objects like particles. Little to no impact on performance.

High Res

Parallax Occlusion Mapping

Determines if additional lighting effects or depths are applied to certain items. Little impact on performance but a negligible impact on visuals

Off

Field of View

Determines the FOV of the game. A higher value allows more of the world on screen but may decrease performance.

Personal Choice

Depth of Field

Determines if DOF is applied to the game. Little impact on performance.

High

Bloom

Enables Bloom Effect in the game. No impact on performance.

On

Motion Blur Strength

The camera movement feels smoother by blurring the environment. 0 completely turns off Motion Blur.

Personal Choice

Sharpness

Determines how smooth or sharp you want the game to look. No impact on performance.

Personal Choice

Lens Flares

Determines if Lens Flares effect is applied or not. No impact on performance.

On

Vignette

Determines if the edges of the game are darkened or not to emphasize the rest of the screen. Turn it off to make the game look clearer.

Off

Radial Blur

Determines if a slight blur effect at the corner of the screen is applied to simulate the camera lens. Turn it off to make the game look clearer.

Off

Chromatic Aberration

Determines if lens distortion effects are applied at the corner of the screen or not. Turn it off to make the game look clearer.

Off