Returnal, a game developed by Housemarque and published by Sony, was released on PlayStation 5 in April 2021. Recently, the game was released on PC, and it has a unique system requirement. Although it's an impressive game, it comes with some technical hitches that are fixable with a patch. This article will focus on Returnal's system requirements and PC performance.
Minimum system requirements
The minimum system requirement for playing Returnal at 720p/60fps is achievable with the following hardware:
Medium system requirements
Playing Returnal at 1080p/60fps requires the following hardware:
Recommended system requirements
If you want to play Returnal at 1080p/60fps with high graphics quality, the following hardware is recommended:
Epic system requirements
Playing Returnal at 4K/60fps on epic settings requires the following hardware:
Ray tracing requirements
If you want to play Returnal at 4K/60fps on epic settings with ray tracing on, you will need the following hardware:
Although the game's official requirements recommend 32GB of RAM, it isn't necessary to play at 4K resolution. Even with maxed-out settings, the game doesn't use more than 6GB of RAM.
Performance
The GTX 1060, which was initially considered outdated, can handle the game's Low preset at 1080p, averaging 46fps in the benchmark tool and often exceeding 60-70fps during normal play. The inclusion of upscaling allows weaker-than-recommended GPUs to have a fair crack. For instance, the RTX 3070 does not meet the official spec for 4K epic and ray traced quality, but with Nvidia DLSS on its Balanced setting, it could deliver a playable 56fps with entirely maxed-out quality settings, including ray traced shadows and reflections, both on their highest (Epic) settings.
Minimum system requirements
The minimum system requirement for playing Returnal at 720p/60fps is achievable with the following hardware:
Code:
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB
CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
RAM: 16GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 60GB HDD (SSD recommended)Medium system requirements
Playing Returnal at 1080p/60fps requires the following hardware:
Code:
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
RAM: 16GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 60GB SSDRecommended system requirements
If you want to play Returnal at 1080p/60fps with high graphics quality, the following hardware is recommended:
Code:
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700 / AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
RAM: 16GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 60GB SSDEpic system requirements
Playing Returnal at 4K/60fps on epic settings requires the following hardware:
Code:
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10GB / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
RAM: 32GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 60GB SSDRay tracing requirements
If you want to play Returnal at 4K/60fps on epic settings with ray tracing on, you will need the following hardware:
Code:
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT
CPU: Intel Core i7-11900K / AMD Ryzen 9 5900K
RAM: 32GB DDR4
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
Storage: 60GB SSDAlthough the game's official requirements recommend 32GB of RAM, it isn't necessary to play at 4K resolution. Even with maxed-out settings, the game doesn't use more than 6GB of RAM.
Performance
The GTX 1060, which was initially considered outdated, can handle the game's Low preset at 1080p, averaging 46fps in the benchmark tool and often exceeding 60-70fps during normal play. The inclusion of upscaling allows weaker-than-recommended GPUs to have a fair crack. For instance, the RTX 3070 does not meet the official spec for 4K epic and ray traced quality, but with Nvidia DLSS on its Balanced setting, it could deliver a playable 56fps with entirely maxed-out quality settings, including ray traced shadows and reflections, both on their highest (Epic) settings.
