Nivalis Nights System Requirements & FPS Fixes

Laptop equivalents from the store page: RTX 4050 Laptop (6 GB) for minimum, RTX 4080 or 5080 Laptop (12 GB+) for recommended. Both targets are at native resolution with no upscaling. Source: the Steam store page.

Why performance dips

The first line of the developers' Read First / Known Issues post (September 29) is performance: frame rate varies in areas with lots of NPCs. LT Gaming tested on an RTX 4070 Ti and saw the game fall toward 30 FPS in busy places like the Metro Hub, with GPU use around 40%. A card that is only 40% busy points at the CPU, which is why dropping texture or shadow quality often changes little. Dropping world detail helped him more.

The developers' May 2026 devlog explains why crowds cost so much. NPCs in other districts are only tracked on a schedule; ones in your district but out of sight are loaded but not animated every frame; only the ones you can see are fully simulated. Turning a background NPC into a visible one is the expensive step, which is why hitches show up when you change district or a crowd walks in. Over 10,000 persistent objects (tables, chairs, dishes) use the same system.

There is also no upscaling. The FAQ says plainly that the Unity version is "quite dated" and does not support DLSS or FSR, and that upgrading it would have added too much risk. They are evaluating adding it later.

What the developers tell you to try

1. If FPS drops after several hours, restart the game. That is in the known-issues post.
2. Set Windows power mode to Best Performance. The developers say it boosts CPU and FPS.
3. Lower the graphics preset first, then raise single settings back.
4. Update GPU drivers and close overlays and background apps.
5. On a laptop, plug it in and check the game runs on the dedicated GPU (Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics).
6. Still broken? Steam Library > right-click Nivalis Nights > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files.

What the October patches changed

• Lighting Details (new slider, Update #2, October 2): sets how many lights can be on in view at once. All the way right means no culling; lower it to switch off distant lights. This is the first setting aimed at the crowded-scene slowdown.
• Texture quality Low was removed; Low users are moved to Medium. Changing texture quality now asks for confirmation and shows a progress bar, because the reload is slow.
• Changing resolution no longer throws the window onto a smaller monitor.
• Update #1 (October 1) fixed performance getting worse every time you loaded a save, stopped the Level of Detail slider going to 0, and added lower mouse sensitivity settings.
• Still open: fast travel to some locations can slow the game. The developers' workaround is to save as soon as you arrive and reload that save.

Player workarounds

A Steam community guide forces frame generation from the Nvidia App (add the game's .exe under Graphics, then set the DLSS override and turn on Smooth Motion, capped at 120 FPS). Others use Lossless Scaling; because the game only runs full screen, that tool has to be switched on in game with Ctrl+Alt+S. These are driver-level tricks, not game settings, so results vary by card. They do nothing for the CPU limit in crowds.

Steam Deck and other ways to play

Valve has not rated the game for Steam Deck. The developers list Deck performance as something they are still improving. GeForce NOW is supported, per the official FAQ. Platform details are on the consoles and Deck page.

Reporting a crash

The developers ask for a DxDiag report (Win+R, type dxdiag, Save All Information) plus Player.log and Player-prev.log from %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\ION LANDS\Nivalis Nights, sent through the 505 Games support site. Grab the logs before relaunching: each launch overwrites the old one.

Specs checked against the store page: October 4, 2026