PS5 Update for Black Myth: Wukong Sacrifices Visuals for Performance

Game Science has released an update for Black Myth: Wukong on PlayStation 5 that prioritizes performance improvements at the expense of visual fidelity.

Patch version 1.0.20.21756 is intended to enhance responsiveness and stability, but Digital Foundry’s analysis shows the PS5 build now looks visually closer to its Xbox counterpart.

The update requires roughly 93 GB of free space, indicating substantial changes to the game’s systems. The headline change is restoring the performance mode to 60 Hz to reduce input latency and stabilize resolution. Those gains were achieved by simplifying the lighting system — notably removing or altering Lumen global illumination, which previously defined much of the game’s visual character.

On PS5 the visual differences are most pronounced in the new performance mode, which now mirrors the Xbox Series X settings: weaker indirect lighting, softer shadows, and reduced depth and atmosphere.

Xbox received almost no visible changes; its configuration remains largely the same. The PS5 Pro includes both modes, though its visual settings are nearly identical to the standard PS5. The Pro’s balanced and quality modes do provide a smoother, more consistent visual presentation.

Performance gains are modest: Digital Foundry recorded increases of about 1–2 frames per second in certain scenes, and load times improved from 18.69 to 17.95 seconds. The most contentious change remains the removal of Lumen, which makes the world appear flatter and less dynamic.

Source: iXBT.games