Facebook
Reddit
Email
Everything you need to know about Stellar Blade’s crashing and freezing errors on PC, including the reasons and possible fixes to try.
Stellar Blade’s PC port is arguably one of the better ones we have seen so far. While most Unreal Engine games tend to feature shader-related issues as well as poor scalability, that isn’t the case with Stellar Blade. In fact, much like most PlayStation first-party PC ports, developer Shift Up’s action-adventure title is rather well-optimized on PC, despite its use of UE4.
However, that doesn’t mean the game is completely immune to minor technical issues. One of the most reported issues on the game’s Steam page is related to its crashing during gameplay. While the crashes aren’t nearly as frequent as something like Star Wars Jedi Survivor, they’re still a hindrance to the overall experience.
However, there are some really easy fixes for the crashing issues in the game. Here’s a comprehensive guide on all possible fixes for Stellar Blade’s crashing errors on PC.
Possible Fixes for Stellar Blade’s Crashing Error on PC
During our time with the game, we faced crashes roughly 4-5 times. However, most of those crashes boiled down to the game not working all too well with background applications that we had running. Quitting most of the background processes helped stabilize the game a lot. Furthermore, some of the crashes happened due to the game trying to load too much data into the VRAM. This issue did not affect GPUs with more than 8 GB of VRAM.
However, we faced more frequent crashes on cards like the RX 6600 and RTX 3070. Changing some of the settings, as well as using DLSS/FSR, helped offset these issues on those lower-end GPUs.
Lastly, some of the crashes we faced did not give us a clear idea of the reasons behind them. However, we suspect the game’s way of handling distant textures and shaders to be the culprit here. Stellar Blade isn’t an open-world game per se.
However, it does feature two vast levels that bear elements of the open world genre. These levels also serve as the central hub for multiple different locales, each of them accessible seamlessly, without a loading screen. These sections are not only heavy on VRAM, but also are quite taxing on the CPU.
And it is in these areas where the game tends to crash the most. Here are some fixes that you can try for Stellar Blade’s crashing errors on PC:
Rebuild the Shader Cache
First thing to try, and the one that helped us get past the game’s crashing errors, is rebuilding the shader cache. To do so, you can manually delete the shader cache file from eh game’s installation directory, or you can simply reinstall/update your GPU drivers. If you’re using Nvidia or AMD‘s GPUs, we highly recommend installing their dedicated driver monitoring applications (Nvidia App and AMD Adrenaline).
These applications not only let you update your drivers automatically, but also reinstall them, or rollback to previous versions. Once you reinstall your GPU driver, the game will automatically rebuild the shaders from scratch.
Verify Game Files
Verifying the game files is also a great way to fix most crashing-related issues in PC games. If you’re facing crashes more frequently, one or some of the game’s files might have been corrupted during installation. To fix that, simply run the file verification tool using Steam. To verify the game’s files, follow these steps:
- Launch Steam > Click on Library.
- Right-click on Stellar Blade from the list of games.
- Click on Properties > Local Files.
- Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- Wait for the verification process to conclude.
Once the game’s files have been verified, launch Stellar Blade.
Lower Environment Textures and Volumetric Fog Settings
As we mentioned earlier, VRAM usage is one of the main reasons behind the game’s crashing issues. Two of the settings that affect VRAM usage the most are Environment Texture Quality and Volumetric Fog. If you’re using a GPU with less than 8 GB VRAM, we recommend keeping both Environment Textures and Volumetrics to Medium or Low. You can check our dedicated PC optimization guide for more information on Stellar Blade’s PC port.
Thank you for reading the article. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, visit our YouTube channel!
