I just got done spending some time with Vanquish‘s newly released PC version, and it’s a solid port. Looks sharp, moves well, and offers an acceptable array of graphics options. There’s just one problem: It has a really, really strange graphics bug.
First reported by Wesker on NeoGAF, the bug essentially causes you to take more damage — almost immediately forcing you into “oh crap, oh crap” slow-mo mode — if your framerate is above 30 FPS. Check out these GIFs.
This one’s at 30 FPS:
This one’s at 60 FPS:
In the first, noted cigarette and whiskey connoisseur Sam Gideon can take significantly more damage (and even stumble a little) before entering “you’re gonna die if you don’t get the hell out of here” mode. In the second, it takes only a couple of light taps to send Sam to the flashing red rave we all attend before we die.
I tried this out on my own PC, and the results were similar. I could take markedly more damage playing at framerates closer to the game’s originally intended 30 FPS than I could at 60. The good-ish news is, according to most reports, the damage you take stops increasing after 60, so if you play at a higher frame rate than that, it’s not like you’ll drop dead the second a robot tells you that, actually, your knee slides look kinda dumb.
I reached out to Sega to find out if they’re working on a fix, but as of writing they had yet to get back to me. In the meantime, much as I hate to say it, you might be better off playing the game below 60 FPS. Otherwise, you’re gonna die a lot — even if you’re good. Vanquish is a game about flow, and having it broken every handful of seconds isn’t my idea of a good time.
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One response to “Bizarre Vanquish PC Glitch Makes Players Take More Damage At Higher Framerates”
Sounds similar to the Dark Souls PC weapon durability glitch. Presumably they have something linked to iterations of the game loop rather than the wall clock.