How to improve FPS in Little Nightmares 3 (PC)
Little Nightmares 3 keeps the formula that made the saga iconic — a childhood-horror aesthetic built from crushing scale, silhouettes against the light, and unsettling proportions — but takes the leap to real online co-op for two players, something Supermassive Games built on the foundation left by Tarsier Studios. Visually it's not a game that relies on cutting-edge effects like ray tracing or massive geometry; its technical challenge lies in its art direction, with volumetric fog, high-contrast lighting, and dramatic shadows defining almost every shot. That means it generally runs reasonably well even on modest hardware, though the lighting and fog settings are the ones that weigh the most when you want to sustain a high framerate.
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Calculations based on our FPS model combined with the % gain of each setting (measured in public benchmarks).
1. Quick wins (no visual loss)
Start here. Each one adds a little, but together they give +30% free FPS.
Volumetric Fog/Lighting
Volumetric fog is the saga's most repeated visual element and also the one that adds the most cost, since the engine calculates light scattering through it in every scene. Lowering it to Medium keeps much of the atmosphere without the full cost of the maximum option.
Shadow Quality
Long, hard shadows are part of the series' visual identity, but their highest resolution implies constant recalculation that penalizes framerate especially in scenes with several light sources.
Texture Quality
The game's textures cost mostly VRAM rather than raw compute power, so their FPS impact is moderate except on GPUs with very limited memory.
Anti-Aliasing
Edge smoothing helps clean up the game's painterly look, but at its highest level adds a sampling cost that isn't justified on most screens.
Depth of Field
Depth of field reinforces the protagonist's child-sized scale against a giant world, but at its highest level adds a noticeable post-processing cost without changing the scene's readability much.
2. Medium impact settings
Here's where most of the FPS is. Minor visual impact, major performance impact.
Ambient Occlusion
Reinforces contact between objects and characters in the game's oppressive spaces, but its most expensive version is barely noticeable next to the dramatic weight already provided by fog and shadows.
Post-Processing
Groups film grain, vignetting, and color correction that give the game its near-stop-motion finish, all applied as extra passes over the final image.
Particle Quality
Suspended dust and ambient particles reinforce the feeling of cramped, dusty spaces, with a cost that varies quite a bit by scene.
View Distance
Being mostly interior spaces and corridors with a semi-fixed camera, draw distance rarely shows a difference above Medium.
3. Upscaling (DLSS / FSR / XeSS)
The biggest gain in the game. Compatible with almost any modern GPU.
4. Tips by GPU
NVIDIA
- •If your GPU has little VRAM (4GB or less), keep Texture Quality on High instead of Ultra to avoid hitches when loading each new chapter's assets.
- •Enable the NVIDIA control panel's low-latency mode to reduce input lag during stealth and chase sections, where immediate response matters more than in the rest of the game.
- •Keep drivers updated, especially near launch, since it's common for them to receive optimization patches in the first few weeks.
AMD
- •Enable Radeon Anti-Lag to offset the added latency in online co-op mode, where the engine syncs both players' state over the network.
- •Check that Radeon Chill isn't capping the framerate below your target in the darker, low-motion scenes typical of the game's atmospheric tone.
- •If you notice drops in areas with heavy volumetric fog, try lowering that specific setting before touching the rest of the graphics section.
Sistema
- •If playing online co-op, make sure both rigs have a stable connection; latency spikes are more noticeable in stealth sections that require precise sync between the two characters.
- •Install the game on an SSD to minimize loading times between chapters and reduce the risk of hitches when streaming new textures and assets.
- •Close recording software or overlays in the background during online co-op sessions, since they can add extra load right when the engine is already managing network sync.
5. Known game issues
Possible stuttering in online co-op mode
Since it syncs both players' state over the network, some connection combinations can generate occasional micro-hitches, especially in sections where both characters must act in coordination.
Performance drops in scenes with dense volumetric fog
Areas with the highest fog density and overlapping dramatic lighting layers can cause GPU load spikes above the rest of the game, even on rigs with headroom elsewhere.
Streaming hitches when changing chapters
The transition between the game's different themed settings, each with its own set of textures and lighting effects, can cause small hitches on mechanical hard drives or with limited available VRAM.
6. Frequently asked questions
Do I need a powerful GPU to play Little Nightmares 3?▾
Does online co-op mode affect performance?▾
Does it have DLSS, FSR, or XeSS?▾
What setting should I lower first if I have a limited GPU?▾
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Calculate FPS for Little Nightmares 3 →Calculations based on consensus of technical sources and our own FPS model. More about our methodology →