Dark Souls III to Receive a Major Visual Overhaul Thanks to One Modder

The new version of DS Lighting Engine will add full path tracing to the game.

Modder Ganaboy is working on a new version of the DS Lighting Engine, which will improve the visuals of Dark Souls 3. The mod will add full path tracing to the game, significantly enhancing lighting and making familiar locations noticeably more realistic.

The developer has already showcased two working videos with the updated version of the mod. They feature the High Wall of Lothric and Firelink Shrine, illuminated using path tracing. Thanks to the technology, light sources, shadows, and reflections look significantly more natural, and scenes receive deeper and more realistic lighting.

The release date for the new version of DS Lighting Engine has not yet been announced. However, Ganaboy has already discussed the graphics card requirements.

According to the modder, the geometry of Dark Souls 3 is about 10 times more complex than in Dark Souls 2, so the requirements will be higher. However, the same graphics cards that work with DS2 Lighting Engine should be supported, including all RTX 20-series and 30-series cards. Nevertheless, users will likely have to reduce the upscaling quality: if Dark Souls 2 could be played in Quality mode, Dark Souls 3 might require Balanced mode.