Dark And Darker Keeps Crashing PC [FIXED]

Dark and Darker keep crashing or freezing on the PC platform for many players. The crashing is so prominent that Ironmace Games addressed the issue in a Reddit comment. Though, it is possible that the statement does not apply to your case, as crashing problems are common and occur from the user’s end most of the time. This is why it is worth solving the crashing issue yourself before the playtest phase ends.

What Is Causing Dark And Darker To Crash?

Several completely unrelated things can cause Dark and Darker to crash. Although, generally insufficient system hardware, corrupted game files, or third parties interfering with your application are responsible for most crashing issues. Occasionally, the crashing might be on the game’s end as well.

Before you move on, make sure to verify whether your PC is capable of running Dark and Darker.

Minimum System Requirements

These minimum system requirements can allow you to run Dark and Darker from low to medium graphic settings.

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 4 GB
CPU: 3.0 GHz Quad Core
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows 10 or 11 | 64-bit versions

Recommended System Requirements

To run Dark and Darker comfortably and on medium to high graphic settings, your PC must have this hardware:

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX series or AMD Radeon RX 5600
CPU: 3.6 GHz Quad Core
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Windows 10 or 11 | 64-bit versions

How To Fix Dark And Darker Crashing On PC

How you can stop Dark and Darker from crashing on your PC depends on the culprit behind the problem. For example, if your game crashes because of an incompatibility issue, you can solve it by disabling that specific incompatible application. Or your antivirus software could be restricting Dark and Darker, in which case you can disable the software and fix the crashing.

Sadly, the complicated part is determining these exact culprits, as they are nearly impossible to pinpoint in most cases. This is why your approach to solving the crashing issue should include trying out all of the methods mentioned below until the crash is resolved.

Turn Off MSI Afterburner & Other FPS Indicators

You should disable any application that can show your in-game FPS or any other GPU statistic. This is one of the first things you should attempt, as it is a bug that most of you might not be aware of. According to the developers of Dark and Darker, applications that utilize Rivatuner’s Statistics Servers to run in-game overlays can cause your game to crash. These applications need to directly hook into your GPU to display in-game FPS and other GPU statistics, which might be the reason why Dark and Darker is crashing.

This usually does not happen and is only a bug with the Dark and Darker playtest. Optimistically, this bug should be resolved by the time the next playtest rolls out. But just to be safe, keep such applications disabled until the full game comes out in late 2023.

Cap FPS in AMD Or NVIDIA Control Panel

This is another common reason why Dark and Darker might be crashing and freezing, especially if you have a low to mid-end PC. Trying to run a game with a frame rate higher than what your PC can handle is asking for all kinds of issues. It is also possible that the frame rate is set to a high value without your knowledge. Even if your PC can support a high frame rate, you will run into trouble if your monitor itself has a low refresh rate.

This is why it’s always a good idea to cap your FPS according to what your hardware can handle. If your PC is relatively weak, you must keep your FPS capped at 30. Mid-end PC users should limit their FPS to 60.

Here is how to cap FPS in AMD Radeon Settings:

1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop and open the AMD Radeon Software.
2. Click on the Gaming tab and find Dark and Darker from the list of games. Then click on it to open its settings.
3. Scroll down to the graphics section and enable Radeon Chill. This will open the FPS capping settings.
4. Use the sliders to adjust the FPS number. The minimum FPS should be the lowest number, while the maximum should be determined based on what your hardware can handle.

How to cap FPS in NVIDIA Control Panel Settings:

1. Right-click on your desktop and open the NVIDIA control panel.
2. Click on the Manage 3D settings section and make sure you are in the Global Settings tab.
3. From the list of options, find the Max Frame Rate settings and turn it on. Now slide the frame rate to the applicable number.

Verify Dark and Darker Game Files

You will encounter frequent crashing or freezing if Dark and Darker’s game files are corrupted or missing. Even if a single game file gets corrupted or accidentally deleted, the game will no longer be able to function properly and will likely crash. Steam offers a convenient and efficient tool to verify and repair these game files.

Here is how you can verify and fix game files on Steam:

1. Launch Steam and click on your game library. This will open the list of all the games you have on Steam.
2. From the list, locate Dark and Darker and right-click it to open an options menu.
3. From here, click on Properties and switch to the Local Files tab.
4. Now click on “Verify Integrity of game files…“
5. Steam will automatically locate bad game files and replace them with functioning ones.

Disable Windows Firewall & Other Antivirus Software

This is a rather common culprit behind most games crashing, including Dark and Darker. In our particular situation, If the antivirus software is mistaking Dark and Darker as a threat, it will naturally cause the game to crash every time you attempt to start it. But first of all, you must confirm if the antivirus software is responsible for the crashes. To do this, you should disable the software and launch Dark and Darker to see if it crashes. 

How to Disable Antivirus

1. Press the Windows button on your keyboard to open the start menu.
2. Click on the gear icon in the start menu and open Windows settings.
3. Select Update & Security to access the Windows Security section.
4. Here, select Firewall & Network Protection. This will open a different window.
5. You must now disable all three network options in this new window. 

If you are utilizing different antivirus software, follow similar steps to disable them simultaneously. Now you can launch Dark and Darker to see if the crashing has stopped. If it has, your culprit was the antivirus software all along. You should now follow the second step of this method and permanently stop Dark and Darker from crashing.

Add Dark And Darker To The Exceptions List

You can keep the antivirus running while being able to play Dark and Darker without any issues. To do this, add Dark and Darker to the exceptions list of your antivirus software. 

Here is how to add exceptions in Windows Firewall Defender:

1. Get to the Windows Security as mentioned in the previous section’s steps. 
2. Here, select Virus & Threat Protection to open a new window.
3. In this window, locate “Virus & Threat Protection” again and click on Manage Settings beneath it.
4. A new page will open; scroll down all the way here until you find the Exclusions section. 
5. Click on add or remove exclusions. This will open the window where you can add exceptions.
6. Click Add an Exclusion and select the Dark and Darker folder.

Update GPU Device Drivers

It is usually not very common to have outdated GPU drivers because they are automatically updated on your PC. But if nothing seems to be fixing the crashing and freezing in Dark and Darker, it is worth manually checking for any driver updates. Additionally, the update can get bugged or fail to download entirely, leaving you with bad drivers.

Here is how you can quickly search for driver updates in the device manager:

1. Press the Windows button on your keyboard and open the start menu. 
2. In the search bar, type Device Manager and select the result.
3. From the list, select Display Drivers to open a drop-down menu.
4. Right-click on your GPU and go to properties. 
5. Make sure you are in the driver section. Now click on update driver.
6. Select Search automatically for drivers. You will now download the latest version of your driver.

Final Words

Set to release in late 2023, Dark and Darker is among this year’s most anticipated games. Dark and Darker has many more playtests planned until its full release. Given that these playtests are in the beta phase, it is natural to encounter a few crashing or freezing issues. Though, it is understandable to be frustrated by these problems since the game is that fun to play.

If Dark and Dark is crashing on your PC due to user-related issues, you can resolve them by following the methods mentioned in this guide. While waiting for Dark and Darker to fully release, check out the best games like Dark and Darker to keep you busy.

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