Why is my Dusk stuck at 30 FPS even with Unlock Framerate on?

Four common causes, in order of frequency: (1) VSync is still on and capping to your monitor refresh, (2) monitor refresh is set to 30 Hz instead of 60+ Hz, (3) the graphics backend is bottlenecked on your GPU, or (4) you accidentally have a frame cap in your GPU driver or display software. Work through the checklist below — most users find it's #1 or #3.

Is 30 FPS expected on any setup?

30 FPS is Twilight Princess's native logic rate. Dusk decouples render from logic, so the renderer can interpolate to 60+ FPS even though logic stays at 30. If you're seeing 30 FPS exactly, the renderer isn't interpolating. If you're seeing variable 25-35 FPS with stutter, the GPU is bottlenecked and you should lower internal resolution or switch backend.

Dusk Stuck at 30 FPS Even With Unlock Framerate — Fix Checklist

Dusk caps at 30 FPS even with Unlock Framerate on. VSync, monitor refresh, graphics backend, and post-process checklist to actually hit 60+ FPS.

Published 2026-05-14 ·Updated 2026-06-16

Dusklight’s headline feature is rendering above 30 FPS (the engine logic stays at 30 Hz, and the renderer interpolates). If you toggle Unlock Framerate on and stay pinned at 30, something else is capping you. Reddit user Thr0waway_Joe reported exactly this on r/pcgaming:

“I can’t get it past 30fps. Even with unlocked fps”

Sporadic — no single root cause. Walk this checklist in order:

Updated for v1.4.0 (2026-06-16): v1.4.0 shipped a renderer overhaul (optimizing everything “from game particles to GPU frame submission,” with up to a 4x improvement on CPU-bottlenecked devices and “much more stable” framerates) plus a fix for a pipeline-cache pop-in bug. If a GPU/CPU bottleneck was holding you near 30, updating to v1.4.0 is worth trying before working the checklist — especially on CPU-bound or lower-end hardware. Note, though, that the release notes do not name a fix for the specific “stuck at exactly 30 FPS with Unlock Framerate on” issue, so the steps below still apply if you’re capped after updating.

1. Check VSync (most common cause)

Settings → Video → Display → Enable VSync → OFF

If your monitor refreshes at 30 Hz (some 4K TVs default to this), VSync + 30 Hz = hard 30 FPS cap regardless of Unlock Framerate.

2. Check display refresh rate

Windows: Settings → System → Display → Advanced display → Refresh rate — pick 60 Hz or higher
macOS: System Settings → Displays → Refresh Rate
Linux: xrandr or your DE’s display settings
Steam Deck: Steam menu → Settings → Display → Refresh rate (60 Hz native, can run game at 60/90)

If your display is fixed at 30 Hz, even Unlock Framerate + VSync OFF can’t help — the output cable cycle is 30 per second.

3. Verify Unlock Framerate is actually on

Settings → Video → Rendering → Unlock Framerate → ON

Toggle off then on after changing other settings. Some users report it doesn’t take effect until next launch.

4. Try a different graphics backend

Settings → Prelaunch → Graphics Backend

GPU-bottlenecked backends will cap you. Rotate through and restart:

Windows: D3D12 → D3D11 → Vulkan
macOS: Metal → Vulkan (MoltenVK) → OpenGL
Linux / Steam Deck: Vulkan → OpenGL
Android: Vulkan → OpenGL ES

D3D12 / Vulkan / Metal are usually the fastest paths on their native platforms. See the graphics backend guide.

5. Lower internal resolution

Settings → Video → Resolution → Internal Resolution

If you’re rendering at 4× scale on a mid-range GPU, GPU bottleneck will pin you at 30 even with everything else right. Step down one or two notches and retest.

6. Disable post-processing

Settings → Video → Post-Processing → Bloom → OFF

Bloom is the heaviest post-process. Disabling it can free enough budget to clear 60 FPS on integrated graphics.

7. Check GPU driver / vendor framerate caps

NVIDIA: Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → Max Frame Rate (set to Off or higher than 60)
AMD: Radeon Software → Graphics → Radeon Chill / Frame Rate Target Control (disable for Dusklight)
Intel Arc: Arc Control → Performance → Frame Rate Target (disable)

If you’ve capped Dusklight to 30 FPS in your driver, no in-game setting will override it.

If nothing works

File a comment on the Dusklight repo with:

Your OS + Dusklight version
GPU + driver version
Graphics backend in use
VSync state, refresh rate, internal resolution
A screenshot of the FPS counter (Settings → Interface → Show FPS Counter)

Sporadic 30 FPS lock isn’t yet tracked under a single GitHub issue, but the team is collecting reports.

Framerate & 60 FPS, explained
Graphics backends
Pulsating bloom at unlocked framerate — opposite problem
All known issues

Last updated 2026-05-14.