Beast of Reincarnation Black Screen on Launch: 9 Proven Ways to Fix PC Crashes

When I installed Beast of Reincarnation, I expected to spend my evening exploring its haunting version of post-apocalyptic Japan. Instead, I spent nearly an hour staring at a completely black screen.

No intro. No loading icon. Nothing.

After checking Steam Discussions, Reddit, Discord, and trying more fixes than I’d like to admit, I realized I wasn’t dealing with a broken PC. Thousands of players were hitting the exact same issue. Some systems crashed instantly, while others froze forever before the main menu even appeared.

The good news is that the problem usually isn’t permanent. Most launch issues come from Unreal Engine 5 configuration problems, corrupted shader caches, DirectX conflicts, or Windows deciding to “help” in all the wrong ways.

Below are the fixes that gave me the best results, along with the ones that consistently solved the issue for other players. I recommend working through them in order rather than randomly trying everything.

Why Does Beast of Reincarnation Show a Black Screen?

From what I’ve seen, the launch problem isn’t caused by one single bug.

Instead, several things can trigger it:

• DirectX 12 initialization failures
• Corrupted shader cache
• Incorrect fullscreen settings
• Driver conflicts
• Overlay software hooking into the renderer
• Damaged game files
• Windows compatibility issues
• First-launch shader compilation

That’s actually good news because it means there are several ways to fix it.

Quick Overview

1. Force the Game to Launch with DirectX 11

This was the fix that worked for me first.

While Unreal Engine 5 is designed around DirectX 12, not every graphics driver handles it equally well. Older GPUs and even some newer systems occasionally fail during initialization, leaving nothing but a black screen.

To test whether DX12 is the problem:

1. Open Steam.
2. Right-click Beast of Reincarnation.
3. Select Properties.
4. Find Launch Options.
5. Enter:

-dx11

Launch the game again.

You’ll lose some advanced graphical effects, but honestly, I’d rather play with slightly lower visuals than not play at all.

2. Reset the Display Configuration

Display settings cause far more launch problems than people realize.

If the game remembers an unsupported resolution or fullscreen mode, Windows may never display the game correctly.

Navigate to:

%localappdata%

Then open:

BeastOfReincarnation
Saved
Config
WindowsNoEditor

Open GameUserSettings.ini and change these values:

FullscreenMode=2
LastConfirmedFullscreenMode=2
ResolutionSizeX=1920
ResolutionSizeY=1080

Launching in windowed mode often bypasses monitor compatibility problems.

Once you’re inside the game, you can safely switch back to fullscreen.

3. Verify the Installation

This sounds boring, but it’s surprisingly effective.

Large Unreal Engine games contain tens of thousands of files. One interrupted download is enough to stop the engine before it even reaches the menu.

Inside Steam:

• Open Properties
• Choose Installed Files
• Click Verify Integrity of Game Files

Steam compares every installed file against the official version and replaces anything that’s damaged.

I’ve fixed multiple UE5 games this way without downloading the entire game again.

4. Install Your Graphics Driver the Right Way

A lot of people simply click Update Driver and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, graphics drivers sometimes leave behind old shader profiles and configuration files that newer games don’t like.

If you’re using NVIDIA or AMD:

• Download the newest driver.
• Choose Custom Installation instead of Express.
• Select Clean Installation if available.

If you’ve been updating the same driver for years, using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) before installing a fresh version can eliminate lingering conflicts.

It takes a little longer, but it’s often worth it.

5. Delete Old Shader Cache Files

Shader caches are meant to speed up future launches.

When they become corrupted, they can have the exact opposite effect.

Start with Windows:

• Open Disk Cleanup
• Select your system drive
• Check DirectX Shader Cache
• Remove it

If you’re on NVIDIA, clearing the DXCache folder is also worthwhile.

The game will rebuild fresh shaders during the next launch.

The first startup may take longer, but future launches should be much smoother.

6. Turn Off Every Overlay You Can Find

One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that overlays break far more games than they improve.

Programs constantly injecting themselves into the rendering pipeline include:

• Discord Overlay
• Steam Overlay
• MSI Afterburner
• RivaTuner Statistics Server
• NVIDIA Overlay
• AMD Overlay
• Razer Synapse
• Corsair iCUE

You don’t have to uninstall anything.

Just disable the overlays temporarily and launch the game again.

I’ve personally seen RivaTuner cause black screens in multiple Unreal Engine games.

7. Run the Game as Administrator

Windows security has improved over the years, but sometimes it still gets in the way.

Locate the game’s executable.

Right-click it.

Open Properties → Compatibility.

Enable:

• Run this program as administrator
• Disable fullscreen optimizations

If you’re still having trouble, try Windows 8 Compatibility Mode.

It’s an old trick, but it occasionally helps games that struggle with modern Windows scheduling.

8. Lower Your Audio Sample Rate

This fix sounds completely unrelated.

I thought it was nonsense when I first saw people recommending it.

Then I tried it.

Some USB DACs and high-end gaming headsets running at extremely high sample rates can interfere with the game’s audio initialization.

Open:

Sound Settings → More Sound Settings

Choose your playback device.

Open Properties → Advanced.

Set the format to either:

• 24-bit 48000 Hz
• 16-bit 44100 Hz

Restart the game.

It’s an odd solution, but it has solved startup freezes for more than one Unreal Engine release.

9. Don’t Mistake Shader Compilation for a Crash

This is probably the easiest “fix.”

Sometimes the game isn’t frozen.

It’s just compiling thousands of shaders in the background.

Open Task Manager.

If Beast of Reincarnation is still actively using:

• CPU
• Memory
• Disk

…then leave it alone.

I’ve seen first launches sit on a black screen for nearly five minutes before suddenly loading normally.

Patience really can save you a lot of unnecessary troubleshooting.

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My Recommended Order

If I were setting up a fresh PC today, this is exactly how I’d troubleshoot the issue:

This order solves the vast majority of reported startup problems while avoiding unnecessary reinstallations.

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Final Thoughts

Launch-day PC issues have become almost expected with large Unreal Engine 5 releases, and Beast of Reincarnation is no exception. That’s frustrating, especially when all you want to do is jump into the game after a long download.

The silver lining is that most black screen problems aren’t permanent. In my experience, the biggest culprits are DirectX 12 conflicts, corrupted shader data, and overly aggressive background software. Once those are out of the way, the game generally behaves much better.

If you’ve made it this far and the screen is still black, don’t rush to reinstall Windows or assume your hardware is failing. Work through the fixes methodically, restart your PC after major changes, and give the game enough time to finish its first shader compilation. More often than not, one of these steps is all it takes to finally reach the title screen and start the adventure.