We’ve all been there – you’re loading up a game on your PC, and the resolution’s just off. It’s either grainy, blurry, or a mix of the two. Or, the game is just plain buggy, which seems quite common among PC games.

The reasons for these issues aren’t always clear, so they can be hard to fix. There are usually many factors that could affect your game’s appearance and performance, so I decided to research for any common causes. They were easier to find than I thought – many sources ended up saying the same thing.

Why do my PC games look bad/grainy?

One of the most common reasons for a PC game looking bad or grainy is anti-aliasing, which is often used in games to smooth out jagged edges in graphics. This can make your graphics look blurry because the edges are no longer sharp. Many gamers like to disable anti-aliasing to make their games look high-res and have more contrast.

Anti-aliasing is usually enabled by default, so if you boot up a game for the first time, make sure to check the settings to see if anti-aliasing is on. It’s really a personal preference – some people don’t mind the slightly blurred graphics, whilst others really hate it. Just do what you think looks the nicest.

Another big reason for why your game looks bad could be due to scaling, which can change your game’s resolution. If you set your game’s scaling to below native resolution, which is at 100%, the game’s resolution will decrease and it will be upscaled to fit your computer screen. This can make your graphics look blurry or grainy, but it will increase your game’s performance.

Why are my PC games buggy?

In addition to looking grainy, PC games can also be buggy as well. If they’re buggy upon release, it’s usually caused by low budget, or deadlines that force games to be released earlier than they should.

On the other hand, if it’s specifically your game that’s performing poorly, there are other reasons that could be causing this. Your graphics card drivers may be outdated, which can cause your graphics to appear glitchy. If you think this might be the case, you can always check to see if your drivers need updating.

Alternatively, if your game requires the internet to play – such as MMOs – you might be experiencing connection issues. This can cause lag or glitches in your game’s performance. If you encounter any particular bugs that severely affect your gameplay, you should try contacting customer support.