How to Fix Order of the Sinking Star Black Screen Issues
Troubleshoot black screen and launch issues in Order of the Sinking Star with these community-verified solutions for PC players.
Published: Order of the Sinking Star Wiki Editorial Team
Table of Contents
Troubleshooting Black Screen at Launch
If you are encountering a dark or blue screen when launching Order of the Sinking Star, you are not alone. Many players have reported this issue upon initial startup. Based on community reports from the game's official Steam discussions, this behavior is often related to background processing or hardware configuration rather than a permanent defect in the game files.
Before attempting complex fixes, wait for 10 to 30 seconds on the black screen. Several users noted that the game may be compiling shaders or initializing assets during this time, and it will eventually transition to the main menu. If you can hear music or sound effects while the screen remains dark, this is a strong indicator that the game is running and simply struggling to initialize the display output.
Forcing Dedicated GPU Usage
A common technical hurdle for laptop users or those with multi-GPU setups is the game defaulting to integrated graphics (such as Intel HD or UHD graphics). Because the game requires more graphical overhead, it may fail to render correctly or crash to the desktop when forced onto an iGPU.
To address this:
Windows Graphics Settings: Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics. Locate Order of the Sinking Star in the list, click Options, and set it to "High Performance."
NVIDIA Control Panel: Open the Manage 3D Settings menu, navigate to Program Settings, select the game's executable, and manually assign the "High-performance NVIDIA processor" as the preferred graphics processor.
Even after these settings, some users have noted the game may attempt to bypass these instructions. If the problem persists, ensure your graphics drivers are fully updated to the latest version.
Solutions for Linux and Proton Users
Players running the game on Linux via Proton have identified a specific issue where the game fails to properly detect or utilize NVIDIA hardware. If you are experiencing a black screen or immediate crash on Linux, community feedback suggests adding a specific environment variable to the game's launch options in Steam:
Right-click Order of the Sinking Star in your Steam Library.
Select Properties.
In the General tab, find the Launch Options field.
This command forces the Vulkan loader to prioritize your NVIDIA drivers, which has resolved the black screen issue for multiple users experiencing hardware detection errors.
When to Consider Reinstalling
If the game consistently quits to the desktop after a few seconds of a blank screen, it is possible that the initial installation encountered a minor corruption. While reinstalling is a standard troubleshooting step, many players found that simply closing the game and relaunching it once or twice allowed it to initialize correctly.
If you continue to face issues, verify the integrity of your game files through Steam:
Right-click the game in your library.
Select Properties > Installed Files.
Click Verify integrity of game files.
This process will scan your installation for missing or corrupted data and replace it automatically, ensuring that the base game files are correctly configured for your specific hardware environment.
