Hollow Knight
17 sourced launch options for Hollow Knight on Steam ↗.
DeveloperTeam Cherry
PublisherTeam Cherry
Released2017-02-24
EngineUnity
-
-force-openglCopyForce the legacy OpenGL renderer (Unity games, legacy builds)- Effect
- Windows only. Selects Unity's LEGACY OpenGL backend, not the core profile — use -force-glcore for that. Builds made with newer Unity versions may not carry the legacy backend at all, in which case this has no effect.
DisplayUnity Documentation Added Jun 27, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on PCGamingWiki · checked Sep 27, 2026Safe -
-force-vulkanCopyForce the Vulkan renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Useful where the default backend crashes or performs badly; ignored if the build has no Vulkan path.
DisplayUnity Documentation Added Jun 27, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on PCGamingWiki · checked Sep 27, 2026Safe -
-screen-heightCopyOverride the screen height (Unity games)- Effect
- Must be an integer from a resolution the game supports. Pair with -screen-width.
- Example
-screen-width 1920 -screen-height 1080
DisplayUnity Engine Added Jul 8, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on PCGamingWiki · checked Sep 27, 2026Safe -
-screen-widthCopyOverride the screen width (Unity games)- Effect
- Must be an integer from a resolution the game supports. Pair with -screen-height; alone it can leave a mismatched aspect ratio.
- Example
-screen-width 1920 -screen-height 1080
DisplayUnity Engine Added Jul 8, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on PCGamingWiki · checked Sep 27, 2026Safe -
-vulkanCopyUse the Vulkan renderer where the game supports it (only engines with a Vulkan backend — Source 2, id Tech 6/7, UE4)- Effect
- Forces the Vulkan rendering backend instead of DirectX or OpenGL. Only has an effect in engines with a Vulkan path; ignored elsewhere.
DisplayPCGamingWiki Added Jun 27, 2026 Last checked Sep 27, 2026 Also documented for this game on ProtonDB · checked Nov 9, 2026Safe -
-window-modeCopyOverride fullscreen windowed mode (Unity games, Windows)- Effect
- Takes exclusive or borderless. Windows only. The flag alone does nothing — the value is required.
- Example
-window-mode borderless
DisplayUnity Engine Added Jul 8, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on PCGamingWiki · checked Sep 27, 2026Safe -
PROTON_FORCE_LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE=1 %command%CopyForce the LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE flag (Linux, Proton)- Effect
- Lets 32-bit executables address more than 2 GB. Valve documents it as enabled by default, so setting it explicitly is usually a no-op.
Proton-DeckValve Proton Added Jul 8, 2026 Last checked Sep 13, 2026 Also documented for this game on ProtonDB · checked Nov 9, 2026Safe -
PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 %command%CopyDisable eventfd-based synchronisation (Linux, Proton)- Effect
- Turns off in-process esync primitives. Worth trying for games that hang or crash under Proton.
Proton-DeckValve Proton Added Jul 8, 2026 Last checked Sep 13, 2026 Also documented for this game on ProtonDB · checked Nov 9, 2026Safe -
PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 %command%CopyDo not use futex-based in-process synchronization primitivesProton-Deck -
PROTON_USE_WAYLAND=1 %command%CopyAn alias of PROTON_ENABLE_WAYLAND: use Wine's experimental Wayland driver instead of the default X11 driver, in GE-Proton and Proton-CachyOS (Valve's Proton does not include it)Proton-Deck -
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=0 %command%CopyProton-DeckDisplay -
PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command%CopyUse wined3d (OpenGL) instead of DXVK (Linux, Proton)- Effect
- Routes d3d11, d3d10 and d3d9 through OpenGL-based wined3d rather than Vulkan-based DXVK. Usually slower; a fallback where DXVK fails.
Proton-DeckDisplayValve Proton Added Jul 9, 2026 Last checked Sep 13, 2026 Also documented for this game on ProtonDB · checked Nov 9, 2026Safe -
gamemoderun %command%CopyRun the game under Feral GameMode (Linux)- Effect
- Applies temporary host optimisations (CPU governor, I/O and process priority) for the game's lifetime, then restores them on exit. GameMode runs the game, so %command% is what it runs.
Proton-DeckFeral GameMode Added Jun 29, 2026 Last checked Sep 24, 2026 Also documented for this game on ProtonDB · checked Nov 9, 2026Safe -
mangohud %command%CopyShow the MangoHud performance overlay (Linux)- Effect
- Draws FPS, frame timing and CPU/GPU load over Vulkan and OpenGL games. MangoHud runs the game, so %command% is what it runs.
Proton-Deck -
-force-d3d11CopyForce the Direct3D 11 renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Windows only.
DisplaySafe -
-force-d3d12CopyForce the Direct3D 12 renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Windows only.
DisplaySafe -
-popupwindowCopyRun in a borderless window (Unity games)- Effect
- Creates the window as a dialog with no frame. Not supported on macOS.
DisplaySafe
How to apply a launch option on Steam
- Open Steam and go to your Library.
- Right-click the game and choose Properties.
- On the General tab, find the Launch Options field.
- Type or paste the option (e.g.
-windowed) into the field. To use several at once, separate them with spaces (e.g.-windowed -novid). - Close Properties. Steam saves automatically, and the option applies next time you launch the game.
To remove one, reopen the same field and delete the text. Options are game-specific; an option that helps one game may do nothing (or misbehave) in another.
Worth knowing: a launch option can break a game's rendering, reset local settings, or trip anti-cheat in multiplayer. Read the description first, add one at a time, and treat anything rated above Safe as a deliberate experiment.