What Never Was
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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions
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What Never Was FPS by GPU
Estimated framerates for 14 reference GPUs · pick a resolution and quality
Full benchmark grid · 14 GPUs × 4 qualities × 3 resolutions
1080p performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 988 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 892 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 941 fps | 765 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 999 fps | 853 fps | 682 fps | 554 fps |
1440p performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 884 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 860 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 813 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 912 fps | 741 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 824 fps | 669 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 999 fps | 882 fps | 706 fps | 574 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 800 fps | 640 fps | 512 fps | 416 fps |
4K performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 994 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 892 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 841 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 973 fps | 790 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 961 fps | 769 fps | 625 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 824 fps | 659 fps | 535 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 907 fps | 725 fps | 580 fps | 472 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 882 fps | 706 fps | 565 fps | 459 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 833 fps | 667 fps | 533 fps | 433 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 760 fps | 608 fps | 486 fps | 395 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 686 fps | 549 fps | 439 fps | 357 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 588 fps | 471 fps | 376 fps | 306 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 426 fps | 341 fps | 273 fps | 222 fps |
Where to buy
What Never Was
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Genres
About
What Never Was is a short, story-driven first-person adventure released in 2019 that emphasizes exploration and puzzle-solving over action. You play as Sarah, tasked with clearing out her grandfather's attic, only to discover the space contains far more mystery than expected. As a free-to-play indie title focused on narrative and atmosphere rather than visual spectacle, it offers a compact experience that appeals to adventure game enthusiasts.
This game is extremely accessible from a performance standpoint, making it an excellent benchmark for older or budget gaming systems. With minimum requirements of just 4 GB RAM, What Never Was runs smoothly on integrated graphics and entry-level GPUs, easily delivering 60+ FPS on modest hardware. Even on older systems, you can expect solid performance at high graphics settings, making it ideal for testing baseline performance on older machines or mobile-oriented benchmarks.
If you enjoy atmospheric story games and puzzle-solving, What Never Was delivers a memorable short experience despite its modest 69/100 rating. The low hardware requirements and intriguing premise make it worth playing if narrative-driven adventures appeal to you.
Performance profile
January 2019 release. What Never Was was built around the GTX 10-series / RX Vega era. Current-gen mid-range cards (RTX 4060 / RX 7600) are overkill at 1080p and handle 1440p Ultra comfortably.
What Never Was is a narrative-driven experience — a rock-solid 60 FPS is plenty. Prioritise resolution and image quality (AA, anisotropic filtering) over chasing high-refresh framerates.
Extremely light — What Never Was runs at 60 FPS 1080p on any integrated GPU (Intel Iris Xe, AMD Radeon Graphics) or a decade-old discrete card like the GTX 1050. A current-gen RTX 4060 pushes 4K Ultra without effort.
Storyline
Sometime in the late 2000s, Howard James Wright - an old but kind man - perishes. Leaving behind him many adventures, relics he's collected over the years as well as books authored, he is also leaving Sarah, his granddaughter behind. Having to shoulder the arduous task of clearing out her grandfather's attic, she is soon to find that not everything about her grandfather's attic is what it seems.
