For years, PC gamers have relied on ReShade as the ultimate post-processing toolkit to inject new life into older or visually underwhelming titles. While standard ReShade shaders can tweak colors, add bloom, and sharpen textures, they have always lacked one crucial element of modern AAA graphics: dynamic, physically accurate lighting .
Perhaps the most important feature of RTGI is its democratizing effect. While hardware-based ray tracing is often gated behind the latest and most expensive NVIDIA RTX or AMD Radeon RX 6000-series cards, RTGI 0.36.1 is . By performing software-based ray and path tracing solely on depth data, the shader bypasses the need for specialized hardware. This means that owners of older GPUs, such as the NVIDIA GTX 1080 or AMD Radeon 5700, can finally experience the visual benefits of ray-traced global illumination, provided their cards have enough raw compute power to handle the processing load. Of course, a very low-end "toaster" will still struggle, but for the vast majority of PC gamers with a dedicated GPU from the last 6-7 years, RTGI is an accessible technology.
Enter .
In practice, many users have found RTGI to be surprisingly efficient. Anecdotal reports suggest that with moderate settings, the performance hit can be as low as 2-10 frames per second. For example, a user on a forum successfully replaced their hardware ray tracing in Hogwarts Legacy with RTGI 0.36.1, eliminating severe stuttering issues associated with the game's built-in RT. They noted that while the RTGI effect didn't provide mirror-like specular reflections, it offered superior ambient occlusion and diffuse lighting with a smoother, more consistent framerate. The effect also efficiently utilizes the main GPU cores, ensuring that powerful cards can run at near-100% utilization rather than being bottlenecked by specialized but less powerful ray-tracing cores.
Beyond the major features, version 0.36.1 brings significant refinements across the board. The popular MXAO (ambient occlusion) shader had its low-radius halos around objects fixed. Additionally, the Launchpad shader, which powers the optical flow for many other effects, was updated with a new gradient descent-based algorithm. It now offers users a choice between the optimizer (fast convergence for lower-quality settings) and SophiaG (slower but finds better minima for high-quality settings), giving users more control over their performance/quality balance. Reshade Rtgi 0.36.1
is a high-end post-processing shader developed by Pascal Gilcher (Marty McFly) that brings path-traced lighting effects to almost any 3D game. By leveraging Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI), it simulates how light bounces off surfaces to create more realistic shadows and color bleeding. Key Features and Tech
ReShade RTGI 0.36.1 is more than just a shader update; it's a testament to the power of independent development and community-driven innovation. It brings cutting-edge rendering technology to millions of gamers on a wide array of hardware. By designing his own sampling algorithm that bests industry standards, adding pixel-perfect reflections, and path-traced volumetric fog, Pascal Gilcher has created an indispensable tool for any PC gamer looking to get the absolute best visual experience from their games. While accessing the latest version requires support via Patreon, the result is a transformative upgrade that can breathe new life into old classics and add a layer of polish to modern blockbusters, all without requiring a top-of-the-line graphics card. If you've ever wished for more immersive and realistic lighting in your favorite games, RTGI 0.36.1 is the key that unlocks that potential.
represents a significant milestone in the evolution of Marty McFly’s (Pascal Gilcher) groundbreaking Ray Traced Global Illumination shader for ReShade. Often referred to as "Screen Space Ray Tracing," this specific version remains a popular reference point for users seeking to bridge the gap between traditional rasterized graphics and modern ray-traced lighting without requiring hardware-specific RT cores. What is RTGI 0.36.1?
Here is everything you need to know about setting up, optimizing, and enjoying ReShade RTGI 0.36.1. What is ReShade RTGI 0.36.1? For years, PC gamers have relied on ReShade
If you notice light illuminating areas behind thick walls, adjust the or Z-Thickness settings in the shader parameters. This helps the algorithm recognize thick, solid geometry. 3. Halo Effects Around the UI or Character
Turn this ON for slow-paced RPGs or simulation games, but turn it OFF for fast-paced action games to save performance. Performance Tips and Troubleshooting 1. Significant Frame Rate Drops
After the long period where 0.36.1 reigned as the most stable version, Pascal Gilcher released what he calls the in mid‑2025. Highlights include:
NVIDIA RTX 3060 / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or higher (For 60+ FPS at 1440p). While hardware-based ray tracing is often gated behind
Because it operates as a post-processing shader through ReShade, it uses the game’s to calculate light vectors. This means you can add realistic color bleeding, soft ambient occlusion, and dynamic micro-shadows to titles released well before the ray-tracing era. Key Features in Version 0.36.1
: If a ray hits a red wall next to a white pillar, the shader calculates how much red light reflects onto that pillar.
If available in your build, enable this to prioritize light rays hitting explicit light sources, vastly improving nighttime scenes and torchlit dungeons. The Denoised Pass