Compared to traditional shadow mapping techniques, ray-traced shadows have realistic penumbras, translucency, self-shadowing, and other benefits, creating contact-hardened, smooth shadows that would otherwise be impossible to render in real-time.

When the new line of NVIDIA RTX cards launched last year one of the first major releases listed as implementing the groundbreaking new real-time ray-tracing tech was Shadow of the Tomb Raider. And as that initial announcement came before the game's release, we've been waiting a while to see what ray-traced shadows might bring to the table.With Battlefield V using the tech for reflections, Metro Exodus global illumination, Shadow of the Tomb Raider lives up to its namesake by focusing on using light rays to accurately and realistically render shadows.And the results are impressive.According to the notes.The new update also introduces NVIDIA's AI-powered DLSS rendering for increased performance at higher resolutions. For a full technical breakdown of ray-tracing in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, head here