Black Screen on the First Level

For a persistent black loading screen in We Were Here Tomorrow on PC, check the selected graphics card and Windows media components before repeatedly restarting the game. The official startup guidance points to unsupported or incorrectly selected graphics hardware, graphics drivers, and missing Windows media components as possible causes. Windows N users should specifically check the Media Feature Pack for their Windows version.

The available guidance covers an infinite black screen at launch or an immediate startup crash. It does not establish that every long first-level load has the same cause. If the game displays a specific error, keep that message alongside the black-screen symptom.

Check which graphics card runs the game

Guide diagram summarizing the checks above.

A laptop can contain both integrated graphics and a dedicated GPU. Tomorrow's support guidance warns that the game can accidentally launch on the integrated adapter. If your laptop has a dedicated card, check the Windows graphics preference for the game and select the appropriate dedicated GPU.

Also compare the machine with the game's minimum requirements. Switching adapters is useful only when the intended GPU is present and suitable; a launch argument does not create hardware capability that the PC lacks. Do not describe a black screen as a confirmed game bug before checking this distinction.

Update the graphics driver for the adapter you intend to use, then try the game again. Test after this change before adding a graphics launch option so the result remains interpretable.

Check Windows media playback components

Windows N installations need the Media Feature Pack appropriate to their Windows version for certain in-game videos to play. The startup support guidance identifies missing media components as a possible reason for an infinite black screen.

Check whether your Windows edition is an N edition and whether its required media components are installed. Use the Media Feature Pack intended for that version of Windows. Do not assume that a package for a different Windows version is interchangeable.

The support material also mentions Microsoft Media Foundation when the required playback libraries are missing or need updating. Treat this as a media-component check, not proof that your saved game is damaged. Repeatedly choosing a different checkpoint will not install missing Windows components.

Try the documented DirectX option reversibly

The current Steam listing specifies DirectX 12. The startup support guidance also offers a DirectX 12 launch option that may help some configurations. Treat that option as an optional troubleshooting attempt, not a guaranteed improvement or a way to bypass the current minimum hardware requirements.

1. Find We Were Here Tomorrow in your Steam library.
2. Right-click the game and open Properties.
3. In General, locate Launch Options.
4. Add -force-d3d12 and test whether the same black-screen failure still occurs.
5. Remove the option again if it does not help.

Keep a note of any existing launch options before making this change. Do not stack several unrelated flags and then assume the last one fixed the problem. The evidence available here supports this particular reversible option, not a list of invented compatibility arguments.

Make sure DirectX is up to date for the operating system as well. The option should be considered after the basic hardware, driver, and media checks, rather than as a substitute for them.

Review the NVIDIA-specific checks if they apply

For an NVIDIA system, the startup guidance includes disabling the setting named Optimize for Computer Performance and setting Vertical Sync under Manage 3D settings to Use the 3D application setting. These are vendor-specific checks; they do not apply to a PC that uses a different graphics vendor.

If a named setting is not present in your installed control panel, do not substitute a different feature merely because its name sounds similar. Record what is available and continue with checks that match your system. Retain the original value of any graphics setting you change so an unsuccessful experiment is easy to undo.

Separate loading failure from later progression problems

If the game reaches the playable level and only later traps an explorer, that is a different symptom from an infinite startup screen. The launch known-issues list includes gameplay softlocks and a checkpoint recovery route, but it does not identify checkpoint resets as a solution for missing media libraries or a wrongly selected GPU.

For an unresolved startup failure, record your Windows edition, the GPU selected for the game, driver details, whether the Media Feature Pack applies, and whether -force-d3d12 changed the outcome. Include whether the game remains black, closes immediately, or reaches a particular screen first. Those observations give the next troubleshooting attempt a concrete target without promising that reinstalling or deleting progress will solve it.