Digital Foundry: Resident Evil 4 Remake First Look: A Classic in the Making? PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and PC Tested

[John Elden Ring]

Alex Battaglia and John Linneman have been let loose in the Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo, providing an early look at the game on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X and PC ahead of the game's launch later this month. Already, there's plenty to look forward too - and some technical wobbles that need to be fixed ahead of launch. Performance, visuals, modes and options are all covered, with more to come when the game is released.

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:48 New Hair Strand Rendering
• 00:06:47 Ray Traced Reflections
• 00:08:59 Texture Quality Differences between Versions
• 00:10:36 Ambient Occlusion, Shadows, Volumetric Lighting
• 00:12:39 PS5 and XSX Image Quality in both Frame-Rate/Resolution Modes
• 16:03 PS5, PS4 and XSX Performance Analysis + Mode Recommendations
• 1:47 Xbox Control Issues
• 22:44 PC Version Advantages and Issues
• 0:27:35 John and Alex have fun
• 35:20 Conclusion

ILikeFeed@ERA summary:

• two modes on current gen
  • frame rate and resolution
• extra options on current gen
  • motion blur, dof, ca
  • hair strands
  • ray tracing
• chromatic aberration toggle on last gen
• hair strand
  • geometry hair rather than textured cards
  • console versions doesn't seem to receive lighting, looks like a bug
  • in frame rate mode, the strand count is reduced but are thicker
• no subsurface scattering on skin
• ray traced reflection
  • RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
  • reflective surfaces rarely show up anyway in the demo
• pc version has higher resolution textures than current gen
• screen space ambient occlusion
  • doesn't use the ray traced global illumination solution as previous games use
• ps4 suffers from light leaking
• ps4 also doesn't have dynamic shadows on leon
• ps4 has blockier volumetrics
• resolution mode
  • static 2160p, checkerboarded
  • series x has less breakup and looks sharper
  • chromatic aberration blurs the game on ps5 *snoop dogg gif*
  • rt and strands off is in the 50s, don't use if you don't have a vrr display
  • rt and strands on is in the 40s, swings wildly
• performance mode
  • 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
  • 1728p, checkerboarded on series x
  • may or may not be dynamic
  • with rt and hair disabled, very stable 60fps
  • rt and strands enabled is in 50s, very good with VRR
    • better on series x with vrr due to how ps5 handles vrr
• base last gen
  • targets 60, ain't stable
    • ps4 is almost always under 60
  • no 30fps cap
  • 900p on ps4
  • distant enemies update at a lower rate
  • seems to be cpu limited
• recommedations
  • no vrr? perf with rt and strands off
  • yes vrr? perf with rt on and strands off
• xbox has borked controls, not very responsive
• pc
  • better hair strands that work
  • better textures
  • better SSAO through CACAO
  • chromatic aberration still causes issues
  • no compilation stutter, but loading spikes
    • stutter is worse the higher your frame rate is
  • good pc port so far
  • ultra-wide supported
    • cutscenes are pillarboxed
• the yellow paint discussion
  • original game had baked lighting, so breakable objects stood out via glowing
  • breakables are properly lit now, so they have to make some way for players to know they're interactable

 

[KiryuRealty]

Another Japanese-developed game having Pc and Xbox issues? Quelle suprise!

 

[ethomaz]

ILikeFeed@ERA summary:

• two modes on current gen
  • frame rate and resolution
• extra options on current gen
  • motion blur, dof, ca
  • hair strands
  • ray tracing
• chromatic aberration toggle on last gen
• hair strand
  • geometry hair rather than textured cards
  • console versions doesn't seem to receive lighting, looks like a bug
  • in frame rate mode, the strand count is reduced but are thicker
• no subsurface scattering on skin
• ray traced reflection
  • RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
  • reflective surfaces rarely show up anyway in the demo
• pc version has higher resolution textures than current gen
• screen space ambient occlusion
  • doesn't use the ray traced global illumination solution as previous games use
• ps4 suffers from light leaking
• ps4 also doesn't have dynamic shadows on leon
• ps4 has blockier volumetrics
• resolution mode
  • static 2160p, checkerboarded
  • series x has less breakup and looks sharper
  • chromatic aberration blurs the game on ps5 *snoop dogg gif*
  • rt and strands off is in the 50s, don't use if you don't have a vrr display
  • rt and strands on is in the 40s, swings wildly
• performance mode
  • 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
  • 1728p, checkerboarded on series x
  • may or may not be dynamic
  • with rt and hair disabled, very stable 60fps
  • rt and strands enabled is in 50s, very good with VRR
    • better on series x with vrr due to how ps5 handles vrr
• base last gen
  • targets 60, ain't stable
    • ps4 is almost always under 60
  • no 30fps cap
  • 900p on ps4
  • distant enemies update at a lower rate
  • seems to be cpu limited
• recommedations
  • no vrr? perf with rt and strands off
  • yes vrr? perf with rt on and strands off
• xbox has borked controls, not very responsive
• pc
  • better hair strands that work
  • better textures
  • better SSAO through CACAO
  • chromatic aberration still causes issues
  • no compilation stutter, but loading spikes
    • stutter is worse the higher your frame rate is
  • good pc port so far
  • ultra-wide supported
    • cutscenes are pillarboxed
• the yellow paint discussion
  • original game had baked lighting, so breakable objects stood out via glowing
  • breakables are properly lit now, so they have to make some way for players to know they're interactable

 

[Swift_Star]

ILikeFeed@ERA summary:

• two modes on current gen
  • frame rate and resolution
• extra options on current gen
  • motion blur, dof, ca
  • hair strands
  • ray tracing
• chromatic aberration toggle on last gen
• hair strand
  • geometry hair rather than textured cards
  • console versions doesn't seem to receive lighting, looks like a bug
  • in frame rate mode, the strand count is reduced but are thicker
• no subsurface scattering on skin
• ray traced reflection
  • RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
  • reflective surfaces rarely show up anyway in the demo
• pc version has higher resolution textures than current gen
• screen space ambient occlusion
  • doesn't use the ray traced global illumination solution as previous games use
• ps4 suffers from light leaking
• ps4 also doesn't have dynamic shadows on leon
• ps4 has blockier volumetrics
• resolution mode
  • static 2160p, checkerboarded
  • series x has less breakup and looks sharper
  • chromatic aberration blurs the game on ps5 *snoop dogg gif*
  • rt and strands off is in the 50s, don't use if you don't have a vrr display
  • rt and strands on is in the 40s, swings wildly
• performance mode
  • 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
  • 1728p, checkerboarded on series x
  • may or may not be dynamic
  • with rt and hair disabled, very stable 60fps
  • rt and strands enabled is in 50s, very good with VRR
    • better on series x with vrr due to how ps5 handles vrr
• base last gen
  • targets 60, ain't stable
    • ps4 is almost always under 60
  • no 30fps cap
  • 900p on ps4
  • distant enemies update at a lower rate
  • seems to be cpu limited
• recommedations
  • no vrr? perf with rt and strands off
  • yes vrr? perf with rt on and strands off
• xbox has borked controls, not very responsive
• pc
  • better hair strands that work
  • better textures
  • better SSAO through CACAO
  • chromatic aberration still causes issues
  • no compilation stutter, but loading spikes
    • stutter is worse the higher your frame rate is
  • good pc port so far
  • ultra-wide supported
    • cutscenes are pillarboxed
• the yellow paint discussion
  • original game had baked lighting, so breakable objects stood out via glowing
  • breakables are properly lit now, so they have to make some way for players to know they're interactable

Seems fine by me. Perf mode with rt on is the way to go on a VRR display. The yellow paint discussion is stupid.

 

[adamsapple]

• RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
• series x has less breakup and looks sharper
• 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
• 1728p, checkerboarded on series x

Easy win for Series X here. Not surprising, all the RE engine Resident Evil games have.

GG Capcom for what looks to be an incredibly solid game all around.

Perf Mode + RT on a VRR display ftw, for me.

 

[Lord Mittens]

Seems fine by me. Perf mode with rt on is the way to go on a VRR display. The yellow paint discussion is stupid.

Going to be great!

 

[ethomaz]

• RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
• series x has less breakup and looks sharper
• 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
• 1728p, checkerboarded on series x

Easy win for Series X here. Not surprising, all the RE engine Resident Evil games have.

GG Capcom for what looks to be an incredibly solid game all around.

Perf Mode + RT on a VRR display ftw, for me.

Except you forget…

• xbox has borked controls, not very responsive

That makes it near unplayable.

 

[adamsapple]

Except you forget…

• xbox has borked controls, not very responsive

That makes it near unplayable.

Controls are fixed in retail based on people who have it. No one's talked about if the tech has improved on the retail on PS5 yet.

Besides, it's a tech comparison, in the tech aspect the Series X version clearly outclasses PS5.

 

[Lord Mittens]

Controls are fixed in retail based on people who have it. No one's talked about if the tech has improved on the retail on PS5 yet.

Besides, it's a tech comparison, in the tech aspect the Series X version clearly outclasses PS5.

I must have adjusted pretty well if the controls were that bad

 

[adamsapple]

I must have adjusted pretty well if the controls were that bad

I played the demo on both and after playing it once, you get used to it. But, again, based on people who have retail code, the deadzone issue is mostly or completely fixed.

The ideal solution would have been to offer a deadzone slider in the controls menu, but ah well.

 

[ethomaz]

Controls are fixed in retail based on people who have it. No one's talked about if the tech has improved on the retail on PS5 yet.

Besides, it's a tech comparison, in the tech aspect the Series X version clearly outclasses PS5.

So for you…

- Xbox deal breaker issue is not an issue.
- Xbox deal breaker issue can be fixed at final.
- PS5 graphical bug can’t be fixed at retail.

Sure lol

 

[adamsapple]

So for you…

- Xbox deal breaker issue is not an issue.
- Xbox deal breaker issue can be fixed at final.
- PS5 graphical bug can’t be fixed at retail.

Sure lol

What deal breaker issue ? lol

This is a DF tech thread, based on the video and article, the tech results are pretty clear.

 

[ethomaz]

What deal breaker issue ? lol

This is a DF tech thread, based on the video and article, the tech results are pretty clear.

You know controls are a tech feature and that is exactly why they said it was borked on Xbox lol

Like usual you use different weights depending of the side even reached the point to say control issues are not technical

 

[adamsapple]

You know controls are a tech feature and that is exactly why they said it was borked on Xbox lol

Like usual you use different weights depending of the side even reached the point to say control issues are not technical

Controls aren't a graphical or performance related tech feature lol.

You're going really hard on this just because this is the only lifeline you can grasp to in this topic

Anyway, just so it makes you feel better:

- Controls are better on the PS5 in the demo because of Xbox pads dead zone differences.
- Everything else about the visuals is better on Series X, higher DRS, ray tracing that actually works, no broken settings for CA, more stable image, more sharper image.

We all happy now ?

 

[ethomaz]

Controls aren't a graphical or performance related tech feature lol.

You're going really hard on this just because this is the only lifeline you can grasp to in this topic

Anyway, just so it makes you feel better:

- Controls are better on the PS5 in the demo because of Xbox pads dead zone differences.
- Everything else about the visuals is better on Series X, higher DRS, ray tracing that actually works, no broken settings for CA, more stable image, more sharper image.

We all happy now ?

Man watch the video.
And yes controls are a technical level att of the game… it was always used by DF in their analysts when there are issues…. They even did articles focused in response times lol in games like Rise of Tomb Raider lol

I’m getting hard to that because it is fair and accurate.

If you think the controls issues are less important than the difference in resolution then something is really wrong with you not the DF video.

Control issues > Framerate issues > Resoltuion issues.

Bad input lag or deadl zones kill a game enjoyment before you even notice the framerate or graphic issues.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

And coming Day One on Game Pass baby!!!!!!!

 

[Swift_Star]

• RT reflections on PS5 is borked. works on series x and pc
• series x has less breakup and looks sharper
• 1440p, checkerboarded on ps5
• 1728p, checkerboarded on series x

Easy win for Series X here. Not surprising, all the RE engine Resident Evil games have.

GG Capcom for what looks to be an incredibly solid game all around.

Perf Mode + RT on a VRR display ftw, for me.

Basically a load of nothing of difference on both consoles. Glad capcom is taking their time optimizing the games for all platforms.

 

[adamsapple]

Looks like the final reviews confirm that the controls and poor IQ are still there.

Ah well, toss up between whether I want the game to look a little worse or control a little worse.