https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfo...game-impacted-by-tech-issues-on-all-platforms
It's hard to overlook Wild Hearts' visual shortfalls, however. Firstly, texture-work doesn't hold up to scrutiny when viewed up close. Even on PS5 or Series X, asset quality for moss, wood, and brickwork use distractingly low resolution maps at times. Additionally, Xbox Series S uses even lower resolution textures than the premium consoles, producing some glaringly blurry surfaces. You may not notice in the heat of the action, but in getting from A to B there are some obvious rough spots. Likewise, the method of screen-space reflections (SSR) is of a low quality for all three machines: it's a flickering, pixellated, low resolution mirror image, with a huge gap around occluding objects. Again, Series S gets a particularly raw deal here, with an even lower accuracy setting than PS5 or Series X.
In terms of visual modes and features, we have two options on PS5 and Series X. There's a resolution mode targeting a native 4K at 30 frames per second - and this does genuinely hit a native 3840x2160 in some pixel counts. However, there also appears to be a dynamic element to this. In some cases, one or both of the axes of the 4K pixel structure halve - leading to 1920x2160 or 1920x1080 as the base image in taxing areas. It's often masked by the TAA - and honestly, the result never looks as sharp as it could.
Meanwhile, there's also a performance mode on PS5 and Series X. This is my recommendation for play, just for sheer playability - even though it comes at a cost of a native 1080p resolution. The caveat is that cutscenes still lock at 30fps in the performance mode, and they continue rendering at 1080p regardless. It's hardly the next-gen dream but for an action RPG, I'd prioritise 60fps all the way. Otherwise, settings between the modes are the same. Reflections, foliage density, shadow quality, draw distance for geometry - all stay in place between the modes. It's just resolution and frame-rate targets that change.
Comparing PS5 to Series X directly, the result is a temporally unstable image on Sony's machine in spots - in the resolution mode at least. Fortunately, the opening areas before reaching the hub don't make the pixel crawl bug evident at any point. And to be clear, there is a workaround. If we switch over to its 1080p 60fps performance mode, the issue is cleared up on PS5 - and image quality matches Series X. So, all signs point to a bug on PS5 that requires fixing.
The second issue concerns dialled back ambient occlusion on Series X. You may have spotted it in the shots above, but Series X has cutbacks in ambient shading in specific spots, stripping the scene of some much-needed depth. Be it around the opening woodland tutorial, or even the shrine interiors, shading is at times removed entirely on Series X for objects - creating a visibly lighter appearance - while for other areas it's maintained. This applies regardless of if you use the performance or resolution mode on Series X, so there are no workarounds in this case.
All of which leads us to the Series S situation. I'll be very blunt here and say that Series S is very hard to recommend right now. The visual cutbacks and lack of any mode toggle between 30fps and 60fps are hugely disappointing. You get just one way to play instead: at 30 frames per second, running at a native 1600x900 resolution. The upside is there's no flickering pixel crawl artefacting as with PS5, but that's not enough to save it. Comparing to Series X in its resolution mode, there are several key drawbacks, the first being the texture resolution. Series S uses lower resolution assets for areas of terrain, creating a blurry, soup-like result. It's barely to the standards of a last-gen Xbox One release at times.
Performance mode on Series X and PS5 is the way to go. Yes, it's a native 1080p but the upside is it's a more playable experience overall. That said, it's far from perfect. On PS5 and Series X alike, expect a bulk of open-world roaming to run at 60fps with some minor drops. The first island you're exposed to is the biggest stress test by far, however: lots of foliage, complex geometry, and huge Kemono bosses spewing effects across the scene. This shows us some bottlenecks, putting us between 40 and 60fps on PS5. Adding extra ally players into the mix gives us the lowest reading here too, in bumping up the frequency of effects on-screen. On the plus side, the Minato hub, and the second island starting at the shoreline, really don't drop to nearly the same extent. Even with its issues, for PS5 users this is a clear preference, with or without a VRR display.
The state of Series X in its own performance mode mirrors PS5 fairly closely. Again, it's mostly 60fps and again, the climax to battles on the first island tip us over to the biggest drops, down to the low 40s. It's far from ideal but in like-for-like testing - charging through the temple at pace, for example - it seems that PS5 does actually run at a higher average frame-rate overall (at least for this section) with a 10-12fps advantage at best in PS5's favour. Outside in the wilderness, there isn't such a perceptible gap in usual play. So, again for Series X, the turnout for 60fps play isn't spectacular. It still needs work, with the drops hitting hardest during action, but it's a clear upgrade over the uneven 30fps in the other mode, and with some help from VRR it's salvageable.
