Hogwarts Legacy - Digital Foundry Tech Review - PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S - 21 Mode Variations Tested
- Thread starter John Elden Ring
- Start date
Summary:
- DF praise some aspects of the tech in general.
- Facial animations are a mixed bag.
- Game does have some notable graphical issues
- Shadow maps are near completely absent
- In motion the AO pass can look very messy
- Reflections in SSR (in non RT modes) gives water a very different appearance when occluded
- Issues with texture flickering, light bleeding etc also common
- PS5|SX have 5 graphical modes. Series S has 3
- Series X has 3 modes for 60hz. Performance, Fidelity, Fidelity RT
- Perf: Typically Dynamic 1440p. Can range from 50 to 80% of 4K dynamically.
- Targets 60 FPS but is very shaky. Dropped frames and stutters abound.
- VRR displays can smooth most of it out but not all.
- Fidelity mode: Avg 1728p with bump in foliage density
- Locks pretty decently to target with minor 1 fps drop here and ther
- Fidelity RT: dynamic 1440p and can do 50 to 67% of 4K scaling.
- RT implementation is nothing special and doesn't apply on large bodies of water like lakes.
- RT mode suffers from substantial stutters and drops
- When console is set to 120hz mode, 2 more modes are added.
- Balanced: Fidelity mode with 40fps target with significant stuttering
- High Frame Rate locks to 1080p and runs unlocked from 60 to 90 frames on average. Only recommended for VRR folks.
- Additionally on all modes (aside HFR) you can also uncap frame rate
- Results are 'pretty unimpressive'. Can squeeze 5 to 10 frames per mode but only viable when you're within VRR window.
- This seems like a future proof mode for next-gen hardware.
- PS5 has same visual feature set as Series X with same rendering targets
- Performance mode is not perfect but runs with better frame rate
- Fidelity and Fidelity RT run with near locked 30 and is very difficult to drop
- HFR Performance runs the same as Series X
- Balanced mode is closed to lock 40 with rare drops
- Uncapped performances ranges are similar to Series X. PS5 has less drops when capped.
- Series S has 3 modes: Performance, Fidelity and Balanced
- Perf: 792p, Fidelity: 1080p (same for Balanced)
- Fidelity manages a decent 30 FPS
- Perf is similar to Series X with an unstable 60 FPS
- No option to unlock FPS
- Loading times are brisk on PS5|SX. Series S can show additional loading screens when exiting Hogwarts
- Summary: Generally fine on PS5 but Xbox versions need some more work
- DF are curious how the upcoming PS4/XBO/Switch versions will work.
- DF praise some aspects of the tech in general.
- Facial animations are a mixed bag.
- Game does have some notable graphical issues
- Shadow maps are near completely absent
- In motion the AO pass can look very messy
- Reflections in SSR (in non RT modes) gives water a very different appearance when occluded
- Issues with texture flickering, light bleeding etc also common
- PS5|SX have 5 graphical modes. Series S has 3
- Series X has 3 modes for 60hz. Performance, Fidelity, Fidelity RT
- Perf: Typically Dynamic 1440p. Can range from 50 to 80% of 4K dynamically.
- Targets 60 FPS but is very shaky. Dropped frames and stutters abound.
- VRR displays can smooth most of it out but not all.
- Fidelity mode: Avg 1728p with bump in foliage density
- Locks pretty decently to target with minor 1 fps drop here and ther
- Fidelity RT: dynamic 1440p and can do 50 to 67% of 4K scaling.
- RT implementation is nothing special and doesn't apply on large bodies of water like lakes.
- RT mode suffers from substantial stutters and drops
- When console is set to 120hz mode, 2 more modes are added.
- Balanced: Fidelity mode with 40fps target with significant stuttering
- High Frame Rate locks to 1080p and runs unlocked from 60 to 90 frames on average. Only recommended for VRR folks.
- Additionally on all modes (aside HFR) you can also uncap frame rate
- Results are 'pretty unimpressive'. Can squeeze 5 to 10 frames per mode but only viable when you're within VRR window.
- This seems like a future proof mode for next-gen hardware.
- PS5 has same visual feature set as Series X with same rendering targets
- Performance mode is not perfect but runs with better frame rate
- Fidelity and Fidelity RT run with near locked 30 and is very difficult to drop
- HFR Performance runs the same as Series X
- Balanced mode is closed to lock 40 with rare drops
- Uncapped performances ranges are similar to Series X. PS5 has less drops when capped.
- Series S has 3 modes: Performance, Fidelity and Balanced
- Perf: 792p, Fidelity: 1080p (same for Balanced)
- Fidelity manages a decent 30 FPS
- Perf is similar to Series X with an unstable 60 FPS
- No option to unlock FPS
- Loading times are brisk on PS5|SX. Series S can show additional loading screens when exiting Hogwarts
- Summary: Generally fine on PS5 but Xbox versions need some more work
- DF are curious how the upcoming PS4/XBO/Switch versions will work.
Better optimized for PS5 but there was an Xbox patch with performance fixes (in notes) a couple of days back, not sure if this video was made before or after that.
Another open world game that runs better on the PS5. Damn. I could hear the pain and suffering on Richies voice.
It runs a lot better on PS5. So much for the "most powerful" console once again... 
I thought the Digital Fuckboys WERE the tools all along…you just wait for these to arrive.
Oh, good, I guess they ALERTED THE DEVELOPERS then!
One thing to add: there are still sections where doors between "maps" take a couple of seconds to load and you can often see the scenario streaming around you. This happens more outside. Seems like those SSDs are working double time, and there could be a streaming bottleneck on the PS5, since it should in theory stream at least twice as fast as the Xbox version. I wonder if it's an issue with the engine or with the hardware though, but I'll lean more on the former simply because it's the first game I've seen do this.
I can't imagine the texture resolution and loading times for last gen consoles.
I can't imagine the texture resolution and loading times for last gen consoles.
It could also just not be properly optimized for the PS5.
shocking how bad this game looks and runs on xbox series x.
do developers just not care, or is the X's hardware a case of poor engineering and R&D?
Losing this many head to heads is a bad look, and always on the most popular games too.
Series S/X hardware... is a trainwreck to say the least. I think the hardware situation for xbox is almost as dire as the software situation now.
Splitting the hardware between two models, the gimp S model and the X was a catastrophic decision. I guess they knew they couldn't compete toe to toe with PS5 on equal footing and were hoping a lower priced series S would give them the edge... but it's backfired, hard.
do developers just not care, or is the X's hardware a case of poor engineering and R&D?
Losing this many head to heads is a bad look, and always on the most popular games too.
Series S/X hardware... is a trainwreck to say the least. I think the hardware situation for xbox is almost as dire as the software situation now.
Splitting the hardware between two models, the gimp S model and the X was a catastrophic decision. I guess they knew they couldn't compete toe to toe with PS5 on equal footing and were hoping a lower priced series S would give them the edge... but it's backfired, hard.
PS5 is simply a more efficient environment than Series X.