The Witcher 3 Next-Gen - PS5 vs Xbox Series X - DF Tech Review - RT and Performance Modes Tested!

[@orangorill]

Raytracing is nice I guess, but choosing between 30 and 60 fps is no choice at all.

[@MarceloTaranto]

It is for me. I would choose RT every time

[@CoconutChriss]

@@MarceloTaranto I would like to agree with you. But performances way below 30fps and the constant frame stuttering destroys the RT mode for me right now. In some fights with big groups and effects this is near unplayable.

[@slitherman7883]

Better luck next gen

[@redsagexxv]

Highest I can get on my 3060 is 45fps with raytracing. Haven’t tried with overclocking yet

[@mroutcast8515]

you mean sub 30.. If only it was 100% locked 30fps, but not even that. And since game is first and foremost is played rather than just watched - 60 should be always priority.

[@XiLock_Alotx]

There is no amount of graphical features and new technology that could make me play in 25 FPS. Not happening anymore.

[@deepblue8143]

How do you watch movies at 24fps?

[@MrSancezzio]

@@deepblue8143 troll or...?

[@IamThatChris]

@@deepblue8143🤦‍♂️

[@scottylans]

Rock solid 30 with good motion blur in a single player game, yes. This mess? No chance.

[@doctorsilva1345]

Welcome to 2000.

[@alanchampion2126]

I’m about 40 hours in on ps5. Gotta say. It looks great. It’s one of my favourite ever games, so to finally replay it at 60fps, it is as good as I hoped it would be.

[@crazy-nephew_5857]

@@SarahAlasiry Same here. I'm at 30 hours on ps5 performance mode and not a single crash. My only problem is when there's a Dialog option for Geralt he becomes blurry every 1-2 seconds and any other character on-screen. Only during Cutscenes.

[@8Paul7]

@@crazy-nephew_5857 the crashes probably only happen in RT mode. RT just absolutely hammers the CPU in these consoles and on PC too - in fact, it is the most demanding game on PC right now when standing in Novigrad. No CPU can do 60fps with RT enabled there.

[@DJP916]

I get crashes all the time and it usually happens if I die and the checkpoint reloads, I’m playing on death march so I die often :edit on performance mode

[@crazy-nephew_5857]

@@8Paul7 Oh, yeah. True!

[@deadlyydude5522]

@@8Paul7 it’s pretty insane. My 9900k can’t get the job done, and it doesn’t look like even better CPUs can do it. Really hoping we get a patch soon. The hotfix gave me maybe 2-3 more frames, but it’s just not enough. Also the frame pacing with RT enabled seems to be horrible

[@KarlRock]

I’m half-way through it on Xbox Series X. RT mode is not smooth, but the graphics look far more realistic. I really like it, but it’s not smooth enough to play and enjoy. I wish I could play with RT… but performance mode will have to do. Incredible game though! I’m playing it for the first time 🥳

[@whitepilledman]

Namaste🙏

[@noxuification]

next gen consoles 😂😭

[@xbotnpc420]

You’re nitpicking

[@TheLuckyShepherd]

Just wait until next next gen mode 😅 finally we'll get what we were promised... 1440p at 40fps 😂. Shhh just take it.

[@daking6361]

I played the game years ago on PS4 and have started a new run since the patch released. I am loving the game yet again and it's impressive how the game is still so good

[@FreeAimDog]

i last left off where the king found his dead baby and it was a monster thing, i wonder if im far in the game.

[@PrefoX]

its maybe an awesome game but the combat system is so shitty, I cannot play it more than an hour : / sad

[@cidfacetious3722]

@@PrefoXwhat are you playing on? IT’s improved quite a bit from ps4 to ps5 at 60fps. Ya it’s no Arkham but it’s not bad at all atm

[@1JetLeak]

@@FreeAimDog earlyyyyyy

[@jeremyphillips3087]

I played it on the switch and was surprised with how good it looked. Looking forward to a playthrough on advanced hardware.

[@digclo]

Prioritizing RT AO over RT reflections was the right call. Still it's a shame it can't even hit a consistent 30fps. Hopefully they can optimize it in a patch.

[@theanimerapper6351]

It's a shame we have to wait on a patch for a patch lol

[@TaIlonIV]

​@@theanimerapper6351 Not that surprising for a 7 years old game but still sad.

[@promo130]

Rt is a waste of time, Nobody plays 30 fps

[@theanimerapper6351]

@@promo130 you'd be surprised how many people bought a next generation console just to play at 30fps lol

[@TaIlonIV]

@@promo130 Speak for yourself, some prefer optics over stability. Not for me but I don't get ppl who have to make those generalized statements, like who are you exactly?

[@cole6383]

Sadly I start to appreciate when devs give us a 60fps option (it should be a non negotiable industry standard by now)

[@eytbits]

welcome to 2010 my console brother

[@pistachiodisguisey911]

@@eytbits it’s been 30 fps for games like this since the dawn of 3d, we’re lucky to have stable 30 fps now lol gta v on 360 would tank to and below the 20’s and no one cared, n64 and ps1 you guys would of died major as mask was locked to like 24 or 20fps, developers for these exploration cinematic games are always gonna push for graphical fidelity first and foremost and worry about the people who need high frame rates on pc or remasters on later consoles

[@june_o9]

Is it truth that new Harry Potter game will have only 30fps option on current gens? If yes, that would sucks so much :/

[@jiyothanda5143]

Guys , please support me

[@DBTHEPLUG]

@@pistachiodisguisey911 lucky to have stable 30 fps? wtf. glad im on pc...

[@recordatron]

The more I've learned about bounce lighting and how it colours the environement, the more I appreciate how effective it is at conveying an extra layer of realism to my brain in games. I think even in the outdoor shots the RT adds a lot in that respect. I think it's worth having on in this game if they can patch in a smooth 30fps personally especially given the nature of the gameplay.

[@TFSned]

Without RT, everything seems to have a blue hue since it uses the skybox as an approximation for indirect lighting.

[@allansolano5587]

Also it gives a ton of shading to the grass and that makes it less plain but that performance needs a fix

[@deadlyydude5522]

It’s a game changer, sure the ray traced reflections and shadows are nice. But the global illumination makes it feel like an entire new game

[@thewhitewolf4968]

Turning off motion blur helps a bit with the smoothness

[@MorriganJade]

Mhm! The more I see how much RT can improve a scene, no matter how subtle, the more I want to upgrade my "teaser card" (2060) to a card that can run RT full out. One thing I also notice a lot is the added perception of depth a scene gives with the more realistic way light, and more importantly, shadow works out. It feels like watching a photorealistic painting without reference image (just imaging where the light and shadow should be), vs a photograph of that exact same location.

[@asheleydavies]

In performance mode the next gen versions often have worse shadows for things like fire, and Geralts hair loses physics in the performance mode too, which is present on old gen.

[@weeaboojones2451]

You have to make sacrifices to hit 60fps, 1440p is still very demanding

[@10whiten99]

The hair physics were quite confusing. Why is Geralt’s hair THAT demanding that they have to reduce the quality of physics in the 60fps version.

[@ogrimzyz8643]

@@10whiten99 hair works or something like that. Demanding setting on pc too

[@Phelaidar]

@@10whiten99 My guess is that its not reduced, but the physics are tied to framerate, so it is bugged with 60fps.

[@zdenekbywaj3005]

​@@Phelaidar Correct. Its just a bug.

[@evildman00]

I noticed latency was pretty high in RT as I kept missing parrys but never did on Performance

[@Nocc2991]

Thats because RT is at 30fps. It will have more latency regardless.

[@Anemonea]

@@Nocc2991 honestly both witcher 3 and cyberpunk have an inherently high latency no matter what fps you are on. You can feel it even on pc that 60 fps do not feel responsive.

[@cutiepieya6501]

@@Nocc2991 that's because Rt runs at 24 fps.

[@alondite215]

@@Nocc2991 No, it's an issue with RedEngine. Cyberpunk had an _additional_ input delay on RT mode as well that was later fixed.

[@DarkP1]

I don't use RT even on high end PC games that I have locked to 60fps when I use RT even on the same 60fps it feels heavy af, honestly RT is a drawback for my gaming experience, I don't want games simulating real life, I want games fun to play and target visibility is a must for me, with all those RT shadows I can't see in many areas like indoor, that's stomach upsetting, really unpleasant to play

[@tm0054]

After seeing the RT implementations in Witcher 3 and GTAV I'm blown away with what Insomniac was able to do with the RT Performance mode in Spiderman. All the games look amazing mind you but nailing RT reflections on full skyscrapers with 60fps is incredible. I wish all devs would have this mode at lower res.

[@acurisur]

It's not 60fps, it 30fps with RT enabled.

[@tm0054]

@@acurisur Incorrect, Performance RT in Spiderman runs at 60 fps (on ps5)

[@MRTOWELRACK]

Insomniac is insane. They're wizards

[@petchenka7591]

@@acurisur insomniac games have 60 fps rt modes. These guys are beasts of engineering

[@FJTabb]

@acurisur no its 60. It was 30 when it released but got the patch to run at 60.

[@mattgreen753]

I really appreciate the time you spent investigating the input lag. That kind of information is super useful. Thank you!

[@XGlite015]

It would've been nice if Photo Mode automatically switches to Ray Tracing even if it is set to Performance mode. It's a hassle to go between menu just to toggle.

[@huawafabe]

that's a brilliant idea haha, because I just thought i would just use RT mode for photo mode

[@braedonlock3359]

At least you don’t have to restart when changing like alot of games.

[@taptoplayde]

Would also be nice if fighting mode automatically switches to performance. They already have a setting which alters the viewing distance when a fight starts, so they could just add another toggle…

[@YouTubeCensors]

You can speed up loading as the game will load things slower IF you don't press a button to skip. Press X and it loads much faster than what DF says here.

[@JerryFlowersIII]

I don't see how that's true.

[@iHeartPixell]

@@JerryFlowersIII I believe he's taking the the activity cards that the pa5 offers. Letting basically just skip the loading part and just jump straight to the gameplay

[@doctorsilva1345]

@@JerryFlowersIII When you start the game and the narrator is talking about what's happening you can spam the square button and it usually skips the dialogue before it gets to the end. It doesn't show to press any button to skip so not many people will know. I actually tried this myself 2 days ago or so and it worked.

[@Dovahkiin978]

@@doctorsilva1345 they were talking about loading save not the intro clip.

[@doctorsilva1345]

@@Dovahkiin978 That's what I was talking about. When you turn on the game it shows to press square to skip.

[@KHII]

My Ps5 absolutely struggles in Ray Tracing mode, lack of vrr and other features on my tv might not help, but in locations like Novigrad it’s borderline unplayable with the drop in frame rate

[@FussyPickles]

um 60 hz means you're capped to 60 fps, rt mode is capped at 30 hz so you're good welcome to 1999 though

[@mahmodkassem3105]

all they have to do is match to the xbox settings because I noticed it run at higher settings on ps5 look at 17:21 look at the grass and compare

[@SShambler]

Well in 1994 we seen 60fps Tekken to it's going deeper than that.

[@emperor719]

My RTX 3060 drops from 140fps to mid 40-50'S when turning on ray tracing it's too unoptimized compared to other games that also have RT

[@daweimuwei5340]

@@FussyPickles its capped at 30fps, not 30hz tho...

[@TristanTheVRGamecat]

Playing in performance mode on ps5 , runs beautifully , had no crashes only real problem I've had was after saving frame rate in performance mode went terrible but a reload fixed that and haven't had it since

[@bagelburgling]

Just because you are not personally having issues does not change the fact that there is a ton of problems with this update

[@JustJro]

@@bagelburgling not once did they say it didn’t have any problems.

[@sane7527]

Pc has the most problems consoles are having significantly less

[@TristanTheVRGamecat]

@@JustJro didn't say it didn't have problems , ray tracing mode is practically unplayable just saying performance mode seems to be way to go for best experience

[@riefeio]

@@TristanTheVRGamecat would be the way to go even if it was locked

[@Aristowi]

I will always go for performance over RT in any game if I can't get both, but it's good to have the option for those who choose different. It's weird to me that the performance mode has a higher resolution, which is another plus for the better framerate option. I would like to see a comparison between consoles and PC, especially performance mode on consoles and no RT on PC to even the odds. I think it's a huge upgrade, the 60 fps mode alone makes it a better game and a very attractive option even over the PC version for those who don't have the hardware to run it properly.

[@MaschinenKopf1998]

40 fps mode would be incredible!

[@lukasvoglhuber3501]

I noticed the late draw in of the shadows also on Series X. Very strange. Especially when the resolution is so high on performance mode. It really drags the experience down. Once you see it you cannot unsee it. It is very destracting when you are on foot in Novigrad - on every building basically.

[@xikaryo6735]

Same, the Xbox version seems weirder than anything. The higher resolution is the only saving grace it has. I’ll stick with PS5 and PC.

[@vaguedreams]

does it? it's been that way on the XBox since it came out.

[@lukasvoglhuber3501]

@@xikaryo6735 if i had a ps5 i would also play it there in performance mode... still in no chance at getting one in my area for msrp.

[@imo098765]

@@xikaryo6735 higher resolution and far more stable experience in RT mode and practically the same in performance mode I wouldnt want to play the PS5 RT mode, I could stand the Series X RT mode

[@guipierre3741]

The same for me. This is really frustrating.

[@gatewayrealtor664]

if Ray Tracing mode was a stable 30 at all times, that would be my easy go to. Too many dips right now but damn it looks so good on this mode. The grass generating their own RT shadows makes it looks so much more realistic! The shadows between the sword and the back in RT mode also just looks so much more natural in RT mode as well. Update: much smoother on my series x than the ps5.

[@dexterousdeep]

Maybe the hardware is just too weak

[@борисрябушкин-з9н]

Ideal will be 40+ fps mode with redused native or upsampling res.

[@braedonlock3359]

@@dexterousdeep considering the witcher is only using 2 cores it’s definitely just optimized poorly. Fortnite is 60 FPS ray traced. Metro Exodus,Rift apart,Miles Morales. Know the difference from cant vs poor optimization.

[@ItsAkile]

Impressive to see them target the PS4/Xbox1 performance

[@vinyminotaur2694]

It's just bad optimisation

[@sonnieslim5973]

Neither ps4 or Xbox one have ray tracing

[@Saltermedia]

@@sonnieslim5973 or high res textures or more dense foliage

[@J0sna]

You should watch again.

[@sonnieslim5973]

@@Saltermedia or 60 fps modes lol

[@willimanga740]

Ty tom, always a pleasure to watch your vids

[@PickeringSamuel]

All the hosts on this channel are absolute gems aren't they

[@usafballer79]

I would trade the SSR water reflections for a stable 30FPS RT mode with the RTGI and RTAO since they are the most impactful - water looks in some ways better on the performance mode. I think they should offer some RT toggles like this. The textures, and foliage density are significant, and seeing XSX having pathetic LOD is really strange...because the world fills very dense on PS5 even in performance mode with lots of grass, and vegetation, but the RTGI/AO is hard to give up since it makes everything feel so much more rich.

[@PookaBot]

It's possible removing SSR on console wouldn't improve framerates at all if the CPU is the bottleneck as it usually is on PC.

[@dk06ctr]

That's footage is wrong series X does not look like that on either mode looks exactly the same as ps5 in actual fact better as series X is running higher settings.

[@PookaBot]

@@dk06ctr okay fanboy

[@dk06ctr]

@@PookaBot no fanboy facts go watch NXG gamer video DF messed up here suspect series s footage used for X as I cannot get my game to look like that in either mode on series X 🤷

[@Solidsnake724]

He only noticed it one time on series X. The pS5 overall has better draw distance.

[@TheBatosai]

I really appreciate that they are giving us a follow-up review. I feel like a lot of reviews. Just do opening 10 hr and call it a day.

[@MrInuhanyou123]

The graphics and visuals look good! And VRR can smooth out those small drops in 60fps mode. Hopefully they can optimize the 30fps RT mode better in future patch

[@vaguedreams]

The screen tearing confused me. I mean, shouldn't the VRR avoid that?

[@deadlyydude5522]

@@vaguedreams it looks like they have vsync enabled, which can cause screen tearing on VRR displays. Wish they would just add an option to turn it off on console

[@Cogglesz]

@@deadlyydude5522 it’s kind of surprised me never seeing more options like v-sync on consoles. I think the only one I can ever recall of was outer wilds on ps5, which unfortunately had that double buffer style so it’d drop to 30’s if it sustained any fps loss. It’d be nice to have resolution options too for some gains instead of it always down sampling. This game would probably really benefit from these two options alone!

[@guipierre3741]

Sadly no, a VRR screen cannot help for stuttering. It only helps for screen tearing and latency (because you can play without v-sync).

[@vaguedreams]

@@deadlyydude5522 Thank you, wasn't sure what was going on there.

[@WayStedYou]

It now almost looks like the pre launch footage from 7 years ago

[@FrankieKnowhere]

Noooo, no way it does, not a chance.

[@MisterReen]

That’s true. I really like the new lighting and the slightly scaled back colours. It looks great.

[@dumdum93]

Gotta drop the nostalgia goggles my man, the E3 footages ain't got shit on this next gen update

[@bitbat9]

It looks far better than the pre launch footage

[@jinmark9453]

I had that W3 lookin sik af with mods before the update running at 120 fps now it looks like someone smeared Vaseline all over the screen 80% mods don't work anymore and it runs at 45fps at times. Dx12 on that update is an absolute hack job.

[@MrSancezzio]

Been playing this on Series X in mostly ray tracing mode. Switching between ray tracing and performance highlights just how bland the lighting was. It's an incredible difference to the experience in my opinion. Night time and Caves are actually dark. The torch is actually useful! The shadows the torch draws are very impressive also. Just a shame the performance is not quite there yet, and the latency issue....it's heavy to play for sure and has some weird camera stutter but it looks magnificent. It's just a shame that we get an amazing looking mode which just isn't where it should be.

[@taptoplayde]

Other games with no raytracing look way better in dark areas than Witcher 3. This reminds me of control which looks very good with RT but abysmal without RT. But control was created with RT in mind, Witcher 3 is just an old game with an old engine. Too bad that RT mode runs so badly on PS5. I play it in performance mode and outside it looks okay but once you enter a house the lighting is so bad 🙁.

[@quelzar]

@@taptoplayde Well I'm wondering why...Maybe because this game is almost 8 years old?!

[@Epiousios18]

The draw distance on my series X is completely different than what is shown in the video. Must be a bug.

[@Epiousios18]

@@runningbear6391 It 100% is. Went to the same locations as the video and the foliage draw distance was significantly further than what was shown here and looked pretty much the same as PS5. Don't really care if you believe me but that is the case for me.

[@malazan6004]

It's not a bug dude and it needs to be fixed it's unacceptable stop denying it to save face it's counter productive. I want it fixed so being vocal will help

[@Epiousios18]

@@malazan6004 If it isn’t a bug why does the game on the Series X right now look better in the same exact locations?

[@sirshmango]

As a PS5 player playing with performance mode, the updated version nearly feels like a new game. Since higher framerates have become the norm for consoles, spoiling me more and more, revisiting this game over the years got a lot harder to do. It's a night and day difference. I'm loving it

[@colinmunch]

They've added the option to pause during cutscenes, so I flip between RT and performance pretty often. I've played the game many times, if I know I'm about to settle in to a long story sequence, I flip RT on and keep it on for exploring or easy fights. In tougher encounters, I switch to 60fps. It would be great to have a quicker toggle but there's no loading or black screen to switch so it's not a big deal.

[@milesl.194]

I'm hoping console games sometime implement this as a toggled feature at some point. Give me them fancy 30 fps graphics when I'm not directly interacting with the game and then switch back to 60 fps for gameplay. It would be a nice touch.

[@Panos_GRE]

I tried doing that but honestly the way the game feels at 60fps is too smooth to ignore. It looks beautiful on a big 4K screen and the higher refresh rate makes everything seem so alive and realistic.

[@ka7al958]

That would hurt my head

[@ottolehto]

@@milesl.194 Avatar 2 does something similar, flipping between 24 and 48 fps. I find it very jarring. But more options would be nice.

[@Bruno-qm2ft]

I'm doing almost the same thing, all cutscenes i put in RT mode and performance mode in the rest of the game, particularly i prefer to watch the scenes at 30fps , and with the RT the scene become much more rich, play at 30? Definitely no.

[@cabelhigh1261]

I dont get motion sickness from games often but the judder on PS5 really messed with me. I really hope they can fix it

[@5733qadir]

Don't feel to bad It's happening on series x too

[@sean7332]

Get it on Xbox too, it's really distracting when running

[@Aribbonofsoundmen]

@@sean7332 show some respect, they're trying

[@zackariasevertson7733]

@@Aribbonofsoundmen respect? Bruh they have to earn it

[@elche8461]

@@Aribbonofsoundmen another one of this stupid generation who think you are born with respect world doesnt owe you a thing

[@jjsavior]

Not gonna lie, this is the first game where I'm really enjoying the ray tracing application. You can see the difference, I would suggest turning motion blur on.

[@Danger0use]

I think I'd take 60 fps over ray tracing any day. In these examples you provided I thought the improvements ray tracing provided weren't enough to warrant using it. Especially since texture quality seemingly took a dip on RT mode.

[@r3tr4d]

You have to restart the game after toggling RT. Otherwise textures look like crap and the overall stability is even worse.

[@eyeofthetiger7]

Hopefully the draw call issue on XSX gets resolved!! That is huge and adds a lot more immersiveness and realism to the world!

[@cicerofryman97]

It has been fixed. It looks the same as ps5 for me. The wierd thing is that it has looked that way on my series x since the patch launched.

[@eyeofthetiger7]

@@cicerofryman97 Awesome, thanks for letting me know! I was wondering if I should just wait a few months, which would have been less than ideal, because I'd like to play over the holidays!

[@xikaryo6735]

Lol I can’t feel immersed in a game where every NPC face looks the same. Completely takes me out of the game.

[@eyeofthetiger7]

@@xikaryo6735 lol I'm pretty sure that's due to these games being developed for hard drives primarily, with memory limitations. The true next gen games that are starting to come out, and will over the next few years, hopefully will have more unique NPCs.

[@dk06ctr]

@@cicerofryman97 this my game looks nothing like the series X version he's showing here and never has suspect that's series s footage mixed up in actual fact series X Runs higher settings than PS5.

[@dodgykebaab]

Great video Tom

[@snaek12]

Thank you! Great video! Hope there will be more paches for RT mode. Love to play it in RT

[@givemorexp]

I really wish devs stop prioritizing higher resolution over stable framerate. Do we really need a 4k in performance mode in both W3 and CP2077 when it's obvious red engine cannot maintain stable 60fps in both games? Lowering rez a bit and few settings might solve this, but now, basically you're screwed if you're sensitive to frame rate drops and don't have VRR capable display.

[@MrInuhanyou123]

With dynamic res this complaint doesn't have water. They are going from 1080p to higher res when the GPU can afford it. The issue is probably on CPU side not what the GPU is doing

[@bombyo3634]

Exactly. This game hits 1500s at best. Lol your the only complaining about 4k60 performance mode. You probably wish it was a dynamic 1080p60 you u can feel justified

[@givemorexp]

@@bombyo3634 Even 900p, don't care, as long as FPS is rock solid 60. But as you guys mentioned, in W3 case it might be CPU issue and that Red Engine is just very demanding.

[@guipierre3741]

This is exactly what I send to their customer service. I hate this focus on 4K. I think a 1440p@60fps would be really nice for a performance mode.

[@fwrudiger]

Great video Tom. Only one thing I would question is I’m playing it on Series x and the foliage is being rendered the same as you’re showing the ps5. It’s rendering all the way to the horizon pretty much? It’s definitely not cutting of as close as in your video.

[@robr640]

They had a quick patch on PC to fix some issues with the new update, I'd assume they pushed a similar patch out to the consoles.

[@dk06ctr]

I agree my game does not look like that series X footage on this video, nx gamer has said series X runs better settings than PS5 series X is using ultra+ settings for foliage and grass. Also no update has been pushed to consoles yet on Xbox.

[@fwrudiger]

@@dk06ctr I wonder if he mixed his footage up and that is series S footage and not X. Or maybe he was just getting a random bug.

[@dk06ctr]

@@fwrudiger I suspect he has used series s footage for series X or there the wrong way around as I carnt replicate it looking like that on my game there waaaaayyyy more foliage and grass into the distance literally into the horizon.

[@fwrudiger]

@@dk06ctr yea 109% same for me. I can’t replicate what he’s showing in the video.

[@MorriganJade]

What I can see in terms of what you tested in performance (second run having better FPS) and the foliage/shadow issue on Xbox, I think these are simply things that might get patched. Really awesome demonstration folks! =D

[@MrBungle222]

Finally we see what this latency is, thank you, its also on PC and its such a strange thing I've never really noticed before in any other game. It almost feels like i'm playing with a bad bluetooth connection with my controller or something.

[@10whiten99]

Every issue I’ve had with the update on PS5 has been noted in this video. RT mode is basically unplayable, and the input lag is really unpleasant. Performance mode also doesn’t feel as responsive as it should.

[@Clay3613]

"UNPLAYABLE" This isn't the PS3 days dude.

[@calebwhyte6957]

Its quite sad knowing that it feels better playing on One X performance mode over performance mode on ps5. The input lag is pretty bad

[@10whiten99]

@@calebwhyte6957 I tried out the PS4 version the other day, which is obviously just at 30fps, but even that felt as responsive as the performance mode, and way better than RT mode of course.

[@braedonlock3359]

@@Clay3613 it literally hits a constant 25 FPS in 2022. That feels terrible add on the terrible response times. You sound butthurt?

[@johanbire3296]

u sound like gaybox fan

[@Kiwiiizzz]

Anyone notice the frames cut in half during witcher vision

[@Onthepissmylord]

Only inside buildings in cities it happens to me.

[@caboose501]

Ye I was wondering if I was imagining things but I guess not.

[@GabrielAGCruz]

As someone who plays with VRR, I really hope they don't reduce draw distances for PS5, similar to what they did on PS4 Pro back in the day, in order to get more stable fps. Those patches of grass sprouting from the ground a few meters ahead of Geralt kinda broke the immersion for me 😥 To me the game looks absolutelly stunning on performance mode on PS5 right now 🙏

[@SladeFFA]

Disable automatic updates on your ps5 for games. You can manually update your other games but won't have to worry about witcher 3. That's what I'm doing.

[@dignusdingus3709]

Odd how a simple change of the camera perspective makes Geralt's run animation more bearable to look at. It always looked really odd to me

[@HuskySansVergogne]

Yeah same. Walking animations too

[@ApotheosisDivine69]

Tom is a great reviewer! Always enjoy his reviews best!

[@Soulindex]

I didn't realize there was such a texture quality dropoff for Ray-Tracing mode here. I usually take 30fps for higher fidelity, but in this case it's actually a *downgrade* compared to the 60fps.

[@chimnino]

Normally it's performance vs resolution. Now its performance vs RT. They should've added that 3rd option. Insomniac has a bunch of options with Ratchet & Clank even a performance RT option which has fewer RT objects as full RT mode, but still hits 60fps

[@Soulindex]

@@chimnino 40fps should be standard, not just for Sony's 1st parties. It's such a fantastic middle ground, with virtually no negative.

[@justwray4251]

Look on the bright side RT mode will only benefit Virtual Photographers and for someone who likes photography like myself this is definitely beneficial for those kinda people and they can switch back and fourth if they want to play the game or take an in game photo mode

[@johnosterman494]

I take photos constantly but I never play in performance mode. It feels soooo much more immersive in RT mode, especially in the woods. The world just feels more real, framerate be damned.

[@ardasevmis7583]

RT mode needs some work to be stable 30 fps. Game drops way too much fps

[@op1ekun81]

I see the differerence between RT off, and RT off, but it's not a staggering one. I'd would play in performance mode. Losing 60fps for a few small visuals updates is not worth it... I also prefer sharper image on a 65" screen.

[@huawafabe]

Yeah i will use the RT mode for some photos and walking around enjoying the graphics, but not gameplay

[@YouTubeCensors]

RT is basically photo mode. Hard to play on Quicksand mode as that's how it feels in my XSX

[@bombyo3634]

Exactly! I rather they made it a separate mode or an option to comepletely disable it

[@braedonlock3359]

@@KZbinCensors think it’s bad on xbox at least it hits 30 fps 99% besides big cities. It’s the latency that’s so bad. Ps5 is way worse at 25 fps.

[@jamiepoirier1444]

Tom your output has been stellar. Presentation, editing and all that. Great stuff man

[@YouTubeCensors]

19:32 Damn PS4pro load times were crazy. On X1S load times were lowered to 36 iirc when using an external HDD.

[@imadubsfan1]

Yup. I remember playing on the PS4 regular and every time I died I automatically whipped out my phone cause it'd be like a 2 min wait lol

[@percivaldotburgers]

This is what broke the spell of raytracing, for me. Better, stable performance will always come out on top, no contest.

[@huawafabe]

oh hey RT mode is great for the photo mode 😅

[@gordoncampbell7858]

That's because ray tracing is an absolute joke and a marketing ploy. Losing frames for what? Darker rooms, lower res. It's stupid

[@huawafabe]

​@@gordoncampbell7858 Ray Tracing per se is amazing, it makes games look more natural. But you need expensive hardware for it. Consoles can only get close to that look with Unreal Engine 5 (see the Fortnite update video recently)

[@03chrisv]

The Series X might have a marginally more powerful GPU than the PS5 (on paper) but DX12 can sometimes get in the way and cause processing inefficiencies in certain workloads (just look at PC gaming). This is most likely why many third party games slightly favor the PS5 in performance (especially rasterization) as its API is probably a bit more efficient and utilizes the hardware a little better.

[@leonthesleepy]

Heres hoping they can fix the RT mode, because it looks gorgeous. I dont mind lowering the resolution more if it means a stable 30fps, or even 40fps like Spidermans RT Performance mode.

[@ryanschindler923]

Great video guys, keep it up! From my time playing this on my Series S, it didn't feel like it was locking to 60. So i'll be sticking to pc for this playthrough

[@skycrown9450]

These foliage issues on Series X are weird, i dont have these issues, basically no pop in at all

[@YouTubeCensors]

Can't say I've noticed that either BUT will say that's stuff i hardly notice as I play. same as shadows which is why shadow RT is mostly lost on me.

[@tiagonobrega8046]

I had the same impression as you when I watched this video, then I went back to the game and to the same places shown, definitely similar to the ps5 images shown in the comparison, really weird. Perhaps there's some variable setting involved.

[@ik4659]

​@@runningbear6391 You have to remember something, though. The PS5 uses the same number of CU's as PS4/PS4 Pro at a higher clock speed where the Series X uses more CU's at a lower clock (though, the clock speed is still higher than X1X). So it's really about rendered preferences and optimizations. If the workload favors higher clocks over multi-threading, the PS5 is going to be favored. If a game favors more cores, then Series X will be favored. I am not a tech expert, but that's probably the reason why the RT mode on Series X performs better as "the math" can be spread out across more cores. "Nearly every game" - eh, I don't know about that. In the beginning, I would say yes. Sony chose to keep its SDK for PS5 similar to PS4 SDK. Microsoft completely flipped the script and went to a whole new GDK to streamline Windows and console development. Developers needed time to wrap their head around things. There has been a slow trickle of games favoring the Series X. But, again, it really all depends on what the renderer will favor.

[@Dd-fb2tj]

@@runningbear6391 they are not, look at digital foundry's more recent coverage ..additionally this game has a higher res and performance

[@Epiousios18]

Same, my series X matched the PS5 foliage shots (or nearly identical) in this video as well.

[@pariahgaming365]

I’m on vacation staying up late to 4am playing this game like it’s 2015 all over again! TW3 is my favorite game of all time (like many others) so I own it on every possible platform it exists. I go from my pc with a 3080 to/5900x to my series X a lot since we’re hosting family for the holidays. So far the cross-save works like a charm but I have yet to try it on my PS5 and switch. I just finished the Baron’s quest last night and it’s as impactful as it was all those years ago. When it comes to RT, I don’t think it’s worth using it on console as it’s just not worth loosing 30fps for it. On my Pc however, I’m able to squeeze about 80fps with RT on n Ultra+ settings at 1440P. It looks freaking amazing, but even with it off on console, it’s just a beautiful freaking game at 4K! Either way, I’m back hooked on it and this time I’m going for a 100% completion run!

[@wanshurst2416]

always nice to read when someone can enthuse himself for a game that much. i started the game three times xbox one, one s and one x, because i always wanted to wait for a better version. now i got a pc with a 3080/5600x. but i am now confused why you can play it that way on your pc. for 60 fps with RT i need to lower everything to medium and use DLSS balanced it think. a 3080 ti shouldn't be more than 10 % stronger than my 3080 non-ti?

[@Kiwiiizzz]

Hopefully we get 40fps fidelity mode 🙏

[@TheCentralScrutinizerAgain]

yes i need this!!!!!

[@ksks6802]

Xbox and ps5....get a VRR tv or monitor..... Consoles: oh you wanna split between performance and visuals? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you want us to implement a frame limiter in our OSes? 🤣🤣🤣🤣...and give you options?🤣🤣🤣

[@Alltimefox]

Don’t think it’s possible since it has trouble maintaining 30fps. Dips in 25fps constantly

[@Apoplectic_Spock]

Great vid, Tom! Thanks!

[@midnightdt]

Did they ever patch the foliage draw distance on Xbox? Edit: it has been hot fixed! Draw distance now matches ps5. Thank God

[@Reveal_City]

As much as I love the new update, I feel like it removed one of the most impressive grafics features od TW3, namely that amazing ripple effect that would appear in water when casting Aard

[@christosLz]

Upgrade Aard a bit and you'll see the ripple effects are actually upgraded! You can now see water splashes and not just water ripple effects!

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

*Honestly, would Performance 1080p/60FPS and RT 1080p/30FPS, be such a crime?* It'd free-up a lot of frames and might even enable one or two extra details/effects. Most console players are not using 1440p/4K TVs/monitors no matter what tech people online say. Its so out of touch to assume most gamers have such hardware. Most gamers are just normal people without the money to spend on both a fancy TV/monitor and a console, so their money goes on the console. 1080p is FINE. It just bothers me that we have devs chasing 4K/1440p on consoles, coming out with not so great games/patches and then getting all these complaints when it can all be avoided. Just keep consoles to 1080p/60FPS, unless a game is graphically basic when you can go higher. ITS FINE. ITS PERFECTLY FINE.

[@rafamuniak]

No it's not. Because you just play on 1080p doesn't mean most console players do the same. For a long time all tv that are sold are 4k. Consoles are meant for tv. Thus devs will never prioritize 1080p on consoles. It was clear on Ps4 Pro and One X, and it's even more clear on next gen. Deal with it and do yourself a favor, buy a 4k display. RESOLUTION MATTERS.

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@rafamuniak You do know that "most are sold as" doesn't mean "most are bought because" right? Nor does it mean that 4K TVs are bought BY gamers. Most are sold as TVs, for watching movies and TV shows. You're doing exactly what I said internet tech people do. You assume 4K and such is super common and that loads of people have it etc. You live in a internet gamer bubble, not the real world. I know dozens of gamers all who have PS5s or XBSX etc. and thats all they can afford. They still use for example, 24inch 1080p monitors. Again, you are the one with issues of perception, not me. Not only to I talk to dozens of people IRL as I described, but I also talk about it alot online. So reconsider your view of these topics.

[@hitagisenjougahara2651]

@@satyasyasatyasya5746 speak pls just for yourself and not for others aslong you dont have numbers as a evidence its just a useless generalize me as exampel want to play on the highest Quality as i can 1080 p is just unplayable for me 4k is the future and im glad the devs are focusing on this

[@kevinhobson44]

@@hitagisenjougahara2651 lol it is upscaled 1080p

[@Dakingsnake]

I haven’t experienced any crashes on XSX after about 20 hours. I did have problems with it booting once but that was while my quick resume queue was full.

[@69Mikou]

Consider yourself lucky, in 17h I have had more than 5 to 7 crashes...

[@Titanicwasaninsidejob]

My SeriesX powered itself down after overheating during RT Mode during the 1st chase sequence from the Wild Hunt- on horseback with Yennifer. Then proceeded to crash 2 more times while running RT Mode while Gerald was being shaved soon after. Performance mode was the only way I could avoid crashing in that section.

[@Bateluer]

I've experienced a single crash on the PS5 in RT mode.

[@Dakingsnake]

Wow. So it seems RT mode is problematic. I found RT mode unplayable. I wanted to mess around with it but having it on is hardly noticeable to me. So i stay in performance mode. Crazy theres so many problems.

[@ricardojaye305]

@@69Mikou Try Saints Row The Third Remastered on Series X/PS5 ....since the "next gen" patch of May last year.....the game crashes on average...every 10-15 minutes.

[@ivann7214]

The issue I had with draw distance was torches. I can literally see the torch isn't lit like 30ft away then I watch it light up the closer I get then go out once I pass it another 30ft like it's so noticable I'm getting frustrated seeing it while I explore. I want to see the fire in the distance. I don't want to see it go out or light up after 30ft of distance from it like seriously breaks immersion. Same thing with foliage pop ins I see it a lot in this update. Another gripe I have is why they never changed the way roach spawns. He spawns way too far away if you're by water he won't spawn sometimes until you move away and if you are even close to a building most likely he's gunna spawn behind the entire building and kind of just sit there waiting for you to run all the way around. Roach should just spawn like right behind you and walk up to you and you should be able to hold the call button like assassin's Creed and automatically jump on and go. I find myself having to spend extra time just trying to get to roach after calling him

[@amnril]

Thanks Tom. I’ll wait till after the inevitable patches to smooth out that RT mode which has been explained in depth by NX gamer. In it he explains the possible reasons why the RT mode has issues.

[@dk06ctr]

He also said the exact opposite about settings To this video he says the series X runs higher settings than PS5, series X has ultra+ settings including ultra+ shadows and ps5 high especially to do with vegetation and grass 🤷 something wrong about this video I think he's got them wrong way round.

[@Igolorbr]

O saw videos of PS5 with lower draw distance.

[@ranran2218]

Looks great. Based on the performance issues with ps5 and series x in different areas and just inconsistent performance in the same area when attempting to go through it different times the game really needs another patch.

[@Hellraiser988]

Randy it's been stated they are working on a patch for all platforms

[@skiedel14]

Draw distance on Series X seems to be a bug as I can't recreate the same results as in the video on my Xbox, this is in both modes. My results are the same as the PS5.

[@braedonlock3359]

Same I think a patch has come or they’re getting a bug. I can’t recreate it on series x either it looks exactly like ps5 does for me. Needs upvotes so they can see and clarify.

[@malazan6004]

I read somewhere they traded draw distance for slightly higher resolution over the ps5 in certain areas. Makes sense they had to make a trade somewhere but that's a bad choice picking draw distance. Many people on twitter have the draw distance issue not sure if it's a bug but odd if you don't have it.

[@WorldwideWyatt]

These consoles should have focused on 4k/60fps 1080/120 instead of worrying about RT implementation on all titles.

[@AzaiaMonota]

They should have focused on 1440p 60fps because that's what their level of hardware is meant for, 9th gen consoles are not built to handle 4k60 despite what all the false advertising would tell you

[@WorldwideWyatt]

@@AzaiaMonota4k/60fps is well within their range if they don’t include RT and go for the PC equivalent of “high” instead of “ultra” settings. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@AzaiaMonota]

@@WorldwideWyatt Sure if they are running last gen games maybe but not new AAA games, at their best without RT they only reach RTX 2080 levels and I wouldn't expect an RTX 2080 in 2022 going on 2023 to run the newest AAA games at 4K 60 high settings with RT off, consoles should focus on 1440p as their main target for 60 fps or even better yet go for a locked 1080p 60fps at PC max settings if they can hit it

[@phrozac]

I've noticed that in most comparisons XB prefers a slight boost in image clarity over fps. Doesn't seem like the way to go to me. I'd take better draw distance and fps over raw resolution especially with the quality of modern AA and reconstruction techniques.

[@MotoguyX5]

The One X was the same way and it drove me nuts. Raw resolution was prioritized over settings and stability. Sucks to see the same decisions being made on the Series X

[@Jerfish1]

That’s interesting on the draw distance and foliage density as another side by side said the opposite - more robust and more of it on Xbox series X. I wonder if it depends on what patch they were tested on?

[@69Mikou]

I would love to play in RT mode, but outside white orchard, it is barely playable... framerate is often below 25 FPS, sometimes 20 on XSX (without talking about the weird visual glitchs that happens only on RT mode). For now, performance mode is the only way to play the game...

[@malazan6004]

It's a joke yeah

[@DoctorGorbon]

60 fps any day no matter the resolution

[@yester9037]

Playing 60FPS on PS5, the foliage and draw distance enhancements make the world feel more alive

[@Brdo666]

Am I the only person that prefers the look of the water reflections in performance mode?

[@KingScotto.]

I'm getting a weird blur effect on character models but it's only in cut scenes it's really annoying 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Schizm1]

May be unpopular opinion here but 60fps with upgraded visuals is much bigger "game changer" than RT in this game. It's just gorgeous game and playing at smooth 60 is just to good to pass.

[@malazan6004]

@@TommyV8898 it's smooth as butter what? 60fps mode is the best on both consoles especially with a VRR screen. RT mode is a joke on both

[@cidfacetious3722]

Ray tracing was my biggest concern going into the next gen and so far I was right but we also don’t really have any next gen only games to see how these consoles can really perform and spider man did RT really well so hopefully we will start seeing games with RT at 60fps at 1440p. I’d be ok with that trade. My old eyes can barely tell the difference between 4K and 1440 lol

[@DrJones20]

1440p witrh 60 fps AND ray tracing? Forget it.

[@griffgames9538]

Rift Apart.

[@braedonlock3359]

@@DrJones20 fortnite,rift apart,miles morales all 1440p with RT. Obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about.. with new lumen it’s going to be way less intensive and that’s without FSR 2.0…

[@kevinhobson44]

@@braedonlock3359 with quarter Resolution ray tracing or one sixteenth in the case of unreal 5. Looks garbage

[@vinsta76]

@@kevinhobson44 In Rift Apart reflections were 1/4 res but they improved them via checkerboarding so they look 1/2 res, they look good to my eyes and I game on a 3080ti PC. I'm not saying they look as good as RT on PC but they're not bad at all. The alternative, screen space reflections, are often blurry by nature anyway to help hide the artifacts found within them. Also worth noting Rift Apart on a VRR display you can have RT Performance mode on and get around 80-90 fps most of the time so there's some room for improvement when it comes to locking the game to 60fps with RT.

[@heavymetal3256]

Oh boy, I do love this masterpiece ❤

[@jonathanmaillard7484]

You were scared to release this video after the patch supposed to improve performance. One month later, still not any relevant update. CDPR just cannot ship finished product.

[@johnodaz1273]

Quality video DF. It's a decent start but tweaking is most definitely needed too get the Frames Running Smoother and get rid of those Crashes.

[@deadlyydude5522]

I’m really hoping we get a patch soon. The RT global illumination is a complete game changer but almost unplayable right now. Maybe it’s bad frame pacing, but it feels very stuttery

[@netwatch7261]

Pretty sure it's a cpu bottle neck on the PC side. They didn't do an actual port to get dx12. Normally my gpu stays at 99% utilization, but there with the Witcher I'm more often than not sitting at 70-85% Idk about the consoles though

[@iedutul1]

Especially since this is the next ,, release '' after cyberpunk . CDPR should do a free update for Witcher 3 for a native 4k Rtx 30 fps locked + dynamic 4k 60 fps + rtx reflections + 120 fps mode . They should use the money they made from cyberpunk on last gen :)

[@netwatch7261]

Pretty lame I had a ray tracing mod on my PC for this game and 150 mods that achieved similar results, but ran better. Now 80% of the mods aren't compatible. I'm sure they'll get it patched up, just going to wait it out.

[@iedutul1]

@@netwatch7261 CDPR refused to delay the update to get that sweet holiday's money . Goddamn , I'm so mad at CDPR but they keep making masterpieces after masterpieces kinda like R*

[@deadlyydude5522]

@@netwatch7261 that’s always the worst, when an update breaks all your mods lol. And with how old this game is I’m not sure if all the modders will feel compelled to come back and update them

[@a9udn9u-vanced]

PS5 surprisingly performs better than XSX in many games even though XSX has a slightly more powerful GPU, how come?

[@ArthurMorganII]

That’s the thing. It’s not more powerful.

[@bigdubskis8699]

Playing on series X, the game looks great on both modes, the 60 is buttery smooth with some drops but nothing too major. The RTX mode is nuts in my opinion and totally transforms the look of the game, its stuttery and unstable with high input lag even on XSX, but even so it looks so awesome to me, Ive been playing both graphics modes equally

[@bombyo3634]

First time I heard this. Series x already had a 60fps mode so thats not an improvement and the rt isn't really anything. Your the 1st who actually thought it does anything. It makes the screen look a little different...tbh i have no idea what it does. The resolution looks worse and 30fps

[@braedonlock3359]

@@bombyo3634 the one x only hit like 40 FPS in performance so no we didn’t have constant 60. And it was lower resolution on one x. The update has better textures,shadows,reflections shortcuts for spells,new content, photo mode, new camera mode. and it actually hits 60FPS 99% of the time. It’s a huge upgrade. Ray tracing adds a ton what are you on about? Do you have trouble with your eyes??

[@bombyo3634]

@@braedonlock3359 on series x the one x version ran better then this. No stutters and no frame drops. It was good. Dynamic 4k60 and 4k30

[@bombyo3634]

@@braedonlock3359 rt is subpar you should see metro exodus. 4k60 with RT enabled with a locked 60fps with hdr on. So yeah i have definitely seen alot better then this.

[@bigdubskis8699]

@@bombyo3634 Well yeah if you simplify it that much any graphics setting just 'makes the screen look a little different'... i doubt you even tried it yourself, seem to be more interested in just spreading negativity

[@99Vood99]

DF, did they fix some of the gameplay/quest bugs though? I played the game on PS4 Pro about 2 years ago and there were quests that were completely broken. It also appeared that the developers had no intention to fix them as there hadn't been any patches in a very long time.

[@griffgames9538]

It does include some quest fixes.

[@meshuggaho7]

You know it's a Tom Morgan joint when a top-notch intro sequence kicks off the vid!

[@Investor9872]

What if you turn motion blur, blur and camera lens effects all off? Would that improve the frame rate on the PS5 for both the Performance and Ray Tracing modes?

[@sleepyjordan887]

I would love to see this tested! In addition throw in input lag differences as well. Probably super minimal but I’ve always wondered

[@nicknickname353]

Those are very cheap I'd be surprised if u could gain even a single frame

[@shafhussain929]

No difference

[@mbsfaridi]

@@sleepyjordan887 16:08 Performance mode 92.9ms and RT mode 157.9 on PS5.

[@sleepyjordan887]

@@mbsfaridi ….input lag differences with blur, camera options enabled/disabled. Obviously I saw the videos input lag differences for RT vs performance. And yes I know the difference is probably minuscule

[@Neosin1]

DF please tell cd project red to add 40fps unlocked vrr to witcher 3 and cyberpunk!!!

[@ioannisdenton]

40fps sounds peantry but playing Plague tale on 40fps i had a great experience, sure it was 60 but it wasn't a juddery mess with motion blur (turned it off)

[@rrrypl]

First they need to hit 30fps, then worry about 40 lol

[@ardasevmis7583]

They don’t even hit 30 fps on rt mode and you are asking for 40 fps

[@gaivscaesar]

No brainer, PS5 in Performance Mode is the clear winner. Way better foliage and draw distance makes such a big difference at high resolution

[@apstore4365]

Nah..they are lying..check it again..its completely opposite...xbox graphics are better and ps equals xbox on terms of fps where they both can win or lose

[@gaivscaesar]

@@apstore4365 hahahahahahahahahaha

[@apstore4365]

Check on the left down the foliage and the grass.. ps version looks like medium settings

[@gaivscaesar]

@apstore4365 bruh just stop you're embarrassing yourself

[@Radek494]

13:01 PS5 clean winner in Performance mode, which majority of players will choose

[@shredenvain7]

Weird about the draw distance difference. Nx gamer actually reported the opposite with the Xbox versions matching PC ultra settings on foliage with the Ps5 matching high.

[@shredenvain7]

@@runningbear6391 I don't disagree that df is the best. That said df is falsely claiming the series x is using a lower grass setting. It is a bug caused by df using cross saves from the series S version on the series X. If they would have loaded their cross saves instead of using continue it wouldn't happen!!!

[@chrism8860]

Looks like I'll wait a couple of patches to drop in before I play

[@MsModestyBlaise]

Is this Groundhog Day? I swear I’ve already seen this.

[@thanksbetotap]

Can anyone comment on how the DualSense support is? Are the haptics anything worth writing home about, or fairly standard rumble?

[@ReVon_pL]

I'm not super sensitive to this stuff, so it may not apply to you, but my experience is that you can barely feel it.

[@Iamfirebird360]

The triggers are ok imo but the vibration is much better than on xsx. All the subtle vibrations are great. But imo not worth switching if you already own on xbox.

[@lukas-personal]

yes there is a lot of feedback, even when riding your horse

[@vikaskumarpatel5017]

If you already own the game on PC or Xbox, you don't need to switch to PS5. PS5 controller make traversing better in games. Subtle vibration makes moving around a little more fun.

[@busterr18]

You can feel your horse’s every footstep while riding him

[@ballandpaddle]

Whoa, awesome! I can play a nearly decade-old game at *half the framerate*! And I might be able to notice a difference! Wow!

[@raresmacovei8382]

Welcome to ray tracing.

[@malazan6004]

That's why you pick the 60fps version it's very sharp and has many improvements. Sure it could be better but RT is not worth it this generation of consoles for me

[@marektomaszewski876]

Dear DF team. Thanks for great and honest job with this one. I am Polish, huge Witcher series fan (and not a CDPR man :)). On PC I went through W3 with all DLC 3 times...from the premiere and last time with the latest PC CDPR patches (as I remember 1.62) - with most of usable mods incl. HDReworked, foliage, sky, environmental shaders etc. Let me say it straight. Few years ago on my old RTX 980 it looked better and run smoother than this day on my XBOX S/X. OK...free patch, OK (almost) 4K support - that is fair. But please... don't event name it Next-Gen. Compare it to Next-Gen titles, please, and you will see the difference and have the verdict. Huge marketing...and laziness of CDFP devs. They did not optimize it even to have the visuals close to Next-Gen titles...in so powerful machines like XBOX S/X or PS5. And to fail on lock of 30/60 fps - is the best example of devs. work. 7 years old engine on Next-Gen machines should be rebuild, at lest at the level of giving us steady performance. I am happy I don't have PC version - thou' they have true ?Next-Gen? disappointment. It will be patched by CDPR for next 6 months...but first impression flop is unrepairable.

[@gangstagummybear3432]

CDPR is terrible at optimization for these game systems, that was obvious from Cyberpunk.

[@marektomaszewski876]

@@gangstagummybear3432 Yeah... such pity. So many years CDPR build their brand ... so many awards with each Witcher, aspecialy W3. They put so much eforts to create the image of the Developer who cares about the player above all standards ... and for what? For failures? First, a huge flop and PR collapse with CP2077 (repaired for many months with patches CP2077 was more-or-less saved) ... and now W3 Next-Gen patch, in a deplorable state (and they had so much time to do it right).

[@rasitsimsek9400]

Older engines are coming to their limits to squeeze out more performance. It seems not easy changing the game code base to improve the visual effects like ray tracing. It must also be possible to make comparisons with first-party studios how do they handle such improvements.

[@jsc315]

Am I going crazy but performance mode on the PS5 looks better, cleaner and more natural then this new update.

[@vaguedreams]

No, I thought the same thing. For much of it I though they inadvertently reversed the feeds. It could also be that RT introduced a lot of black crush?

[@mandrews6282]

Yah they def improved other aspects outside of rt so performance mode looks a lot better than the old version in general and it’s not just a straight 60 fps patch. I have the game for both consoles and it actually already ran at near 4K 60 on Series X before the patch so 60 was already confirmed working perfectly prior to. If you’re saying performance mode looks more natural than RT mode, I’d personally disagree. RT mode adds a noticable difference and it’s a shame it’s so taxing on console, but is what it is really.

[@RandomGamingMoments925]

@@mandrews6282 It's more than just a 60fps mode, there are better textures and draw distance, plus QoL upgrades. They've incorporated fanmade graphics mods and either mode is a step up from the last generation.

[@malazan6004]

Performance mode is a higher resolution so it is sharper which to my eyes looks better. 30fps looks garbage in motion to me also

[@arthurdurham]

While RTX is better I still struggle to see it look better in practice. In screenshots and specific video examples it's clear but actually playing I often find baked in lighting often looks better overall. Though it's more clear with reflections, it's definitely a noticable upgrade there. But overall we'll see in the future when more games are designed with it from the ground up, but it isn't worth the performance hit to me right now.

[@bigdubskis8699]

Seriously? Ive personally taken countless videos where the RTX is totally transformative, to the point where I might be spending most of playtime on this poopy 30 instead of butter smooth 60. If they can get the RTX mode to a steady 30 (something like RDR2) it would be no contest which mode I would play on lol

[@arthurdurham]

@@bigdubskis8699 I agree I see it in videos where it's showcased but actually playing myself I rarely see what I'd perceived as an "improvement" except for reflections, but that's not a graphical luxury that's worth the fps cost imo.

[@bigdubskis8699]

@@arthurdurham Well we must be seeing different things then lol playing through the game for the first time personally, 60 fps looks totally last gen where the raytracing genuinely looks high end in moment to moment gameplay

[@masterquake7]

Given the resolution boost on Series X, it seems like the draw distance would be a bug unless the versions were done by different teams and just not optimized on Series X.

[@malazan6004]

You'd hope so because that looks like garbage basically last gen draw distance. Unless they sacrificed draw distance for the occasional resolution increase which is certainly possible but not a good idea.

[@dk06ctr]

The game does not look like this video on series X looks the same as ps5 version something is wrong with the video.

[@justffff]

8:56 tall grasses near houses?

[@e2zippo]

Awesome as usual! And I also hope the patch lands soon and that is fixes some of these issues! Do we know if the menu on PC runs in 60 now, or is it still locked at 30?