Hogwarts Legacy - DF Tech Review - PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S - 21 Mode Variations Tested

[@marufhasan60]

Amazing to see Rich once again reviewing. His way with words are just amazing. We need more analysis from him.

[@carlosdonizetti9573]

We need more of his reviews, as someone said here, he s the David Attenborough of games.

[@10whiten99]

@@carlosdonizetti9573 I could probably watch 40 more years of videos from him

[@liaminwales]

Such a relaxing voice.

[@FoRmaTiTo]

He had to, because John and Alex were facing hate on REEEEEEEEEE had they reviewed the game.

[@superstew79]

He’s just so genuine in how he talks unlike John or Oliver

[@NWO_Style_4_Life]

Rich is a top notch reviewer. It’s a shame we don’t get more from him. I trust his editorial viewpoint is maintained in all of the other channel content, but it’s still nice to hear him in his own voice.

[@notsyzagts7967]

What do you mean by "his own voice"? He sounds the same as always; what you probably meant to say is that "it's nice to hear him on his own/alone".

[@phattiger1506]

@@notsyzagts7967 They mean hear it directly from him, not just through his editorial oversight for the other Digital Foundry journalists.

[@jaspelino1963]

@@notsyzagts7967 get a load of this guy, going around correcting people while he doesn’t even understand basic English.

[@SaigonBrit]

Rich is decidedly unwoke or does not let it influence his work at all. The same cannot be said for a couple of the others in the team.

[@Clay3613]

@@SaigonBrit You speak words you don't even understand.

[@TheAbsol7448]

This is super impressive stuff for a studio that hasn't made a AAA game before. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what they'll do in the future.

[@MrSTVR]

I am so fascinated to see how the Switch version will end up because that's an "impossible port" if I've ever heard one

[@Drilbit]

Hopefully it turns out well since I got it ordered with a discount lol.

[@colemin2]

Hopefully it's 720p most of the time when docked...

[@Lukas12220]

Releases right after the Outer Wilds Switch Version

[@Cyberdyne12]

I predict that it will be streamed...

[@MrSTVR]

@@Cyberdyne12 I would too usually, but if it was they would have called it a Cloud version or let it be known at this point. Also I believe it's getting a boxed release.

[@Whyelephantsafraidofmice]

Don't think I've seen a DF game review from Rich in a while, this is a nice surprise indeed. Keep up the good work guys.

[@worsel555]

Well that's because someone had a meltdown on Twitter over this game and deleted his tweet, so Rich stepped up.

[@ZAYFLX]

@@worsel555 precisely lol

[@LN.2233]

@@HykCraft rich isn't John

[@GeekdomCentral]

@@worsel555 I was so disappointed to see that, and I’ve come to expect a lot more from John. He doesn’t have to like HP, that’s fine - but his tweets were filled with so much hate and condescension. It was disappointing, especially because in all of his videos and interviews he’s always so professional and polite

[@fenix_tx_1342]

and in the DF Direct where they clarified if they would cover the game, only Rich talked about it without ANY input from John and Alex, Rich is probably trying to protect the other members from any backlash given some people have been attacked after reviewing or streaming the game, either that or simply nobody else wanted to cover it.

[@MDmechanix]

Glad we got this guy to do this video, he literally is digital foundry

[@Szydelski]

Question is, why we still not have any commrnts on Hogwarts Legacy PC topics. This definately should be covered more, considering how much impact this title has.

[@brucetus]

@@Szydelski they don’t make pc videos anymore they only care about consoles despite the fact that the PC market is the biggest market and has never been as big as it is. Dumb move on their part

[@Szydelski]

@@brucetus I think it is more related to fact Alex is willingly not covering PC port due to his personal attitude to the Hogwarts Legacy. Apparently nobody else in DF was able or wanted to go into PC issues. A bit sad, since Rich is also a PC gamer, right? He could cover it as well.

[@Leo.de69]

​@@brucetuscorrection: the mobile gaming market is the biggest, bigger than pc and console combined.

[@teddyholiday8038]

PC version definitely needs analysis

[@TheKapushon]

Not going to happen until Nvidia fixes their drivers, since DF will never publish analysis where AMD is beating their favourite company

[@Not_Lewis]

They usually do PC after console

[@R17759]

@@TheKapushon Big if true

[@ther0n1nnamed47]

When it works I bet

[@Bramagon]

@@TheKapushon I think they tend to wait for drivers from both AMD and Nvidia to be out so their analysis won't be outdated after said driver updates. Don't think it's a preference thing..

[@0000ffcube]

Rich doesn't often review games anymore, but in the here and now I'm really enjoying the odd analysis done by him. Clearly still the master at it.

[@armchairracer007]

Notionally the best reviewer. Clearly a gen on gen improvement on anyone else 😆

[@bbbazzinga]

Well, let's just say that John reviewing this was an unlikely scenario.

[@vgnvideogameninja2930]

@@bbbazzinga John wouldn't have done as good of a job anyway. Rich has more video game technical prowess and knowledge than John.

[@TheSterlingArcher16]

I’ll take a bespoke Rich review in the here and now anytime.

[@bbbazzinga]

@@vgnvideogameninja2930 That's not the point

[@CriPPleR_HD]

Man, I forgot how much I love Rich’s analysis. So thorough! Is it possible to get a rare Rich PC analysis of Hogwarts Legacy?! 🤩

[@micsunday14]

Yes please rich!

[@KnightMD]

Isn't PC Alex Battaglia's domain? I just wish he were into the Steam Deck a little more...

[@XvitruvX]

Steam Deck: No Nvidia Hardware 😉

[@originalityisdead.9513]

He's the only one who would do it.

[@MusicmanUY]

Very important! Make sure to turn Camera Acceleration and Aim Acceleration OFF. This will eliminate the artificial Input Lag the game has by Default for some reason…

[@ULTIMBANGA]

interesting

[@JeffZ1028]

That has to be a glitch right? Turning both of those up usually makes a game feel MORE responsive.

[@fups1]

@@JeffZ1028 He said ACCELERATION not SENSITIVITY.

[@viktorjgf]

Thank you, makes difference!

[@jedimindtrickonyou3692]

Thanks for this.

[@unbanmekoil]

Super nostalgic getting an analysis from Rich. 😌 Just like the old day

[@Brunn0121]

John: Nah, I hate open world games all of the sudden. Alex: 🗿 Richard: Fine I'll do it myself, then.

[@mimamo]

John suddenly hates open world games, right... Not too long ago he was still gushing about Horizon Forbidden West.

[@vgnvideogameninja2930]

@@mimamo John's a redneck hack.

[@dante19890]

@@mimamo he did like elden ring. I think he just dislike the ubi soft open world formula with busywork icons filling the maps killing the exploration aspect. Ur not really exploring the world u just running corridor style to the next icon

[@jamalabdr]

@@dante19890 He's obviously terrified of blowback from woke idiots on Twitter (people like Alex)

[@Alcatraz760]

I think Alex isn't touching this game because he doesn't want to be banned from Resetera.

[@BoomerBends]

Richard Leadbetter needs to be heard from with more regularity. Awesome review!

[@vgnvideogameninja2930]

Indeed. He's so much better at it than (know nothing) John or Alex - imo.

[@zeus1117]

@@vgnvideogameninja2930 I mean decades of experience, so yeah.

[@mustang750r]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was brought about by the controversy around John and not liking kids games.

[@phelype211]

He's my favorite !! I love Alex and John too, but Rich is the BEST !!

[@BBWahoo]

John needs more tantrums in order for that to happen

[@PrayTellGaming]

Thanks Rich! From the different performance profiles, to just how slow this game progresses to get to a point where you can do your tests, I appreciate the time you put into this. I hope you get a chance to analyze the game for Steam Deck and PC

[@monty916]

Wholeheartedly disagree with the "too many visual modes for a console experience" statement. As a PC player who struggles with the overabundance of capped @ 30fps games when going to the console, the option to uncap the framerate is a very welcome change. Having 9 visual modes seems much more freeing for someone like me who would prefer to squeeze a few more frames out in order to make game more responsive. I get that not all console players will know what to do with these options, but who really cares? All PC players have always had to learn what their settings do, so why call it an inconvenience when console players are given the option to do the same?

[@tom_123]

Rich is so far above the others in journalistic and editorial ability. I’d forgotten how good his writing style and analysis are. More from Rich, pease!

[@mustang750r]

And so professional by keeping away from the drama instead of feeding into it like others.

[@DoctorHades]

Very nice to see a game performance and visual tech review from Richard. Hopefully we will see more.

[@user-rd5wj2mm8n]

Extremely noble of Richard to step up to the plate on this one, shielding his colleagues from the inevitable onslaught. Much respect.

[@sellingacoerwa8318]

Don't give a very vocal online mob of bullies and people caught up in the wake of their witch hunt of the month any power.

[@georgedanielsbiz]

@@sellingacoerwa8318 so true ❤

[@SaigonBrit]

Of course Rich is loyal to his team but some of the cringe wokerati he employs don't really deserve to be shielded. They made their bed, now they can lie in it. Tom and Rich are the only ones I will listen to now.

[@sreeshnelp]

Been a long time since a Rich tech breakdown, such a clear and well-spoken review!

[@DrBrovahkiin]

Nice to see someone remembered they have a job to do instead of just calling this game "kids bullshit" and throwing a tantrum on twitter

[@KarlRock]

13:41 interesting point about the uncapped frame rate option! The game visuals look pretty impressive. I’m watching the Potter movies now because I missed them over the years, then I’ll give the game a go.

[@WhooFlungPoo]

Hope to see a Potter movie franchise review video on your channel. All about your travels in the Wizarding world! 😆

[@PetervDam]

Expect lower graphics in the first movie compared to the game 😅

[@KarlRock]

@@PetervDam haha yes I did notice that just from watching the second movie. Apparently it gets better and better as the movies progress. I’m only up to the third movie.

[@joshuaperle8736]

Hello Pewdiepie, can't wait for you to try the game :)

[@turrican4d599]

Bonnie Wright yummy

[@Darksjeik]

Covering all these modes across 3 consoles in 20 minutes is basically a speed run accomplishment 😃. Seriously though...thanks for this Richard. Thanks for staying true to your reporter's integrity amidst the controversy. Much respect and I'm looking forward to the PC version analysis because that one should be very interesting indeed!

[@Dorraj]

I don't care how you spin it, more settings on consoles games is an ABSOLUTE POSITIVE. Give users control over what they find important. The more settings the better. It doesn't matter how "confusing" it might seem, it's 100% a move in the correct direction.

[@turrican4d599]

Now if they only would have gotten the performance right...

[@Machariel00]

Only thing that makes them confusing to me is the name. They should just have morr technical names like target 4k 30fp, target 1440 60fps or whatever the targets are.

[@XZ-III]

No i disagree it should be settings that one should have not to have to think about at a quality one's comfortable with. i guess granted ngl my mind can be changed i say that because theres a higher variety of screen types and sizes being used more than ever today. But i kinda liked it when its one set of settings because well it says the game is consistent across systems. Idk someone call me a dumbass idc

[@Dorraj]

@@Machariel00 I think the perfect thing is if the game starts, and it asks which 2 out of 3 things you care about: Graphics, Framerate, and Resolution. And then it can determine from that. I think that keeps it simple and allows lots of customization.

[@travisn92]

Not complaining but the only reason we get rich in this review is because the other guy was against this game.

[@ruffrida100]

Can you explain?

[@Sims64340]

@@ruffrida100Maybe it was because of the boycott of J.K. Rowling after her « transphobic message »

[@xepacagueta2009]

Journalists, just bring the news, i don't want to know your personal opinions. Thanks Richard for being a professional!!!!

[@itsjusterthought7941]

Richard once said that he could not see any benefit for the 2x faster SSD on the PS5, other than faster load screens. Even now he is blind to the reason behind the glaringly obvious PS5 performance advantage. Does he really not know or is he simply hiding it to place Xbox in a better light. Forget GPU upgrades, CPU bottlenecks and dormant cores. This is not a tflops or porting issue. This is a data throughput issue. The game assets are on the SSD. The game is rapidly streaming the assets from SSD to RAM in real time, so the GPU can render them into frames on the fly. The speed of the SSD transfer is crucial. No tinkering on the XBSX will ever make the performance match the PS5, because you cannot plant the 5,500 MBps PS5 SSD into the 2,500 MBps XBSX.

[@Sergeofsocal]

Thanks Rich!! You’re an absolute wizard when it comes to reviews!!

[@SamuraiMerrick]

I see what you did there.

[@originalityisdead.9513]

The Boss steps up and gets the job done. Thanks, i appreciate this. Handled like a pro, not an excuse in sight. This gives me hope, you should handle more performance reviews, your professionalism shines through the sea of bs, no moaing on, pure unbiased reviewing. The way it should be.

[@megacurlerer]

What are you talking about? Gets the job done? They're reviews are always spot on. Nothing new here. Don't be such a suck-up.

[@trevmizer9784]

@@megacurlerer the others refused to cover the game because of tranny brain rot

[@pferreira1983]

@@megacurlerer He means no one else wanted to do the review.

[@kiwiklogg]

I'm running this game on a PS5 on a C2 42 LG OLED in balanced mode. Most of the time it is an absolute stunner! Clearly there were a lot of Harry Potter nerds amongst the development team :)

[@Cyberdyne12]

I'm doing the exact same. Make sure you keep fps lock on.

[@thelargenugget3458]

@@Cyberdyne12 uncapped FPS mode is awful on my TV. I’m using an OLED so I don’t know if that matters?

[@SEMARPE]

@@thelargenugget3458 Doesn't your OLED have GSync?

[@TrySai]

@@Cyberdyne12 Why?

[@marcs4088]

I’m using Sony A90j with Ps5 still not sure which one is the best mode.

[@Pyro71666]

Another thing to mention is that uncapping the framerate on ps5 seems to lower the color bit rate and significantly makes shadows much greyer and ambient occlusion appears much flatter.

[@_obex]

Do you have LG C9?

[@Skylancer727]

I disagree, the broomstick is incredibly fast. You weren't using the charge speed in that clip and the broom speed can even be upgraded 3 times.

[@Arcona]

Yeah, and instead he said it was a cpu limitation lol.

[@SilverInterpolFire]

Surprised he never knew he could speed boost. I couldve sworn the broom stick tutorial tells you this pretty clearly.

[@Skylancer727]

@@SilverInterpolFire it does state it, but it's not required for you to actually use it. It's more glazed over while you skip class.

[@ramengod5768]

​@@Arconahe assumed it was CPU limitations by the developers, by slowing down the speed it gives time to the CPU to catch up. Yes he didn't use the boost but he gives a great explanation on why it might be the case

[@Healcraft]

Well he had to rush this probably since nobody else at df had the balls to touch this game:)

[@IlSevenlI]

You get broom speed upgrades later through side quests. And a hippogriff mount that is also faster

[@undertone8367]

He also wasn't boosting during that footage which makes it look a lot slower

[@rooo1o]

@@undertone8367 yep. seems like he spent more time analysing the graphics than progressing the story these past 12 days

[@YOUNGHEBREW]

& a Thestral that’s even faster than the Hippogriff. If you have the Deluxe Edition.

[@Squiesh]

With the 3rd upgrade ($7500 yikes) you are zooming hard.

[@sonnieslim5973]

@@rooo1ono shit it’s a tech review

[@AstralFrost]

Gotta love Richard Leadbetter's work. Always excellent.

[@nookie077]

Yeah, and he actually has true journalistic integrity - Unlike some....

[@rocstarang5747]

"stand aside, I'll handle this" -Rich to the DF staff 💪

[@wezite1983]

I appreciate DF not jumping on the bandwagon. It's completely unfair to penalize the developers who have worked tirelessly on a pretty decent game.

[@xboxrules8472]

That john guy is scared of transvestites though

[@RodrigoMAOEE]

Calling this game a movie tie-in is a mistake. It wasn't the plan whatsoever. Avalanche created the world following the book and the book's author descriptions but using some well established looks from the movie series. The world around us is the same, obviously but rhe plot and the narrative is entirely new

[@Noe2iq]

Really great review, exposing the highlights and lowlights of the rendering decisions. Performance options are actually understandable for a console, given the variety of monitors capable of high FR and VRR. I really hope DF do PC review, with any extra PC options, and Alex's optimised settings.

[@Szydelski]

Yeah, lack of any comment regarding PC Hogwarts Legacy for so much time seems annoying.

[@jimmy2483]

It's clear that Rich did the review to protect his staff from harassment.

[@DariusPL]

Anyone else a bit… disappointed? I’ve been waiting so patiently for this but now the video leaves me a bit wanting. I’m spoiled by extremely thorough, in-depth DF analysis videos but this one IMHO doesn’t really live up to the usual DF standards. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it on the whole but it just barely scratches the surface of all the graphics modes available in the game. Sure, there’s a ton of them but still, I’d love to see comparisons of lighting, shadows, foliage density, drawing distance, NPC count and so on… Thank you anyway, Rich but I hope you will soon cover the modes in more detail, e.g. based on the PS5 version 🤓 BTW, I don’t need a mode recommendation, I’ve settled for Balanced (available on my LG G7 with HDMI 2.0b so 2.1 is not necessary to have access to all five modes, in case someone is still wondering), and Performance is the only other mode I would even consider. Both Fidelity modes are just unacceptable in terms of blur and judder IMHO, while Performance HFR just butchers the graphics and image sharpness without providing any worthwhile benefits (and for owners of non-VRR TVs it’s just basically useless).

[@Givejordr]

Damn, I'm 70 hours in on PS5, with a 120hz vrr TV. I never would've realized how much xbox was struggling with this game. At the start, I was like, "What's he talking about with performance issues???" Then the ps5 comparison came up, we got it good over here.

[@MadMexism]

Crazy how hardware wise, when Ps5 and series X first launched, everyone thought the Xbox was gonna mop the floor with the Ps5. Sony knows how to build a damn good console.

[@BBWahoo]

Sony knows clock speed is king

[@TheDeeboy717]

This is still very early in the generation as time goes on the games will get more demanding and Xbox will be ready for the long haul. Their exclusives when released will show the performance difference between the two first.

[@DENTSHAVEMENTALILLNES]

@@TheDeeboy717 there is zero reason to own an xbox. Every single game can be played on pc.

[@TheDeeboy717]

@@DENTSHAVEMENTALILLNES you’re still giving MS your money so have at it

[@RandomGamingMoments925]

​@@TheDeeboy717Xbox has flaws and bottlenecks, it isn't inherently superior to the PS5, the reduced I/O, split bandwidth and having to design for two SKUs hold back the Series X.

[@lilnjdevil116]

I wish games were released fully functioning regardless of console like the old days. This game couldve been so much better if they took another year to make it work

[@sirgeeky]

How can you run past all those cats wthout petting them? I personally find that impossible.

[@leym12]

So we're never going to get a pc analysis ? It was the most important one because that's where there are most of the problems...

[@Trinket_Master]

I'm so happy we live in a world where pre rendered cutscenes have the same clarity as in game footage. Who remembers playing games in 720p - 1080p on 360 then a cutscene would play in 240p absolutely ruining your immersion?

[@CityBoi954]

This is true

[@callumdointhings5]

Yay a Rich video! Video was amazingly indepth. Years later watching every video and this channel still blows my mind with the fascinating analysis of games. Cheers guys

[@unknownbytes2874]

Df: Consoles need more options Dev gives options DF: its too much

[@TurokRevolution]

Why is the Xbox Series X so unstable in so many games while the PS5 runs everything just fine? Aren't the PS5 and Xbox Series X supposed to be equal? Does the Xbox Series X have some sort of bottleneck, is it held back by the Series S, or do developers just don't bother anymore with optimizing their games on Xbox?

[@jaredalbin5658]

Glad to see the review regardless of political propaganda.

[@timothyandrewnielsen]

Where do politics enter the harry potter world?!

[@jaredalbin5658]

@@timothyandrewnielsen exactly it shouldn’t.

[@WhooFlungPoo]

Finding myself loving these technical analysis video reviews more and more. These always help in deciding which modes to go with. DF always delivering the content gamers care about. 👏 With that said, anyone else still spend way to long switching between modes to spot the subtle differences? I stay going to random scenic areas in games and will spend exorbitant amounts of time in each mode just to see how the grass looks different in the distance. 🤓🤓

[@hyperspeed_心猿]

I was happy to see this post and see I wasn't the only weirdo who did that with the modes. 😄

[@WhooFlungPoo]

@@hyperspeed_心猿 bro, its definitely a thing 😆 🤣

[@ObliviousPenguin]

How come the PS5 continue to outperform the Series X in most titles? Microsoft advertised the series X as the most powerful console, which is starting to sound like false advertising to me.

[@mwdavis77]

I'm playing it on PS5 in Balanced capped at 40 FPS and it looks and runs great.

[@irabor18]

Same here! Zero frame rate issues, it’s buttery smooth!

[@swoosh26]

That's the mode I'm playing too but with uncapped frame rate. Runs above 40 fps

[@dante19890]

@@swoosh26 thats not to recommend. You get a lot more stuttering cuz you cant use VRR under 48 fps on the ps5.

[@benw3029]

Mostly solid but there are some moments towards the end of the campaign where the FPS plummeted in balanced mode on ps5 C2

[@Randisim0]

Series X is great as well.

[@frazzl]

I have noticed a significant improvement in frame rate (performance mode on the XSX) after the recent patch. Not perfect but definitely better than at launch.

[@davidpliskin3330]

Which patch?

[@b3at2]

This is Sonys “marketing deal” doing its magic in making sure xbox ports perform worse.

[@Arranc49]

​@@b3at2 🤣 keep telling yourself that! Wah wah wah!

[@b3at2]

@@Arranc49 class action lawsuit incoming.

[@frazzl]

@@davidpliskin3330 Patch 1120320 which was released last week. The PS5 received a similar patch a few days later.

[@andrewvenditelli152]

Loving the amount of choice and options making their way to console games. As always, great video comparing all these options to help us decide.

[@pferreira1983]

The review none of the team wanted to do and...the game turned out great! 😁

[@Imprisoned1995]

I guess the game runs better on PS5? I have both systems, debating buying this game, and for which system. Sounds the PlayStation is the way to go this time.

[@Edward135i]

One of my biggest Issues with Hogwarts Legacy, that few people will experience is its weird Dolby Atmos mix, the environment is in surround sound, but the voice acting is in stereo, it doesn't matter if you have you back to somebody talking to you their voices always come out of the L and R speaker, I don't agree with this mixing choice and I think it sounds weird and disconnected from the game environment.

[@meh23p]

14:14-15:25 How come there is such a large difference in performance between PS5 and XSX? Is it the hardware or just poor optimization?

[@SolarErazer]

Notice how he didn't show the PS5 load time to not damage xbox much more 😂

[@stephonhines6554]

Lmao

[@aliensquid]

It’s because the loading time as basically non existence on both platforms.

[@volatilelyle5170]

We really need to have a discussion on whether or not modern games graphics warrant its performance. I know games are doing much more computationally complex stuff compared to games 5 years ago but they hardly look better but are far more demanding on hardware. I always say that most devs don't optimize as much has they used to and just brute force most of the performance on current gen consoles. How do we get games as complex as Red Dead Redemption 2 with all of those animations and physics on an extremely weak CPU of last gen consoles that run stable for the most part? I don't feel like the performance of modern games are justified by the graphics. Yeah, you can argue on why it is demanding but if it's not something you notice visually then why should it be defended? This is all excluding ray tracing.

[@insayno]

PS5 outperforming the series X again.

[@myfatassdick]

*Frequency illusion, also known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon or frequency bias, is a cognitive bias in which, after noticing something for the first time, there is a tendency to notice it more often, leading someone to believe that it has an increased frequency of occurrence.* Pretty much every DF video I see Xbox has been winning since the One X

[@EddiXP]

Thank you for having a spine, Rich. Analysis was done well

[@kclink1579]

And didn't pointlessly mention something like you are a hero doing good for mentioning it.

[@RobinPM100]

Do a video about technical reasons, why PS5 seems to have always better framerate, than Series X? So, is higher GPU frequency much better in the end, than more teraflops? Thanks, this puzzles me a lot

[@google_was_my_idea_first]

Glad you did a review, Rich. It's been a while, good to hear from you again. 🙂

[@corptusion]

Still impressive that the ps5 is performing better. Sony does a great job designing hardware

[@Randisim0]

I have no issues with my Series X. It performs really well.

[@dante19890]

lack of LFC on ps5 was a massive oversight. Really hurts the uncapped balance mode

[@olimphus26]

John is traumatized by Harry Potter

[@BBWahoo]

He wanted it to be Hairy Pozzer

[@mmert138]

Rich showing why he is the "Mr Digital Foundry Himself"

[@aliensquid]

Didn’t the guy start the company I would hope so 😂

[@mattblanco8565]

I bought a teraflopping machine from Microsoft day 1, but what is this a wake ps5 outperforms it HOW!!! I totally got scammed and where are the freaking games Microsoft And stop lying!!!

[@weatherfox1]

A Raging Rich Review! Great job! You should do more of these in the future. Btw, I'm enjoying this game so far at level 23. Looking forward to the last gen breakdown.

[@schassismx3115]

Honestly you guys need to fire John, that entire twitter meltdown was inexcusable as a professional. A formal apology at least. Crazy how he put Digital Foundry's reputation on the line over some over dramatized political views.

[@BBWahoo]

The saddest part is that he never even brought up politics, but you KNOW he really wanted to!

[@jonathangarmuth8975]

Sounds more to me like he had a woman who liked Harry potter and he caught her mixing spells with a slitherin

[@CollectorFanatic101]

XSX version is the trash version

[@cheesyspace]

And your comment is the trash version of digital foundrys comment section

[@keithwilson965]

I was actually impressed with the combat. I didn’t think it would be as good as it is.

[@sekirotelcoin3336]

Looks like ps5 wins once again in this comparison

[@bparks2193]

Still no PC analysis?

[@stephonhines6554]

Won't happen

[@bparks2193]

@@stephonhines6554 Why you say that?

[@stephonhines6554]

@@bparks2193 they said it already

[@Kylo_Ren_2033]

It is amazing that they are planning to release this title on Nintendo Switch. I mean, this title can give XSX heavy frame drops, and yet, they are crazy enough to think about a Switch release.

[@steel5897]

I'm down for a retro PS1 inspired version of the game. I'm not even joking, it'd be cool as hell lol

[@xboxrules8472]

It's named switch because that is what you'll want to do.

[@IDrawToothpicks]

​@@xboxrules8472 good one. 😂 No really though most people wanting to play this won't be able to afford or get a really good PC or console to run it. That's why it's amazing they even considered relaxing it on the switch. And that they made it a reality. Not everyone CAN. Switch :)❤

[@xboxrules8472]

@@IDrawToothpicks Most people have already played it. I couldn't even imagine "trying" to play it with specs that laughable.

[@tyrilbennett2636]

Moral of the story get a PS5

[@olimphus26]

Daddy Richie had to make the video because Little Johnny is scared of Potter.

[@GabrielAGCruz]

“You can see the information provided by them and get to your own conclusions….” Sure I agree, but I really like when DF suggests their preferred graphical settings for each system. Makes it a lot simpler when booting up a new game. But for the PS5 players, I can say I’ve been playing it on balanced mode (with a 120Hz screen), capped frame rate, and it has been amazing for the most part. Very few hiccups. That would be my recommendation :)

[@jaspelino1963]

Yeah, no, recommendations like that are useless. To my eyes, 40fps is still a juddery mess. Thanks to the Steam Deck I’ve discovered that my personal smoothness threshold is a stable 45fps. I remember John saying he preferred 30fps fidelity mode for Horizon Forbidden West back at launch, and I’m sure there’s lots of people who will adjust to that while playing, but it just doesn’t work like that for every set of eyes.

[@karthikkumar6861]

The 60 fps mode has too much obvious visual cutback. So I switched to balanced mode as well. Can't play at 30 fps.

[@arrowknee7356]

@@jaspelino1963 That was more due to the flickering present at launch in that game in performance mode which has since been fixed. v:)

[@jaspelino1963]

@@arrowknee7356 The flickering while moving the camera and the temporal AA acting up and causing shimmering were horrible, but IIRC John missed that in his initial analysis. Both issues were more noticeable on oleds, and apparently he wasn’t using one for the review. At least that’s how I remember it. But maybe he did mention the shimmering?

[@jd5507]

Balance is my go to as well with this game on my series x. Should try it uncapped with my VRR display

[@supergoat94]

Played it on regular Fidelity mode on my series x and really enjoyed it.

[@riddick5019]

SHITBOX SERIES X…time to sell this crap and buy PS5

[@amirrezarezaie]

Thank god Rich reviewed this game, instead of "The Guy" who considers Harry Potter games as "Kids game"

[@o-parts]

Thank you Rich for your professional and always excellent analysis of these games!

[@wasapdoc]

WOW what a difference between the PS5 and XSX. But..Richard steps in. For damage control no less. After all he revealed the XSX for Microsoft.

[@junkmail6992]

Man…. I think it’s time for Xbox owners to file a class action suit against Microsoft for false claims of extra TFlops over the competition. Almost every cross platform the series x is not making a good showing

[@somnia3423]

They have more tflops, but tflops dont mean shit in gaming

[@junkmail6992]

The PS5 and series x are sourcing from same parts bin for the most part. I would expect AT LEAST a comparable showing to the PS 5. Or is the Microsoft dev kit simply shitty. Something is up. It’s damn near every title

[@NoName-rg3np]

Looking forward to seeing the comparisons when the Switch version finally releases!

[@maxkysl9641]

probably gonna be cloud version

[@diamondarrow4567]

@@maxkysl9641 they confirmed its running locally

[@GiovannisNintendoPlaylists]

@@maxkysl9641 no no, it will be a native Switch version, it's confirmed and there are already preorders available. It's gonna be a massacre though, unless they outsourced it to some magicians.

[@reach5589]

Why on earth would you play this on a switch

[@Naklov351]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 switch might as well play it on gamecube

[@bdre5555]

Amazing game. You can tell the developers have poured thousands of hours into fully realizing the experience and the aesthetic of this universe. Exploring Hogwarts Castle, taking in all the secrets in the environments. It's an absolutely magical experience. This game is nearly perfect in every facet. Definitely the best game of 2023 so far. Runs like a dream on PS5. Honored to have Richard review this masterpiece of a game!

[@blazbohinc4964]

I'm so glad Richard took over the review from John, who seems to be having a personal crisis these days and is in general quite resentful and negative towards everything. Can not overstate the quality with which Richard does these performance reviews. Such a breath of fresh air. Keep them coming Rich! You're the man

[@jedimindtrickonyou3692]

Great job on the video Rich, nice to see you back on a performance analysis review. Thanks for all the hard work you do! We really appreciate it.

[@spooderman6522]

Props to Richard for having the balls to cover this game. Unlike a certain someone having meltdowns on Twitter...

[@dhivydhimanth1960]

Another big game with a significantly worse Xbox version that's deemed okay for launch while careful attention is put only on the PS version.... When will companies start respecting people on both platforms?

[@johnnyboi77]

ps5 is more powerful u just think more cu would make xbox more powerful 😂😂😂

[@scoty3434]

dude remember cyberpunk 2077 , remember too the medium and Microsoft have the marketing for those two games and at the end those 2 games run better on PS5 , THIS Is not just because one have the marketing for the games and the other company have the other rights for the Game marketing too , there s no doubt than the PS5 have something in he s consolé than we don't know and i can't believe than still the Sony s consolé is running better most of the multiplatform games than the XSX , in fact XSX is using Directx 12 and recieve the FSR 2 by AMD options before than PS5, because PS5 is using vulcan and the options for FSR 2 for vulcan was gonna arrive later by AMD than the Xbox series consoles and still i can't believe than the PS5 is still surprising me Even without the FSR 2 options and less better hardware than the XSX

[@soldi1135]

John Linnemanchild is probably pissed.

[@retrogamesroom3746]

Glad I picked the PS5 version. I thought the extra content was worth it, but the PS5 version running much better was the cherry on top.

[@pennywisethedancingclown7139]

PS5 is definitely easier to optimize for. DX12 is a slog when the fidelity gets too high.

[@SolarErazer]

PS5 is just superior on all games it outperformed xbox in both performance and SSD load times duhh

[@Randisim0]

@@SolarErazer Not all the time, calm down there bucko.

[@Randisim0]

I have no issues with my Series X I've had a blast with the Xbox version.

[@SeanLumly]

If I had to guess, the culprit for high CPU usage on the PC (and likely the same issue plaguing the XSX), I would say that PS5's IO was the development target (or simply a heavy emphasis on just-in-time asset streaming), compensated for by the CPUs of other systems. As PS5 can load directly from the compressed SSD into in-format (eg. compressed) GPU memory, it bypasses the drive to RAM to GPU, which must be coordinated via a slew of CPU calls, and more to modify some of the data (eg. swizzle into VRAM). If you're loading assets on-the-fly (eg. LoD mesh, or higher res texture, etc), this would be a near constant thing as the character moves around the world. This isn't a bottleneck of bandwidth, it's one of latency.

[@mikew1080]

Seems so unlikely that I wouldn't imagine it to be the case. The game was always in development for the previous generation as well. Focusing on the PS5 I/O for development would make it near impossible to run on the previous generation, necessitating a bespoke version on the previous consoles. That is both more expensive and more work. It just doesn't make sense. Given it's 6 year dev cycle, it's more likely that the current hardware suffers from tech debt more than anything else. They wouldn't have even had devkits for the PS5 or Series consoles when they started development.

[@GregH999]

@@mikew1080 Sony paid for the extra effort

[@mikew1080]

@Greg H it's always the same with you Microsoft fanboys. Either the tools aren't ready, or Sony paid them to gimp it on the Series consoles. Hate to burst your bubble, the Series X is barely more powerful than a PS5. On top of that, the titles that perform better for the Series consoles will have to be heavily tooled for compute and overcome its poorly planned split memory. There is a reason those consoles aren't the best performers for every title. Best get used to it now. That's how it's going to be going forward. Ideally, you'd own both and not miss any of the great offerings from either side. It sure beats simping blindly for a corporation out of ignorance.

[@Foggy_2806]

Great to see Richard stepping in as the big man for the big occasion on this one. Amazing analysis as always from the Digital Foundry team.

[@andypandy4607]

Rich is the man for our time

[@xSabinx1]

Well it definitely wasn't going to be John after seeing that tweet

[@symptomaticblackout]

Rich isn't any better than the other crybabies. He had to make the video because he had no choice, the demand was too high. He admitted this last week on the podcast. Pay close attention to how many times he emphasizes the game is based on the movies, implying that it has nothing to do with the original work made by "evil woman who makes the world a bad place blablabla", it's a coping mechanism.

[@Zveebo]

@@symptomaticblackout You got your video - now quit whining you little snowflake.

[@andypandy4607]

@@symptomaticblackout bit harsh on rich. Think his point on the movies was simply because of a visual representation in game akin to the films. Maybe you are right but I hope not and I don’t get the same impression from him at least

[@trevorhands4380]

Such a good game. I’m on Xbox and hoping for better optimisation soon. It seems that you pretty much have to wait up to a month from release to get a decent version of a game these days.

[@matjakobs8612]

Easy fix. Don't buy at launch

[@McobraR]

Yeh that's the downside when playing on a platform that isn't the main development platform. Can only hope they better optimise the game for Xbox.

[@joeydirt420]

@@McobraR xbox was a main development platform what are you talking about. If ps5 was the main platform to develop for the ps5 release would not have been at the same time as xbox. Its literally what has happened with almost all multiplatform game releases so far. 90% of the time they run worse on xbox day one because its harder to develop for and this will always be the case.

[@daniebello]

@@matjakobs8612 or don’t play on xbox. performance targets are much harder to hit when developing for xbox and all it’s different hardware that developers are required to make their games compatible for

[@McobraR]

@@joeydirt420 doesn't explain why some games can perform better on xbox than on ps5. E.G. PC platform shows graphics cards with lower clockspeed but higher cuda cores top the gaming charts. The only way games perform better on ps5 than on xsx is IF the devs focus on clockspeed over cuda core counts, as why you will occasionally see the xbox stretch its legs from time to time.

[@leoparanhos4598]

Wow ps5 is smoking series x

[@timmy3822]

Fantastic analysis and very useful for many of us. I dabbled with a variety of modes on my PS5 and wasn’t sure which was best. It’s good to have a firmer picture of how each mode presents.

[@deandre1988]

About 10-12 days late… Well at least better late than never. And love to hear Rich back in the chair.

[@OHCAM5]

The backlash for not doing it was bigger than the one for doing it.

[@NOTLeavingLV]

Rich reviewed it, because the other guy was a baby about it over on twitter. Great review as always, but silly to refuse to review a game, and I suspect it was for political reasons he refused.

[@mrchiledonut]

That's not what it was. He said it's because Harry Potter sucks, and hates open-world games. There's more to unpack there but he didn't delve into it aside from saying he had a friend that loved Harry Potter, so it's personal. I thought, personal or not, it was a bit childish how he reacted. Plus, it wouldn't matter because I don't believe they are assigned a game, they take a look at what interests them, so it doesn't fall on John to do it: anyone else on the team could have done it. In the case of this game, covering it is unfortunately a lose-lose situation so Rich, as the boss, took care of it.

[@steel5897]

Was already said, but John has no nostalgia or love for Harry Potter and he hates this type of open world pseudo-RPG. Watch the latest DF Direct, he literally rambles about these open world "rainbow loot" games for like 10 minutes straight.

[@NOTLeavingLV]

@@mrchiledonut it doesn’t matter though. If you’re a journalist you often don’t get to pick and choose what you do when you’re part of a larger organization. If he was independent sure, I get it. Otherwise you are given duties. Do them.

[@mrchiledonut]

@@NOTLeavingLV He was not given the duty to do it, that's what I'm telling you. That's not how DF works. They try to cover the big games, and they probably talk to each other about who is covering what, so John was not the one tasked with doing it in the first place. Your whole post is wrong as it isn't the reason why Rich reviewed it and the reasoning behind John not wanting to do it. They're not reviewers like GameSpot/IGN either, so that logic is invalid here, but may be true for the Eurogamer staff.

[@Lloydo111]

Since it has so much controversy the main man did it himself.. what a hero rich 😔❤