Guardians of the Galaxy: PS5 vs Xbox Series X - Ray Tracing Upgrades Tested

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - perhaps unexpectedly - is one of the best games of the year... and now it's even better. In addition to quality and performance modes, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X also benefit from a new ray tracing mode. So what does it do, how does it change other elements of the game, and how does it rate against the PC version's more fully featured RT settings? Oh, and since Guardians of the Galaxy has been patched, what's the score with the somewhat lacklustre Xbox Series S version... has it improved?
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[@symol30872]

This game was a secret stunner for 2021. Had no plans on buying it until I heard all the praise about the narrative, I have no regrets, the script was awesome and the game is hilarious throughout.

[@IINareik]

Same, was £30 after a month on steam and enjoyed it alot, edios montreal are great devs

[@IntelligentProbe]

GOTY for me... with Returnal/Kena nipping at it's heals.

[@jdzspace33]

Yeah,,I had no interest until the game awards either. It really is one hell of a marketing tool. I hope it's more then that and the story really is legit

[@S7ELIO5]

Same here, just purchased, and opening hour or so kinda blew me away and made me reminisce of the title scene of the first film where quill starts jamming out

[@sugonmaballs]

Exactly same here, got it on sale on PSN/PS5 for $38 right after the RT patch dropped. Thoroughly enjoyed it. I call it a Mass Effect Lite.

[@Bobi816]

It really pays to just wait a few weeks (months) on playing new games just for upgrades like this. Not to mention the patches that fix bugs and overall tweaks to the gameplay.

[@jamescooper2932]

Exactly. I used to always pre-order games straight away and get them on day of release but come to learn that's just nonsensical as nowadays games are either released unfinished/broken or get great new features like here. Although it does feel shitty to miss out on the initial hype of a release it's much more satisfying to experience a more complete product 🙂🙂

[@pin00ch]

and they get cheaper too!

[@jamesvancam]

@@jamescooper2932 right, I agree completely/totally James!:)

[@BA3YDADDY]

Yes all that plus the drop in price 🙌🏻

[@monroe4574]

@@pin00ch You tell ZERO lies A cheaper game is a better game

[@GonzaloDC]

I would really like more games to have a "Performance RT" mode as Miles Morales did with RTX ON + 60FPS @ 1440p.

[@AmbroseUK]

This. 30fps needs to go haha

[@Daniel-ti3pv]

@@AmbroseUK Not really. Playing RTX 60FPS but only 1080p on a 65" 4K TV sucks. I tried some 1080p games and man... you get used to 30fps but you will not get used to that crap image quality..

[@alexvstheworld777]

@@Daniel-ti3pv I find it to be the opposite. I still prefer 1080p 60fps on a 4k OLED TV rather than 4k 30fps for games.

[@hassosigbjoernson5738]

Dynamic Resolution is the key here. And it's still not understandable why Sony does not offer 1440p natively. Because I think, that's the sweet spot in this conversation and also generally in this console generation for intern calculations. With high details and 30fps it would allow a dynamic 4k very often. And with medium graphics and RT it would probably allow dynamic 1440p isch resolution with 60fps on a proper optimised game as shown in Miles Morales or Forza Horizon 5.

[@kohkisparten117]

@@hassosigbjoernson5738 sadly forza horizon 5 only offers RT in the forza vista mode and not in the actual game, even on PC

[@leonfrancis3418]

The best part about this game is that toggling rendering modes doesn't need a reset. I used quality/rt for cutscenes and story beats, and performance for combat. Doing something similar in Halo Infinite. Best of all worlds. More games need a toggle that's as seamless.

[@kieran.grant_]

I'll give that a shot, thanks!

[@stealthmaster6472]

Thats clever

[@dr.loomis4221]

Doesn't all that pausing hurt the pacing for you?

[@leonfrancis3418]

@@dr.loomis4221 I could see it doing that for someone. It didn't for me. It was a few button presses each time, and I only had to change it every few minutes as the game made it quite obvious at times what was a combat section and what was a story/exploratory section.

[@hurdyu4146]

@@dr.loomis4221 yeah I can see it doing it for games I On the PS4 but even on the p5 a game like ps5 which resets it’s almost as fast as a toggle with these new consoles it’s not even a few seconds of waiting so pacing isn’t that crazy we shouldn’t even be used to the short load times yet we’ve been dealing with loading screens for years as console gamers it’s a luxury tbh

[@asheleydavies]

30fps is really hard to go back to after a full year of crisp 60fps titles

[@robertsmith-wv2hw]

I sort of start to get a headache looking at 30fps now.

[@asheleydavies]

@@robertsmith-wv2hw yeah, that's crazy judder is really distracting.

[@michaelm5741]

Completely agree, 60fps has ruined me. Sadly I can’t play RDR2, there is too much judder.

[@TekuelaII]

Yup

[@mikem2253]

@@michaelm5741 i’m holding out for a 60fps patch. Probably won’t happen but I can hope.

[@youtindia]

I personally find Ray Traced global illumination far more visually important than reflections if given the choice. Cubemaps + SSR is reasonable for reflections in most cases, but global illumination is the one feature which is a complete game changer.

[@spacechannelfiver]

I tend to agree with this for any game that's targetted at multiple systems, it looks better but not hugely different so there's a nice happy path to degrade the image quality. if you have a fixed target then there's more of an artistic choice to be made; just look at Spiderman - reflections were absolutely the right artistic choice for that game.

[@backtoklondike]

Thing is that the only raytracing effect that stands out is reflections. It's hard to notice GI compared to reflections unless it's pointed out. I'm not disagreeing with you BTW, I also think that global illumination is way more important then reflections and the Matrix demo pointed out how important it is for the look of a game. I really hope the splinter cell remake is focusing on ray traced GI then reflections as the game will really benefit from it.

[@cmdr101z8]

Raytraced reflections just add to the beauty of the game in most cases. It’s very refreshing to see reflections that properly bounce off different surfaces and such

[@teddyholiday8038]

RT lighting is transformative. RT reflections are cool but I wish console RT wasn’t just reflections so often.

[@aladdin8623]

@@backtoklondike The GI effect might be more subtle, but our mind detects it automatically, when we are to determine, if a picture looks real or not. Searching consciously for GI on details can be hard to do, but just watching The Matrix awakins Demo leads to many moments, in which we are suddenly amazed from the real like impressions. And this is how GI actually shows it's effect. Consuming it, without analysing any freezed frame. Noticing it happens subconsciously, but if lacking, we know very fast, if something doesn't look real. GI is underrated, and if we want to steer towards deeper immersion, we need to achieve more correct lighting first.

[@uum6]

Guardians is worth replaying at least once in NG+. Different dialogue, so many world/story details and, of course, the goodest of boys. I'm on my second RT-only playthrough and it's a blast!

[@accelement3499]

i picked it up for 25$ last night on steam its pretty good

[@03chrisv]

I still don't understand why the performance mode is capped at 1080p on the PS5 and Series X when the quality mode is a full 4k. I was expecting around 1440p in performance mode.

[@neilhogg3297]

Me to

[@03chrisv]

@Bry Zeer It should be. 4k is four times the pixels on screen. Even if we accommodate for framerate the consoles are still pushing double the pixels per second in quality mode over performance mode which has even some settings turned down a notch. If Rachet and Clank can run at 4k 40 with RT on or 1440p 60 I don't see a real excuse for Guardians other than the devs were stretched too thin in working with multiple platforms and don't have the time to properly optimize the game. 1080p just seems like a quick fix to get the game running at 60.

[@giannis_tar]

@Bry Zeer that's extremely dumb. This game is neither that good looking not does 1080p sub 60 fps gameplay make sense when it can run at 4k at locked 30 fps.They must have messed something up in the engine

[@neilhogg3297]

@Bry Zeer disagree it's down to how developers optimize if insomniac can do it 1440p 60fps with rt reflections and new gran turismo 7 can do full 4k 60fps without rt I think they could of done more

[@saputrasaputra3347]

PC gamers: "240fps will be the future of gaming" Console peasants: "these so-called next gen consoles with 30fps technology are truly fast, 5fps higher than last-gen consoles "

[@Teremei]

This game went from, "eh" to "you must play this" almost universally. I just got my Series X and have been loving it. Graphics are great and game is fun. But the best part to me is, this game has the best back and forth party banter since Dragon Age Origins. Really makes the game feel alive.

[@dialmightyspartangod6717]

2:50 is where the performance talks starts

[@halo3boy1]

good look

[@Tarets]

I'd love to see these FPS cap toggles more often, as with VRR it makes little sense to arbitrary stay at 30.

[@DocRobotnik]

I wish developers would start providing 40fps "limit" options. Would do wonders for people using Series S on 120hz capable monitors

[@sean7332]

There likely isn't enough demand for it for the number of people with TVs or monitors that can handle it

[@vxvxcvxcvcvxc]

120Hz displays usually support VRR. There's no need to cap the frame rate to 40 when it's even hitting 60 at times.

[@nick4810]

the 40fps mode in ratchet & clank was great, the best option imo

[@DocRobotnik]

@@vxvxcvxcvcvxc locked 40 on a 120 display is better than a VRR backed 40-60

[@duncanself5111]

Yeah the input latency would benefit

[@ozzyg82]

Great analysis, I’m excited to keep playing the campaign and see the difference. 6:10 is it just me or are these two images labelled the wrong way ‘round?

[@heavyhittersirl]

I don't get excited over phong shaders since I've been waiting since 1989 for hardware to do it in real time and have been inundated with baked textures this entire time. They have gotten so good at it that to me, it makes more sense to use generic methods if the tradeoff of using "emulated" reflections means better performance and optimized code and maintaining the illusion of actual reflections.

[@RolandDrummer77]

I can’t help shake the feeling some of these RT implementations don’t really make that big of a difference. If I’m being brutally honest I could have been easily tricked to think ss reflections were RT. That trick of staring at a reflection and looking up and down to watch the reflection disappear isn’t something I’d EVER notice if DF hadn’t taught me to specifically go out of my way to do it. Cool to see in videos like these, but for practical purposes I feel like RT reflections don’t make a huge difference during real gameplay a lot of the time. Now lighting on the other hand….

[@WolverineBatman]

RT reflections pretty much only makes a big difference in urban or sci-fi games where there are shiny surfaces everywhere, like building windows or polished floors.

[@leonfrancis3418]

Yeah it wasn't a game changer here. What's dope is the toggle doesn't require a reset and you can pause in cutscenes, so I used performance for gameplay, and quality for cutscenes and story sections with RT sprinkled into areas that were particularly shiny or heavy on reflections.

[@aladdin8623]

Absolutely agree, we need ray traced shadows and ray traced global illumination first. But the reason why ray tracing features are not being used completely is due to the cross gen support for weaker hardware like the xbox series s.

[@waltervanlille2263]

I dunno. Ray tracing in general for me isn't a game changer. It's fun when you notice it, but 99% of the time, I don't. I almost feel as if valuable resources could be better spent elsewhere.

[@fafski1199]

I've found it's all dependant on the game itself. Obviously games with a lot of reflective surfaces (urban settings, rivers/lakes/sea, rainy weather ect.) benefit far from RT reflections, than those games without much reflective surfaces around. Where as RT global illumination and RT shadows work better in games with a lot of forestation, fauna, dramatic sunset's/sunrises, internal environments ect. where lighting bounces around and there are lots of shadows. Also RT works better in slower paced games, where you often stop and "take in" the eyecandy, rather than fast paced games where you've no time to take in the

[@Sluggwurth]

I personally am very sick of these ray tracing modes on consoles limiting the FPS to 30. Doom Eternal figured out 60 FPS and Ray Tracing on console everyone else should too.

[@Sluggwurth]

30 FPS IS NOT A NEXT GEN EXPERIENCE

[@nitroxide17]

Great game! I noticed the rt mode on series x has some slight fps dips which kinda sucks (I’m playing on series x). But I usually go for 60 fps mode any way

[@wallacerigby4393]

Looks like I’m ready for a replay of this amazing game! Time to make new choices.

[@griffgames9538]

Thanks for the solid analysis of these GotG updates. 👍

[@1AJBOOMER]

OMG this is great I was just playing this on my Xbox Series X 5min ago, I had no clue great job on the video👌🏽👍🏼

[@Mayorofsexytown1303]

Haven't played this game yet but from what i have seen its environments are damn beautiful. Along with the enemy designs.

[@ChesterMan-qd3xj]

If ray tracing isn’t global illumination, then I think SSR lighting is just fine. Not worth the compromise for me.

[@8BitRetroMonkey]

I agree, there are sections where SSR looks better unless you know what you’re looking for.

[@jal.ajeera]

Exactly! This game actually has pretty good SSR so RT 30 fps not worth the frame rate hit.

[@UltraCasualPenguin]

@@8BitRetroMonkey SSR never looks better. Add all disadvantages it has and you're left with immersion breaking reflections. Btw, SSR ≠ lighting.

[@8BitRetroMonkey]

@@UltraCasualPenguin depends, sometimes the ray traced ones are so low resolution and jaggy that it does In fact break immersion. On a PC it’s a different story but more often than not I gravitate to performance mode with RT off unless it’s like Ratchet or Spider-Man where it’s pretty good

[@UltraCasualPenguin]

@@8BitRetroMonkey Still better than your SSR which is - blurry - doesn't reflect everything - disappears as soon as something blocks object that should be in reflection from view - disappears as soon as you turn camera

[@Mathingon]

Happy to see digital foundry come back to analyze the ray tracing update!

[@TheSaemi20]

This game is such a suprise to me. I love it. The rt reflextions on knowhere are beautiful and change the experience to the better. At least for me.

[@Horeteppe]

Got this game at a great deal on PS5 during the black week mayhem sales, looks pretty fun and well written!! Nice to have some sweet perks for holding off starting on the game!

[@redcrimson1028]

So did I. I got the cosmic collector's edition for 50 bucks I believe

[@kidapollo3000]

@@redcrimson1028 i got the cosmic deluxe from walmart for $29.99. I couldn't pass it up. It was only for the ps4 version for some reason. It didn't matter because of the free ps5 upgrade. That steelbook is beautiful i might add.

[@saputrasaputra3347]

PC gamers: "240fps will be the future of gaming" Console peasants: "these so-called next gen consoles with 30fps technology are truly fast, 5fps higher than last-gen consoles "

[@hashirsyed8810]

@@saputrasaputra3347 ok

[@FJTabb]

I started to get it but ended up passing it up 😓

[@ScrapKing73]

I think the baseline for all games should be 60 FPS. That's what every game should target for its default mode. One of the few things that all modern TVs have in common is 60 FPS. They don't all have 120 Hz in common, they don't all have 4K in common. Heck, there are 720p and even 480p TVs still in active use. But they can all do 60 FPS. Yes that means they all have 30 FPS in common, but if you target 30 FPS then people on lower resolution panels are losing out. So 60 FPS is the highest spec you can target that almost every display in active use in the world can support. So that should be the baseline, deliver the best 60 FPS experience possible. Then offer a quality mode (preferably in 40 FPS!), and a 120 FPS mode as options for enthusiasts of those modes.

[@Malinkadink]

That was how it was before the 7th generation consoles, most PS2 games were 60 fps, then the HD era started and the hardware was too crappy to continue targetting 60 fps but deliver visuals that would impress people so devs sliced fps to 30 fps to give themselves enough juice to run 720p or higher with better graphics. The newest gen finally has enough power to absolutely provide 60 fps as baseline, or at the very least keep giving us options like PCs always have. Someone wants 4k 30, others would rather have 1440p 60.

[@Collymillad]

Absolutely right - luckily it seems the tide has turned towards 60fps this gen, hopefully now that a lot more people have seen how much better it is they'll refuse to go back to 30. I don't care how good your game looks if the picture goes to shit every time I move the camera.

[@ChiquitaSpeaks]

@@Collymillad that’s the reason I’m needing 120fps

[@Collymillad]

@@ChiquitaSpeaks Yeah 100+ framerates are great too. 60 should be bare minimum, 30 needs to go away or remain an option at best.

[@ChiquitaSpeaks]

@@Collymillad I just want to get next gen DDR5 RAM and graphics cards so I can be set this whole generation running whatever they throw at me at 4k w RT @120

[@johnclark926]

I’m not sure why this wasn’t mentioned in the video, but at 1:00 and in other scenes where you can see the counter, the sunglasses always turns into a regular glasses in the reflection, is this another consequence of disabling transparent reflections? Also, at 6:04, is Quality Mode and Ray-Tracing Mode switched around? I would be baffled if there was just a random scene where Quality Mode has better reflections than ray-tracing.

[@Khashiofsky]

That transparent rtx could add alot to this game. I wish for developers to add more graphical options for next gen consoles. Like a 1080p mode with all the rtx options ON.

[@atrimus]

Crazy. I used to look at the cut-scenes in PS1 games like RE2 and FFVIII and think I’d probably never live to see real-time graphics like that. Now, games are regularly blowing that outta the water.

[@stviz87]

I remember seeing the cutscenes in FFVIII and thinking "wouldn't it be crazy to have a whole game with those graphics?" Well... I think we passed that quality 🤣

[@thanos3349]

@@stviz87 yeah now today visual qualities are much better than those prerenderd cutscenes from old games🤣

[@twocityfoodies8476]

I played through half the game before the RT patch and when it was implemented it felt like a whole new game. Everything felt like it came alive. Graphical stunner! Amazing story and music! Fun gameplay and hilarious dialogue! My favorite game this year!

[@DorianFr1992]

My favorite game of the year also for those reasons. Definite surprise 😎

[@kidapollo3000]

When did the patch go through?

[@kidapollo3000]

@@DorianFr1992 i was indeed a great surprise!

[@twocityfoodies8476]

@@kidapollo3000 maybe 2-3 weeks ago. I can't remember if it was before or after Thanksgiving.

[@DorianFr1992]

@@kidapollo3000 yes!

[@DeesBees85]

The 60fps mode is an unoptimized joke. They can absolutely do better than 1080p at 60fps on Series X.

[@aseretto015]

I have a 1070 gtx that is nothing compare to next gen consoles, and i get 60fps all ultra (non rt) at 45/50fps in 4k, imagine a series x hahaha

[@loo-ko4mw]

@@aseretto015 bro what 🤣 how do you use rtx with a gtx card stfu kid

[@timogul]

I have a question about screenspace reflection. That technique often has the issue where objects the camera isn't looking at aren't factored into the reflection, as displayed around 5:30 in the video. Do any games fake this better? I would think that a game could fake this effect better by actually rendering much more of a scene than is displayed on screen directly, just at a much lower resolution. so like if you have a 4K image of a scene, they could also render out as if the main image were only the lower middle square of a 3x2 grid, with the other five squares being rendered out at very low detail level, and this lower rez portion would only appear in reflections. I suppose that ideally you wouldn't even need much if any data on the sides, so you'd really only need what is "above" the visible stage up to the vertical point. This doesn't seem to me like it would be too taxing to do.

[@marrow94]

It would be taxing still, so why bother? Ray tracing solves the problem anyway.

[@iamthenati]

I'm honestly surprised it's only 1080p 60 on these new systems.

[@JesusF7]

Me too. I’m struggling to wrap my head around it. Like, if you can run it locked at 30 between 4K and over 1440p with ray tracing enabled, then why does it need to go all the way down to 1080p and not even be able to lock 60?? Like, this games doesn’t even use DLSS or FSR at all when using raytracing

[@JesusF7]

@Bry Zeer yes they are bozo

[@saputrasaputra3347]

PC gamers: "240fps will be the future of gaming" Console peasants: "these so-called next gen consoles with 30fps technology are truly fast, 5fps higher than last-gen consoles "

[@LucDutra92]

Spider-Man runs at a higher resolution, 60fps and ray tracing in an open world. This here just seems like poor optmization.

[@JesusF7]

@@LucDutra92 that’s not accurate though. They’re completely different games. They use different engines and they were also release in different years. Already comparing PCs and consoles is not very straightforward because even if they’re similar, they’re still very different machines.

[@Reydriel]

6:03 What's going on here? The Ray Tracing mode doesn't have the reflectiveness of the Quality mode?

[@Bestwick1983]

Great for screenshots, but definitely not worth the 30FPS cap.

[@HShango]

Groot was so essential in this game, Gamora and Drax were amazing and then the legendary Rocket Racoon loved them all. Plus being Quill god it felt and breathed like the guardians.

[@alecatttheman896]

When I told people Series S 4 teraflops will be missing ray tracing nobody believed me now what? Looks like the One X is miles better than Series S Microsoft could of just offered an SSD upgrade to One X and that would of have been better to push this gen Microsoft themselves said Project Scorpio would have exclusives when they first began revealing it however that didn’t happen and before you think im bitter I been enjoying ray tracing on my my Notebook I know how taxing it is

[@Radek494]

Series S is seriously not impressive, PS5 Digital is only $100 more but you get bigger SSD, 6 GB more ram and 10 Tflops GPU and devs only need to optimize for one PlayStation 5 sku

[@Astro1554]

right I agree with you they should of jusy kept the one x going at least we would get 4k 30 fps instead of 800p 30 idk what Microsoft was thinking when they made the s o wait money 💰.

[@alecatttheman896]

@@Astro1554 definitely a clever cash grab

[@lucianoribeiro6037]

Maybe you should call the video ps5 vs ps5 , since practically only show the version of it ...🥱🥱

[@GeniusEliteZ]

they already did a video about the Performance Mode a few weeks ago, and Series X runs better this Video is only RT Mode.

[@bazyt1]

What a beautiful looking game (ray tracing or not), kudos to the artists + devs.

[@JB.zero.zero.1]

I would like to see a 1080p RT option in titles, for those of us happy to play at that resolution. Just to see if the FR could be better.

[@CyborgSodaCollects]

Yeah couldn't they just upscale the picture?

[@VladimirGolev]

Yeah. I also play on 1080 tv and hate options we usually have. They already ruined console magic when you don’t have options… then just give me full options list to decide (with presets for people who do t care). I would set 1080 quality mode with 60fps capped in most games and I’m sure current consoles can deliver it.

[@alphacompton]

Looks good, I honestly think this should replace Quality mode but more options is always the best. On another note, shouldn't game devs start offering a 40fps mode though? There's a lot of gamers with 120hz TVs. I have a pre HDMI 2.1 TV with native 120hz(120hz at 1080p &1440p) so 40fps would make a big difference.

[@metaxaos]

Devs should really start offering FPS unlock in ANY mode since 1) we have VRR now 2) we don’t want to end up begging for patch again when PS5Pro/PS6 arrives.

[@brechtxt8096]

@@metaxaos Future-proofing for the 10th generation should be pretty important

[@jayroman3384]

Ratchet and clank is the only game I know of that does this so far

[@sloth7d526]

"a lot" is a big statement. Steam surveys still show 1080p 60fps is majority so there's no way there's "a lot" of gamers with 120hz TVs

[@Lock2002ful]

@@sloth7d526 lol what? xD Most PC gamers have a 1060 and a 1080p or 1440p monitor and do not play on tv. He’s talking about console gamers because they play almost exclusively on big screen Oled 4k tvs with hdr and vrr.

[@piotrbiaas8119]

Can’t they add 1080p 60fps ray-tracing mode for ps5 and XSX?

[@Tectosaurus]

I doubt it… they couldn’t even make a 1440p60 mode on PS5 which was very disappointing… I loved the game but they have no excuses, performance was pretty bad at times even at 1080p.

[@riceeater79]

@@Tectosaurus it a joke considering Horizon Forbidden West is visually superior and it's 60 fps performance mode will 100% be higher than 1080p.

[@Tectosaurus]

@@riceeater79 yeah, poor optimization is to blame

[@rayyanamir8560]

Nobody cares about ray tracing anyway

[@Kubose]

6:04 is this shot mislabeled? Cause I kinda prefer the look of the quality mode over ray tracing here, and if you told me the one on the left was the ray tracing one i'd believe it without a second thought.

[@Cblan1224]

Would be weird to have a vrr display with a series S, unless it's a monitor I guess. Be like having a brand new TV but capping yourself at 25% of the resolution for..I can't think of a reason. There's something weird going on with dlss in this game. I hope it gets fixed. If you are looking at a light source like stars or any light source, then move the camera, the light flickers, or temporarily increases in brightness. It's only with dlss on, and was gamebreaking, so I just play on max settings around 55-60fps on a 3090. Would be nice to have dlss working right to play around 90 though

[@FortWorthRaised]

I played this game all the way through on Raytracing mode and it felt like a really good movie.

[@NikHem343]

How long did it take you?

[@slimclarence]

@@NikHem343 3 years

[@anasshahid224]

Guardians of the Galaxy is such a fun game, my personal GOTY and playing it on PS5 with Ray tracing, looks stunning 👏👏👏

[@skelet891]

great review!

[@MrMightyZ]

This was a fantastic review for PS5 and Series S that included some information on Series X.

[@glenmcl]

Well, they have to compare PS5 to Series S, so the PS5 looks better. The XSX smokes the PS5.

[@koerel]

@@glenmcl Lol no it doesn't 😂 There has literally never been a console generation before when two different consoles have been as similar as the PS5 and the XSX are.

[@william41017]

You people are sad

[@OG-Jakey]

@@koerel I mean xbox one and ps4 were pretty similar.

[@VTorner]

@@koerel This comment will age very bad for the console with weaker architecture

[@max_the_german4989]

So why didn‘t they implement a real performance mode with 900p for Series S? With 900p, total pixel count is only 70% compared to 1080p, resulting in a 44% higher frame rate (very simplified). That means 42 fps at 1080p would be 60 fps at 900p, bringing it on the same level of performance as Series X and PS5. I don‘t get it, consistent 60 fps is key for a great gaming experience today (at least to me).

[@oozly9291]

Not really, they could have brought it down to 720P and it would likely struggle at 60fps still

[@thanos3349]

@@oozly9291 nah... It would definetly get 60fps at 900p They could implement ray tracing at 720p but who plays in 720p nowadays...

[@RetroniOS]

Is it me or the time of PS5 footage is a lot longer than of Xbox Series X one? And what about those frame drops when use Star Lord's scan view on PS5? Does the Xbox Series X suffer the same drops too? Or at Performance mode, Xbox has the same framerate problem?

[@glenmcl]

XSX smokes the PS5. Fact

[@rockettbuggey5990]

Tom and Alex both seem to prefer Xbox. So they do the best they can to not show it in a bad way.

[@atrimus]

@@glenmcl Most people can’t even tell the difference in these comparison without DF holding up a 64x microscope.

[@kostasbousbouras2654]

@@glenmcl Your fact.

[@cheesyspace]

@@rockettbuggey5990 thats what small sony fanboy says 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@davidfelock4053]

It’s one of the few next generation games that have wowed me visually between my Xbox Series X & My PS5 disc edition on my Lg VRR equipped Oled panel.

[@e.s.geasystreetgaming1367]

If you own an Xbox One 2013 upwards you have the option to buy it on PC and play it on Xbox with full ray-tracing and settings above what consoles can do.

[@baphi865]

I need the 60Fps, i cant play with 30 anymore, the feeling is unpleasant and slow.

[@giotorres9848]

Man this game was flarkin good i cant wait for a sequel this game is up there for me as one of the best campaign games i have played

[@Kerrogann]

Is that the update released a few weeks ago, or another one? Because I'm almost certain I did a replay with ray tracing, but I haven't played the game for at least 3 weeks.

[@mrchiledonut]

I like to think I keep up on games (probably has to do with not going on gaming sites anymore much...), and yet to say it took us by surprise is putting it mildly because I hadn't even known about this game until its release, and it was created by the team that brought the recent Deus Ex titles. I just remember hearing that they were making a Marvel game. I haven't played it yet but it's on my wishlist. I am always up for a good game based on comic books. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Guardians of the Galaxy pretty much stops at the movies. I haven't read any of the comics.

[@gabor3432]

I still cant get over the fact that the 60fps mode uses 1080p resolution on PS5 and Series X and can drop frames. If they can do a native 2160p with a locked 30fps, a 1440p 60fps should be an easy job. And hell the Series S version got a fps unlock in the update and can run with 45-60fps in 1080p, the big consoles are like 3 times more powerful and they can barely outperform the Series S in the performance mode??? I feel like there are some extremely incompetent people there in the dev team.

[@ErenTheWarcriminal]

Well. This was all I needed to read to stop me from buying it, thanks!

[@destroyermcw626]

Halo infinite showed a good example of 4K 30fps and 1440p 60fps for One X and Series X

[@VTorner]

@@destroyermcw626 Series X is 4K 60 lol

[@destroyermcw626]

@@VTorner Oh god! I slipped up and forgot that!😅

[@NGuy-kz2eh]

The fact that we have 3 modes to pick from here is really impressive compared to last gen when we had none, but I wish there was a 40FPS mode. The cuts in the 60FPS mode are pretty heavy in this game and 40FPS would be a nice middle ground

[@ArashiKageTaro]

Does the PS5 even have VRR yet?

[@TJTRIZZ]

@@ArashiKageTaro no 😡😡😡 sony pull ya finger out

[@jayroman3384]

@@ArashiKageTaro VRR comes with gamma curve issues and flickering on LG TVs and is even worse on Samsung and Sony TVs. Sony currently has the only game so far to offer a 40fps mode and that’s ratchet and clank. Hopefully VRR fixes arrive next year for TVs.

[@Loundsify]

@@ArashiKageTaro no which is daft as it's free to implement.

[@VladimirGolev]

Played recently, before it left game pass on series x and I’m surprised nobody mentioning in reviews or tech analysis, that fps in game drops significantly in space missions, and the last fights. I play on 1080 tv with performance mode. And I think it dropped to 5 fps in some moments. Died and failed to jump, buttons were not registered because of freezes and low fps. I think optimization team didn’t finish their job in last 3rd of the game. And sometimes it was barely possible to play :( Good game, however.

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

Glad I waited on this. Currently going through my backlog before I buy a new game. This and Returnal will be the first games I buy then.

[@travisc123]

30 FPS for Ray tracing mode? Come on guys. Insomniac, could you teach them a thing or two?

[@alanlee67]

Dont know why Capcom would update dmc5 for Ray tracing and not remake 2 and 3. Those games could clearly take advantage and the boost to 4k60

[@albertwesker9592]

They will release them eventually, capcom re released almost every re game on ps4, they will do the same on ps5

[@dannyelmism0]

I have played a lot in 2021 but man this game was sooooo fun haven't had so much fun with a game in a whiiilleeee

[@jarg8]

Just decided to buy it this yesterday. Then I go on KZbin and see this video. What luck! Can't wait to play it

[@whatchahowsya8688]

As beautiful as it is, I opted for performance mode on the PS5. The 60fps was crucial for me.

[@darkmaster539]

Same.

[@ChrisClemmons]

Agreed. I don't know why (or understand) how everyone all of the sudden is okay with 30fps again. This gen was supposed to be 60fps through and through with the new cpu's. Like that matrix demo. SO MANY people saying they were fine with 30fps if it looked like that. The subtle differences in the graphics for 60fps and even 120fps is a game changer... I will never understand how people can go from 60fps to 30fps and be fine with it. I mean, it's a VIDEO GAME... not a Painting... you play it... not stand there and look at it. lol rant over srry

[@giannis_tar]

@@ChrisClemmons it will never be 60 fps through and through. Who said that? Cool graphics sell, and devs will milk as much horsepower as they can in order to push graphics to the limit. Nothing wrong with that btw. Otherwise, we would be stuck at 720p last gen.

[@uncleurda8101]

@@ChrisClemmons I mean, developers are delivering a performance mode with most games nowadays which I see as progress in the console space. You may not get all the fancy new bells and whistles, but at the price bracket you can't really complain that you aren't getting ray-tracing at 60fps.

[@cmdr101z8]

@@ChrisClemmons That’s because the matrix demo looks almost photorealistic. It looks amazing, but it wouldn’t look as good at 60fps. You may not like it, but a well implemented 30fps with good motion blur to smooth it out is fine for some people

[@Neoxon619]

GotG was easily the sleeper hit of 2021. Hopefully we’ll get a sequel.

[@arthemisboss]

Does the performance mode run worse after the patch on ps5? In the first df video the opening sequence was running in the low 50s fps while now it drops to 39fps

[@gtafan110010]

Hey Tom. I've started playing this game on my ps5 but i've had massive frame rate issues i am honestly not sure what causes it, perhaps it's that my ps5 is horizontal, but the frame rate drops are really bad. Whenever i make a jump or any large effect comes from the active reload and what not, it immediately drops to the low 20's and i've even had a drop to what i think is below 10 fps. It's genuinely crazy

[@iTrustInTheMusic]

Interesting. I’ve never had this issue on the ps5. I have the new version of the ps5 although this shouldn’t make a difference. Been playing with it horizontal on ray tracing mode.

[@gtafan110010]

@@iTrustInTheMusic I wonder if it might have to do with airflow of the console. While my ps5 has (what i thought to be) a fair amount of room to 'breathe' , i now wonder if it's not enough and triggering some form of thermal throttle.... But that would genuinely surprise me. Games like ratchet rift apart and miles morales run flawless for me

[@itsd0nk]

What about capping series s at 40fps on a 120hz display? I would even like to see that option for the PS5 and SX. Would be impressive if it works the way it does in Ratchet.

[@TANuclear]

That would require a few hours of work, so big nope from devs

[@itsd0nk]

@@TANuclear yeah but I’m very curious about how it works out on series s if you set the cap to 40fps on a 120hz screen. It looks like it rarely dips below 40, so this could be a perfect upgrade for anyone with 120hz and a series s.

[@TANuclear]

@@itsd0nk yes im all for it, seems like no one else is though sadly

[@itsd0nk]

@@TANuclear well anyone with a series s can do it now after this patch. I was suggesting someone test it, now that it’s possible after they added the frame rate limiter slider in the latest patch.

[@TANuclear]

@@itsd0nk oh yeah sorry thats nice, it should be in the ps5 and xbsx too tho

[@phillydavison]

We need to keep pushing for the Rift Apart 40 FPS style mode for 120hz TV'S it really was a game changer.

[@rolandsmash]

06:03 I think the images are flipped/mislabeled here (Peter running on the wing of the Milano).

[@sreeshnelp]

I'm still disappointed that the 60FPS mode drops resolution all the way to 1080p. Glad to see RT looks great though!

[@sean7332]

Yeah that's really low tbh, 1440p should be standard for 60fps modes

[@krucible9369]

Once you experience 60 FPS there’s no going back to 30

[@destroyermcw626]

I can go to either honestly but I mostly abuse Quality/4K modes though

[@crissmv8424]

@Bry Zeer At another price. At 500 $ it's good for browsing.

[@KingofDMC19]

@Bry Zeer I've been playing a lot of my games at 120fps, on my Series X. So what poor console are you talking about?

[@TheProphegy]

@Bry Zeer some console games have 120fps. I actually get 140-150 on Siege as it is uncapped on next gen consoles. I think it will become normal in the next few years on PS5/XBX for all shooters to be 120, story games at 60 with more focus on resolution and RT.

[@KingofDMC19]

@Bry Zeer DMC5SE, few hirez trashbag games, the new Halo, Forza horizon 5, overwatch, samurai showdown, borderlands 3, destiny 2, and some others i can't remember. Also how are you gonna not include older games when that's 80% of what you cheap fucks play until a stream sale.

[@casieryback8932]

So no RT performance mode, that’s disappointing. Insomniac for the win again. 😬

[@jenesuispasbavard]

I wish there was an uncapped raytracing mode on Series X to use with VRR displays.

[@HShango]

I played the game on geforce now, I loved every bit of it.

[@Sheen334]

This was a lovely PS5 video. Thanks.

[@laworder6637]

After playing Miles & Rift Apart.. Insomniac are just ahead in RT.

[@supersikes]

I wish they’d do what insomniac did with Rift Apart and and add the 120hz. That was my favorite mode in that game. Gave you the quality setting with ray tracing and was not quite as smooth as 60FPS but pretty damn close.

[@igotdembombs]

Only digital foundry can call a 14 minute video a quick look at a video game. ♥️

[@nickantoniou6088]

I see this a lot on DF content lately "But is ok with VRR", guys a lot of Sumsung dislays have a VRR range of 48Hz-120Hz and some not even have LFC, VRR is not helping when you show footage of 42FPS it is a choppy mess. LG TVs usually go for 40Hz-120Hz so there is a bit better. Also the HDMI forum recomendation for VRR is 48-120Hz so VRR is great as long as you get 50-60FPS not anything to 60 FPS. Do not generalize the VRR usefullnes to this degree because on the X TV it will feel like sh*t and ppl will try to understand why since the have the magic VRR feature.

[@bltzcstrnx]

Most VRR GPU have LFC, hence when it drops below screen minimum refresh it will doubles. This way VRR is maintained even when it drops below monitor refresh rate. Edit: LFC is a GPU feature, not the monitor. As long as highest refresh is 2.5x its lowest, LFC will be uitlised.

[@nickantoniou6088]

@@bltzcstrnx I stand corrected LFC is a feature on the GPU that XBOX seems to have, the problem here is on my setup it feels like crap the Guradians of the galaxy on a Samsung OLED and Series S, so even if LFC is in play and basically does the doubling thing, 42 -44 FPS is way to low to compasate without notice, for those frames the "real FPS" targeted with the doubling is 21 and 22 FPS for a few miliseconds making the whole experience feel chopy as hell, of course you miliage may vary but VRR is not a magic bullet on such low frame rates. I'm actually a huge fan of it on my PC which i cannot reach 144Hz of my monitors max refresh so i always taget to be around 60 FPS and let Freesync do its thing and it works great as long the game has small swings above and bellow that 60 mark.

[@josebaiona9324]

You could have dwelled more on the Series X version. Does the RT mode also drop in the scanner view? You mentioned nothing whatsoever, how about the performance mode? It drops on PS5 still, how about Xbox?

[@SimonCheesewright]

secrets

[@PantherCrane]

Parity, so yes 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@SimonCheesewright]

@@PantherCrane if that's true then df should just close the channel.. We need more answers on this

[@PantherCrane]

@@SimonCheesewright @7:24 ✌🏿

[@biguy223]

How come we never got a PC version video of this game, i was really curious how the raytracing was in that version.

[@TheProphegy]

I haven’t played this yet but damn this a beautiful game. Super impressed with the character models and just how crisp everything is on console. I think they gave too much of the environment RT reflections, it kills the frames/resolution. Should’ve kept it simple.

[@Phil_529]

Runs great on PC.

[@TheProphegy]

@@Phil_529 I figured so, I’m on PS5 and this looks really clean on next gen consoles. I’m happy we’re finally at a point in console gaming where 60-120fps is the norm and we can pull off Ray tracing and full 4K. I know RT and frames don’t mix well but I think once more people harness the power of the new consoles and with better techniques, we will he seeing some super impressive console games in the next 2-3 years.

[@beastmode3776]

@@TheProphegy 120😂😂😂 maybe for ori yeah....

[@ntmetroid]

Just finished playing through the game on performance mode on ps5, i only noticed a couple drops and they always seemed to be in star lords room. Even on performance mode, the game looks incredible.

[@YuChiHuang]

Why do I feel there are stutters and frame drops everywhere on my ps5 on performance mode, is my ps5 defective?

[@duncanself5111]

@@YuChiHuang perhaps but you should probably try to return it to where you bought it instead of asking people on KZbin comment sections! 😋

[@dooleh84]

@@YuChiHuang Seems like it has a whole lot of drops on the DF video they posted when it came out, I wouldn't worry about it unless it's chugging like it's running on a PS3. Besides, if other games run fine, it's the game itself.

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@YuChiHuang OP probably can't see a difference.

[@MaxIronsThird]

@@YuChiHuang OP just can't see it.

[@Nolasco.]

It just make me so sad that we can't enjoy the optimization on launch day and ofc on disc, sad days for hardcopies of games 😞 Thanks for the video Tom, high quality as always 😊👍

[@spazco8669]

I hope games start using the letterbox option for performance like Matrix demo and hellblade 2.

[@elliem2563]

Can't see a option for ray tracing on my Xbox series X just frame rate toggle. Not sure if it's because I started the game on cloud gaming like doom eternal because the graphics setting is greyed out there. Just bought this Xbox series X yesterday morning not a good start when you can't even access graphics options

[@ericb2861]

I can’t understand why after patch Ps5 can’t lock 60 FPS without ray tracing and resolutions dynamic not at true 4k. I could be wrong what I heard from DF. I would take 1080 p or 1440p for a lock 60 FPS any day of the week. It’s great to have options with ray tracing and all but at 30 FPS ain’t cutting it.

[@chuckmayhem1991]

The “performance” mode is 1080p. Not dynamic 4k.

[@ericb2861]

@@chuckmayhem1991 well if it’s only 1080 p without dynamic 4k and can’t hit 60FPS locked. Then it’s even worse. If this cross gen game can’t do it than how are the Ps5 games made from ground up can hit 60FPS at minimum 1080 p do it? By the way. I bought game day one. I finished it and great dialogue and story but gameplay just not good enough. I traded in game after I finished it. Glad it was $60 not $70. I need lock not fluctuating 60 FPS with base resolution(1080p) at minimum on Ps5.

[@dooleh84]

@@ericb2861 This game can't hold 60fps on any of the consoles, it's not the PS5 itself. Maybe they can patch it at some point.

[@chuckmayhem1991]

@@ericb2861 this game seems to kick AMD’s ass a bit. I checked PC benchmarks from kitguru. The 2070S which is pretty close to the ps5/X in performance in most games(so is the 5700xt) and it was 102 at 1080, 76 at 1440p and 42 at native 4k ultra settings. While the 5700XT thats usually in the same ballpark minus RT, is only 76(with 1% lows below 60 just like ps5/X) at 1080, 55 at 1440p and just over 30 at 4k. Which makes sense for the resolution choices on console. Keep in mind thats with a 10900k at 5.1ghz on all cores which is a vastly better CPU than the consoles. And that changing settings in this game make almost no difference in performance on PC. Surprising they didnt use 1440p dynamic though.

[@saputrasaputra3347]

PC gamers: "240fps will be the future of gaming" Console peasants: "these so-called next gen consoles with 30fps technology are truly fast, 5fps higher than last-gen consoles "

[@Shawak9]

I immensely enjoyed this game on my pc, it was a rollercoaster of a journey. Also performance was smooth as silk at 60 fps on my 2070s at close to 2160p with Ray tracing at high and balanced DLSS. Already craving for another play-through.

[@gaddeath]

I was very surprised how well this game ran with ray tracing and DLSS. Other games I try DLSS can't make up the performance hit for adding ray tracing. This was one of the few games (besides Metro) that allowed high frame rates with ray tracing and DLSS on Balanced.

[@Crickethill]

60 FPS with RayTracing high on 2070 Super? Hmm … I was thinking about finally getting the game for PS5, but now I think maybe PC is the better choice? I‘ve got a 2070 (normal) and 4k monitor, so if the settings are basically the same, of course I would prefer close to 60 FPS over 30 FPS on console. Thank you for your comment - that might actually help with my decision making.

[@Shawak9]

@@Crickethill Hey! No problem. Yeah so I played at 3620x2036 and other than minor drops it ran just fine also VRR will smooth things out if you monitor supports. And I think you should experiment with output resolution, try 1800p with DLSS at balance because 2160p could be taxing of 2070. Glad to help.

[@davidbrown6976]

Flexin on ‘‘em lol

[@Loundsify]

My 3060Ti with no DLSS + maxed out + RT gets around 75avg at 1080p, turn DLSS to quality at 1080p I get around 95. I haven't got a 4k monitor or TV yet, personally I'm after a 1440p monitor with high refresh with good contract and colours.

[@satellite964]

I wish there was a 40 FPS Ray tracing mode. Or at least auto switch to 60 fps during combat.

[@mtdubdachamp6917]

Crazy that ray tracing mode is my favorite so far. It’s so crisp yeah not as crispy as PC and no 60fps option with ray tracing but it’s damn gorgeous. SE and Eidos did a fantastic job.

[@mtdubdachamp6917]

I have a VRR screen but I have yet to see if it works for it yet I was playing on another tv in my house. I’m anxious to see how it plays now that PS5 has the option.

[@fazesw2343]

You think 1080p at 60fps is fantastic? Base ps4 did that 7 years ago

[@CaramelisedNipples]

When you compared the Ray tracing options on PC, there is actually a rather big reason to use very high vs high Ray tracing. High can have a lot of artefacts and shimmering which I found very distracting very high is definitely preferred if you have the gpu power.

[@ArashiKageTaro]

Ultra for me since I’m rocking an R5 5600x and RTX 3070. Beautiful game!

[@CaramelisedNipples]

@@ArashiKageTaro I'm running a 3080ti and 5900x but as my display is a 4k lg c1 I try to balance options, ultra very often looks almost identical to very high. Looking side to side, I noticed a small difference in very high vs ultra when comparing but when actually playing I could hardly tell a difference so chose those extra 8-10fps.

[@saputrasaputra3347]

PC gamers: "240fps will be the future of gaming" Console peasants: "these so-called next gen consoles with 30fps technology are truly fast, 5fps higher than last-gen consoles "

[@bearpuns5910]

@@saputrasaputra3347 The current gen consoles are more powerful than, like, 90% of modern PCs

[@imo098765]

@@bearpuns5910 thats how it normally is, until 2 years later when low end PC parts become as strong as the consoles, which we would be on par with if crypto wasnt a thing

[@TANuclear]

40fps mode/vrr mode standard when? People apparently dont want “innovation” and want to stay at 30 forever even though 40/vrr is miles better and should be the lowest standard, especially as 120+ hz users are increasing. That way no patch will be needed in the future when more powerful hardware is available, as the best way to play the game is already there. Even more so since devs rarely patch their games years after release.

[@adammroznik1300]

Knowhere it RT mode looks sick. Once i saw a difference, when i change to quality, never again i choose other mode that RT

[@tahsin28]

Omg. This video just made me love my console much more. Thanks Eidos bt the 60fps mode sud get DRS added. If not, Eidos sud tell us the technical difficulty m.

[@thelastwordingamingandtech7198]

Definitely one of the best looking games for 2021, It's in my top 5 best graphics for the year. As for the RT mode, I won't sacrifice framerate for RT, but options are always good. As far as the analysis went. Didn't see much of XBOX vs PS5 side by sides. I do believe they could easily improve the performance mode on these consoles though, especially the hiccups on PS5, not sure why that was not done along with this patch.

[@Jayy997]

Tom doesn't like to compare PS5 and Xbox in direct comparisons when the Xbox is superior. Just like how he doesn't even mention that Xbox doesn't have the frame rate drops when activating scanner that PS5 has. Performance mode is also MUCH better on Xbox compared with PS5.

[@TekuelaII]

60fps > RT 30fps

[@stogiermink]

There’s one part of the game with HUGE frame rate issues on the Series X. It’s when you pursue the blue-lady to pay your fine and first encounter one of those cultists with the shield.

[@theoldpcgamer77]

Just picked this up for £22 on PC so i hope all the bugs and issues are ironed out by now.