Digital Foundry analyzes and compares the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Digital Foundry is known for putting games “head to head” and determining which is the best version by listing the differences between each one. With the new generation, many were eager to see the clash of the two Titans, PS5 and Xbox Series X, and well, the wait is over!

Xbox Series S

“We will discuss a good number of Xbox issues in this piece, but the Series S version of Valhalla is in a rather awkward position. Microsoft’s marketing positions the Series S as a lower-resolution Xbox that should mirror the Series X experience, but the key cut here is a drop from 60fps to 30fps, placing it firmly in line with last-gen versions of the game. Not only that, the dynamic resolution is quite elastic, operating from 1188p to around 1656p, often settling at 1296p – lower than the Series X, and also bringing reductions in shadow resolution, alongside pulled-back detail settings for trees and terrain. It is a perfectly serviceable game, but not as complete as users might expect. The Series S may match quite well in terms of resolution, but the cut in features and frame rate is disappointing.”

Xbox Series X vs Playstation 5

• Both use dynamic resolution ranging from 1440p (67% of 4K resolution) to 1768p (80% of 4K resolution)
• Digital Foundry highlights that the games are essentially the same on both consoles; tessellation, textures, lighting… the difference is in performance!
• Both have screen tearing issues.
• Both consoles suffer drops and do not run at a constant 60 fps, but DF highlights that the PS5 keeps running at a higher frame rate most of the time, even running with a 15% higher frame rate than the Xbox Series X in equivalent scenarios.
• When moving the camera, on the Xbox Series X there are, on some occasions, frame drops… the same does not happen on the PS5.

And lastly, Digital Foundry concludes:

“Ultimately, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is in a very strange place right now – overall, it runs as a 60 frames per second experience on PlayStation 5, but with some intrusive tears. Perhaps some tweaks to the dynamic resolution scaler are needed – dropping below 1440p would be preferable to tearing. Meanwhile, there are clear problems on the Xbox side that clearly need to be addressed: the frame pacing in cutscenes, along with the bizarre performance drops, are disappointing. We would also like to see a 60fps mode on the Series S, even if it incurs a resolution penalty. The big triumph of the franchise’s move to the next generation is the move to 60fps – having that option removed on the Series S does not do justice to the system’s ideals.“

Source: DigitalFoundry