With Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin available now in Europe (North America gets it next week), Digital Foundry has published their performance analysis comparing the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions, which have been upgraded to 60fps at 1080p.
In their report, Digital Foundry confirms that it’s a “true 1920×1080 game” on PS4, and a very similar situation on Xbox One, with both featuring FXAA anti-aliasing. Looking at core graphics, they are “entirely on par,” with the PS4 version requiring a 13GB install (and 12.1GB download), and the Xbox One version needing a smaller 12.1GB of space. Despite this, “the end turnout is the same” and “both PS4 and Xbox One get the premium treatment in terms of visual design.”
The differences start to appear when you look at frame-rate, with Digital Foundry giving the edge to the PS4 version in their video test above, and written summary below (note: the game was tested at version 1.00 on PS4 and Xbox One. After their report, patch 1.01 came out for Xbox One but they saw no performance improvements):
Lowest Frame-Rate
- PlayStation 4 – 48.0fps
- Xbox One – 36.0fps
Dropped Frames (From 20,480 total)
- PlayStation 4 – 296 (1.44%)
- Xbox One – 1,573 (7.63%)
Highlighting the boosted enemy count as one of the reasons for frame-rate drops, the report brings up The Forest of Fallen Giants as an example of one place where the game falters. On Xbox One, when enemies fill the screen, it drops to between 40-50fps, while the PS4 version stays within 50-60fps.
In another example, the Xbox One version fell to 36fps during an encounter with The Last Giant boss due to floating souls. On PS4, things remain smooth. As they add, “Sony’s machine does not produce a perfect 60fps of course, but it is a consistently better performer – and in a game that demands pinpoint timing for rolls and ripostes, the smoother frame-rate can make a difference.”
All in all, Digital Foundry says the PS4 version “hands in results closest to the developer’s intention” and, as far as consoles go, “it’s no doubt the best version to date.”
[Source: Eurogamer]
