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Digital Foundry: Avowed PS5/PS5 Pro - DF Review - Excellent Game, Decent Port, Light on Pro Upgrades

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Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
​


Obsidian's Avowed impressed us at launch on Xbox consoles and especially PC - and now, finally, we have ports for PlayStation 5 and its Professional counterpart. The verdict? Minor differences aside, it's a good game - just rather short of actual PS5 Pro upgrades. Still, as things stand, a well-executed Unreal Engine 5 game is a winner regardless of which console you own.


00:00 Overview
00:38 Series X recap
03:25 PS5
08:45 PS5 Pro
12:10 Concluding thoughts
 
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Microsoft really really didn't advertise that this was coming out for PS5 this week. Outside of a GAF thread months ago......nothing.
 
Does Pro have hardware Lumen?

edit nevermind seems even Xbox had some truncated hardware lumen before?
 
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Kinda explains while the marketing was dead lol. Especially with Pro neglect.

Also, Excellent Game? Yeah, right. Wil check the update on PC later on.
 
- Avowed made 'excellent use' of UE5 last year, now out on PS5.

Series X recap:
- Shipped with 3 different modes, 30/40/60.
- IQ was pretty good and still better than most recent UE5 shipped titles
- The game did use Hardware Lumen on Xbox but the geometric detail was far simpler than PC
- Performance was overall good on each mode and it played well on console.
- All console versions seem to use FSR2, not TSR.

Base PS5:
- Base PS5 is mostly the same as SX
- 30fps Quality is slightly lower in DRS compared to SX (eg 1440p on SX is 1224p in one place), some places are identical.
- 30fps mode also shows frame pacing issues on PS5 which were not there, or lesser so on SX

- Performance mode:
- Base PS5 shadow draw distance is lower and distant foliage is simplified compared to SX
- Similar to Quality, DRS is a bit lower on PS5
- Comparatively, PS5 sticks to 60 a bit better than SX

- Balanced Mode
- Both hit a stable 40 in all tests

- All consoles have 'unlocked' FPS mode which tears and breaks VRR on SX
- The VRR works fine on PS5 but the performance up-tick is negligible
- Overall 'roughly the same' some ares are 'notable worse looking on PS5 due to cut-back shadows, but other areas can look identical.

PS5 Pro:
- Native Pro support present but 'not very many'
- Broadly matches Series X in resolution in all tested modes
- IQ is very similar too, still uses FSR instead of PSSR, which DF thinks is better cause of PSSR and Lumen not working well together
- In performance mode, PS5 Pro also shows shadow coverage issues noted on base PS5, but to a lesser extent where it lacks behind SX
- Quality mode shows 30fps frame pacing but less so than base PS5
- Performance and Balanced mode generally tends to stick to its respective performance targets

- DF thinks the PS5 Pro enhancements are bare but sensible compared to how some other UE5 games have shown poor Pro upgrades (eg Silent Hill f)

Verdict:
- Compared to a lot of UE5 titles seen, this one fares a lot better. No issues with low rendering resolutions like 720p etc, in any mode.
- DF hopes the base PS5 and SX would be a little bit more closer for parity as Oliver thinks it 'fares a little bit worse than usual' on base PS5.
- Overall, DF are happy the game is good on all platforms.
 
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Buggy Loop said:
Does Pro have hardware Lumen?

edit nevermind seems even Xbox had some truncated hardware lumen before?
Click to expand...

Correct, it used hardware Lumen but the quality of reflections was pretty bad compared to PC's higher presets so it was kind of a moot point.

They made no separate mention for Pro so I'm assuming it inherited the same as base PS5.

Faltherion said:
Excellent game? Right....
Click to expand...
ShaiKhulud1989 said:
Also, Excellent Game? Yeah, right.
Click to expand...

Animated GIF
 
Npc still there without moving, so I Guess the physics is still shit...and they wanted to be a Skyrim....
 
Someone should show this to other Unreal 5 devs - you can make game with lumen, vsm's and nanite and it doesn't have to run in 720p!

sp07hZc5llTAC3Pa.jpg
 
adamsapple said:
Correct, it used hardware Lumen but the quality of reflections was pretty bad compared to PC's higher presets so it was kind of a moot point.

They made no separate mention for Pro so I'm assuming it inherited the same as base PS5.




Animated GIF
Click to expand...
Try to have standarts, that's all I (and flopped sales) can say. Especially considering that Avowed was released close to almost ideal FPS RPG KCD2.
 
Boring port but in a good way. They could have done more, especially with the pro, but it could have also backfired badly so I suppose it's alright for an UE5 game.
 
Enjoyed the game, but I'm glad I played it on PC. I don't get DF though. I'd rather put up with some minor flickering with PSSR (just as I do with DLSS) than deal with FSR 2.
 
ShaiKhulud1989 said:
Try to have standarts, that's all I (and flopped sales) can say. Especially considering that Avowed was released close to almost ideal FPS RPG KCD2.
Click to expand...

Sorry not sorry that the people who like the game don't conform to your particular standard. 🤷‍♂️

Topher said:
Enjoyed the game, but I'm glad I played it on PC. I don't get DF though. I'd rather put up with some minor flickering with PSSR (just as I do with DLSS) than deal with FSR 2.
Click to expand...

Would you rate PSSR Lumen flickering the same as DLSS flickering? Pretty much every UE5 game that uses PSSR has that in spades and DF always points it out.
 
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Seems like a decent port.
I don't really care much for their games but I think Obsidian at least deserves some praise for their decent use of UE5 on consoles.
Their performance modes run decently and are usually at our around 1080p (instead of 720p like so many others) and they also offer a 40fps mode too for 120hz displays, which is nice.
 
Topher said:
Enjoyed the game, but I'm glad I played it on PC. I don't get DF though. I'd rather put up with some minor flickering with PSSR (just as I do with DLSS) than deal with FSR 2.
Click to expand...
Agree, end result might be better vs. FSR2.

adamsapple said:
Sorry not sorry that the people who like the game don't conform to your particular standard. 🤷‍♂️



Would you rate PSSR Lumen flickering the same as DLSS flickering? Pretty much every UE5 game that uses PSSR has that in spades and DF always points it out.
Click to expand...

DLSS4 is stable as fuck, almost on par with TSR when it comes to lumen stability (only instability seen is native to lumen itself). DLSS4.5 and PSSR add a ton of additional noise and flicker to the image. Both are incompatible with UE5 games in current form.
 
adamsapple said:
Would you rate PSSR Lumen flickering the same as DLSS flickering? Pretty much every UE5 game that uses PSSR has that in spades and DF always points it out.
Click to expand...

Agree with Bojji Bojji . From my experience the flickering is mostly in foliage in both. Upscaling is an imperfect tech but it is still better than the alternative. Damn sure better than FSR 2. Just laziness to not include PSSR as an option.
 
Topher said:
Agree with Bojji Bojji . From my experience the flickering is mostly in foliage in both. Upscaling is an imperfect tech but it is still better than the alternative. Damn sure better than FSR 2. Just laziness to not include PSSR as an option.
Click to expand...

I think potential for foliage instability still beats this fucking fizzle on moving objects with FSR:

RC_AMD_FSR-2_2_ghosting_2.gif
 
Bojji said:
Someone should show this to other Unreal 5 devs - you can make game with lumen, vsm's and nanite and it doesn't have to run in 720p!

sp07hZc5llTAC3Pa.jpg
Click to expand...
That's right, UE5 game at a resolution above 1080p, with hardware RT Lumen and various well-tuned modes and a pretty good framerate target... Studio deserves a honered mention for that at least.

As for the visuals, I already mentioned it when it was released on XS and PC... Avowed looks very well (and beatiful) in many instances, but I'd almost say that sometimes the landscapes look so good and with a realistic lighting that they clash with the aesthetics of the characters and enemies, in my opinion.

I played for about 15 hours, but I find it hard to continue with RPGs of this type when there are other games in my basket and on GamePass that are more my style...
 
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Bojji said:
Since they went independent their videos became longer but with less usable information and footage (and more talking).
Click to expand...
Almost everything seems to be in podcast form. I'm sure it's faster for them, but it wastes our time while also providing less info.
 
Bojji said:
I think potential for foliage instability still beats this fucking fizzle on moving objects with FSR:

RC_AMD_FSR-2_2_ghosting_2.gif
Click to expand...

But that is FSR2.2
I wonder if on consoles games are still not using FSR3.1, which is better, though still far from DLSS4 or FSR4.

image.gif
 
Skifi28 said:
Almost everything seems to be in podcast form. I'm sure it's faster for them, but it wastes our time while also providing less info.
Click to expand...

Definitely. They've put out 6 videos in the last 7 days, we would have one video per week or so just a year or more ago.
 
Bojji said:
Since they went independent their videos became longer but with less usable information and footage (and more talking).
Click to expand...
They keep using that shitty format where it's just one guy talking to the other. I don't care. Just show the footage, tools, metrics, and image comparisons. When PC is involved, do optimized settings. DF is just a boring channel now and there's nothing interesting in their videos. It's like everyone there is fed up of doing this, but it pays the bills.
 
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Ðuelist said:
Most of you didn't play it.
Click to expand...
It's really sad. Lot of folks seem to make it part of their personality to actively hate this game for whatever reason. It has significant mindshare for them. Then we get the ol "they lied" and "knock off Skyrim" / "we have Skyrim at home" stuff. It's ultra tiring because they don't just ignore the threads, they are compelled to come in and post the same script over and over.

It's a good game, I loved it personally.
 
mckmas8808 said:
Microsoft really really didn't advertise that this was coming out for PS5 this week. Outside of a GAF thread months ago......nothing.
Click to expand...
Looks like they didnt put much into it. I found this from Jan.

Obsidian | Avowed is Coming to PlayStation 5

A sleeping god is calling—and soon, more players will be able to answer. We’re excited to announce that Avowed is officially coming to PlayStation 5. Set in the rich world of Eora, this first-person fantasy...
www.obsidian.net www.obsidian.net
 
I picked it up. I love a good RPG, and I couldn't really say no at £39.99. I'm around 4 hours in and it has been decent so far. I've initially gone with the Wizard upgrades. I've heard you can use magic and a weapon, which would be my preferred way to play, but I can only seem to use a Grimoire and wand atm.

On topic - it is kind of disappointing that they couldn't provide a quality mode at 60fps on Pro (perhaps something that a PSSR mode could have achieved), but the game looks nice enough and runs smoothly in performance mode.
 
Markio128 said:
I picked it up. I love a good RPG, and I couldn't really say no at £39.99. I'm around 4 hours in and it has been decent so far. I've initially gone with the Wizard upgrades. I've heard you can use magic and a weapon, which would be my preferred way to play, but I can only seem to use a Grimoire and wand atm.

On topic - it is kind of disappointing that they couldn't provide a quality mode at 60fps on Pro (perhaps something that a PSSR mode could have achieved), but the game looks nice enough and runs smoothly in performance mode.
Click to expand...

You can combine any weapons. A grimoire in the left hand and a gun on the right, a sword and a wand, etc. It's how peoples have made gunmage class
 
Ill play again when its on a DEEP discount or on plus doesn't seem like ANY improvements were made on superior hardware
 
Avowed has always been impressive to me from a tech perspective. Because it uses hardware lumen and nanite (on console no less), there is practically zero pop-in during gameplay, even with super lush and thick foliage that's a far ways off in the distance.

Really fun game overall, and it's a shame that people who never actually played it, unfairly clowned on it. It probably is one of the most technically impressive games of the generation, to me, and shows that other studios who use UE5 poorly, well… Use it poorly. You don't get hardware lumen and nanite on console, and at 1440p/1080p 60 fps, if you're an ass developer.
 
vkbest said:
I wonder why they didn't show how high framerate you can get with the unlocked modes.
Click to expand...
Was wondering that too, they were showing resolution difference tables with 1080p/1440p in most columns with a small difference in another column (something you can just easily say and not show). They had basic tables just stuck on the screen for some time, but didn't show anything from the framerate tests in the unlocked modes. instead they just showed their face and said the mode exists? Weird.

In Romeo is a Dead Man the other way round. Only found out about the 1080p vs 720p base res difference from adams summary having flicked through the vid but framerate test was there (in a very specific section of the game due to the 60fps cap everywhere else being met too). But now that we have an actual unlocked fps mode they don't cover it.

What bizarre reason could they have for that? At least you can use it to see if the mode is worth it, or see if a Pro hardware upgrade gets you better fps despite the otherwise lacklustre support in the game. I'm left thinking whats the purpose of this coverage.

Same with their continued Switch 2 vs Series S coverage. Who finds that comparison useful information really? It's not like somebody is choosing between those two. in terms of where to buy the game I mean, or which machine to get. Series S aren't popular in sales nowadays anyway let alone in place of a portable. Just bizarre coverage/info really, which always makes me kind of suspicious.

Do Switch 2 vs Steamdeck/Xbox Ally or Switch 2 vs PS5 or XSX even. That way more people can get something useful. Whether that is choosing where to buy the game on platforms they're more likely to already own or when choosing a future portable/platform. Better yet stick to a set format that covers it all, ideally every system. They keep trying to change their format depending on the game/system and I always feel rightly or wrongly it's for specific messaging rather than providing the useful information.
 
Bojji said:
DLSS4 is stable as fuck, almost on par with TSR when it comes to lumen stability (only instability seen is native to lumen itself). DLSS4.5 and PSSR add a ton of additional noise and flicker to the image. Both are incompatible with UE5 games in current form.
Click to expand...
They are not adding noise, the noise is in the game already, they are not denoising it.
 
vkbest said:
They are not adding noise, the noise is in the game already, they are not denoising it.
Click to expand...

Maybe. End result is that they look like shit while TSR, FSR4 or DLSS3/4 can deal with that noise. I don't like DLSS4.5 because of it (even if my first impressions were very positive).

DLSS4.5 can be fixed by disabling in game denoising in .ini files - turns out it has ability to denoise the image but only if low quality in game denoiser is not present.
 
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