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[Digital Foundry] The Witcher 3: PS5 vs Xbox Series X Hands-on - Ray Tracing + 60FPS Modes Tested

MaKTaiL

Member
I wonder if they will patch the PS4 version to play at 60fps on PS5. I still have to finish the trophies for that version first and it would be great to play at 60fps.
 
- All QoL updates and new content will also be patched into PS4/XBO/Switch versions, minus the new camera system which is exclusive to PC and new gen.
So better loadings on old gen? :p

Witcher 3 on PS4 with an SSD installed often suffers from unskippable cutscenes on loading screens.

The second the cutscene ends, the game loads where before it would load for a while longer, hence the drawn out cutscenes with recap voice over are what was making the game take so long to load.
 

Cattlyst

Member
As someone who poured hundreds of hours into Witcher 3 and pretty much completed every quest and side mission, I doubt these improvements will make want to replay the game. Nice improvements if you’ve never played it though I guess.
 

Hot5pur

Member
Not really seeing the major benefit on raytracing on this one.
Might dig it out to play through the DLC, that's getting added to all PC versions for free?
 

Justin9mm

Member
I need to know if this will have cross save? I want to be able to switch between my Series X & PS5 as I already own both versions.
 
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Deerock71

Member
I might be trying performance mode on the Series S, since there's probably not much difference between the two.
 

Edgelord79

Gold Member
I have a fully modded version on PC already. Curious to see how this version looks. I don’t expect it to be as good obviously, but I’m excited to try it out.
 
I played around 500 hours of TW3 cross PS4 and PC, and I must be fucking blind. Besides some reflections, this looks fucking the same... wtf is going on here, the textures is like 1-5% better lol (One X vs Series X). Gonna wait until more deep comparisons.
 
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FUBARx89

Member
I'm just excited to play the game without it being a blurry mess on ps4/pro or ps5 via BC.

Long as it's not blurry as shit on the slightest camera movement or "soft" image quality in either modes, I'm good.
 
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DavidGzz

Member
Yeah, was gonna get a new PC with a 3080 for D4(not that it needs that much power) so I think I will pull the trigger this month. Raytracing looks so good but I CANNOT play games at 30fps on my OLED. Getting that PC a little early. I hope this game supports DLSS 3.0.
 

GenericUser

Member
Did they fix the level progression system in the game? I remember playing the game back in the day and once you hit level 50 or so, the game mechanics kinda broke apart. I don't exactly remember what was happening, but it kind of made me quit playing the game altogether.
 

Lions Gate

Member
really disappointing upgrade for consoles tbh, all the good stuff is on quality mode, who tf playing 30fps when 60fps is also available, no 40fps VRR support either. have to play 8 year old game 30fps on a next-gen hardware to enjoy the upgrade is fucking bullshit. no wonder is free
 
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I love ray tracing. But half hearted attempts at it on consoles leave a lot to be desired.

When you give RT mode, switch on everything, on 60 fps. Resolution be damned.

If i wanted high resolution, I could always choose non RT mode. These half assed RT modes on consoles are just a waste of time.
 

Kupfer

Member
Crosssave so no harm in trying out both. It's what I'll be doing. Hope to have sorted a GPU update in time for this update.
How does this work and especially in case of trophies?
Can I play on my Steam Deck on the go and continue on the PS5 once I got home?
Will the steam achievements convert to playstation trophies one by one?
 
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I own the game on PS4, Xbox One and PC! Bought it for PC first for the lovely Day One Collector's Edition with discs (on PC!) that CDPR always do for their games but picked it up later for pittance on PS4 and Xbox One as complete editions with the DLC. That means I can play all the updated versions but I will likely just install the PC update as it seems to offer the best visual upgrades with 4 ray-tracing options and an Ultra+ setting which extends the draw distance. I will also be able to play that at 60 fps. I may also install the PS5 or Xbox Series X version just to see how it compares but one of the nice things about this upgrade is that you can finally share your save files with any version so that means I can play it on PC using my 1440p G-SYNC monitor and 2.1 speaker setup but then switch to the console version on my 4K TV for that HDR and surround sound goodness.
 

DeaDPo0L84

Member
Yeah, was gonna get a new PC with a 3080 for D4(not that it needs that much power) so I think I will pull the trigger this month. Raytracing looks so good but I CANNOT play games at 30fps on my OLED. Getting that PC a little early. I hope this game supports DLSS 3.0.
The latest Nvidia drivers that just launched come with dlss 3.0 for Witcher 3 so you'll be set 👍

Ultra+ settings and full ray tracing support @ 4k/120+fps 🤤

Also mod support which will continue to be amazing.
 
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really disappointing upgrade for consoles tbh, all the good stuff is on quality mode, who tf playing 30fps when 60fps is also available, no 40fps VRR support either. have to play 8 year old game 30fps on a next-gen hardware to enjoy the upgrade is fucking bullshit. no wonder is free
This is a big problem for these consoles. The impressive graphics are only in the 30 fps mode which plays like shit. This is why 40 fps is the key but we never get 40 except from a few devs.

The rare game feels fine at 30 like spiderman and ratchet but most suck like cyberpunk, control, etc
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Pc version with a 4090 ✅

Absolutely, I think that as we finally get decent next gen games PC is going to be leaps and bounds ahead of consoles.

Obviously we have the top tier hardware so it should be but I think there's going to be a large gulf between next gen games and top end PC versions, especially with scene changing hardware RT.
 

Anchovie123

Member
Did they mention what the resolution was on performance mode? i bet its something stupid high and they totally could have gotten away with an RT effect or 2 if they went with something lower.
 
Like, I posted so many comparison shots (here and in other threads) showing improved reflections, much better vegetation, textures, volumetric (i think) clouds, better lighting, shadows, staw distance etc.
And PC is gonna look even better than that.

I'm honestly incredibly baffled by some posts.
 
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Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Like, I posted so many comparison shots showing improved reflections, much better vegetation, textures, volumetric (i think) clouds, better lighting, shadows, staw distance etc.
And PC is gonna look even better than that.

I'm honestly incredibly baffled by some posts.

RTGI + improved materials + RTAO will make a big difference… and yes, there are tons of other dials they just maxed that I believe bring a big jump over the previous outing of this game.

I am glad they pushed most of the graphics quality improvement to the 60 FPS mode and I would like to play it at that smooth frame rate, but I am so very tempted by the RTGI and RT based ambient occlusion in such an atmospheric game if I know it is available.

Then again enjoyed Ghost of Tsushima on PS5 with that unlocked quality mode at 60 FPS… ah choices… choices…
 
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TW3NG_DLCs_PC_Korean_Sword_Main_RGB_EN.jpg


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And once again this screenshot because it looks incredible. :messenger_smiling_hearts:

TW3NG_DLCs_PC_Geralt_Netflix_Armor_RGB_EN.jpg
 

Kupfer

Member
Like, I posted so many comparison shots (here and in other threads) showing improved reflections, much better vegetation, textures, volumetric (i think) clouds, better lighting, shadows, staw distance etc.
And PC is gonna look even better than that.

I'm honestly incredibly baffled by some posts.
You have to know what to look for, especially in this case. John even says this in the video.
The majority of gamers don't know what to look for and who could blame them.
CDPR themselves have said in their livestream that the update won't make a new game, that they will keep the artstyle and atmosphere of the old game and that there will only be many subtle improvements that will lead to a better overall impression.

To act like it's a difference between day and night now is a stretch. It's an 8 year old game with RT implementations and a few QoL changes.

I can't blame anyone for not being able to tell the difference between old and new right away, and those who value the new RT effects will probably get their money's worth because these effects will look gorgeous - but at a cost and not as clearly obvious as some make it out to be here.

For me it still feels like a lazy update. It's as if they had a lot more in mind, but due to the special circumstances of the last year, they couldn't get it to work the way they originally intended. It's free, I don't want to complain, but I'm underwhelmed, especially with the console performance.

I don't see me going back to 30fps nor playing it at 60fps without a visual upgrade.

Upscaled 1440p 40fps120hz with RT would be the way they would make me want to replay (and even rebuy) this game on the PS5.
 
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For me it still feels like a lazy update. It's as if they had a lot more in mind, but due to the special circumstances of the last year, they couldn't get it to work the way they originally intended. It's free, I don't want to complain, but I'm underwhelmed, especially with the console performance.

They actually had less in mind but ultimately decided to add a lot of cool stuff.
It's far from being lazy when the update brings:
- new, fully voiced scavenge type quest tied to Netflix items
- new weapons and armors
- new animations for Geralt and Roach
- Chinese and Korean Voice Over (that alone is huge) and improved localisation for other languages
- Photo Mode
- improved graphics, sound and loading times
- additional and more varied weather conditions
- DualSense haptics and 3d audio on PS5
- gameplay additions such as: optional camera and movement settings, casting signs without radial menu, new hybrid minimap setting, map filters, ability to pause cutscenes and so on.
- full cross save and cross progression on all platforms
- quest fixes

Final patch notes for the update will apparently reveal much more that is kept secret.
They are going above and beyond what was expected.

Lazy would be upping the framerate and resolution, giving us an in-game note "Here are your new Netflix items, enjoy", and that's it.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I wonder if they will patch the PS4 version to play at 60fps on PS5. I still have to finish the trophies for that version first and it would be great to play at 60fps.

That's what this is. The PS4 version will get an update with all these upgrades. So it will become the PS5 version, basically.
 
Adding to my last post, I wish other developers (Ubisoft for example) did half as much for their updates. Instead we got 60 FPS modes for AC Odyssey and Origins with no graphical changes and better loading times thanks to the SSD. No Ray Tracing, no additional content, no QoL changes.
The same is true for 99% of devs. Rest is doing it for a fee and even then not to this extent.
 
Just bought it on Steam for £6.99 to see how it looks with all the RT options on, hopefully my 3080 is up for the job! Got it on Series X, Switch and PC now. Probably end up picking it up on PS5 for the wife too.
 
I can't watch right now, but what can we exactly expect from the raytracing here?

If visual fidelity is the same across both modes there's no reason to play in RT mode unless the raytracing truly makes a big difference. And 30fps is now more choppy than before? Because I always felt it was more than fine already on consoles, this 30fps feels way smoother than AC Valhalla for example in quality mode.
I think choppiness is because of motion blur. It's old and not really useful implementation. However it's maybe subject to change.
As for raytracing it will make a picture "right and easy" to the eye and not disturb some people (like me). I personally hate bad shadows, disappearing reflections, pop-in, etc.
 
I think choppiness is because of motion blur. It's old and not really useful implementation. However it's maybe subject to change.
As for raytracing it will make a picture "right and easy" to the eye and not disturb some people (like me). I personally hate bad shadows, disappearing reflections, pop-in, etc.
the industry should focus more on these kidna things. shadows, lod and pop in
 
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