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IGN x NXGamer - The Witcher 3: Next Gen Patch PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs PS4 Performance Review

adamsapple

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



After 7 years the spellbinding impact of The Witcher 3 is back thanks to CD Projekt Red's Next Gen Patch v4.0. We compare the Witcher 3 on PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs PS5 in terms of performance, framerate, and other features like GI and loading times. With the latest free updating dropping this week for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S players along with PC. We rode back into White Orchard to test out just what magical updates it offers, from Ray Traced Global Illumination, Fast Loading, 60FPS, 4K, FSR2.1, and much more. And do all console players get the same bewitching updates?
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
- PS5|SX have RT and Performance mode. Series S has Quality and Performance.

- Generational upgrades besides RT: Shadow quality, 4K textures, increased draw distance, less pop-in, better LoD transition, notably big IQ increase thanks to FSR 2.1

- RT mode adds RTGI and RTAO, replacing the legacy SSAO

- Interiors and exteriors both benefit from the RTGI

- Perf mode retains all upgrades besides RT and has a higher average resolution (and performance obviously)

- Level of Detail on PS5 is currently lower than either Series X or Series S. This could be a bug as per NXG and may get fixed in a later patch.

- Series S using FSR 2.1 is not sure owing to some visual differences. It targets max 1440p in Quality mode. Performance mode is 1080p/60 FPS. Chance of DRS but generally all readings seen at 1080p.

- PS5 | SX use FSR 2.1 to reach DRS 2160p (typically 1620p) in Performance mode

- RT also uses DRS but typically 1296~1440p (max 1620p) on both consoles

- Load times are improved on all. PS5 generally loads 3~ seconds faster compared to Series S|X. Both load a full minute or so faster compared to last gen.

- General Traversal: Both 30/60 FPS modes are close to their respective targets aside from PS5 which can hiccup more (PS4 also had this issue more in comparison to Xbox)

- Heavy Combat: Either console is still prone to single drops here and there as well in the most stressful situations. Outside of the heaviest combat scenarios, it's a locked 60 on all consoles, even Series S.

- The same is true for 30 FPS.

- City Traveling: Series S can dip to 49~ max in big city traversal, but generally can hold 60 FPS. No drops below the target in 30 FPS mode.

- Series X and PS5 can also dip to 40s with SX dipping an extra frame or two. RT mode can also dip to mid 20s in both consoles during heavy city traversal.

- In general it feels like the Series S does a better job being closer to its targets during heavy city traversal compared to PS5|SX in either mode.
 
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Tripolygon

Banned
Still same performance issues as we had last gen in the city areas dropping to low to mid 20s. Luckily the performance mode stays higher so VRR can make them imperceptible.

I'll play it on PC.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Still same performance issues as we had last gen in the city areas dropping to low to mid 20s. Luckily the performance mode stays higher so VRR can make them imperceptible.

I'll play it on PC.
My 3080 has the same issues. 55 fps with RT Ultra settings at 1440p DLSS Quality. Dips all the way down to 30 fps as soon as I entered a small town in the Blood and Wine DLC. This is before I even got to the castle.

The game doesnt even look that good at max settings. Still a very mediocre looking game. Horizon trashes it of course, but other open world games like AC, Far Cry, and Red Dead look like they are from another generation. This feels like a launch window game from 2013. Other 2015 games like Batman AK have aged much better.
 
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Filben

Member
My 3080 has the same issues. 55 fps with RT Ultra settings at 1440p DLSS Quality. Dips all the way down to 30 fps as soon as I entered a small town in the Blood and Wine DLC. This is before I even got to the castle.

The game doesnt even look that good at max settings. Still a very mediocre looking game. Horizon trashes it of course, but other open world games like AC, Far Cry, and Red Dead look like they are from another generation. This feels like a launch window game from 2013. Other 2015 games like Batman AK have aged much better.
I always found the lighting weird. Assets and geometry is still quite good, but the lighting often appears stylized, overly harsh and not natural. It's also inconsistent, as they're using different lighting in cutscenes than in actual gameplay. This is troublesome because you see NPCs in a different light than when having started a conversation, an issue games like Elder Scroll, which doesn't change to cutscene because it doesn't have any, are not effected by.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
my witcher 3 still stuck at ver 1.6 wtf, i cant transfer save
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Series S with those Chad genes;

Man Body GIF
 

Cyborg

Member
I have VRR so I will be good on PS5 but what is up with Level of Detail on PS5 is currently lower than either Xbox
 

darrylgorn

Member
On PC and the RT options are interesting.

They seem to be similar to Cyberpunk 2077, where you first enable RT global illumination and then there are three subcategories: RT shadows, RT ambient occlusion and RT reflections.

Playing around with these, I found very little visual difference when these subcategories are enabled but enabling the main RT global illumination is the game changer. In fact, if you're playing on a 3-series card or lower, you're better off switching those three options off and using the quality mode for DLSS. It seems the difference in IQ for those three options is minimal, but the performance impact is quite substantial.
 
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Mr Hyde

Member
Tried it out about 1 hour and it looked pretty good. Bump in framerate and loading times are certainly welcomed, last gen version was pretty rough here from what I remember. Waiting for CDPR to update the Switch version so I can transfer my save to PS5. Don't think I can stomach another fresh run.
 

azertydu91

Hard to Kill
Yeah that game optmization is a mystery to me....On my computer it used to run better at 1440p than 1080p with all the same settings...Even though I haven't played it in a long time so it may be different now.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
RT mode looks nice, but Geralt is so gosh darn slow to respond in 30fps, 60fps mode really enhances the game

I don't wish for Pro consoles any time soon (year 4 would be good in an 8 year cycle), but being able to do RT and high framerate at the same time would be an obvious thing for them to fix
 
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Hugare

Member
Series S with those Chad genes;

Man Body GIF
Now throw in RT to see how it runs

RT in this game is completely unoptimized. It's bringing even 3000 series on PC to their knees.

There's no excuse to how heavy this game is. It's not even close to Cyberpunk while performing worse.

The Vsync solution is fucked (just like the original and Cyberpunk on PC, I think). Causes improper framepacing. If you are on PC, use the driver Vsync.

If you are on consoles, stick to performance mode. But it looks so much worse than the RT option ...

I really hope that CDPR patch the game soon, but its almost christmas, so probably not
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Seems awful on all consoles in all modes. I hate judder (no VRR TV), so seems like I won't be touching this until a few more patches. Or never, if this is the best they can do.
 

Flabagast

Member
Seems awful on all consoles in all modes. I hate judder (no VRR TV), so seems like I won't be touching this until a few more patches. Or never, if this is the best they can do.
The performance mode is perfectly fine imho. Plus it is a huge upgrade for old gen console players. It is even more substantial than the Mass Effect collection imho.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
The performance mode is perfectly fine imho. Plus it is a huge upgrade for old gen console players. It is even more substantial than the Mass Effect collection imho.

"Series X and PS5 can also dip to 40s with SX dipping an extra frame or two"

That's nowhere near fine.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
"Series X and PS5 can also dip to 40s with SX dipping an extra frame or two"

That's nowhere near fine.
To be fair that only happens during the NPC filled cities, of whicih there are only a few in the game. Most of the game plays out flawlessly at 60 on both of them.

Plus if you're someone with a vrr display, which most of us should be by now hopefully, this is a non-issue.
 
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Flabagast

Member
They should have given us a 1080p RT mode, would have been far more realistic with these specs.
Yep. It is really not playable in its current state, especially in combat. I'd prefer them to lower the resolution in order to give us a perfectly frame paced 30 fps rather than the really juddery mode we got.

Performance mode is really good though.
 

lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
Update to 4.0 on your PS4 Witcher 3 game.
No update for my PS4 witcher 3.
I think my witcher 3 + 2 dlc is not considered "complete edition".

I'll wait for a few more days, otherwise I may need to buy the actual complete edition if i want to continue my save

EDIT: oh wait, i just checked, i think the base game witcher 3 save wont transfer over to the complete edition, seems like i need to start over again.
 
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Klayzer

Member
No update for my PS4 witcher 3.
I think my witcher 3 + 2 dlc is not considered "complete edition".

I'll wait for a few more days, otherwise I may need to buy the actual complete edition if i want to continue my save

EDIT: oh wait, i just checked, i think the base game witcher 3 save wont transfer over to the complete edition, seems like i need to start over again.
I have the base game as well. The original PS4 release. I bought the expansions. My saves transferred over.
 
No update for my PS4 witcher 3.
I think my witcher 3 + 2 dlc is not considered "complete edition".

I'll wait for a few more days, otherwise I may need to buy the actual complete edition if i want to continue my save

EDIT: oh wait, i just checked, i think the base game witcher 3 save wont transfer over to the complete edition, seems like i need to start over again.
Certain regions are not getting the 4.0 update yet.
 

Pimpbaa

Member
Glad I got too much else to play, because I’m definitely waiting for a few patches until I’m touching this. I just hope they don’t take a couple of years to finally get it right (like Cyberpunk 2077).
 

SABRE220

Member
The performance is rather disappointing especially compared to the visuals on display. The RT mode is very poorly optimized considering it performs worse than psycho settings cyberpunk with nowhere near the fidelity but what surprised me is how underwhelming the consoles are performing in performance mode. Even an rx5700xt is easily hitting beyond 60fps with maxed settings at1800p outside of rt yet the consoles with superior gpus are averaging 1620p and still dropping frames...optimization is clearly not in peak mode at this point without rt the game should not be this demanding.
 

clampzyn

Member
The performance is rather disappointing especially compared to the visuals on display. The RT mode is very poorly optimized considering it performs worse than psycho settings cyberpunk with nowhere near the fidelity but what surprised me is how underwhelming the consoles are performing in performance mode. Even an rx5700xt is easily hitting beyond 60fps with maxed settings at1800p outside of rt yet the consoles with superior gpus are averaging 1620p and still dropping frames...optimization is clearly not in peak mode at this point without rt the game should not be this demanding.
Lol you do know 1620P with FSR upscaled to 4k in not the same performance as native 1620p(would probably round around 1800p average if fsr isn't enabled), even if you look at benchmarks DLSS quality(1440p internally) vs native 1440p there is about 20% performance hit on upscaling techniques . And the drops on towns are crowded NPCs which could probably be tweaked according to tech reviews.

5700xt : maxed 1080p with FSR 2 performance(720p render below internally) even dips 50-55 fps on less crowded parts of the map, so idk where you get 60fps 1800p on that gpu

IDK how you think consoles are underwhelming against a much weaker 5700xt LOL, 5000 series(RDNA1) were never meant to compete against a customized full RDNA2 gpu that current consoles have, sure you can use them for power gauging but rdna1 cards are weaker against a game that pushes current gen consoles hardware limit

Source:
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
To be fair that only happens during the NPC filled cities, of whicih there are only a few in the game. Most of the game plays out flawlessly at 60 on both of them.

Plus if you're someone with a vrr display, which most of us should be by now hopefully, this is a non-issue.

You spend a lot of time in those cities.

And no, I don't have a VRR TV yet. Even if I did, VRR support bottoms out at 48hz on PS5. This seemingly drops quite a bit lower than that at times.
 
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