Dark Souls 3 frame-rate and graphics comparison shows clear advantage for PS4
The console versions of Dark Souls 3 put to the test.
Digital Foundry has published its analysis of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Dark Souls 3. As you'd expect, the piece goes in detail about each version's strengths and weaknesses, and which of the two comes out on top.
It was revealed earlier that the Xbox One version runs at 900p resolution, and suffers some stuttering and frame-rate drops, compared to PlayStation 4's full 1080p output. Now that the site has spent enough time with both versions, more details are offered about the PS4's advantage.
Both versions use the same graphics settings, with the only exception being the game's shadow quality. The Xbox One version uses a lower quality shadow rendering setting, which the site notes adds an aliased and "rough" look to character silhouettes, not present on PS4.
In terms of performance, both versions are capped and v-sync'd to 30 frames-per-second. The PlayStation 4 has a clear advantage, however, achieving a near locked 30fps. The Xbox One version does unfortunately suffer from drops in the mid-20s in some cases.
When comparing the same areas across both platforms, Xbox One dropped to 25fps while the PS4 maintained the target 30fps. Frame-pacing issues are present on both consoles, too, something we've come to expect in From Software's engine. This produces a stuttering-like effect that's not actually the result of stuttering, and can be felt in both versions.
Catch the frame-rate comparison below, and check out the original article for more, including a graphical comparison.
Dark Souls 3 is out April 12 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.