Assassin's Creed Shadows marks a significant milestone in the beloved game series, being the first installment crafted exclusively for the latest consoles: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. This bold transition leaves behind last-generation consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One, allowing developers to fully leverage the cutting-edge technology embedded in Ubisoft's Anvil engine. The result is a rich gaming experience that integrates advanced features like ray-traced global illumination, procedural weather simulation, and enhanced world destruction physics—all designed to elevate the game's immersive setting of feudal-era Japan.
While these new technologies are impressive, not all features are universally accessible. Ubisoft Quebec has opted for several performance modes that balance fidelity and efficiency on each platform. This article will delve into the current-gen console experiences on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, comparing their performance and visual quality. A primary question emerges: how do these platforms stack up against one another, particularly the less powerful Series S with its single 30fps mode? Additionally, we will examine the various modes available on PS5 and Series X to determine which are most worthwhile.
The advanced technology of the Anvil Engine deserves special attention. For the first time, the series officially embraces ray tracing, significantly impacting the game's visual presentation. Both the PS5 and Series X feature ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) across their 30fps and 40fps modes, enhancing the game's ambiance with realistic light bounces and shading. However, RT reflections are limited to the more powerful PS5 Pro and PC versions, while base consoles must utilize screen-space reflections (SSR).
In the 60fps performance modes on PS5 and Series X, ray tracing is sacrificed in favor of a less accurate baked GI method, similar to what was seen in previous titles like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Mirage. Interestingly, the hideout area mandates a 30fps presentation with RTGI enabled, regardless of the chosen mode. The Series S only achieves RTGI in the hideout, with baked GI used in other world areas.
The advantages of RTGI become apparent in Shadows' dynamic landscapes, with diverse weather patterns, seasons, and destructible environments all contributing to enhanced light and shadow effects. Players will notice richer shading in character faces during daylight and more detailed interiors. While Ubisoft's traditional baked GI method remains respectable, its limitations are evident. It tends to oversaturate certain elements, especially vegetation, trying to compete with RTGI lighting.
Another significant enhancement in the Anvil engine is the physics system. Ubisoft has made notable improvements, incorporating physics-based weather simulations that inject life into the game's environments. As players traverse the landscape, they will witness a procedural system—dubbed Atmos—that generates clouds and simulates wind dynamics, creating a realistic atmosphere. The impact of these features is particularly noticeable in wooded areas, where fallen leaves swirl, trees sway, and even rainfall direction is influenced by wind.
Given the complex landscapes of Shadows, Ubisoft has optimized terrain streaming through a new virtualized geometry system. This system operates similarly to Unreal Engine 5's Nanite, allowing distant geometry to subdivide into smaller meshes. While this technology enhances detail and minimizes hard LOD steps, some foliage pop-in is still visible on both PS5 and Series X. Notably, Series S omits strand-based hair, a stunning feature that enhances character visuals by allowing individual strands of hair to animate dynamically. This feature is exclusive to the 30 and 40fps modes, as the 60fps mode defaults to a simpler card-based system.
In a comparison of the 60fps performance, 40fps balanced, and 30fps quality modes, it's clear that RTGI and hair physics are pivotal factors. All modes upscale to a 4K output via TAAU on PS5 and Series X, while Series S scales to 1620p. Beyond resolution, shadow quality is slightly reduced in performance modes on higher-end consoles, but texture quality, draw distance, and physics-based elements remain consistent across modes. However, Series S experiences more significant cutbacks, including lower-quality textures and shadows, while still maintaining competitive foliage draw distances.
The 30fps quality mode is well-optimized, achieving its target frame-rate consistently. Similar to recent Assassin's Creed titles, minor drops may occur due to dynamic resolution scaling, particularly in combat scenarios. Frame-rate stability is also commendable in the 40fps balanced mode, ideal for 120Hz displays. This mode provides a responsive experience while sacrificing some visual sharpness. Conversely, the performance mode offers fluid gameplay but may experience more frequent frame-rate drops into the 50s, particularly during cutscenes and battles.
In contrast, the Series S version struggles with stability in its 30fps mode. Despite the reduced features, frame-rate dips are more prevalent compared to its counterparts, particularly during intense scenes, where resolution can drop to 720p. Overall, the hideout area maintains a steady 30fps with RTGI enabled, but the experience on Series S falls short of the generational leap presented by Shadows on more capable machines.
Overall, Assassin's Creed Shadows stands out as one of the most exciting entries in the series in recent years. Both PS5 and Series X showcase their capabilities through the innovative features of the new Anvil Engine. The physics-based, ray-traced elements of its feudal Japan setting are undoubtedly the highlights. However, the 40fps mode on PS5 and Series X strikes the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, while the 60fps mode sacrifices too many features. Meanwhile, Series S users experience notable limitations that prevent them from fully enjoying the advancements that Shadows has to offer.
