Dark Souls III Console Performance Face-Off

The folks at Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry have analyzed the two console versions of Dark Souls III and offered their thoughts on the overall performance and graphical fidelity. Boasting a superior overall resolution, shadow resolution and framerate, the PlayStation 4 wins this contest, though both console versions look perfectly acceptable for anyone who doesn’t own a mid-to-high-end PC. Those that do, however, will have to wait until later for the analysis of the PC ports, though what we’ve seen so far elsewhere is at least encouraging:

PS4 is the preferred pick for several reasons. From Software makes a number of visual concessions on Xbox One, dropping its native resolution to 900p, and also edging down shadow and motion blur quality. None of these cuts dampen the quality of the experience to any radical degree, and it’s perfectly enjoyable on Xbox One as-is. However, it’s undeniable PS4 brings out the best in From Software’s latest project, presenting its world at a clearer 1080p, and with a firmer grasp on its 30fps target to boot.

At a technical level it’s intriguing to see the studio’s engine return in Dark Souls 3. This time it stretches beyond the moody, gothic designs of Bloodborne to deliver a more vibrant, varied suite of areas, and we can’t wait to see what other locales the game has lined up. Putting its recurring frame-pacing issue aside, the technology realises some of the most striking fantasy concepts we’ve seen on PS4 and Xbox One. But looking to the impending PC release, seeing the engine potentially run at a flawless locked 60fps for once is very exciting prospect indeed.

It’s also worth noting that this analysis isn’t based on a playthrough of the entire game, though Digital Foundry promises an update, should the writer find another area with noticeable performance drops, like, for example, Blighttown in the original game:

In such a sprawling game, we can’t rule out another Blight Town situation popping up down the line – an area infamous for its 10fps drops on last-gen. However, the prospects after five hours of playing Dark Souls 3 are very positive, and we’ll be sure to update this piece if anything particularly egregious crops up.