Showcasing a string of new Anvil Engine features, Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first in the series to be built solely for PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. For this tech review we break down the game's new ray traced global illumination, impressive world physics, and the pros and cons of each graphics mode. Plus, the state of Series S version - and its many cutbacks - is given a full appraisal.
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:29 RTGI Tested
00:06:40 Weather/Destruction Physics
00:09:39 Graphics Comparisons
00:12:39 PS5/Series X Frame-Rate Tests
00:16:24 Series S Frame-Rate Tests
00:17:24 Conclusion
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00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:29 RTGI Tested
00:06:40 Weather/Destruction Physics
00:09:39 Graphics Comparisons
00:12:39 PS5/Series X Frame-Rate Tests
00:16:24 Series S Frame-Rate Tests
00:17:24 Conclusion
Category
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GamingTranscript
00:00Assassin's Creed Shadows marks a very special milestone in the series as the first entry
00:25developed with a total focus on PS5, Xbox Series machines and PC. It's a bold transition
00:33with a clear payoff in its technology, one that finally puts last-gen PS4 and Xbox One
00:39console support aside to allow Shadows the full provision of Anvil Engine's latest features.
00:45Firstly, lighting and shadow accuracy is greatly improved via a new, though still optional,
00:52ray-traced global illumination setting, while ray-traced reflections are also possible
00:57on PC and PS5 Pro. Procedural weather simulation for wind, rain and fog are also now integrated
01:04into the world design.
01:06And lastly, we have more exhaustive use of world destruction physics. All combined, the
01:12more complex nature of Shadows World is beyond what was possible in 2023's cross-gen release
01:18Assassin's Creed Mirage, and it gives us the evolutionary jump I've long been hoping
01:24to see from the series.
01:30Developer Ubisoft Quebec debuts all of this with Shadows' Feudal Japan setting. Except
01:35to enjoy every new feature, to get the so-called next-gen Assassin's Creed experience, it's
01:41necessary to pick the right hardware and graphics mode. Digital Foundry's own Oliver McKenzie
01:46will be dissecting the PS5 Pro upgrades in a future video, so stay tuned for that.
01:51In this tech review though, I'm tackling the base consoles, the regular PS5, Xbox Series
01:57X and S models. The first question being, does the 4T flop Xbox Series S still hand
02:03in a decent experience on its single 30fps mode, or are there trade-offs to consider?
02:10And out of the three modes available to Xbox Series X and PS5, the 60fps performance, 40fps
02:17balanced and 30fps quality options, which is the ideal way to play? Let's find out.
02:28The new tech of the Anvil engine deserves a moment in the spotlight. After all, on console
02:33and PC, this is the first series entry to officially adopt ray tracing, and it has a
02:39huge impact on the presentation of its world. For PS5, Series X and S in particular, we
02:45get RT Global Illumination, adding richer, more realistic ambient light bounce and shading.
02:52Alas, while ray traced reflections are also included in Shadows, they are reserved for
02:57the PC release and PS5 Pro, meaning we resort to the screen space method for reflections
03:03on the base consoles. RTGI though is in place on all formats, though there is another catch
03:09to consider. Specifically, it only engages globally across the entire explorable map
03:15on PS5 and Series X using their 30fps quality and 40fps balanced modes.
03:22On the 60fps performance mode however, we switch to Ubisoft's classic baked GI method,
03:28as also used in AC Valhalla and Mirage. The exception to this is the hideout area, which
03:34enables RTGI regardless of your selected mode, but will also always run at 30fps.
03:42As for Xbox Series S, RTGI only appears in this same very limited capacity, in the hideout
03:49area but never beyond it.
03:56To show that all important ray tracing upgrade, let's see Series X in action. For a game
04:01with such a diversity in weather states, multiple season changes, plus destructible environments,
04:08Shadows World is more dynamic than any AC game before it. The domino effect being that
04:14the real time ray traced approach has an advantage in being more adaptable. It better simulates
04:20light and shadow interactions across a constantly changing environment, while the older baked
04:26GI method of the 60fps performance mode must still rely on pre-calculated lighting states
04:32for each season. Outdoors then, the impact is clear to see.
04:37The RTGI of the quality mode adds richer, more detailed pockets of shade between objects,
04:43like these clay pots, the ox carts and vegetation. Likewise, you'll notice it in the depth of
04:49shading on character faces in daylight, and especially the interiors of shops, where the
04:55baked GI method struggles to match up. Finally, you'll also see an all round improvement
05:01in lighting. Diffuse light bounce from nearby coloured scenery has an impact on the world,
05:07helping to realistically lighten shaded patches on the ground with an appropriate hue.
05:18Ubisoft's classic baked GI method is still respectable, but has clear limitations. Also,
05:25all of these limits apply to the Series S release across the main world in the same
05:30manner as the 60fps performance modes on Series X and PS5. It oversaturates certain details
05:36with colour in an attempt to match up to the RTGI lighting, while interiors and up close
05:42character detail lack the same shading depth. The other catch is that Series S only runs
05:48at 30 frames per second, so there's really no performance upside to missing out here,
05:53and it's the worst of both worlds compared to the Series X options.
05:58As a kind of consolation, the hideout area, which is a small customisable sandbox that
06:04lets us decorate and plant buildings as we like, does engage RTGI on Series S. It's
06:10possible to enjoy it there, but for the rest of the game, the reality is that Series S
06:14runs at a third of the computer power of the Series X, which has a knock on effect for
06:20its features. It's a huge win for Series X and PS5 then, and while the lack of raytraced
06:26reflections is a shame, the RTGI allows for a much grander payoff for Assassin's Creed
06:32Shadows world design.
06:41Another major Anvil Engine upgrade is in its physics. Ubisoft's efforts are extensive
06:46in this aspect for Shadows, helping to inject some much needed energy into the game's
06:52landscapes. Riding to your next mission, you'll spot a procedural weather system called Atmos,
06:58generating clouds overhead in a dynamic manner. Paired with that is wind simulation, using
07:03fluid dynamics to create everything from light gusts to gales, impacting the forests, cherry
07:09blossom petals and even the direction of rainfall in the process. And to top that off, there's
07:15a wider spread use of destruction physics now. In towns, for example, it's possible
07:21to smash most objects decorating the market stalls or even slice through fabric with the
07:26tear line matching your katana's arc. Also, another neat touch I noticed is that while
07:32sneaking through long grass, each grass blade flattens in a persistent manner as you crawl
07:37through. It's all seriously impressive stuff, and makes the world feel more tangible, interactive,
07:43to a degree that wasn't possible with the cross-gen Assassin's Creed's before it.
07:48Given Shadows' open world is filled with these complex hills, valleys and large settlements,
07:54Ubisoft has gone to great lengths to also optimise its terrain streaming. To that end,
07:59a new virtualised geometry system is added to Anvil Engine, similar in principle to Unreal
08:05Engine 5's Nanite, allowing geometry across a scene to gradually subdivide into smaller
08:12polygonal meshes the further it appears in the distance. It's a cost-saving measure,
08:17but one that's seamless, and lets Ubisoft Quebec's artists build out its world without
08:22resorting to more obvious LOD steps.
08:29All of these technologies are included on PS5 and Series X, alongside the weather and
08:35destruction physics, though there is one omission on Series S. A new hair strand physics
08:42setting, as seen on PC, enables on PS5 and Series X permanently on their quality and
08:48balanced modes. It's a beautiful addition that affects most characters sporting tresses
08:53of some kind. Individual strands of hair, like on our shinobi heroine Naoe, animate
09:00dynamically, each one interacting with a neighbouring strand of hair as she pivots, while wind simulation
09:06has an impact too. The catch, however, is that the 60fps performance mode reverts to
09:12a simplified card system for each hair tuft, where the more complex strand physics model
09:18only re-engages for the hideout area and in cutscenes. And, once again, Series S misses
09:24out on this feature entirely on its single mode. Series S runs with the basic hair setting,
09:30though strand physics do appear, of course, in pre-rendered cinematics.
09:40In a three-way comparison between performance, balanced and quality modes, it's clear that
09:44RTGI and hair physics are the main factors to consider. They are the big features you
09:50stand to gain or lose depending. Now, there are a few other differences, not least of
09:55which is the native resolution per mode. Since there are, admittedly, quite a few variables
10:01here, I've put everything into one table to make it easy to digest. The key point being
10:06that Series X and PS5 run at between 1080p and 1620p on their quality modes, which takes
10:14a hit to a lower range of 810p to 1440p on the performance mode. The 40fps balanced mode,
10:22meanwhile, runs at a narrower range of 900p to 1440p in my testing, which marginally avoids
10:29the lowest low of the performance mode. In that case, we do keep the RTGI and hair strand
10:35physics at least, making it a pretty good compromise. All of these modes upscale to
10:40a final 4K image using what appears to be Ubisoft's in-house temporal anti-aliasing
10:45upsampling. As for Xbox Series S, the cutbacks run deep as you might expect. Series S runs
10:52at a dynamic range of 720p to 1080p natively before being upscaled to 1620p as the target
11:00image, with an obvious knock on effect to image quality.
11:14Beyond the native resolutions, there are a few other differences to consider. Taking
11:18Series X in example, though this applies to PS5 equally, you'll notice shadow quality
11:23is dropped a setting on the performance mode. Beyond that, texture quality, draw distances
11:28and all the physics based extras added to Anvil are identical regardless of which mode
11:34you pick. It perhaps goes without saying that PS5 and Series X are matched visually and
11:40taking the 30fps quality mode in example, there's really nothing to split the two.
11:45The resolution setups and graphics settings are an exact match. More curious though are
11:51the Series S downgrades. We've seen the limited RTGI, the chopped hair physics and
11:57the lower resolution bounds on Series S already. It also only runs at 30fps, but there are
12:04a few other cutbacks worth touching on. Firstly, there's lower quality texture assets in
12:09place across the environment where the fine fabric on clothing for example takes a noticeable
12:14hit compared to Series X. It runs with lower quality shadows too, in line with the 60fps
12:20performance mode setting on the other consoles. Thankfully, beyond this, Ubisoft presents
12:25Shadows World at a matching quality on Series S with broad views resolving the exact same
12:31level of detail for Virtual Acres ahead.
12:39On to performance testing and the quality mode justifies a focus first given it's offering
12:45a wealth of new Anvil Engine features. I'm also glad to say it's well optimised in targeting
12:5030fps. From the very opening siege on the Yiga province to the rapid open world roaming
12:56on horseback with Naue, it's broadly a locked 30 on both PS5 and Series X. The added demands
13:03of RTGI and the new hair physics aren't an issue here.
13:07The only snag I can see is actually a byproduct of using dynamic resolution scaling, again
13:13going from 1080p to 1620p. Much like other recent Assassin's Creed titles using DRS,
13:20this does, at times, cause drops where the rendering load changes rapidly. So, for example,
13:26tilting the camera skyward and then abruptly down to complex scenery gives the renderer
13:32only a moment to adjust the pixel structure. Alas, in that window, there will be dropped
13:37frames.
13:38It happens so rarely outside of these forced moments though, with battles only occasionally
13:43showing a few odd dropped frames at points as the camera pans around. Other than that,
13:49it's a robust 30fps experience on both machines.
13:59Of course, 30fps might be a compromise too far for some to enjoy Assassin's Creed Shadows
14:04raytracing and that's where the balanced mode shines. For those equipped with a 120hz display,
14:11the balanced mode unlocks in the menus for 40fps gameplay instead. The resolution range
14:17but the RTGI and hair physics are intact for all aspects of gameplay and it's highly recommended.
14:23We're getting a mostly locked 40fps, albeit with a similar catch to the quality mode,
14:29in that, on occasion, sudden camera movements catch the DRS off guard. PS5 and Series X
14:36are well optimised for this mode otherwise, besides the triggering of a few dropped frames.
14:41The one additional catch to this mode is that the hideout area and cutscenes will still
14:47switch to a 30fps cap. In fact, walking up this mountain path to the hideout causes this
14:53framerate to change in real time, 40 down to 30 and back again as you pass an invisible
14:59threshold. It's unclear how well this area might have held up at the usual 40fps but
15:05at least, for all gameplay elsewhere, we're getting an extra 10fps.
15:17Rounding out is of course the performance mode, where there's no denying the advantage
15:21of a 60fps update. In terms of controller response, especially while timing ripostes
15:27in combat, it's a hugely welcome option to have. We're at a crossroads though, as is
15:32so often the case this generation, between getting cutting edge features at 30fps or
15:37missing out at 60. And, sadly, it's hard to shake the sense that we're losing a lot
15:42of what makes Shadows a next generation Assassin's Creed game while using this mode. In terms
15:47of its delivery at 60fps at least, PS5 and Series X hold well at the target most of the
15:53time but, be warned, that it is the mode most prone to drops. Dramatic camera swings will
15:58trigger brief lurches into the mid 50s more frequently. Thankfully, these kinds of drops
16:04are easily covered by VRR technology if your display supports it. Also, once again, cutscenes
16:11and the hideout area continue to switch to 30fps in this mode which is all the more jarring
16:17coming from a 60fps baseline.
16:25Finally, we have the Series S version. With its single means of play at 30fps, you'd
16:30hope the limited use of RTGI, axed hair physics and its significant resolution cut would qualify
16:37it for a tight lock. For a majority of the time, it does admittedly hold up well, but
16:42the reality is that there are more noticeable sub 30 drops than, for example, the 30fps
16:48quality mode on Series X. It's not a deal breaker, but battles and cutscenes are slightly
16:54more prone to dips under the line. Unsurprisingly, it's in these moments that the 720p native
17:00resolution, the lower bounds of its DRS, appears most obviously. Hence, it makes sense that
17:07there is no 40fps balanced mode on Series S after all. It's already seemingly at its
17:12limit at 30, though at the very least, it holds at the target well in the hideout area
17:18with RTGI engaged there.
17:25Assassin's Creed Shadows is the series' most exciting new entry in years, with PS5
17:30and Series X at last showing off their metal via new Anvil engine features. Simply put,
17:36the more physics-based, ray-traced nature of its feudal era Japan setting is the absolute
17:42star of the show this year. The drawback is that we're forced to decide between three
17:46modes, a Hobson's choice that either grants 60fps gameplay or a more exciting suite of
17:52visual upgrades at 30 or 40fps. Looking purely at the base consoles here, I'd recommend
17:59the 40fps mode if possible to demonstrate where the series' technology is headed.
18:04As for the Series S version, the situation is less impressive. It's the closest we
18:09may see to a last-gen rendition of the game in many ways. The cut resolution, the lower
18:14texture quality, Shadows, limited RTGI and removed hair strand physics plus that 30fps
18:21cap are all hard pills to swallow. The adventure is otherwise intact, but perhaps it does not
18:28service the generational leap that Shadows is trying to offer here.
18:32Still, with all that being said, Ubisoft Quebec deserves praise for putting out a game with
18:37such clear technical ambition married to an undeniably compelling setting. Having reviewed
18:43a great many Assassin's Creed games for Digital Foundry over the last 14 years, Shadows
18:49is a real highlight and above all, shows the promising direction that the series as a whole
18:54is now headed in.
18:55That about wraps up this tech review though. If you did enjoy this video, feel free to
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19:15But from me for now, thanks for watching.