00:15Hello, this is Dave here and today we're back taking another look at The Evil Within 2,
00:21this time focusing on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X enhancements.
00:26Now we came away really impressed when we first sampled the game on the base platforms,
00:30with the title running much more smoothly than the original Evil Within,
00:34while boasting a range of impressive lighting and post-processing effects that really amped up the horror-like atmosphere.
00:41It's a great game that's definitely worth checking out,
00:43and when moving to these mid-gen refresh consoles, there's some interesting differences here,
00:48particularly with regards to resolution and performance.
00:52So what have we got?
00:53Well, according to the official patch notes, both PS4 Pro and Xbox One X benefit from featuring
00:59increase in resolution above 1080p, along with a framerate toggle option,
01:04allowing you to switch between capped and uncapped framerates.
01:08So with that said, what exactly are we looking at?
01:10Well, in terms of image quality, it's immediately clear to see that Xbox One X has a huge advantage here.
01:16We're looking at 1800p on Microsoft's platform, which gives us an image that works very well on a 4K screen.
01:24There's a significant boost in clarity compared to PlayStation 4 Pro,
01:28resolving more fine details and adding more refinements to elements of the post-processing pipeline,
01:34such as the film grain and motion blur.
01:36It's not exactly a sharp presentation, but I feel that this softer, filmic look actually works rather well,
01:43and the boost in resolution to 1800p is certainly noticeable.
01:47Meanwhile, in terms of PlayStation 4 Pro, the situation is somewhat more interesting.
01:52The patch notes state that the game is running at 1260p, but from our captures with the machine set to
01:594K output,
02:00we are actually seeing a native 1080p image here, with elements such as the HUD also being visibly upscaled.
02:07Whereas on Xbox One X, the HUD elements are all rendered natively at 4K,
02:12which is not the case for PS4 Pro, where multiple elements all appear to be running at 1080p, the game
02:19and the HUD.
02:19It's certainly bizarre given that the patch was supposed to deliver us a 1260p image,
02:25so we decided to do some digging.
02:27We retested our captures on the same PS4 Pro, ensuring that 4K output was selected
02:32and the game was patched to the latest 1.03 update.
02:36We also double-checked results on a separate PS4 Pro,
02:40again, both on a 4K screen and to our 4K capture equipment.
02:45In all cases, while the output from PS4 Pro was actually 4K,
02:48the game itself still appeared to be rendering at native 1080p,
02:52delivering a soft image that didn't hold up too well on a 4K screen.
02:56It's certainly unusual, and we've contacted the developer in order to find out what's going on here.
03:02Perhaps it could be that there's an error with one of the updates,
03:06or maybe there's a dynamic resolution scaling system in play.
03:09We'll keep you updated as soon as we know more.
03:12But even so, the Xbox One X still has a massive boost in resolution here.
03:16And of course, you can still get benefits when playing on a 1080p screen too,
03:20due to the system-level super-sampling provided on the Xbox One X,
03:25allowing for more refined image quality if you don't have a 4K screen.
03:30In terms of the core artwork and special effects, both Pro and Xbox One X are mostly a match here.
03:36There are a few bugs at times where, say, light sources may load up on one platform but not the
03:42other in certain scenes,
03:44and vice versa, but nothing that looks like a deliberate changing of settings.
03:49We noticed that the radius of bloom was slightly increased on PS4 Pro,
03:53but again, slight gamma differences between the machines could explain that.
03:58One area that Xbox One X does get a boost, though, is in terms of an isotropic filtering.
04:02The filtering level looks to be very much the same across both consoles,
04:06but the increased pixel count on Xbox One X allows for more samples to be used when blending between mid
04:12-maps,
04:13so we do get increased texture clarity across the ground on Microsoft's platform.
04:17It's not always a huge boost, but it's quite nice to see the increased pixel count generally adding refinements to
04:24different areas of the game.
04:26So if you're looking to play the game on a 4K screen,
04:28the Xbox One X delivers the best experience here due to the boost in resolution,
04:32but what about performance?
04:34Well, here we're looking at the default capped frame rate mode,
04:38which targets 30 frames per second.
04:41In terms of both consoles hand in generally very good performance here,
04:45hitting 30fps for the vast majority of the time.
04:48There's some occasional small dips here and there, but nothing particularly major,
04:53and I think the use of motion blur ensures that the 30fps update actually looks and feels quite smooth.
05:02There's not too much of a difference between the two platforms either,
05:05although in some scenes performance does take a slight hit on Xbox One X.
05:09Take this scene for example as we first enter the town.
05:13It's quite a bandwidth heavy scene, boasting plenty of alpha-based effects such as foliage and rain particles,
05:19and at this point it appears that Xbox One X is taxed a bit more heavily here.
05:23Perhaps the boost to 1800p is really testing the GPU more severely here.
05:28Some of the cutscenes also operate slightly less smoothly on Xbox One X,
05:34with a few more dips in frame rate compared to on the Pro.
05:37It's nothing major of course, and for the most part,
05:41solid 30fps is indeed present on Xbox One X,
05:44but it means that across the board, PS4 Pro delivers a bit more refinement with regards to frame rate stability.
05:51But really, I don't think this is much of an issue.
05:54For example, the drops in frame rate only occur sporadically on Xbox One X,
05:59whereas the boost in resolution to 1800p is noticeable all of the time.
06:04So on balance, I think the Xbox One X delivers a better experience overall,
06:08when you take into account both the resolution and factoring in how often performance actually hits 30 frames per second.
06:15That's the game running in its default 30fps mode,
06:18but there's also an option to unlock the frame rate,
06:22potentially allowing us to go up to 60 frames per second.
06:26It's not an option that you really see all that often with Pro or Xbox One X games,
06:31so we're glad to find it included here,
06:33as it gives games a choice if they want to prioritise the fastest frame rates possible,
06:39though at the expense of gameplay consistency.
06:42In terms of achieving the highest frame rates,
06:45the PlayStation 4 Pro definitely has an edge here.
06:48Comparing like-for-like scenes across both platforms,
06:50and Xbox One X generally sticks closer to 30 frames per second.
06:55In fact, when looking at the Xbox One X,
06:57it doesn't really veer that far away from it.
07:00At best, we're looking at around 40fps tops when exploring more confined indoor environments,
07:07but during a general gameplay run-through across a range of different areas,
07:12usually frame rates only come in at just above 30fps,
07:16usually around the mid-30s or ever so slightly higher at points.
07:21But ultimately, it's pretty clear that the Xbox One X just doesn't have the headroom
07:25in order to translate the unlocked frame rate into a 60fps experience.
07:29It definitely looks a lot more at home at 30fps instead.
07:34Playing uncapped means there's visible stutter due to the uneven way frames are delivered on screen,
07:40something that you can avoid completely when capping the frame rate to 30fps.
07:45In comparison, PS4 Pro does go much higher.
07:48It can hit 60fps in less demanding scenes indoors,
07:51and even keep above 50fps for short periods when outside,
07:56which gives us a smoother-looking experience than the capped 30fps mode when this happens,
08:00along with more responsive controls that feel a little snappier.
08:03But at the same time, the performance here is really variable.
08:06Frame rates usually hover into the mid-40s and can even drop down close to 30fps at points.
08:12So if you're looking for a 60fps experience, PS4 Pro isn't going to deliver that.
08:17Really, when it comes to playing the Evil Within, the unlocked frame rate option,
08:21although good to see, perhaps isn't the best way to sample the experience.
08:25There's a lot more inconsistency in terms of judder and controller response.
08:30And although PS4 Pro does indeed play better than Xbox One X in this mode,
08:34I would say that switching to 30fps immediately feels far more consistent.
08:38The action moves smoothly, and there's no jarring changes between controller response or fluidity.
08:45So I think that in this case, playing with a 30fps cap enabled is the best way forward.
08:50According to the patch notes though, on PS4 Pro,
08:53it's supposed to be possible to achieve slightly higher frame rates
08:57when outputting 1080p from the machine itself.
09:01We actually decided to test this out by selecting both 4K and 1080p output on the console,
09:06but as you can see here, the results in frame rate were basically identical.
09:11Perhaps this is because the game appears to be rendering in 1080p anyway,
09:15something that we will be getting to the bottom of.
09:18But for now, a safe bet is to choose the 30fps cap
09:21and get the most consistent experience possible.
09:23And so, let's wrap this up.
09:25In terms of the two versions, it's pretty clear that if you're playing on a 4K screen,
09:29the Xbox One X is the one to go for here.
09:32Performance is relatively stable at 30fps and the jump to 1800p resolution looks very good on a 4K screen,
09:40whereas PlayStation 4 Pro doesn't hold up quite so well here.
09:43The performance is great, giving us a lovely 30fps update most of the time,
09:48but the resolution isn't high enough to really look great on a 4K display.
09:53Instead, I think the PS4 Pro works better on a 1080p screen where you avoid any kind of upscaling.
09:59Either way, Evil Within 2 is a far more refined, enjoyable experience than the first game.
10:05The visuals are greatly improved with regards to the post-processing, lighting effects and detail,
10:10and the game runs a lot more smoothly.
10:13But in terms of getting the best-looking presentation on consoles,
10:17then that really comes down to the Xbox One X version here,
10:20that works well if you're playing on a 4K or Full HD display.
10:24Anyway, with that said, I think I'll leave it there for now.
10:26As ever, if you enjoyed the video, don't forget to like and subscribe,
10:30and also check out our Patreon page at digitalfoundry.net
10:34if you'd like to see a high-quality version of this video.
10:37Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
10:59I'll see you next time.
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