Digital Foundry: Split Fiction Is Simply Brilliant - DF Tech Review - PS5/PS5 Pro/PC/Xbox Series X|S

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Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
​




From the developers of the excellent It Takes Two, Split Fiction continues Hazelight's focus on brilliant multiplayer gaming, slick visuals and great performance. In this video, John and Oliver discuss what makes this game special, then use the split-screen mechanic to pull off fully dynamic cross-platform comparisons. Everything you need to know is right here.



00:00 - Introduction
01:46 - Comparisons Begin
05:29 - 4-Way Comparisons
06:37 - Anti-Aliasing Weirdness
08:50 - Performance is Perfect!
09:41 - What about PC?
12:32 - Lots of Discussion
 
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- MP only, either on same machine or fully online.
- "Very polished experience"
- Uses UE5 but not any of the UE5 signature features like Lumen, Nanite
- IQ and Performance excels while using older and battle tested techniques

- PS5 Pro: Native 4K without PSSR
- Base PS5/SX: 1800p
- Series S: 1080p
- All consoles seem to have visual parity in terms of features and assets, Series S included

- PS5 Pro seems to have some anti aliasing issues which PS5/SX do not
- Based on PC equivalent testing, PS5 Pro seems to use basic TAA which causes this
- Results in some geometry looking smoother on PS5/SX over PS5 Pro in some places
- PC also has the same issue despite having more AA options( No AA, FXAA, TAA, FSR3), resulting in PS5/SX having the apparent best AA solution.

- All consoles seem to perform stable 60fps without any drops in DFs testing
- Some nitpicks like character rendering style but that can be subjective

- PC has shader comp at the start, and outside of minor stutters in starting areas, it is smooth
- DF were able to get high performances on modern PC's without needing frame-generation




edit:

The anti aliasing difference.


7ykV1BU.png
 
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Will Oliver ever get tired of throwing jabs at PSSR at every single occasion? Like he is working overtime to create the notion that PS5 PRO offers worse IQ than the base PS5 due the PSSR more often than not.
 
adamsapple said:
- MP only, either on same machine or fully online.
- "Very polished experience"
- Uses UE5 but not any of the UE5 signature features like Lumen, Nanite
- IQ and Performance excels while using older and battle tested techniques

- PS5 Pro: Native 4K without PSSR
- Base PS5/SX: 1800p
- Series S: 1080p
- All consoles seem to have visual parity in terms of features and assets, Series S included

- PS5 Pro seems to have some anti aliasing issues which PS5/SX do not
- Based on PC equivalent testing, PS5 Pro seems to use basic TAA which causes this
- Results in some geometry looking smoother on PS5/SX over PS5 Pro in some places

- All consoles seem to perform stable 60fps without any drops in DFs testing
- Some nitpicks like character rendering style but that can be subjective

- PC has shader comp at the start, and outside of minor stutters in starting areas, it is smooth
- DF were able to get high performances on modern PC's without needing frame-generation




edit:

The anti aliasing difference.


7ykV1BU.png
Click to expand...
PC version has the same issue
 
Lysandros said:
Will Oliver ever get tired of throwing jabs at PSSR at every single occasion? Like he is working overtime to create the notion that PS5 PRO offers worse IQ than the base PS5 due the PSSR more often than not.
Click to expand...
In this case it doesn't even use PSSR, I don't know what you're talking about... In the end, another DF thread where the usual suspects remind us of a new conspiracy theory when they don't like what they read. 🙃

About the game and its technology... It's a repetition of their previous games. That is, games that do the job, without technical ostentation but with very good performance and a gratifying artistic section.

It's sad that it doesn't have a SP option because I'm not much into cooperative games.
 
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Lysandros said:
Will Oliver ever get tired of throwing jabs at PSSR at every single occasion? Like he is working overtime to create the notion that PS5 PRO offers worse IQ than the base PS5 due the PSSR more often than not.
Click to expand...
Don't think pssr is involved in this it's down to the developers they used TAA on ps5 pro
 
Magic Carpet said:
Avoiding Lumen and Nanite seems to be the key to getting UE5 to work on everything.
Click to expand...

Depends on the type of game tho.

This isn't going for any advanced rendering techniques or massive worlds which might warrant Nanite for LoD management.

It might as well be using UE4, they probably just used UE5 here for easier future compatibility.
 
Does it look good in split screen or is there a drop in quality. Thinking of picking it up for me and my GF to play through next weekend.
 
Mr Moose said:
Did they forget to turn on PSSR? Otherwise, why isn't it using the same AA as the others.
Click to expand...

It's a very basic rendered game, there's no DLSS or XeSS on the PC version either going by what they showed.

Looks like PS5 Pro is using TAA, PS5 and SX seem to be using UE 5's TSR which gives them the better AA coverage by comparison, or that's my guess at least. If they were using FSR2, there would have been notable differences in motion (FSR has a lot of breakup).
 
onQ123 said:
"PS5 Pro seems to have some anti aliasing issues"

I knew something was up when they included PS5 Pro in the normal comparison video 😂
Click to expand...

Some folks complain when they make dedicated Pro videos.

Some folks complain when they put Pro in the same video.


GAj0o.gif
 
DenchDeckard said:
its a pro machine it should never look worse than the standard PS5. What are we doing here?
Click to expand...
They also mentioned the exact same issue on the PC version in that specific sequence. Are we going to say "A PC version should never look worse than a console version" or can we just ignore a more curious than serious issue that they just happened to notice in one specific spot? Careful now, your neutrality mask is slipping again.
 
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adamsapple said:
..... because it's a good performer across the board?

s reactions jim GIF
Click to expand...
I already have a wife, dont need two women blabering on my ears while im playing, even If the performance is good ( i would be surprise If perf was trash since the game looks like ass, but since MHWi i wouldnt be that surprise )
 
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Lokaum D+ said:
I already have a wife, dont need two women blabering on my ears while im playing, even If the performance is good ( i would be surprise If perf was trash since the game looks like ass )
Click to expand...

Ok, go spend time with your hypothetical wife instead of complaining about the game in its DF thread, I guess.

the-office-steve-carell.gif
 
So they chose 4K + TAA instead of 1800p + TSR just so they can get the Pro "Enhanced" tag? Bizarre choice

Also the same issue exists on PC and DF even says "outside of that one issue, this game performs perfectly on all platforms". So, GAF needs to stop freaking out about Pro and/or DF. It's a nothing burger on all fronts. May be they'll patch it or may be they wont. Some random 4k native aliasing won't make your investment worthless.
 
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viveks86 said:
So they chose 4K + TAA instead of 1800p + TSR just so they can get the Pro "Enhanced" tag? Bizarre choice

Also the same issue exists on PC and DF even says "outside of that one issue, this game performs perfectly on all platforms". So, GAF needs to stop freaking out about Pro and/or DF. It's a nothing burger on all fronts. May be they'll patch it or may be they wont. Some random 4k native aliasing won't make your investment worthless.
Click to expand...

On PC you can scale game up to ~150% or more to improve IQ. You can't on Pro.

Why they choose options like that is weird, I doubt Pro lacks power to use same AA as base consoles but in native 4k.
 
Bojji said:
On PC you can scale game up to ~150% or more to improve IQ. You can't on Pro.
Click to expand...
Sure. Like any other game. My point is that it's not some weird pro-specific implementation issue like Silent Hill 2. They should have just stuck to 1800p +TSR or bumped it up even further with TSR as opposed to native 4k + TAA, if this even matters. Seems like a total non issue in my opinion, given that such aliasing wouldn't be visible all the time.
 
viveks86 said:
Sure. Like any other game. My point is that it's not some weird pro-specific implementation issue like Silent Hill 2. They should have just stuck to 1800p +TSR or bumped it up even further with TSR as opposed to native 4k + TAA, if this even matters. Seems like a total non issue in my opinion, given that such aliasing wouldn't be visible all the time.
Click to expand...

They will probably patch it. This is just weird decision, not big issue at all.
 
Bojji said:
They will probably patch it. This is just weird decision, not big issue at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, likely just an oversight but a funny one nonetheless, base PS5 and SX are offering better IQ in essence over both Pro and PC at 4K.
 
Lysandros said:
Will Oliver ever get tired of throwing jabs at PSSR at every single occasion? Like he is working overtime to create the notion that PS5 PRO offers worse IQ than the base PS5 due the PSSR more often than not.
Click to expand...
Bruh, you people must be mentally ill or something. The game doesn't even use PSSR.
 
Lysandros said:
Will Oliver ever get tired of throwing jabs at PSSR at every single occasion? Like he is working overtime to create the notion that PS5 PRO offers worse IQ than the base PS5 due the PSSR more often than not.
Click to expand...
Why are you upset at him pointing out flaws in Sony's AI upscaling technique?

Oh I know why.
 
Bojji said:
Poor Sony is attacked again...
Click to expand...
It's fucking wild. I don't understand this place sometimes.
Skifi28 said:
They also mentioned the exact same issue on the PC version in that specific sequence. Are we going to say "A PC version should never look worse than a console version" or can we just ignore a more curious than serious issue that they just happened to notice in one specific spot? Careful now, your neutrality mask is slipping again.
Click to expand...

I literally said it needs patching. The pc version clearly does too if its doing the same and you can't override it.

It's not a neutrality mask it's basically common sense. There is no excuse for the ps5 pro and pc versions looking worse than cheaper consoles. Hopefully they patch it soon.

Do you not agree?
 
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Does DF ever mention how the series x is xbox pro console as stated by their leader or do they not have the software developed yet?
 
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