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Digital Foundry - Horizon Forbidden West PC vs PS5: Enhanced Features, Performance Tests + Image Quality Boosts!

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Cool story.

Know what the average person's reaction to these comparisons is?
851.png


Because the differences are negligible in practice, unless you resort to comparisons like this one from DF.

But I'll leave it at that. Like I said, next time I'll add "to me", so you don't have to get so touchy.
This you?

If it comes, I'll get it day 1 and pass my PS5 Digital to my stepson.

Because if you can’t see the difference between a high-end rig and the base PS5, then you certainly won’t see the difference between the regular PS5 and the Pro.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
This you?



Because if you can’t see the difference between a high-end rig and the base PS5, then you certainly won’t see the difference between the regular PS5 and the Pro.
Did you miss the part where I said I'll buy it so I can give my PS5 to my step-son?

Besides, I never said I didn't see a difference.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Did you miss the part where I said I'll buy it so I can give my PS5 to my step-son?
I didn’t, but just get a regular PS5.
Besides, I never said I didn't see a difference.
You said the differences are minimal unless you zoom in and that was about Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk. There’s no fucking way you’ll see a difference between the Pro and the base model if you hardly see one between a 4090 and the base PS5.
 
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Not going to lie, lack of raytracing is a real let down and frankly feels like a unfinished product because of it. We are in the year 2024 and RT should be standard at this point.
Yep the versions look all the same. In this case it's true. Textures, image stability were already pretty good on PS5 at 60fps. Even the FOV is not that bad on PS5 and improved vs the first Horizon. No RT on PC is a big failure here as the old-gen lighting is the main problem in this game.
 

Killjoy-NL

Member
I didn’t, but just get a regular PS5.
Yes, I could do that. But the price difference between base PS5 and Pro won't be too big.
You said the differences are minimal unless you zoom in and that was about Alan Wake 2 and Cyberpunk. There’s no fucking way you’ll see a difference between the Pro and the base model if you hardly see one between a 4090 and the base PS5.
I do see a difference.

You should pay more attention to what I'm actually saying.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Yes, I could do that. But the price difference between base PS5 and Pro won't be too big.
So you’ll wait 6 months and spend another $100 for nothing on Day 1?
I do see a difference.

You should pay more attention to what I'm actually saying.
This is what you wrote.


Because the differences are negligible in practice, unless you resort to comparisons like this one from DF.

Again, if the differences between a fucking 4090 and a PS5 are negligible, how the heck are you going to see the difference between the Pro and base models?
 

Zathalus

Member
You should have actually read my post...

The poster was bragging about UNLIMITED RESOLUTION for the PC version

That's a lie. To push the game to the highest possible resolution/performance you need top of the line hardware...

Try that with a $650 PC and tell me how that goes....

Obviously you need top of the line hardware to push the game to the limits, but it's certainly not needed to get a great experience.

And by the way this $650 PC thing is getting on my nerves....

It's just theoretical talk to dump on consoles by the Master Race cult....

Too bad the PCMR builds $3000 PC to feel good about themselves...
The $650 is hardly theoretical, it can be done rather easily.

As for spending $3000, a simple glance at the Steam survey results makes it rather obvious that the average PC gamer doesn't spend anywhere near that amount of money on building or buying a PC. Only 30 percent have a PC equal to, or better than a PS5.

But even if they do, so what? $3000 is hardly that much money when it comes to a hobby. Most gamers are adults with disposable income.
 
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As for spending $3000, a simple glance at the Steam survey results makes it rather obvious that the average PC gamer doesn't spend anywhere near that amount of money on building or buying a PC. Only 30 percent have a PC equal to, or better than a PS5.

But even if they do, so what? $3000 is hardly that much money when it comes to a hobby. Most gamers are adults with disposable income.

Here on GAF you don't find average PC gamers. You find enthusiasts, that's the reason why this place exists....

As for the $3000, nothing wrong with spending that much money, but to brag about that UNLIMITED POWER in comparison to a $450 console is laughable
 
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Killjoy-NL

Member
So you’ll wait 6 months and spend another $100 for nothing on Day 1?
I don't spend it for nothing. The primary reason is so I can pass my PS5 to my stepson.
And €100 isn't that much, for a minor upgrade.

I even was one of those saying a Pro-console isn't needed, but if it release I'll buy it, because mainly for the above mentioned reason and the increased performance is just an added bonus.
This is what you wrote.


Because the differences are negligible in practice, unless you resort to comparisons like this one from DF.

Again, if the differences between a fucking 4090 and a PS5 are negligible, how the heck are you going to see the difference between the Pro and base models?
Yes, it is. Especially when looking at the broader picture.
And given that a decent gaming PC easily costs about double that of a console, it puts everything into perspective and the differences become negligible.

Edit:

To me.
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
I don't spend it for nothing. The primary reason is so I can pass my PS5 to my stepson.
And €100 isn't that much, for a minor upgrade.

I even was one of those saying a Pro-console isn't needed, but if it release I'll buy it, because mainly for the above mentioned reason and the increased performance is just an added bonus.

Yes, it is. Especially when looking at the broader picture.
And given that a decent gaming PC easily costs about double that of a console, it puts everything into perspective and the differences become negligible.

Edit:

To me.
Right, so $100 extra for less than a negligible difference for something you can get now instead of waiting 6 months.

Makes sense.
 

Tchu-Espresso

likes mayo on everthing and can't dance
I never had any issues with the clarity of performance mode on a 65inch OLED from a normal viewing distance. It simply is the best option given the performance uplift.
 
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Braag

Member
I feel left out, why don't they talk about the 4090? Are we really so few?
As a 3090 owner I feel you, that card is never mentioned.
If it's any consolation, the game runs at 4K, DLSS Quality and all settings cranked to max at solid 60 fps for me. So a 4090 user can probably run it with DLAA unless you're targeting 100+ frames.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
I wish they had included a PS5 settings preset like they did with the original.

Its hard to see why this game runs at just 43 fps on a 3080 when it ran at a locked 30 fps on a ps5.
I think PS5 runs the High Preset. Plus, it also uses DRS. It's a bit off of what it should get but nothing insane. NVIDIA also underperforms. A 7900 XTX shouldn't beat a 4090.
 

shamoomoo

Member
I think PS5 runs the High Preset. Plus, it also uses DRS. It's a bit off of what it should get but nothing insane. NVIDIA also underperforms. A 7900 XTX shouldn't beat a 4090.
Why? Different games with different use case that benefit AMD or Nvidia isn't unusual.
 
I wish they had included a PS5 settings preset like they did with the original.

Its hard to see why this game runs at just 43 fps on a 3080 when it ran at a locked 30 fps on a ps5.

I think they said the are going to make another video with optimized settings. I guess PS5 settings will be there
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Why? Different games with different use case that benefit AMD or Nvidia isn't unusual.
Because the 4090 constantly beats the 7900 XTX by over 20% and there isn't a single metric where the 7900 XTX outperforms it. And yes, this is very unusual. That a game favors NVIDIA or AMD by 5-10%, or even 15% happens. 20% is definitely an outlier that shouldn't happen.
 
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Fess

Member
Hey in my defense, I almost threw up after impulse buying the card. Literally ran to Gaf like a lil bitch and made a thread about it.

I kinda consider it an investment. I bought the 3080 for 950 bucks...sold it for $500, bought 4090 for $1650 (gags) I'll probably sell it for like $11-1200....then buy the 5090 for hopefully under $2000
My 4090 cost me over $2500… 🤢
I invest in stocks between the upgrades, that’s the only way I can manage it since I’m not rich or have a high salary. Done it for many years now. The Nvidia stock has been on fire 🔥 80+ percent up this year so far.

Been playing Forbidden West for 1.5 hours now anyhow. Runs smooth on a 7800x3d+4080S PC at very high settings (highest). Frame Generation had tearing so I went without that. Noticed something minor when panning the camera that could possibly be framedrops but didn’t have a fps counter to verify it.
Haven’t found any mods yet, hoping the community goes bananas on it, more beautiful face and a smaller head would be nice. Ran out of batteries in the controller so had to stop now 😤
 
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shamoomoo

Member
Because the 4090 constantly beats the 7900 XTX by over 20% and there isn't a single metric where the 7900 XTX outperforms it. And yes, this is very unusual. That a game favors NVIDIA or AMD by 5-10%, or even 15% happens. 20% is definitely an outlier that shouldn't happen.
That isn't entirely true,the RX 7900 XtX does have a small rop advantage over the 4090 if the clocks rates are close to advertised, which isn't always true for Nvidia.
 
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With a 4090 and i7-13700kf, I'm hitting 120 easily with no upscaling, DLAA, and Frame Gen. Is TAA the better option though for anti-aliasing? It appears "sharper" than DLAA.
 
My 4090 cost me over $2500… 🤢
I invest in stocks between the upgrades, that’s the only way I can manage it since I’m not rich or have a high salary. Done it for many years now. The Nvidia stock has been on fire 🔥 80+ percent up this year so far.

Been playing Forbidden West for 1.5 hours now anyhow. Runs smooth on a 7800x3d+4080S PC at very high settings (highest). Frame Generation had tearing so I went without that. Noticed something minor when panning the camera that could possibly be framedrops but didn’t have a fps counter to verify it.
Haven’t found any mods yet, hoping the community goes bananas on it, more beautiful face and a smaller head would be nice. Ran out of batteries in the controller so had to stop now 😤
You need to turn on V-Sync in NVidia Control panel and the tearing will go away.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I never had any issues with the clarity of performance mode on a 65inch OLED from a normal viewing distance. It simply is the best option given the performance uplift.
It was really bad at launch, but they fixed it a few months later. now its perfectly fine and is practically jaggie free. its a bit soft compared to native 4k but its no different from 4k DLSS performance which is the goto for most PC gamers gaming at 4k with nvidia cards not named 4080 and 4090.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
Seems like a very good port. G g nixxes. Nothing major like adding raytracing but they've done the things that matter correctly. DRS seems to be working well and a solid 60fps can be achieved with a older mid range cpu and 3070. Can't complain at all.
 

Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
So how much would a PC with those parts cost brand new???
Those parts are old and the 2070S doesn't sell anymore as far as I'm aware. You can get something in the same ballpark like a 6700 XT (that's actually faster than the PS5's GPU). An entire build will run you $700-900. Nowhere near $1200-1500. At that price, you can get a decently specced rig that will most likely outperform the PS5 Pro.
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
So DF are bad for gaming and suck because they aren't excited about a PS5 Pro, but also games running on a maxed out PC are barely any different from a PS5 so we shouldn't be excited about a PS5pro?
 

sncvsrtoip

Member
So DF are bad for gaming and suck because they aren't excited about a PS5 Pro, but also games running on a maxed out PC are barely any different from a PS5 so we shouldn't be excited about a PS5pro?
In games with already solid reconstractions and that have 40fps balanced modes ps5pro will indeed not make much difference. But not all games are as briliant on ps5 as Forbidden West.
 

CamHostage

Member
Not going to lie, lack of raytracing is a real let down and frankly feels like a unfinished product because of it. We are in the year 2024 and RT should be standard at this point.

So, are you talking RT for the Global Illumination though, or just for RT shadows and reflections and fill and all that?

If you're just talking the shadows, reflections, and other effects, okay. Sometimes RT solutions don't play nice with other systems and the Horizons puts a lot of focus on performance across its platforms (this PC game runs very happily on Steam Deck,) but PC buyers expect those toggles to be in there by now.

(None of the three Decima PC ports have offered any RT graphics options, so far.)

For the GI, though, the game is designed to work a certain way for its biome and day/night and cinematic trick lighting effects. It's intentionally faked to make it constantly look like a movie. The character has an imaginary kicker always behind her at 45° to make her pop from the BG and look like she just walked SI cover shoot all the time. Each hour of the day (semi-hourly actually; double the ToDs of the first game) is given its own bake of lighting and color tone for the mood which they're setting for that biome's version of day or dusk or night. A little more red and brightness here because the days should be harsh in this area; a little twinkle and contrast there because this area looks so evocative at nighttime; additional fake brighteners here and there because it looks better that way. Doesn't seem like that's something where RT just swaps in and plays nicely with all the rigged systems. RT could potentially be added for a mixed lighting solution to handle the indirect lighting in specific needs, but the design was not exactly made to be naturally consistent, it was made to feel natural even when it's not.

When you look at the RT mods for the first Horizon (which are ReShade, not the same but it's a starting point ...they also went apespit with the HRD on this,) you see some of the ropey mismatch and other issues where it gives good dimensionality to areas in shadow as you're walking around (which admittedly is what matters most of the time) but then issues in maintaining consistency and tone. (It's also an even funnier version of the full-swap done at key ToD transitions, considering that they sped it up.)



Decima still not having any RT features is curious, and we'll see if Death Stranding 2 changes that. (Analysis of that first trailer showed some possibilities but it may instead be using similar systems implemented in H:FW; DF for their analysis saw signs of screen space reflections and managed shadows but then potentially RTGI for the fill.) RT features are a tool suite that Guerrilla has for sure been investigating, and RTGI apparently is the direction most likely to be explored for what games Guerilla and its prominent partner KojiPro would be served best by for their games. (BTW, goddamn, typing only those two known Decima developers makes me sad that Cambridge is gone...) Unfortunately, neither of the GDC events Guerrilla is paneling are about its graphic systems (one's about puzzle design, the other UI in the editor) so we're unlikely to get a sneak preview of any upcoming plans for a bit.
 
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Gaiff

SBI’s Resident Gaslighter
Here is your 4090
ba2d51a93619aeeb672616052065a410.png
Did these guys even test all these GPUs? Or did they find the most taxing area to bench?

Because this guy is at 4K + DLAA and is pretty much always at 80-105fps except for weird camera cuts.



Also, no HBAO+ and just basic bitch SSAO? Really Nixxes?
 
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hlm666

Member
This game also difference story
Been patched a few times since then, performance has improved in general and the 4090 is about 10% faster in the city and more in heavier areas. That specific area now looks like ~60 7900xtx vs ~67 4090.
 
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Mithos

Gold Member
Did these guys even test all these GPUs? Or did they find the most taxing area to bench?

Because this guy is at 4K + DLAA and is pretty much always at 80-105fps except for weird camera cuts.



Also, no HBAO+ and just basic bitch SSAO? Really Nixxes?

Could be they have an driver install issue?
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
The lighting in this game is so last gen, particle effects pretty bad at times. Water rendering is meh. foliage rendering is the mvp that is overshadowing everything else.
Water physics is whatever, water rendering is one of the best in the business, especially the sea and waves.
 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Just spend a few hours on this, and the PC version surpassed my expectation. Safe to say the game is shining much better than before.
 

SoloCamo

Member
Because the 4090 constantly beats the 7900 XTX by over 20% and there isn't a single metric where the 7900 XTX outperforms it. And yes, this is very unusual. That a game favors NVIDIA or AMD by 5-10%, or even 15% happens. 20% is definitely an outlier that shouldn't happen.

Some titles do perform better with the 7900XTX, COD:Warzone as an example. AMD also has much less driver overhead which people often overlook. If you have an 'older' cpu you will often get much better performance out of the system as the gpu won't be as limited. That said, overall the 4090 is untouchable and I refuse to upgrade to anything less with the exception of a killer deal on something like a 4080 or 7900XTX. 6900XT is going to have to hold for a bit,. Not in the mood to swap power supplies for Nvidia's new connector and I'm not using an adapter.
 
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