Square Enix’s new action RPG, Forspoken, is now available on the PS5 and PC, and if you’re on the fence about which version to pick up, read ahead.
The game features 3 graphics modes on PS5, namely Quality, Ray Tracing and Performance. As for the PC version of Forspoken, the highest available graphics settings are very similar to the PS5 version running in Quality mode, though there are visible improvements in terms of draw distance and the quality of ray traced shadows.
On PS5, the Quality mode runs at a native resolution of 1728p on average, and features a better draw distance as well as higher quality textures. The Ray Tracing mode brings the average resolution down to 1512p and reduces both texture quality and draw distance in favor of ray traced shadows applied to nearby objects. It does not bring any improvements to the quality of reflections or lighting, however. The Performance mode has the same cutbacks in texture quality and draw distance that are seen in the Ray-Tracing mode, and the average resolution is further dropped to 1440p dynamic with temporal reconstruction.
In terms of performance, when running in 60Hz mode, Forspoken targets a frame rate of 30fps in both Quality and Ray Tracing modes. On the other hand, it targets a frame rate of 60fps in Performance mode. It fails to maintain a stable frame rate in all modes, however, often dipping below the target. Forspoken also supports a 120Hz, which limits the maximum resolution to 1440p in all graphics modes. The target frame rate for both the Ray Tracing and Quality modes is increased to 40fps when running in 120hz, though the Performance mode target frame rate remains at 60fps.
Despite not suffering from any major bugs or crashes, the PC version is a poorly optimized, barely achieving an average of 40fps on capable PC hardware. It thus makes it mandatory to use DLSS or FSR in order to get more stable performance.
Ultimately, it’s the PC version of Forspoken that offers more stable performance while also delivering the best possible visuals on capable hardware. Though, neither version is well optimized.
