Ray-Traced Lighting at 60fps? Yes Please: Assassin’s Creed Shadows on PS5 Pro
The wait is finally over for Assassin’s Creed fans, as Ubisoft’s latest installment, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, has arrived on the PS5 Pro. With its extreme expectations, this game needs to be a commercial success for the beleaguered publisher. But how does it fare on the PS5 Pro, with its substantial Pro enhancements and additional ray tracing? Let’s dive in and find out.
A Game-Changing Upgrade
The key difference between the PS5 and PS5 Pro is the performance mode, which gets ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) on the Pro. This lavish pass of per-pixel RTGI transforms the game, greatly improving shadow detail, diffuse bounce lighting, and the overall world’s realism. The PS5, on the other hand, looks flat and compressed, with a uniform lighting response. The difference is vast, especially in forest areas, where the baked GI lighting solution on the base PS5 fails to capture the subtle occlusion of leafy greenery.
A Generational Divide in Lighting Fidelity
The addition of RTGI is a huge visual uplift over the base console, making the PS5 Pro version almost look like a different game. However, this comes at the cost of image quality, which remains imperfect. Both consoles suffer from pixel crawl, blocky patterns, and poorly upscaled transparencies. The upsampling produces variable results, with internal resolutions hovering around 1080p in light scenes.
Disappointing Upscaling
Ubisoft’s pre-launch promises of PSSR upscaling on Pro haven’t materialized, and the game doesn’t exhibit the hallmarks of PSSR upscaling. Instead, the image quality is similar to the base PS5, with the PC version with Anvil’s TAAU proving a closer match for both consoles.
Consistent Frame-Rates and Visual Settings
The game has similar visual settings on both machines, with draw distances, shadow resolution, and other tweakables about the same. Frame-rates on PS5 Pro’s performance mode are consistent at 60fps, with some notable drops below that target. Cutscenes still run at 30fps on PS5 Pro, likely to accommodate potential player-created complexity.
RTGI: A Game-Changer
The addition of RTGI is an absolute game-changer, making Shadows feel like it was built with RTGI tech as a visual baseline. However, PS5 Pro’s performance mode doesn’t get RT reflections, instead using screen-space reflections (SSR) with poorly aligned and lower-resolution cubemaps as a fallback. RT reflections are limited to the quality mode, which suffers from pop-in and limited detail.
Actionable Insights
- If you’re a PS5 Pro owner, the performance mode is a must-play, with the addition of RTGI transforming the game’s lighting and overall visuals.
- However, image quality remains imperfect, with pixel crawl, blocky patterns, and poorly upscaled transparencies.
- The PC version with Anvil’s TAAU is a closer match for both consoles, and may be a better solution for those looking for a more stable and high-quality experience.
- The game’s visual settings are similar on both machines, with draw distances, shadow resolution, and other tweakables about the same.
Conclusion
Assassin’s Creed Shadows on PS5 Pro is a game-changer, with the addition of RTGI transforming the game’s lighting and overall visuals. While image quality remains imperfect, the performance mode is a must-play for PS5 Pro owners. With its similar visual settings and consistent frame-rates, Shadows is a great addition to the Assassin’s Creed series.