With both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X now available, comparisons between the two consoles are finally now able to be done. The best example cases are, of course, multiplatform games that are available on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. That's just what's been produced recently with Assassin's Creed Valhalla as the medium. An early comparison of Assassin's Creed Valhalla on PS5 and Xbox Series X shows striking similarities, but with the PS5 apparently performing stronger overall.
The comparison comes from Digital Foundry, which compared the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S versions of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The first thing the comparison concludes is that the PS5 and Xbox Series X use the exact same graphical settings. As such, they're apt for comparison based on performance and optimization. Xbox Series S, however, generally has lower settings with respect to certain areas like shadows, loading distances, and specifically frame rate.
From there, it appears that the PS5 has a variety of advantages over the Xbox Series X,. For example, loading times between the two consoles is said to be in the PS5's favor by several seconds. This is using the exact same save, since Assassin's Creed Valhalla has cross-saves. Digital Foundry seems to have only used a single save to test this, though, and doesn't elaborate on the console conditions.
The comparison goes on to say that the PS5 also sees advantages in both resolution and frame rate, however. Both consoles use a dynamic 4K resolution that upscale from anywhere between 4K and 1440p. Both consoles also target 60fps but do have dips below that. Digital Foundry says that when the consoles dip, the Xbox Series X tends to dip harder than the PS5.
Again, hardware performance isn't necessarily the entire story for Assassin's Creed Valhalla's technical issues. The game's framerate and dynamic resolution appear to tie heavily into each other. As in, the game will lower resolution dramatically in order to try and maintain its 60fps. It's just that when this happens, the Xbox Series X tends to be more heavily impacted. That sounds a lot like Ubisoft struggling with optimization for the Xbox platform.
Oddly, this news is contradictory to pre-launch statements from Ubisoft. Ubisoft's language describing Assassin's Creed Valhalla on Xbox Series X detailed a native 4K resolution targeting 60fps, but clearly, it's now a dynamic resolution. Hopefully, it's possible for Ubisoft to further optimize. Otherwise, there are a lot of questions to answer regarding the two consoles' performance disparity, specifically when the Xbox Series X is considered to have stronger hardware overall.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
