Face-Off: Dying Light - Xbox One, PS4 and PC head-to-head

Digital Foundry:
For some developers, the start of a new generation offers an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and deliver experiences previously impossible on last-gen hardware, while for others, the power is finally there to make enhanced versions of their existing tech shine. Just like DICE's Frostbite and Crytek's CryEngine, Techland's Chrome Engine struggled on last-gen systems, but there's the sense that the technology has finally found its feet on PS4 and Xbox One. Earlier this week, we established that the Polish developer has sorted out most of its performance issues, but with more game hours under our belt we can better discern how version six of the Chrome Engine operates on the new consoles, and factor in the PC version too.

[vishmarx]

" Between the two console versions we definitely have to give the nod to the PS4 version with its improved frame-rate and better texture streaming, its higher resolution, and a near complete lack of screen-tear. However, anyone with a decent gaming PC should definitely stick to the computer version as it offers excellent scalability alongside further improved visuals."

and the sh**storm begins in 3..2..

[freshslicepizza]

why, this seems to be the case on most games so far.

(high end)pc - >>> - ps4 > - xbox one.....no wii u

[MelvinTheGreat]

Lol, keep saying high end pc to justify your ps4. Decent gaming pc =\= high end pc

[frostypants]

@MelvinTheGreat, a $400 PC still doesn't match a $400 PS4. $400 will barely cover the Windows license, CPU, mobo, RAM, drives, power supply, case, input devices etc. before you even get to the GPU. You can try, but the result will be a rickety piece of crap. If you're going to game on a PC, do it right or don't bother. Otherwise, it's not worth the hassle.

[freshslicepizza]

the ps4 is equivalent to the performance of a mid-tiered pc. you're right, you cannot build a pc for $400 that competes but why would you? a pc does so much more than simply play games so you have to consider what you want out of your pc. is it also a workstation, is it going to be an entertainment centre? thats the beauty of the pc, its flexibility. it is also possible to game on linux so you dont always have to have windows but it is preferred.

i would think about $800 and you have a good set-up that will be better than any console and way more options to do things other than gaming on it. the sky is the limit but anything above $1,500 is kind of a waste imo. but again this is the elite who are hobbyists. just like those who spends thousands on big screen tv's and thousands on stereo equipment.

but for $400 the ps4 offers great value and what most people like is the convenience factor, its basically plug and play. pc gaming isn't very difficult to get into though but its still not as simple as console gaming.

[GameNameFame]

Console have streamed line easy gaming.

I got house, gf, and a job. Got good PC, but never used if for gaming any more.

Like vast majority of people I choose streamed line couch gaming first. Then good graphics,

And ps4 have mid tier graphics, but being closed console as devs said you can expect twice the performance of same spec at PC.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

I love this game.

Of course PC will perform better...

GPU compute shines through again with no framerate drops...

[starchild]

I hate screen tearing, stutter and judder so I wouldn't prefer either of the console versions. The PS4 version has judder (and minor screen tearing) and the Xbox One version has screen tearing and judder. The PC version is fairly demanding, but with the right settings PC gamers can get a smooth experience. I can definitely get a smooth framerate on the G-Sync monitor I own.

[nveenio]

I have a PC that is pretty beefy. When I choose a platform for a multiplat game, I take the OTHER benefits into consideration. Will there be multiplayer? Which platform is cheaper? Is the primary draw graphics?

So it always depends on the game. For instance, I generally choose PC for games like Far Cry because I play them for graphics and ignore the multiplayer components. But a game like The Division or Rainbow Six: Siege will be ones I need friends on, and so I'll go with PS4 (same with No Man's Sky).

But if graphics are the tipping point, I'll go PC, because it's always better.

None of this, of course, applies to exclusives, which generally feel like top-notch PC games (like The Last of Us, Uncharted 3, The Order, Driveclub, etc.).

[NuggetsOfGod]

@froare pants

Why the hell would pc gamers want ps4 level of performance?

I want to play next-gen games at 60fps!

Ps3 area is over man lol

Pay more to get more. I pay double the price for double the fps and resolution.

Devs lower games to 30fps. There is your console optimization lol

[TheXgamerLive]

So apparently you didn't watch the video right, only the opening frames per second. Xbox One easily takes visuals over ps4 that was in plain view but yes ps4 had a few fps advantage in the begining.

[thanhgee]

"Xbox One easily takes visuals over ps4 that was in plain view but yes ps4 had a few fps advantage in the begining."

Thanks for the joke! hahaha

[OB1Biker]

So he did not give much of an opinion but he just quoted DF 'verdict' and you just totally brush it away with your perception of a compressed vid..

Unbelievable
you could as well message Eurogamer and tell them they just watched the beginning of this vid

[LordMaim]

Xbox One displays at 1536x1080. They cut out horizontal resolution to save power, and stretched the pixels to fit the screen.

That's closer to 900p than to 1080p.

And from the article: "It's clear that the PS4 version holds the upper hand here, with a much more consistent frame-rate and lower levels of screen-tear."

So I'm not sure on what criteria you're thinking that the Xbox One version is better here.

[Ikki_Phoenix]

yea sure buddy
ps4--->xbox fail

[LexHazard79]

Why would a shit storm in sue?
I mean how much more proof would they need. Cant argue with facts.

[PlayableGamez]

Wait for DirectX 12...

[BallsEye]

"better texture streaming"

Funny how in previous article they stated ps4 version have no anisotropic filtering, and suddenly now it has bettr textures? Let's take alook:

http://www.ultraimg.com/ima...

so how is it eurogamer? I smell some BS.

[NerdStalker]

Stop being so butthurt and get over it fanboy Ballseye

[Azzanation]

Apart from the X1 screen tearing the visuals on both games look the exact same. I cant even see the difference in resolution. Not bad for a console that is inferior on paper.

[Walker]

Is it just me or are these "next gen" games a bit, meh? Is it devs struggling with the new hardware, hardware restrictions or just laziness? I don't feel like I've played a true next gen game yet.

True, Techland is a relatively small player but the big devs just don't seem arsed! Ubisoft I'm looking at you!!

[starchild]

What are you talking about? Dying Light is one of the most graphically impressive games yet released. Ubisoft have also released two of the most graphically advanced games in AC Unity and Far Cry 4. Tomb Raider definitive versions is also by a "big dev" and it is one of the best looking games on the PS4.

[Ikki_Phoenix]

yea and we all saw how bad unity was with its kk problems

[04STIBluByU]

Wow the XB1 cant catch a break! MS really needs to work on way with getting this console better! PS4TW again! Guess people will keep waiting for DX12...oh wait! MS must hate DF this gen.

[IrishSt0ner]

https://lh4.googleuserconte...
http://i.imgur.com/1MTJ3or....

PC FTW actually. For those of us with decent PCs, XB1 will be doing just fine when DX12 and W10 release.

[Ikki_Phoenix]

maybe they will get dx12 but sony also have the response to that and it is called team ice

[Azzanation]

Team Ice don't make APIs and the PS4 wasn't made with a future API in mind from what we all know.

[Brisco]

They look identical. My brother got it on Xbox one and I on Ps 4, and they are pretty much identical.

[Foehammer]

You are correct, and that's what some are too insecure to post:

"Despite our criticisms, Dying Light is a beautiful game in motion and works well across all three platforms."

Also not posted (typical) are the positive X1 points from the "performance analysis:

"However, the PS4 version suffers from a disappointing lack of anisotropic filtering, with oblique angles producing much sharper texture work on Xbox One."

[thanhgee]

Lol... What are these 'quotes' that people keep making up?

"As things stand, anyone with an interest in the game should be able to enjoy it on any of the three platforms. Between the two console versions we definitely have to give the nod to the PS4 version with its improved frame-rate and better texture streaming, its higher resolution, and a near complete lack of screen-tear."

It's great across all three platforms, on the console versions the PS4 performs and looks better. Does it mean the Xbox one looks bad/performs bad? NO.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

So the constant framerate drops and screen tearing are a sign of excellent performance? It's actually a sign that the Xbox One's GPU couldn't handle the rendered environments. You are too funny...

[MasterCornholio]

Well PS4 is the best console version of the game.

However the developer did a pretty good job with the XB1 version as well.

The PC version is the best though even with the optimization issues that it has.

In conclusion the results were not surprising at all.

[Fro_xoxo]

The only issue I see here is screen tearing, which occurs on both platforms. . but worse on XO.

Frame-rates is more stable on PS4 by 6 frames during fluctuation.

Image quality is equal on both in spite of the lower res on XO.

anyways, good effort by techland. These open world games are tasking on the consoles.

[purp13m0nk3y]

Rock solid framerate on PS4. Virtually no screen tearing on PS4. Much better texture streaming on PS4. But yeah, both versions are the same :-/

I love how when the Xbox1 has a slight edge in framerate and suddenly its a huge win (even though it still runs at a lower res ala COD AW) but when there is a clear advantage to the PS4 version in every conceivable way. And now it's "basically the same on both consoles"!

At least admit the advantage when it exists. Especially when its so clearly presented buy a factual and well researched/written article. Did any of you Xbox guys actually bother to read beyond the headline? Digital Foundry know their stuff. Face offs/graphics comparisons are basically their day job. They use expensive equipment and actual real technical knowledge to do very accurate comparisons.

If they say the PS4 version looks/performs better. Then it bloody well does ffs!! No amount of self delusion will change this lol

[BigShotSmoov007]

I have the game on the X1, gorgeous game to look at. Unless you buy both games and want to sit there and nitpick each one then this is a pointless argument. As long as the game runs fine and looks amazing with the gameplay experience is the same across all platforms, who cause about all this. I am enjoying this game a lot. I was looking forward to this game but had no idea it was be this good.

[demonJAKAL]

It's good to see multi plat game running well on both consoles.

[F0XHOUND]

And again.

When will people just accept that visually and performance wise, its PC > ps4 > xbox. With the two consoles pretty much the same minus a few details.

Gameplay, story and everything else.... largely identical!

[ironmonkey]

actually the best version is not pc atm even that is facing some bad framerate issues. if by turning all the settings down then that defeats the whole purpose why pc would be better.

[starchild]

Except that isn't true. It's mainly the view distance setting that hits the CPU hard and causes framerate drops.

"The particular setting responsible for most of the performance woes faced in the PC version is the view distance slider. Increasing this to its maximum value brings the frame-rate on a Core i5-3570K/GTX 780 PC well under 60fps. By dropping to 35 per cent or less, we find that it is possible to attain a stable 60fps on our system, but going beyond this - particularly over 50 per cent - sees drops performance dramatically. We examined the view distance slider at various intervals to determine how it stacks up on consoles and the results are interesting - the Xbox One and PS4 setting appears to fall below the PC version's lowest possible setting."

"For our test system at least, we feel that dropping this slider to around 35 per cent is a good compromise that provides a reasonable view distance without bottlenecking the whole system. There's a tendancy to ramp up all PC settings to the max, then complain about dire performance - as it is, Dying Light is fairly scalable. On as close to console-level settings as we can get, a Core i3 PC with a GTX 750 Ti managed a console-like 30fps at 1080p."

"Moving onto PC performance, we've already established that the game is fairly scalable, mostly related to how the view distance slider is set-up. While we strongly recommend lowering the slider significantly, it is possible to play the game maxed out with a consistent frame-rate. For capturing purposes, we opted to cap our frame-rate at 30fps in order to represent the PC version at its highest possible image quality settings while achieving stable performance on the i5/GTX 780 set-up used for testing."

Who cares if some PC gamers have to turn down this one setting to around 35 in order to get a stable 60fps? That setting is still well above either console version, which as the article points out the console setting is below the lowest setting on the PC version (i.e. below 0). Or a PC gamer can opt to max out all settings and simply cap at 30fps. Or those of us with G-Sync monitors can max out all settings and get smooth framerates above 30fps on up to well above 60fps. The PC gives you options, depending on your preferences and hardware.

Not to mention all the other ways the PC version is superior. And all that at more than twice the framerate and without the screen tearing and stutter of the console versions.

Here are some other advantages of the PC version:

"we did notice a surprising absence on consoles at night: dynamic light sources. In the PC version, objects such a flaming barrels act as a light source impacting the environment and characters around it, though not casting additional shadows. On the consoles, the developer simply uses a mixture of bloom and alpha effects to simulate bright lights without actually including a visible light source. Standing atop a large building demonstrates that the PC version is capable of drawing these light sources well into the distance while consoles lack them completely."

"Shadow map resolution is at least on par with the PC version's medium setting, for instance."

"HBAO+ is immediately evident throughout the game (on PC) and dramatically improves image consistency."

Summary:

"Between the two console versions we definitely have to give the nod to the PS4 version with its improved frame-rate and better texture streaming, its higher resolution, and a near complete lack of screen-tear. However, anyone with a decent gaming PC should definitely stick to the computer version as it offers excellent scalability alongside further improved visuals."

[thexmanone]

Xbox version wins. the draw distance on the PS4 is just not as good as the Xbox version. At 2:21 Watch the tree on top of the Mountain on the PS4 version. And the colors are much better on the Xbox version. I guess you have to sacrifice something to get that 1080P.

[thanhgee]

So you would sacrifice a stable frame rate, less screen tearing, better texture streaming and 1080p all for better draw distance? Makes sense...

[purp13m0nk3y]

Wrong. Draw distance is identical between both consoles. DF confirms this in the article. Its just the vids are not completely in sync.

Nice try though. Clear win for PS4 this time round. XBox1 still performs adequately though. But if you have both consoles, I think you'd be crazy to get the Xbox1 version over the PS4 version.

[reko]

old man with the lame troll attempt. LOL

[bananaboats]

I don't think these comparisons should even be made anymore. everyone knows what the outcome will be. I for one will always choose XB1 as my main choice for multiplat games, why? because of my friends, because of the features that the XB1 has as far as snapping achievements of whatever game im playing or recording something cool by just saying it and because the Controller feels much better in my hands. We already know the ps4 will always look slightly better than the XB1 version.

[tlougotg]

Here come the fanboys downplaying ps4 superior version, yet i bet we're lunatics going crazy last gen when xbox360 would get a slightly better version. Sorry guys compared to last gen. And the minimal differences, this gen differences between PS4 version and Xbone are greater and there shouldn't be no problem with ppl knowing that. If you don't like it buy a PS4 or else it's going to be a long gen. For you. DX12 for all the lil green mistermediax groupies isn't going to close the gap or do much so stop dreaming.

Bottom line PS4 version superior in many ways and that screen tearing is bad on Xbone where on Ps4 it has virtually none.

Love people who use terms like "slightly better" lol hahahahaha looks and performs better hands down, lets be realistic here ppl.

[marlinfan10]

And same could be said for you. Here come the fanboys trying to over play the differences like it's night and day. Watch individual videos of both versions, they're basically identical.

[AD705]

Isn't this like the 5th article we have had over this game comparison? I mean holy shit every day since dying light came out we've had some article comparing its graphics between platforms.

[marlinfan10]

The 2 console versions look nearly identical with a slight frame rate and resolution difference, I never would've guessed. Thank god we got our 10th comparison between the 2 versions. If people were to watch streams of videos of the game without knowing the version, I'd be willing to bet they couldn't even tell the difference. I've played both versions and own the ps4 version and I haven't been able to tell any difference while playing. The biggest difference is what controller you're using. My advice to anyone debating on which version to get is pick the one with the controller you prefer and where your friends are. All mine are on xbox but I couldn't pass up the $20 for the ps4 version

[srd4484]

Close enough. Just enjoy playing the damn game. Most the time you wont notice the differences because your too busy playing.

[Rocky5]

I own the XB1 version & it has most weird FPS drops,

You can be in a area with what looks like about a hundred zombies & the FPS feels solid & then go to an area where there isn't really anything bar a few zombies & a few builds & the FPS drops to noticeable choppy rate.

It's mad o_O I don't get it, still a cracking game, but they need to fix these damn FPS drop hotspots.

[OpinionSmasher]

IDK if its just me but it seems like the xbox one version has frame stuttering even when at 30 fps. Big example of this is at 1:19 XO version looks so jittery

[ScorpiusX]

Yada Yada Yada with all that , one thing I know is that this game is somewhat blah.

[tee_bag242]

Another win for the PC this gen..again

[alice2015]

xbox one is going to make a big come back so the console war is over now its time to get back to just playing games