Assassin's Creed Shadows PS5 Pro performance test sees noticeable boost in lighting quality

Developers aren't always clear about what advantages a title will have on the PS5 Pro. Fortunately, Digital Foundry ran a comprehensive analysis before the Assassin's Creed Shadows release date. The most significant improvements are with lighting effects, which make the game's Japanese environments eerily realistic.

Like many recent console releases, Assassin's Creed Shadows offers performance, quality, and balanced modes. Digital Foundry found that Sony's most powerful gaming system realizes its potential with 60fps performance settings. The Assassin's Creed Shadows PS5 Pro version includes ray-traced global illumination (RTGI), which isn't available on the PS5. The footage shows how indirect light convincingly bounces off foliage, while the scenes with the PS5 look drab.

Many PS5 titles receive post-launch patches to implement PS5 Pro-specific features. However, as a current-gen title only, it appears Assassin's Creed Shadows was developed with the console in mind. Digital Foundry believes that Ubisoft's game is one of the best demonstrations of PS5 Pro's abilities yet. That said, Assassin's Creed Shadows surprisingly lacks PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling. Consequently, images at higher resolutions have more artifacts than expected.

Assassin's Creed Shadows PS5 Pro players can experience conventional ray tracing effects in quality mode. Otherwise, compared to the PS5, differences in smoothness and overall image sharpness are minor. If players are only interested in steady framerates, the Xbox or PS5 versions may suffice. Framerates generally met their targets in quality, performance, and balanced modes. On the other hand, like with Monster Hunter Wilds, the Xbox Series S shows its limitations with occasionally choppy gameplay.

Ubisoft has dealt with delays and controversy leading up to the Assassin's Creed Shadows release date. Considering these difficulties, the publisher couldn't afford to have poor performance cause more negative reactions. At least on consoles, the game presents a beautifully rendered open world with few technical hitches. 

Readers can also check out Notebookcheck's initial Assassin's Creed Shadows PC performance and gameplay impressions below: