Earlier this month, Asobo Studio finally delivered a high performance mode for A Plague Tale: Requiem - applying to Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles at this stage. Well, as usual the team at Digital Foundry has taken a look at the new options, and while higher FPS modes are always welcome, the dev has had to make some pretty big cutbacks to make them a possibility in Requiem.
Not only has a perhaps-expected resolution drop been applied here, the team has had to pare back things like rats & NPC refresh rates, textures, foliage density and more to make higher frame rates a reality.
"Asobo Studio has answered the call for 60 frames per second gameplay. The sacrifices are clear: in the drop to 1080p, the half-refresh elements, the lower quality textures and removed town details - but it delivers.
A Plague Tale: Requiem flows smoothly at 60fps, and accepting the disconnect with those 30fps rat animations, it really does play better than ever before. It's a great optional extra, and nothing stops us from reverting back to the original 30fps experience either."
DF also points out that such cutbacks show how 'next-gen' A Plague Tale: Requiem is under the hood, despite some launch day disappointment from fans at the lack of a 60FPS mode.
"As a response to the criticisms of it running at 30fps at launch, update 1.5 also reveals the cost of next-gen visuals as well. The advances in scene complexity, materials, and AI elements which are embedded into the game design are each a huge step over the original A Plague Tale.
However each of these points is tellingly pared back to make 60fps possible here. It makes it clear that pushing any technical envelope doesn't come for free and even on newer systems like PS5 and Series X, GPU and even CPU resources are still a big consideration in targeting 60fps."
We're glad to see Asobo make this happen though, and the added bonus of unlocked 60FPS+ frame rates is very welcome as well. Whether you want to go with a higher resolution and more visual details or higher frame rates; A Plague Tale: Requiem now delivers both options on Xbox Game Pass.
Have you been holding out for this new mode? Is it now time to jump into A Plague Tale: Requiem? Let us know down below!
Comments 15
Despite all the sacrifice more choice is better. Some people prefer higher resolution, others stand for higher FPS and that's ok, the main point is still to get some fun from the game.
I'll probably stick with the higher resolution at 30fps given this game's pace being much slower, 60fps is not really needed. I like soaking in the gorgeous visuals. But yes, always good to have more options.
For my money it is much improved with a 60fps option, but I get that some prefer to play at 30 with higher resolution, etc.
Excellent update and great to have these choices, well done Asobo.
@Moonglow No. I think it was 30 and/or 40 fps until recently. The graphics are nuts. It is the only game where I stopped and took over 50 screen captures by the end.
Sounds like a series of concessions were needed to hit 60 fps.
Glad it's got 60 fps i can't play games at 30 fps anymore nor do I want to either no game should be 30 anymore great game though
There are parts when the game performance is 20fps over ps5. Funny when a developer does it good
I think for this game the best compromise is resolution mode with a 120hz display to get 40 fps in game. Better than 30 fps without sacrifying the gorgeous visuals. 🤩.
I've played it with this settings and a can't recommend it enough.
Thank goodness there's options now for performance.
@Nenoeil I agree 40 fps works great on a tv that supports 120hz
@Wheatly I agree especially about the ending. My one criticism would be that Amica and Hugo never stfu for the whole journey. It’s become a modern gaming trope and Requiem indulged it.
Sometimes it’s nice to let things breath, let the game world speak for itself, instead of constant chatter from playable characters.
I just had to play this wonderful sequel on release. 30fps was jarring at first but you quickly get used to it and the game is really quite stunning. I'd prefer most games to be 60fps but I can still enjoy 30 in some cases.
Why did the first game run at 1440p/90fps and this one has to go down to 1080p to get 60 FPS? I'm really just not understanding how these newer games are lower resolution and lower frame rate on the more powerful hardware than we used to have. The Xbox One X had plenty of 4K / 60 games. I was just playing Battlefront 2 last night on the Series X at 4K / 60 and it reminded me that it played the same on the One X.
I prefer 60 FPS or higher but if it runs 30 FPS and is smooth, I don't even notice after a few minutes, I just get used to it. There are a few games that I prefer at 30 FPS because they just need that cinematic feel to them. I will admit that on occasion, I turn on smooth motion while playing a game just to get a high frame rate out of a low frame rate game.
@Wheatly apart from fast paced games, yeah I agree. Some games actually more cinematic when running at 30fps. Couldn't imagine playing titanfall 2 running at 30fps though
Series X is the most powerful console ever produced and still consistently struggles with pumping out 4k/60? I thought I wouldn't have to worry about that when I bought mine.
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