While the PlayStation 4 Pro may not be the most powerful console on the market anymore, Sony’s first-party teams have always done an outstanding job of blurring the lines between more powerful boxes. And judging by Digital Foundry’s early analysis of God of War, it sounds like Sony Santa Monica is poised to steal back the PlayStation presentation crown from Uncharted 4 and Horizon: Zero Dawn.
In a gushing report – with video analysis embedded above – the tech experts describe the title as “one of the cleanest 4K games available on the platform”, and that’s despite it using a checkerboard rendering solution similar to that employed by Guerrilla Games. But it’s not just the resolution that dazzles; it’s the art assets, too.
“Kratos himself is extremely detailed and beautifully shaded, with lots of fine detail across his clothing and accessories,” the site writes. “The various characters are similarly detailed and consistent in quality throughout the footage we have. On top of that, the world itself is extremely cohesive with visual elements working together to create something natural yet fantastical.”
Digital Foundry also pours praise on the effects that the release is using, including plenty of pyrotechnics that add a bit of pizzazz to the combat. The lighting also gets plaudits, as does the outstanding use of motion blur. It’s sounding like a visual treat to say the least, and the good news is that the gameplay’s drawing similar acclaim. Who ever doubted the Sony Santa Monica team?
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 39
@Bentleyma They really are in a league of their own. The crazy thing is you can tell Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Santa Monica spur each other on to go further, which is quite an amazing sight to behold.
Was the same during the PS3 gen, too.
I don't usually pre order games, but when I do, they are considered a masterpiece.
It looks properly amazing. The level of minute detail is ridiculous.
Again!
It does look rather beautiful. I hope they release copies for review early like Horizon as that just increased hype! If they do and they look good, this may make my pre-order list.
@Bentleyma That’s why it’s really great when a game is exclusive, they can focus on the platform and deliver something unique.
@get2sammyb hopefully Ghost of Tsushima puts Sucker Punch in that circle.
After Uncharted 4, Horizon and Ratchet & Clank, I can’t imagine how beautiful God of War is.
@CountFunkula78 Why the #$@% would you spoil the end of the game?!?!?
@achangedyou He's obviously joking!
@CountFunkula78 Wouldn't be the first time.
@CountFunkula78 Your uncle is a fraud. Kratos moves to Hawaii and becomes a farmer.
@achangedyou I'm not joking, @get2sammyb is jealous because his uncle only works in a chip shop and smells of vinegar
@Octane
Dude, Hawaii's not even a real place. Grow up.
Every new sony first party AAA game is stealing the graphics crown from the previous one, it almost scary to think how the graphics will be better on future games like the last of us 2 or death stranding..
I knew the game would look gorgeous n 4k would be a thing, but will it have hdr? Its hard playing without it after gt sport, ac origins n horizon
Of course it is .god of war 3 and acension was the best looking games on the ps3 .next to ni no kuni.so this game looks legendary word up son
@PS_Nation.god of war is the best looking game.and ni no kuni looks amazing also.woww.video games came a long way.when i use to play atari back in 1984.word up son
@get2sammyb we need see if Kojima can do it with Death Stranding beside those games
@wiiware Ghost of Tsushima
Will this game also getting early reviews ?
@porhawj2016 Yeah, that game too, I forgot
@wiiware do you think Spider-Man have most beautiful graphic like this, Uncharted, Horizon zero dawn, Ratchet & Clank ? .. Days Gone graphic look great but i doubt they improve graphic better before it come out in 2019
@Brasilkilla Yes it will have HDR.
@CountFunkula78 lol if what you say iis true, then it's enough to get your uncle fired from the studio.
@GarySan
He can't get fired because he's one of the bosses. Even if they did try to fire him, he'd be like "Screw you other bosses, God of War is mostly my idea and I'm taking it with me and so you can't use it anymore" and they'd all be like "Sorry, we didn't mean it. I hear you have a really cool nephew, maybe he would like to come to the studio to check out some new games, and bring some of his friends, but only cool ones who don't call him a liar, or talk a lot of crap about things they don't know about"
"While the PlayStation 4 Pro may not be the most powerful console on the market anymore"
It's not but I still don't get why MS made the X1X so powerful. It's more like a next-gen console but being held back by being X1 compatible. In other words we probably won't ever get to see what it's capable of! Bizarre.
Lol, people feeding the obvious troll. Stop falling for the lies and BS! Game looks really good by the way.
Have seen the PS4 Pro commercial on TV a couple of times now, looks like Sony has finally decided to push that console rather than the cheaper Slim. And this looks like the game to do it. Probably a lot of people who want a PS4 have already purchased a PS4 as it's been out for years, but PS4 Pro, now there's something to aspire to. I still need a 4k TV though.
This game is going to look great in full 4k on PS5. I'm practically tempted to hold out, Have to see how the backlog is going. $20 BF would probably be too hard to resist though.
OK, I've just watched the first few minutes of the vid and it reminded me of something, I don't think I like 4k.
Our friends recently got a 4k tV and both my wife and I decided there was something wrong with the look. The same feeling we had when we saw The Hobbit in 48HFR.
https://www.theverge.com/2014/12/19/7422633/hfr-might-work-even-though-it-looks-really-awful
I haven't really been exposed to it much since, and I'm not now as I'm watching this vid on a 1600x900 monitor, so not even 1080p, but something still feels off. I'm currently playing Horizon Zero Dawn and as utterly fantastic and gorgeous as that game is, well those talking heads are freaky. That's not a 4k issue on my Slim and 1080p TV, more like Uncanny Valley, but maybe there's some crossover between the 2 in my brain?
I really enjoyed going from a 32" SD tv to a 52" 1080p TV, from Wii to PS3 graphics, and so many games on PS4 look truly beautiful - also currently playing Uncharted Lost Legacy which looks almost like real life at times - but maybe my brain and eyes just don't want anything above that?
Anybody else try 4k and think it's a bit too sharp, realistic or just "off"?
No QTE's and no button mashing to open chests, and I'm assuming heavy doors as well, is great news.
@Dodoo The X isn't being held back by the XB1 - at least not yet unless MS do stick to their guns and insist that games MUST work on both - then if we do get some game not releasing on the X because it can't run on the base, then you can say its being held back.
What is going to hold back the X more though is the CPU. Regardless of whether the base XB1 existed or not, the games would still look and run exactly as they do anyway. The reason we won't see any real revolution in game design is because Devs know that to push beyond what we have seen will rely on much more powerful CPU's. The Xbox devs are making games with the PC and X as the lead format and then scaling these down to run on the S and have been doing so for over year. Its like Devs focusing on the PS4 version and then scaling it down for the PS3 - although in this case that's a lot more complex to do.
Both the Pro and X were built though to deliver better graphics only - not better games/game-play. This is evident in the fact the GPU was significantly improved where as the CPU saw a 'tiny' boost by comparison to its speed. The reason a game, like God of War, is able to offer 4kCB is because its GPU is 2.3x better than the PS4's and 4kCB is rendering just 2x the pixel count of 1080p (the base console version). MS went a bit further but the Principal is the same - a 4.3-4.6x GPU boost is why it can deliver native 4k easily on the games that 1080p on base consoles - even those that are 900p but with less room to improve visual settings. The RAM increase is also mostly geared towards the graphics.
Point is, whether these consoles were 'iterative' or not, the way they are built is purely focused on delivering a 2x (Pro) to 4x (X) resolution boosts to this 'generation' of games. They are not built to take games in a new generation - at least not without external support like the cloud to handle the computation power that the current CPU's are lacking in. They would still be delivering the current games at the standards we see whether the base model existed or not and not being 'held back' by these but held back by their CPU - which I guess is used because of the base models but IF MS were to allow Devs to release 'just' on the X, the games wouldn't be different.
@BAMozzy Thanks for the explanation.
"at least not without external support like the cloud to handle the computation power"
Oh no! Wasn't that MS's saviour for a year or two when they realised PS4 was more powerful than X1? Lol. What happened to that? Just more MS BS that's what!
@Dodoo I agree that the cloud didn't exactly come to anything - at least not yet but it is supposed to be being utilised for the physics based destruction in Crackdown 3's MP. Cloudgine, the company responsible for that, have now joined Epic games so it could become more widespread but part of the issue, like Kinect for example, is that 3rd Party Devs are unlikely to utilise that if that can't work on other Platforms. It may have really helped Just Cause 3 for example.
The point though was not necessarily about the current use of the 'cloud' to handle the massive computational demands that the current console CPU's are totally inadequate for, but the fact that the consoles will not be able to push in certain directions because of their CPU. That is why these will be holding back game development - not the fact they are tied to 'base' consoles. Even if they weren't tied to those, the performance we see is what we would see anyway. Even with 'Boost' modes - although the X is permanently boosted, games like Just Cause 3 still struggles to perform at a consistent 30fps because the CPU can't cope with the 'destruction' as it is. AC: Unity was far too ambitious for consoles too and both of these require a decent CPU on PC to get a decent performance.
Because MS, like Sony, haven't really invested in the CPU area, both the X and Pro are built purely to improve the visuals of the current games rather than allow devs the freedom to push in 'new' directions. The base consoles were more weighted towards the GPU to give games a more 'next' gen visual presentation which is why see games looking good but not really offering something totally 'new' in terms of game-play. They do 'stream' better - which is why we don't get those 'narrow' corridors between sections in open world games which were needed to load in the next area but in general, the biggest change has come from visuals.
The only way the current consoles could push new ground would be to utilise something like the cloud. I can see the PS5 having a much better CPU which for most games will probably mean 60fps+ when the X only offers 30fps - visually maybe a higher resolution/visual settings depending on how much more GPU performance it has. However, that CPU could also allow for games that can't run on the X - even at 30fps - not without some external help - maybe much higher enemy count with far more complex AI or much more Physic based destruction, deformation etc
It doesn't matter how much more powerful the XB1X is compared to the PS4 Pro...it still can't compete when it comes to triple A exclusive games, the PS4 is way ahead here.
Utterly stunning and will look nuts on my 4k telly roll on 4 weeks time
@porhawj2016 Spiderman graphics will be great, insomniac has proven itself with ratchet & clank ps4 graphcis. Too many exclusive games for ps4, I forgot spiderman because all the attention is on god of war now lol
I think it's time that will make tlou 2, ghost, and death stranding graphics great, the developers will have more time to really maximize ps4 power.
@wiiware yep Detroit Become Human look great too. First party exclusive games alway have amazing graphics, 3rd party games alway look good or great on multiplatform
@get2sammyb LOL you never know man LO
it's a shame kratos is so ugly
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