The Digital Foundry verdict on the Complete Edition running on Microsoft’s junior Xbox.
Following our look at the PS5 and Series X versions of The Witcher 3 Complete Edition, we’re completing our coverage for this year by taking a look at the one version of the game we’ve yet to cover: Xbox Series S. Expectations need to be tempered, obviously, as we’re looking at a four-teraflop GPU at the heart of the console in a world where even the 12TF Series X rendition didn’t run flawlessly, so the omission of the ray tracing mode on Series S is hardly a surprise. The upside? Series S still offers a 60 frames per second performance mode and also a higher resolution 30fps ‘quality’ alternative — so how do they run?
Obviously the resolution targets for each differ: on performance mode we’re looking at a native 1080p target, and on its quality mode, CD Projekt RED targets 1440p. Dynamic scaling is possible, but in Series S’ case it’s honestly been rare in testing; so often each mode hits its resolution targets. While we’re comparing the two modes there’s a few other differences to note above pixel count and frame-rate differences. Firstly, to hit 60fps on the performance mode, the foliage draw distance is dropped back a preset, in essence, meaning more pop-in closer to the screen on Series S at 60fps, while quality mode draws in more plant life to the far distance.
Otherwise, every other setting appears matched between the two modes. Reflection quality, textures and even world shadows are all exactly the same. In my experience, the drop to 1080p and the lower foliage draw setting really are the biggest sacrifices to hitting 60fps. Even so, 60fps is the way to go for this one, even with its blurrier image. The main reason being that just like PS5 and Series X, Series S suffers from noticeable input latency problems on its 30fps quality mode. I recorded a response time of 157ms on PS5 in its RT mode — or 145ms subtracting my TV’s own latency — and Series S has a similar level of latency for every input you make. The fact is that camera movement is noticeably delayed, and the boosted res and settings just aren’t worth that trade-off.
Looking at Series S more closely in relation to Series X, the obvious loss is the lack of ray-traced ambient occlusion and global illumination. Interiors lack realistic shading, and light bounce isn’t as accurate. It’s a stark difference indoors, with Series S’ shading of materials appearing flatter, though in fairness to Series S, outdoors areas in broad daylight are reasonably comparable.
