After a year’s wait, the Series X and S ports are disappointing.
After a year of PlayStation 5 exclusivity,Ghostwire: Tokyois finally out on Xbox.
Tokyo in Ghostwire is perpetually rain-slicked, which means a very heavy use of reflections across the environment.
Both the ‘quality’ and ‘high frame-rate quality’ modes pack these effects with good results on both.
It’s not a huge difference, but the RT is subtly degraded on the Xbox.
RT shadows are on show here as well, though it’s not as much of a stand-out.
Basically, the quality modes on Series X get pin-sharp, stencil-like shadows on certain bits of interior detail.
This was true across the high frame-rate and regular quality modes, which seem to have near-identical RT shadows.
- Counted with v-sync enabled at 60Hz output, all figures approximate.
No RT in Xbox Series S quality mode.
Non-v-sync alternative modes also available.
Ghostwire: Tokyo has reasonably good image quality across all console platforms.
But there is one exception.
The quality mode on PS5 looks slightly sharper and more coherent, in addition to its ray tracing advantages.
Broadly speaking though, the numbers for both consoles are similar.
Unfortunately, performance is where things really break down for Ghostwire: Tokyo, across all console platforms.
Let’s start with Series X.
The worst-performing option here is the game’s quality mode.
Thankfully that’s the only mode that’s locked at 30.
The performance mode, for instance, clocks in with a 60fps target.
The next step up is the quality mode with high frame-rate and v-sync at 60Hz output.
This is probably one of the more desirable options, as we get higher frame-rates alongside good ray tracing.
Unfortunately, it too comes saddled with sub-standard performance, hovering around 45-60fps in typical play.
Toggling the Performance HFR option with v-sync at 60Hz on still can’t get us a locked 60fps.
Ghostwire usually operates at about 55-60fps here but is dropping frames on a very frequent basis.
When we bring in the PS5 version of the game, the results are a little disheartening.
The HFR performance mode operates with a considerable advantage - about 10fps or so - over matched gameplay.
It’s a curious problem, and may be driven by CPU-related issues.
Series S runs considerably worse than either of the higher-end console platforms.
The performance option tries to hit 60fps, but in practice it can bottom out in the low 40s.
Of all the mode options, these really shouldn’t have been included for console players.
With the quality mode with v-sync enabled, I can still spot some noticeable stutters.
It’s definitely a good improvement from the regularly-refreshed option, but it’s not perfect.
This is the same on PS5 as well.
This isn’t an issue on PS5, but it does crop up on Xbox with these modes.
Finally, Ghostwire: Tokyo’s input issues are still a big problem on Series X.
Camera movement still feels laggy, with awkward-seeming acceleration.
This was an issue on PS5, and seems basically unresolved on the Series consoles.
Ghostwire: Tokyo on Xbox Series S and X is a big disappointment.
A range of extra fixes are required to make this game everything it should be.
