The recent 4.02 update tested on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series hardware.
The good news is that the recently released 4.02 update now delivers the best experience we’ve seen yet.
It’s not quite the finished article, but it’s much closer to the ideal.
Developer CDPR’s patch notes are as exhaustive as usual.
Other highlights include the return of the HBAO option on PC, and improved CPU optimisation on DirectX 12.
On balance though, for PS5 it’s a net improvement overall, putting Novigrad aside at least.
The optimisation is achieved with no noticeable hit to the game’s visual feature set, either.
Xbox Series X is where there’s an even bigger uptick in performance gains.
So again, the latest update puts The Witcher 3 in a better place than ever before.
So where does that leave us in the console comparisons?
It’s a decent turnout if you have variable refresh rate support - VRR - on your TV.
VRR deals with these 50-60fps readings nicely.
All of which leaves us with a quick note on the state of the 30fps ray tracing mode.
In a nutshell, there are no obvious improvements on the latest patch.
On PS5 it still broadly hits 30fps, though sub-30 drops stay in place in Novigrad.
In comparison between the two on the latest patch, then, Series X retains its lead all round.
It’s even the case for GPU-intensive cut-scenes, where Series X takes a lead again.
Combined with motion blur the RT mode is much more palatable to use, too.
Is this the ultimate version of The Witcher 3 then?
The Complete Edition has never performed better on Xbox.
