Need For Speed PS4 vs Xbox One Initial Face-off: PS4 Leads The Way With Better IQ & Performance

Welcome to GamingBolt’s initial graphics analysis of Need for Speed on the PS4 and Xbox One. Please note that this is an initial analysis and an in-depth analysis will be published later on. With that in mind let us begin. It’s been two years since we received a new Need for Speed game. Need for Speed Rivals launched on the PS4 and Xbox One back in 2013 and was one of the few titles that achieved a full native 1080p rendering resolution along with a fairly stable 30 frames per second performance. Ghost Games’ Need for Speed runs on a much improved Frostbite 3 engine so has that resulted into any enhancements?

To begin with the PS4 version runs at a native 1080p resolution compared to Xbox One’s rendering resolution of 900p. This obviously results into better image quality of Sony’s console. Both versions target a 30 frames per second experience but we witnessed less drops on the PS4 compared to the Xbox One. In an era where we see games like Forza Motorsport 6 and Project CARS are pushing the envelope, it’s a tad disappointing not to see a solid 60fps target here.

Ghost Games believes that this was necessary step to ensure a smooth experience, but there are also some genuine technical reasons behind the same. To begin with, Need for Speed has a massive open world which is twice the size of the map we received in Rivals. Furthermore, the post processing effects are absolutely amazing and no doubt takes up a large chunk of the rendering budget.

Head to head comparison between PS4 and Xbox One versions. Select 1080p and 60fps playback option for best possible playback.

The screen space reflections are quite detailed and quality of reflections is quite commendable. But we are in awe about the high dynamic range lighting in the game along with the extensive use of physical based rendering resulting into some amazing looking vistas. Velocity based motion blur along with a high quality bokeh depth of field effect do a great job of adding that adrenaline fuelled gameplay that you’ve come to expect from the Need for Speed series.

Need for Speed does not feature day races and they are all set during night time. This means awesome rain effects and yes…the rain effects in the game look absolutely gorgeous. If you have played any of the Battlefield games in the last few years, you will understand what I am talking about. Physical based lighting is also observed on nearby objects and obviously on cars, along with global illumination tacked in. A decent post processing anti-aliasing solution is used which resembles the HRAA solution we saw in Far Cry 4 taking care of any jaggies.

We will see how it all pans out in our final analysis, so stay tuned.