As someone who's spent my life playing games primarily on consoles, you'd think that low frame rates wouldn't harm me. I have played and loved all of the Bethesda role-playing games on the PS3, some with terrible performance. I learned millisecond-accurate timing in Sekiro on the PS4 Pro at an unstable 40 FPS. I've put hundreds of hours into Warframe on the visibly overwhelmed Nintendo Switch.
And although I of course knew that I would inevitably have to switch to the PC if high frame rates and stable performance were important to me, there was always this wishful thought: At some point, I hoped, we would have consoles that were capable of, at least In an optional mode, every game can be displayed in 60 FPS if you turn down the resolution and graphic details far enough.
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Dragon's Dogma 2 | OPINION | The performance dream has shattered
Consoles and high frame rates – (not) an impossibility
With the mid-gen upgrades PS4 Pro and Xbox One Shocking, I know!
When PS5 and Xbox Series gone.
Like all the PC disciples at the time of the great console wars, I got used to the glorious 60+ frames per second and didn't want, no: couldn't, go back. But now that, according to Sony, the PS5 is about halfway through its life cycle, more and more big developers are slowly bursting my bubble again.
The whole thing started with A Plague Tale: Requiem and Gotham Knights two years ago, both of which only ran at 30 FPS at launch. While Requiem has now received a performance mode, the train for Gotham Knights has probably left the mark. On the Xbox Series, Redfall launched in 30 FPS, just like Starfield. The latter is still trapped there today. The list of major current-gen games that only reach 30 frames per second is still very manageable. But it will soon be expanded to include a top-class player.
The performance of the long-awaited action RPG Dragon's Dogma 2 (buy now €58.49) has been discussed for some time. At first there were rumors circulating that the game would be limited to 30 FPS, then we all breathed a sigh of relief when the game director announced that there would be no cap at all. That certainly means a frame rate that might not reach 60, but at least comes close… right?
Those: Capcom
Dragon's Dogma 2: Problem Child Performance
As we now know after the final preview session and a new statement from the director: Unfortunately, no, it doesn't mean that. Dragon's Dogma 2 runs at an unlimited frame rate, targeting around 30 FPS. This corresponds to my impressions from the almost finished PS5 version, which I was able to play shortly before the release. And unfortunately it is even worse than what the rumors had previously spread.
If a game can barely do more than 30 frames per second anyway, it would be better to limit the frame rate straight away. A consistent, non-fluctuating frame rate, especially when it's lower, simply feels more consistent and makes for a quicker getting used to smoother games. In the preview version – and according to my eyes – Dragon's Dogma 2 usually ran with just over 30 images, but in hectic situations it could also be less. The result was a rather messy gaming experience that, at least here and there, took me out of the experience that Capcom had created.
What bothers me most about the whole thing: Why doesn't the game offer an optional frame rate limit? What's the point of unlocking the frame rate when it barely goes above the bare minimum anyway? Capcom should make improvements here and the fix shouldn't be difficult to implement.
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