Equivalent to the PC's medium preset, this causes mountains and distant structures to pop-in at a set distance, always at the precise, same points on the road for both consoles. Likewise, both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One share the same geometry quality setting.
Please feel free to also check out our PC comparison videos below too.
Use the full-screen button and full HD resolution for the best viewing experience. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor compared on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, console textures still hold up well from a distance though the definition on castle walls takes a hit, the gap is marginal in other areas. For one, texture quality on both is equivalent to the PC's high setting, making for a contrast in mapping quality when planted next to the ultra-HD artwork pack.
As a fix, it's possible to set the PC resolution to 3840x2160, allowing the game itself to super-sample the image down to a pristine 1080p output, but given how GPU-intensive this is, a less taxing, console-style AA option would have been welcome.īut are the console versions dialled down from PC significantly? As it turns out, the PS4 and Xbox One come close in most metrics, but fall short in specific areas. As a net result, PS4 and Xbox One are able to reduce flicker when panning across foliage, while these elements appear harsh and pixelated on PC. Instead, PC users are left with a raw image, which in our comparison shots is set to output a straight 1080p. However, catching this disparity does take very close attention to side-by-side shots - in part due to both versions' use of a heavy post-process anti-aliasing effect.Ĭuriously, this post-process setting is entirely absent from the PC version's menus. In contrast with the full native 1920x1080 output on PS4, it's undoubtedly a downgrade that echoes the state of many multi-platform releases this year. The Xbox One release is immediately on the back foot, with our pixel count tests highlighting an upscaled 1600x900 resolve for the platform. As is often the case, resolution is a divisive point on the console front. With PS4 and Xbox One alike patched up to version 1.02, the differences at first glance are few owing to a heavy use of pre-rendered cut-scenes of matching compression settings. But on balance, does Sony and Microsoft's hardware realise the same satisfying, open-world Middle-earth experience?īuilt on a new revision of Monolith Productions' LithTech engine, the commitment to the new wave of consoles is evident. Visual features are cut back to this end - to varying degrees for both - though curiously we see certain visual effects exclusive to console. On the other hand, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases boast graphics settings tailored to each platform in order to squeeze the most consistent rate of performance. Considered a curveball for PC users, Shadow of Mordor's whopping 6GB video memory requirement for ultra textures makes it - at first blush - appear the version to beat.