Xbox Series X And S Offer Vastly Different Experiences With Assassin's Creed Shadows

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With press now going hands-on with Assassin's Creed Shadows, the folks over at Digital Foundry have had time to pick apart Ubisoft's latest open-world title - and it sounds like an ambitious but mixed experience on Xbox Series X and S.

Let's get to the good news first, shall we? The team offers up a true next-gen experience with the Xbox Series X version - DF says that AC Shadows "marks a sea change from the cross-gen AC titles that came before it".

"Assassin's Creed Shadows marks a series milestone as the first entry developed with a total focus on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It's a bold transition with a clear pay-off in its technology, as last-gen PS4 and Xbox One machines are left behind to ensure the core gameplay incorporates the latest features of Ubisoft's Anvil engine.

That includes ray-traced global illumination, procedural weather simulation and world destruction physics - all exciting additions that help elevate its feudal era Japan setting, in ways not possible in 2023's Assassin's Creed Mirage."

Those Xbox Series X and PS5 versions offer multiple gameplay modes alongside all of this new tech, which we've detailed elsewhere at Pure Xbox if you'd like to see what's on offer. However, Xbox Series S delivers just one 30FPS mode - and it sounds like Microsoft's all-digital console has had to make quite a few cutbacks even for that to work.

"The Series S version presents the least stable 30fps mode. Despite its many cutbacks to RTGI, hair physics and resolution, it's not quite as watertight as you might hope. Frame-rate dips are noticeably more common than on Series X or PS5 in their equivalent 30fps options, with battles and cutscenes being the most frequent cause of disruption as resolution bottoms out at 720p."

The analysis goes on to say that Xbox Series S players "don't truly get the generational leap that Shadows is offering elsewhere", which is a bit of a shame really. Still, we suppose Microsoft's entry-level console exists simply to provide cheaper access to the current-generation - and it's still doing its job in that regard.

Switching back to Series X for a moment, it sounds like the DF team recommends the game's 40FPS mode if you have a 120Hz TV to support it, as it strikes a nice balance between performance and new visual features. For the outlet's full analysis on Assassin's Creed Shadows, check out the video up above or the link down below.

How do you feel about this AC Shadows split? Sneak about a bit and drop us your thoughts in the comments.