Assassin’s Creed Shadows has had its first major patch on consoles, bringing PSSR to the PS5 Pro version and adding RT reflections to the balanced graphics mode, two changes that the developers suggested were on the way in our AC Shadows tech interview last month. So how does version 1.02 compare to the day one patch, and are there are any other major changes to report?
In short, the new version brings in everything promised in that interview and more, with 1.02 hitting all platforms – but being perhaps most impactful on the PS5 Pro, the only console with access to Sony and AMD’s PSSR upscaler. This can now be enabled via a toggle in the menu, and it delivers better stability, less obvious aliasing in stills and better sub-pixel detail at distance.
Foliage is one of the most obvious places to look when turning the feature on and off, with the standard TAAU giving a grainy but relatively sharp look, while PSSR is a bit blurrier on average but also better anti-aliased. We prefer the PSSR look, but this is a matter of taste as much as anything.
The only real compromise in terms of PSSR image quality comes with particles, which suffer from trails in PSSR where they don’t tend to in TAAU. This is most obvious in the opening shot of the game, where there are fiery particles in the air, but you can see similar issues throughout.
Otherwise, PSSR does hit image clarity somewhat, with a softer resolve overall – a change that’s plain to see in side-by-side comparisons, especially ones that are magnified for analysis, but probably something that you just get used to in a normal gaming scenario from a typical viewing distance. By comparison, the image stability issues of TAAU are still visible at a typical viewing distance, so PSSR still feels like an upgrade overall. The image quality differentials are also minimised in quality mode, which tends to run at a higher resolution overall regardless of upscaler, and PSSR exhibits fewer issues with particle trails too.
Beyond the PSSR option, the game doesn’t look too different if we compare the launch and 1.02 patches, with similar pixel counts, for example. However, enabling PSSR does reduce internal resolutions somewhat, likely as the GPU cost of the more advanced upscaling needs to be clawed back.
| PS5 Pro (Performance) | Shot 1 | Shot 2 | Shot 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch TAAU | 1080p | 1080p | 1008p |
| 1.02 TAAU | 1080p | 1080p | 1008p |
| 1.02 PSSR | 864p | 864p | 864p |
| PS5 Pro (Quality) | Shot 1 | Shot 2 | Shot 3 |
| Launch TAAU | 1656p | 1584p | 1584p |
| 1.02 TAAU | 1656p | 1584p | 1656p |
| 1.02 PSSR | 1656p | 1584p | 1440p |
In general, the naturalistic environments of AC Shadows suits this kind of more advanced upscaling to our eyes, trading a bit of image clarity for less break-up, but users will have the option to choose whichever upscaler they prefer.
Of course, it’s not a given that a reduction in image clarity perfectly counteracts the increased GPU demands of PSSR upscaling. And unfortunately, enabling PSSR does seem to come with a frame-rate penalty in performance mode, with mid-50s read-outs being quite common in busy city areas like Kyoto.
There are also issues when quickly moving the camera from less taxing to more taxing scenes, eg a static shot that runs at 57fps might shoot to 60fps when looking at the sky, but drop to 40fps briefly while dynamic resolution scaling engages, causing a visible spike in frame times. It’s possible that the game’s DRS is not as aggressive as it could be in these moments, and in general the relatively low internal resolution needs to be even lower to hit a stable 60.
One other major change is that Ubisoft disabled the 30fps lock in the hideout area, so it now runs at 60fps on PS5 Pro in performance mode with TAAU active, and a bit below that with PSSR. This is from a relatively early save, so it’s possible that the performance here dips as the area becomes more built up over the course of the game. So far, though, it seems like performance remains in the range of VRR-capable displays, both in the hideout and elsewhere in the game – and these sorts of screens are probably more common for PS5 Pro owners than they are for owners of less expensive consoles.
The balanced mode also now runs with RT reflections, a feature that Ubisoft previously felt they didn’t have enough time to validate outside of quality mode where it first appeared. This improves reflections on bodies of water as you avoid SSR artefacts and instead get a more accurate fallback. It’s not perfect, with some limitations in the way the world is represented in the reflection, but it’s still a worthwhile inclusion.
The balanced mode also gets PSSR, and it’s shakier here than with TAAU, especially in demanding sections like the opening of the game or Kyoto. Again, with a VRR display you’re OK, but without VRR the frame-rate dips are more noticeable and TAAU may be preferred. Still, the PSSR image tends to look better overall. The hideout also now runs at 40fps in the balanced mode, versus 30fps before, which is a nice change that works well.
Weirdly, there seems to be an HDR issue with PSSR for some reason, with certain elements of the game’s lighting exhibiting coloured halos that resemble a banding artefact. This has been acknowledged as a bug on Ubisoft’s support website, so I presume this will be fixed in a future patch.
Overall then, this is a solid enough patch. I wish I could recommend the PSSR mode without caveats, but at the moment its lower performance profile means that it runs best with VRR enabled. The balanced mode improvements are more wholeheartedly worth experiencing, and the unlocked frame-rate in the hideout is also a sensible change.
