The Xbox Series X port of Final Fantasy XVI comes with some significant issues, but, at the very least, it offers more solid performance in Frame Rate Mode than the PlayStation 5 version.
The tech experts at Digital Foundry recently took a good look at the recently released port, highlighting how, in both Graphics and Frame Rate modes, Final Fantasy XVI on Xbox Series X renders at a much lower resolution than on PlayStation 5. In a scene set in Rosalith at the beginning of the game, the game renders at 1440p on PlayStation 5 and at 1224p on Xbox Series X, which is unusual as most games either run at the same resolution on both systems or at a slightly higher resolution on Xbox Series X. As such, the image tends to look blurrier on the system than on PlayStation 5, despite both versions using TSC MAA and AMD FSR 1. The lower resolution of the Xbox Series X port of Final Fantasy XVI, however, isn't the biggest issue of the port, as Digital Foundry highlighted how there are a lot of visual differences related to gamma presentation, brightness, and contrast. Other things look downright broken, like foliage rendering, so the port definitely needs patches to address these issues.
In Frame Rate Mode, however, Final Fantasy XVI on Xbox Series X fares a little better. While the resolution is dropped to 720p over the 1080p of the PlayStation 5 release, the game runs at a locked 60 FPS during traversal and combat, which the PS5 version doesn't achieve. Sadly, the lower resolution isn't the only element that had to be scaled down to achieve better performance, as the level of detail is also lower.
As Final Fantasy XVI is among the heaviest console games of the generation, it's not surprising to see how even the Xbox Series X cannot handle it properly without some significant cutbacks. While it is a shame the game launched in a far from optimal state on the system, it's still a good thing it finally did, as Clive Rosfield's adventure is one worth experiencing, as highlighted by Kai in his review.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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