Elden Ring Ray Tracing Upgrade Test - Is It Worth It? - PS5 vs Xbox Series X vs PC

Elden Ring was recently upgrade to Patch 1.09, bringing with it the introduction of hardware-accelerated ray tracing on all current-gen systems... exclusing Xbox Series S. In this in-depth content, you'll see exactly what the difference is, how the PC version scales across multiple settings - and most scary of all, the performance hit for engaging RT up against the rather minimal improvement to the presentation.

[Emotionalplague]

It’s an ok addition but would have preferred just more performance improvements for frame rate stability on the current modes.

[FSAPOJake]

They should have added FSR 2 to the console version and DLSS+FSR2 to the PC version alongside this. Not only is the built-in TAA sub-par, but it would have helped with the performance hit.

[anthonyrizzo]

I just never cared that much for ray traced shadows, it's too subtle and I don't look at them that closely to even realize if they should be more soft because they're further away or not. I get it, it's more accurate, it just doesn't mean that much in the grand scheme of things and takes a lot of performance, were other rt effects would be more effective visually.

[ericlamont]

After 750 hours or so, I’ve never thought, “man I wish my shadows were a bit softer, and my frame rate a bit worse”.

[Schraiber]

Can't believe they didn't add more shadow casting lights. The mood of cool torch shadows etc, is so good. Was constantly disappointed in the base game that there weren't shadows from so many light sources, and I guess I'll continue to be disappointed

[TheBean]

They should have went for 1440p resolution, would have bumped the frame rate high enough to make you want to use RT mode

[sellingacoerwa]

I can't see any reason on console to turn this on. It oddly looks worse in some places ie. the shadow refresh reduction.

[SteveGoodwinAuthor]

Adding shadows to the character indoors would make a huge difference.

[soapa]

Everyone: We just want better more stable performance
From Software: Ray Tracing!

[orangorill]

I can deal with the reduced resolution, but 30 FPS just doesn't work for me anymore. I'd consider 1080p/60 with RT though.

[drewcipher]

I wish we had more granular options. Id turn on the rtao and leave the shadows off.
Makes the foliage look very nice.

[amirrezarezaie]

Q. Is It Worth It?
A. Absolutely and unequivocally No

[codecthelios]

This is my biggest problem with this game. No DLSS or FSR. These upscalers work so well now that there isn't a reason to leave them out.

[mannoesgehtnix]

I wished at 5:05 you would have shown the Dark Souls 2: SOTFS implementation of shadows around light sources, it was amazing!

[purugigi]

Can't believe they added RT before fixing the random stuttering on PC since release...

[technonecroplays]

Just a big shotout to DF for how many testings and comparision videos we have been receiving off late. This is a very busy game release season and DF has been doing a massize job without any drop in content quality. I am extremely thankful 😍

[gingerd]

I upgraded my GTX 1080ti last year because it was hovering around 45-ish fps in Elden Ring at 1440p. Glad to see my new RTX 3090 also hovers around the same fps at 1440p now as well. 😂

[MrStiffler]

Not long ago sharper shadows mean higher detail, RT tells us now you get the old low detail blurry ones for half of your fps. Nice one.

[Lrd_f_War]

Hopefully Fromsoftware will add DLSS/FSR2 to the game in the upcoming patches, with some optimization for the RT modes such as adding shadows cast from light sources, etc. (even without RT enabled). Elden Ring was my favourite game of last year, and the best I played since Sekiro and NIOH over the years. I still plan to play more of Elden Ring, specially once the DLC is released later this year, so would be nice if From can update/optimize the engine further by or before the release of the DLC.

[Robbay]

Elden Ring really is a great example of how far good art direction can carry a game's visuals. Most games I play lose they're wow factor after a bit despite their much higher fidelity, but I was consistently floored by this game's visuals all the way to the end credits.