Digital Foundry Direct: Hellblade 2, PS Portal & PC Tech
The State of Hellblade II: Senua's Saga
The team analyzes the recent previews for Ninja Theory's Hellblade II.
• Graphical Fidelity & Performance: There is broad consensus that the game looks spectacular from an artistic standpoint, likely showcasing the high-end features of Unreal Engine 5 such as Nanite and Lumen.
• Technical Concerns: Concerns were raised regarding the 30 FPS target on consoles, which the hosts frame as a deliberate design choice to maximize visual complexity rather than a failure of hardware. Issues with low-bitrate YouTube video compression made it difficult to form definitive conclusions.
• Audio Immersion: The return of binaural audio is a major point of praise, noted for its high level of immersion.
Hardware and Tech Discussions
The PlayStation Portal Exploit & Future
The latest news regarding the exploit for the PlayStation Portal is discussed, along with the recent patching by Sony. The hosts note that while hackers received bounties, users are now debating the ethics of patching versus keeping the device "homebrew-friendly."
Intel PresentMon 2.0
Intel's new benchmarking tool is highlighted as a potential game-changer.
"It gives us greater information about what the issue is... it's a CPU-related issue. CPU frame times are spiking."
• The tool allows for more precise measurement of frame times and CPU/GPU load, moving away from guesswork when analyzing why games stutter.
• The team plans to incorporate this data into future reviews to better serve the audience.
The "Stop Killing Games" Campaign
Following the shutdown of Ubisoft's The Crew, the team highlights the Stop Killing Games initiative. This movement advocates for legal changes to protect digital ownership rights when service-based games are taken offline. The hosts emphasize the importance of:
• Mandating offline modes where possible.
• Creating frameworks to allow communities to host their own servers.
MetaQuest 3 vs. PSVR 2
John shares his perspective on the MetaQuest 3, citing the flexibility of wireless PC play and the superior motion clarity of its LCD screens compared to the higher contrast, yet blurrier, OLED panels of the PSVR 2.