Digital Foundry Direct 193: Game Awards Coverage
The Game Awards 2024 Showcase
Following the major announcements at the Game Awards 2024, the team discusses several key titles that stood out due to their visual fidelity and technical direction.
Notable Reveals
• The Witcher 4: A pre-rendered cinematic trailer showcased in Unreal Engine 5. The team debates the feasibility of these visuals in real-time and acknowledges the high level of detail and lighting achieved.
• The Heretic Prophet (Naughty Dog): A new sci-fi IP that stunned the hosts. Its pristine visuals, high-quality shadow mapping, and potential use of ray tracing at 60 FPS on PlayStation 5 make it a standout, though some skepticism remains regarding its final in-game performance.
• Split Fiction: Praised as one of the best presentations of the show. The team highlights the innovative co-op gameplay and the technical challenge of rendering split-screen experiences that remain visually compelling.
Other Highlights
• Elden Ring: Night Reign: While anticipated, the team expresses concerns regarding the technical state of the game, particularly since it is still targeting older hardware (PS4/Xbox One).
• Mafia: The Old Country: Hangar 13's transition to Unreal Engine 5 appears to have paid off in terms of visual fidelity, though gameplay details remain sparse.
Technical Analysis & Industry Trends
"There's no artifacting, no typical shadow map artifacts. They get very, very soft and diffuse." - Referring to Naughty Dog's technical implementation.
• PSSR vs. FSR Updates: A breakdown of how recent patches for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws handle PSSR and FSR 3 on PS5 Pro, with FSR generally providing a more stable image.
• The State of Physical Media: A discussion on LG discontinuing Blu-ray player production, raising concerns about the future of physical media ownership and the potential impact on console game accessibility.
• Intel Arc B580: The team evaluates the new GPU, noting its aggressive pricing and technical capability as a potential disruptor in the mainstream GPU market.