Welcome to the landmark 69th edition of DF Direct Weekly, our regular scheduled show where the team takes a break from their various projects to talk about the latest gaming technology news. This week’s offering kicks off with detailed impressions of Horizon Forbidden West’s 1.17 patch, introducing support for 120Hz features on PlayStation 5 including VRR (variable refresh rate) features for the performance mode and a ‘balanced’ alternative to the quality mode, running at 40 frames per second.
We were looking to produce come ‘bespoke’ content for this update because it’s actually rather good, but ultimately opted against it because what we’re essentially looking at here are some impressive HDMI 2.1-orientated add-ons to the 1.16 patch we’ve already looked at in depth. But before we go into the details, a warning: if you’ve got an older HDMI 2.0 display which does have 120Hz support, I’d recommend disabling the PS5’s 120Hz output, as you’ll likely be downscaling to 1080p to access the new features.
However, these new gameplay modes are compelling for those with the latest displays. The VRR mode transfers the game’s existing performance mode (complete with its excellent new TAA/checkerboarding combo) into the 120Hz domain, then unlocks the frame-rate. In general play, I noted general performance in the 60-75fps range (13.3ms to 16.7ms frame-times) which isn’t a massive game-changer in practise, but certainly additive to the usual mode and may help decrease input lag. Interestingly, I noted that frame-rates could drop a touch lower than 60fps – if I had to guess, I’d say that Guerrilla is tightening the dynamic resolution range here, and allowing VRR to do more heavy lifting below 60fps rather than lowering pixel counts. If true, it’s the sign of a nice rebalancing of image quality and performance, leaning into what VRR does best.
00:00:00 Introduction: Tom, Rich and Alex are in the house00:00:55 News 01:: Horizon: Forbidden West patch brings VRR, 40Hz support00:11:25 News 02:: GTA4 and RDR remasters cancelled?00:20:15 News 03:: Take-Two issues VR mod takedowns00:32:36 News 04:: DLSS patch removes fur in MH: Rise00:44:48 News 05:: Biomutant PS5, Series S/X update incoming! 00:47:49 DF Content Discussion:: FSR 2.0 deep dive coming soon00:54:23 DF Supporter Q1:: Why are we still seeing reduced-rate animations on distant characters?01:01:07 DF Supporter Q2:: Do you ever ponder the rendering features of reality itself?01:04:59 DF Supporter Q3:: Can developers use unrealistic RT implementations to create surreal environments in games?01:08:45 DF Supporter Q4:: Can bad frame-pacing occur with 60fps games set to 120Hz output?01:12:26 DF Supporter Q5:: Console showdown: Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo?01:16:45 DF Supporter Q6:: What does Rich aim to achieve by overclocking a PS3? 01:17:45 DF Supporter Q7:: Does Rich have a custom radiator cooling setup for his Switch?01:19:11 DF Supporter Q8:: If Rich is taking a vacation, that must mean Microsoft will be announcing new studio acquisitions
The new balanced mode also runs in the 120Hz domain, capping in-game performance to 40fps, meaning you get a new frame on every third display refresh. This ensures completely consistent 25ms frame-times – meaning that Horizon Forbidden West is now running at the exact point between 30fps (33.3ms frame-time) and 60fps (16.7ms frame-time). You lose a slight amount of visual clarity up against the standard 30fps quality mode, but it’s very hard to notice and still looks phenomenal, with TAA accumulation doing a lot of heavy lifting here. What you will notice is a much improved level of performance up against the 30fps quality mode, with the game feeling much smoother. Give it a go if you have a 120Hz display, a PS5 and Horizon Forbidden West – 40fps quality modes could play a key role in this console generation.