Final Fantasy XVI is officially out and if you’re jumping into the game and stuck deciding between the two available graphics modes we have you covered.
Final Fantasy XVI includes two graphics modes – there’s a Performance Mode and a Graphics Mode. Both modes are tailored to deliver a different visual experience depending on your playstyle. Given that Final Fantasy XVI is an action game, many will decide to go for the Performance Mode but the resolution and frame rate are the big question here.
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So what resolutions does Final Fantasy XVI run at across these game modes? Well, graphics mode is definitely the higher of the two. If you choose Graphics Mode, the game scales resolution between 1080p and 1440p. This is then dynamically upscaled to 4K. Graphics Mode sticks to 30FPS.
Performance Mode, on the other hand, scales the game between 720p and 1080p in order to achieve the 60FPS target. There are a number of enhancements at work in Final Fantasy XVI to sharpen the resolution. This results in a much cleaner image than what you would typically see at 1080p on a 4K display.
However, according to Digital Foundry’s analysis, the Performance Mode does cut back on a few graphical features such as shadow quality and introduces object pop-in at times too. Performance Mode also doesn’t manage to keep its 60FPS. Most of the time, the game runs at 40FPS.
So by the look of things, you’ll want to just stick to Graphics Mode when playing Final Fantasy XVI. The higher resolution, sharper image quality and overall better visual fidelity is a much better experience than the unpolished Performance Mode at 40FPS.
Of course, if you’re really hungry for a higher frame rate, Performance Mode works but it just doesn’t offer enough to warrant the slight frame rate increase.
