New Hellblade 2 previews have confirmed that the game runs at 4K 30FPS on the Xbox Series X. According to Mark Slater-Tunstill, the VFX director for the game, Hellblade 2 doesn’t feature any adaptive performance mode or additional graphics options. Of course, the PC version does which is a given. So if you’re looking at playing Hellblade 2 at a higher frame rate, and likely better visual fidelity, you should stick to PC.
But of course, since the information went public, the internet has lost its mind over this 30FPS target. It seems like a rinse-and-repeat process in gaming where console gamers think that somehow, the 250W gaming device on their TV unit will magically be able to output 4K 60FPS games 4 years into their lifespan.
Keep in mind that while some games can easily achieve this, Hellblade 2 falls alongside other Unreal Engine 5 titles that have struggled this generation. The advanced gaming engine has been the go-to for creators and we’re only really now seeing the fruits of what is possible on the platform. However, those fruits rely on a lot of power and sadly, the consoles (and most PCs) just don’t have it.
Sure, one can bitch and moan about Redfall’s lack of 60FPS mode and maybe Starfield but these Unreal Engine 5 games are taxing. If we look back at the past year alone, we have had multiple Unreal Engine 5 games release on consoles with limited performance.
Lords of the Fallen, for example, wasn’t able to achieve 4K 30FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X. The game’s adaptive resolution saw it spike at 1620p and drop down to 1296p during intense scenes. On the Xbox Series S, the game ran at 972p with drops down to 648p.
Immortals of Aveum is another visual showcase for the Unreal Engine 5. Sadly, that came with some nasty graphical issues on consoles. The Xbox Series S rendered the game at a measly 436p at 60FPS. Both the Xbox Series X and PS5 achieved 1280×720 at 60FPS which was upscaled to 4K using FSR 2.1. That then resulted in some major visual downgrades due to the noise created on moving objects.
If we look at the more recent Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, another Unreal Engine 5 game, that too struggled on PS5. The game targets 50-60FPS across both Quality and Performance modes but the resolution of 1152p on Quality mode and 720p on Performance mode is the sacrifice made to achieve this.
Unreal Engine 5 titles even struggle on most gaming PCs. You need at least an RTX 4080 to max your game out to achieve 4K 60FPS. Keep in mind that the PS5 and Xbox Series X essentially have RTX 2060 equivalent GPUs. So you want 60FPS games on your console with a GPU two generations old.
Hellblade 2 has adopted some advanced Unreal Engine 5 features which have only been touched on across these titles. That, alongside the demanding engine tech, means dynamic resolution at 30FPS is the best we’ll get. If this is a hard pill to swallow, just wait until the game launches and you notice all the FSR upscaling noise and resolution dips during intense scenes. Unreal Engine 5 is no joke and the current hardware on the market sadly, can’t handle it.
Of course, you have all the right to be annoyed with the news. A few years back you were fed a marketing campaign by Microsoft that promised 4K 120Hz games. Sony did the same thing. Hell, Sony even promised 8K games and slapped the resolution on the damn PS5 box (even though it is still locked by firmware almost five years later).
You just have to accept that even on PS7 and Xbox Series Whatever-Comes-In-The-Future, you’ll still be playing certain games at 30FPS because these all-in-one devices can’t fly you to the moon.
Sure, you can argue that Microsoft should look at a High Refresh Rate Mode for Hellblade 2. In a perfect world, this would be great. It has proven to be a gem on PS5 across God of War: Ragnarok and Ratchet and Clank. It allows games to uncap past 30FPS and essentially runs in the 120Hz mode. Frame rates dip between 40FPS and 60FPS and the “higher-than-30FPS” output creates a much smoother visual experience than the typical 30FPS cap.
Hellblade 2 looks great regardless of this 30FPS cap. The game is going to offer a stunning visual showcase of Unreal Engine 5, although it is expected to last only a few hours. Let’s just be grateful we’re finally getting something new from Microsoft and it isn’t Forza.
