Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2) promises strong performance across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms, showcasing impressive adaptability across various settings. This article delves into KCD2's performance characteristics on each platform and the customization options available to players.
KCD2's Cross-Platform Performance
CryEngine: Photorealism Meets Performance
Testing and reports indicate excellent performance for KCD2 across platforms. PlayStation and Xbox consoles deliver smooth gameplay at both 30fps and 60fps, with the PS5 Pro leveraging its capabilities for enhanced visuals. KCD2's photorealistic rendering, a rarity due to its use of CryTek's CryEngine, sets it apart.
Warhorse Studios' continued use of CryEngine, also employed in KCD1, allows for familiarity and enhanced feature development. PC Gamer highlights CryEngine's unique "old-school" rendering approach—prioritizing performance through simpler shaders and lighting—as a key factor in its efficiency.
Despite this, KCD2 achieves photorealism through physically based materials. Eurogamer points to CryEngine's Sparse Voxel Octree Global Illumination (SVOGI) as a crucial element, realistically simulating indirect light bounces and enhancing the impact of lighting on objects and surfaces.
Console Options: Fidelity vs. Performance
PS5 and Xbox Series X offer two modes: a 30fps fidelity mode at 1440p and a 60fps performance mode at 1080p. Xbox Series S is limited to the fidelity mode. The PS5 Pro runs at 60fps at 1296p, upscaled to 4K using PSSR.
Fidelity mode enhances visuals on PS5 and Xbox Series X with increased foliage detail and improved shadow casting, resulting in more immersive outdoor scenes and better ambient occlusion. The PS5 Pro further elevates these features, adding sharper visuals, superior ambient occlusion, enhanced object quality, and overall improved image fidelity.
PC: Customizable Upscaling
True to PC gaming tradition, KCD2 offers completely optional upscaling. PC Gamer notes the limited options: FSR and DLSS for lower-resolution rendering. XeSS, sharpening, and frame generation are absent.
Despite CryEngine's performance focus, running KCD2 at 4K with maximum settings will still demand significant GPU power. However, the game's highly scalable graphics, with five quality presets (low, medium, high, ultra, and experimental), allow players to optimize settings for their hardware.
KCD2 provides a comprehensive guide to prepare systems for optimal gameplay, covering specifications, CPU, RAM, GPU, and storage requirements, and other essential pre-game considerations.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 launches February 4, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Visit our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 page for more details.
