In terms of overall shadow quality up-close, the ultra preset gives sharper outlines as the time of day shifts by. Indeed, shadows are the second point of improvement on PC. The only aspect that grates is the shadow distance setting on PS4 and Xbox One, which runs at around PC's medium preset, causing a visible fade-in just ahead of the player. On balance, the paring back in LODs goes unnoticed during regular play on console, and it's only in broad views of the world that it's apparent that elements are missing. On the plus side, buildings on the horizon run with 'distant object detail' set to high, meaning we can navigate to major landmarks by eye. Higher-quality building LODs, trees, and cars render in at a much greater range on PC's top setting.Īs far as we can tell, consoles run at PC's lowest grass setting, while other fade settings are broadly set to medium quality equivalents. Taken from the highest point we could find (the Corvega factory rooftop overlooking Lexington), the difference from PS4 and Xbox One is stark. The first is in draw distance, particularly once we push object and grass fade settings up to ultra. To an extent, this might frustrate those looking to squeeze a radically overhauled visual setup on PC - but there remain three main areas of improvement. PC's take on this post-apocalyptic Boston setting is identical in its building blocks. As tested on the latest patch, 1.01, on each version, the good news for console owners is that you're getting the maximum quality in textures, alpha effects and geometry across the game. Introducing PC at ultra settings is very revealing here, and shows just how much PS4 and Xbox One retain on balance. We have an accomplished implementation of temporal anti-aliasing on each console too, while texture map quality, shadows and even the quality of specular mapping in rain are a direct match.

It's a state of affairs that perhaps points to Xbox One as the focus for Bethesda at the start of Fallout 4's development, and visuals are almost entirely matched with PS4.

Let's rattle off the basics first: the 1920x1080 checkbox is readily ticked for both consoles, and pixel-counting gives us the precise same return. However, in visual terms they fall very close to one another - and at its top settings, PC adds some interesting touches over the console experience. Having picked apart all three versions at length, it's fair to say PlayStation 4 and Xbox One each have unshakeable performance issues that can't be ignored. Fallout 4 is a game at odds with itself an arresting open-world adventure with a staggering number of moving parts, but also one where its engine trembles under its demands.

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