As Unreal Engine 5 continues to saturate the current console generation, its reputation remains scattershot, with a wide gulf dividing the highly performant likes of Robocop Rogue City and the uneven, open-world struggles of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Borderlands 4. What can we expect, then, from The Outer Worlds 2, Microsoft's biggest UE5 console launch of the 2025 holiday season?

In short, this is the rare 2025 case, at least as of launch, of an Xbox and PlayStation simul-launch where one version soundly outperforms the other.

Across the board, console ports of Obsidian Entertainment's latest action-RPG game benefit from development choices that favour frame time smoothness over cutting-edge effects. UE5 hallmarks like Nanite, Lumen, and virtual shadow maps (VSM) all make an appearance, but while select effects have a dynamic impact on this open-world adventure, the game often looks quite static.

You can see for yourself how Xbox Series X's split between a 60 fps "performance" mode and a 30 fps "quality" mode bear out, with resolution, Lumen lighting quality, and level-of-detail settings each scaling according to the modes in question. Obsidian has opted to additionally include an apparently locked 40 fps "balanced" mode on Series X and PS5, which combines the higher, near-2160p resolution of the quality mode with the reduced visual details of the performance mode.

Unsurprisingly, Xbox Series S misses out on a 60 fps mode, running at 30 fps by default. But in a rarity for the lesser Xbox console, we do see a slightly higher refresh rate as an option: a 40 fps balanced mode for TVs that support 120 fps refresh. For this higher frame rate, we see a dip in base resolution, down from 1080p to an apparent 864p. Otherwise, image quality settings on Series S remain identical in both available modes: nearly identical to Series X's performance mode, with a further reduction in foliage density as a noticeable exception.

For all Xbox consoles and modes, performance is solid: only slight dips in the 60 fps mode for the game's opening hours, which a VRR display should mitigate, and nary a dip in 30 fps and 40 fps play.

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Base PS5 turns in a lower resolution compared to Xbox Series X, evidenced here by lower-fidelity foliage in this field.

Meanwhile, base PlayStation 5 turns in lesser performance across the board. Each console's quality mode clocks in close to 2160p resolution, while PS5 downgrades to roughly 1080p resolution in performance mode, compared to roughly 1440p on Series X. And in all modes, PS5 appears to exhibit frame rate and frame time drops. Comparison footage here reveals apparent, mild downgrades in PS5 visual quality.

Weirder is Outer Worlds 2's turnout on PlayStation 5 Pro. On this more powerful console, OW2 delivers roughly equivalent resolution and frame rate issues in all modes, along with the added issue of PSSR not playing nicely with UE5's Lumen implementation, introducing noticeable noise. It's not as bad as what we saw with UE5, PS5 Pro, and Silent Hill f, but it's close.

In the above video, Digital Foundry's Oliver Mackenzie breaks down exactly what you can expect on a visual basis on each platform at launch, including a sturdy VSM implementation, high pixel counts on Series X and PS5, and the conundrum of Lumen as applied to Outer Worlds 2's "retrofuturistic aesthetic." The video also explores a few toggles that vary in impact, including a welcome FOV slider and a seemingly ineffective motion blur slider.

For more on how to optimise Outer Worlds 2 on PC at launch, head to Alex Battaglia's comprehensive DF guide.