IO Interactive’s brilliant Hitman 3 is here, an ambitious cross-platform project that uses the firm’s own Glacier Engine on launch day on more target platforms than we’ve seen in previous series entries. We will take a closer look at the latest version of the engine soon and explore the improvements in technology and how it plays in the new levels of Hitman 3 – as well as the legacy of the two previous titles, all of which can be played within the new game. But in the here and now, it’s PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S that come under scrutiny, and this is the first title we’ve seen where Microsoft’s additional hardware investment delivers a tangible specification boost over the competition in ‘ n platform. games.
But where it really matters, Hitman 3 delivers all next-generation systems – primarily via a commitment to 60 frames per second. In previous Hitman titles on consoles, IO has given users a choice: the ability to play with a 30 fps cap, or to run the frame rate open. In addition, the improved consoles offered quality and performance, with different resolutions. Hitman 3 puts it all away and delivers a flat performance level of 60 fps on all systems and does not have to choose between quality and performance modes. This time, the latest generation systems are paired at 30 fps, with the odd exception of PS4 Pro, which also offers what IO describes as a 1080p60 ‘frame interpolated’ option.
We will discuss more details about the performance in due course, but suffice it to say that the IO’s gambit is bearing fruit, as all three systems barely start from a 60 fps slot from start to finish, but the way they deliver it , differs according to the host system. Starting at the top, Xbox Series X runs the game at an original 4K resolution (which doubles the frame rate and increasing pixel count above 1440p from Xbox One X). Just below sits PlayStation 5, which works at 1800p. Meanwhile, Xbox Series S is aiming for the same 60fps target, but this time the GPU has to run the game at 1080p resolution. There is no dynamic resolution that scales down from what we can see, but there is a clever pass of TAA anti-aliasing on all systems.
The first of Hitman 3 videos from Digital Foundry – this focuses on the next three generation consoles.
In addition, the visual function set of Hitman 3 is generally consistent on all three next-generation machines, with only a few minor changes. The developers were even helpful in giving us the full rebate on how each system compares to the computer equivalent settings for each system so that we can confirm that there are some further changes besides for the resolution. It starts with texture quality, where Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 work with the highest version of the computer, as opposed to the memory-limited series S, which prefers high quality textures instead.
Meanwhile, there are also additional adjustments to the shadow quality. Series S uses the equivalent of the low-quality shadows on the PC (common with the latest generation versions of Hitman 3), while PlayStation 5 runs on medium (similar to One X and PS4 Pro) and Xbox Series X in a high way work. The difference is pretty subtle in all three, but it’s still there. In all other scenarios, all three next-generation consoles are the same and are the overall presentation of the first class. Yes, the Series X’s resolution advantage is there, and the Glacier engine thrives on precision and gives it a pristine edge. With that said, however, the lower resolution on PlayStation 5 is by no means an issue and still looks great.
All of this leads us to the topic of performance, where IO interactively has done an excellent job delivering Agent 47’s latest missions at a virtually flawless 60 frames per second from start to finish, whether you’re on Xbox or Play Station. With Hitman 3, you can test each mission from scratch, so we were able to test the title across the length and breadth of the content.
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Simply put, it’s 60 frames per second … with only one exception in our playing time. In the Mendoza mission in Argentina, it is possible to run Xbox consoles between 50 to 60 fps around a field to the outskirts of the level, while PlayStation 5 remains constant at 60 fps. Hopefully IO will look to improve it for Microsoft machine owners, but all the other things we played went flawlessly – a very slight stutter in a cutscene at the start of the Miami stage from Hitman 2 , where all consoles drop from up to near 40fps. At this point, however, it feels more like a nitpick rather than anything that will have an impact on a particular purchase recommendation.
Any other variations between the consoles? It’s hard to find if there’s any, let’s put it this way. One of the biggest improvements in the quality of life in the transition from Hitman from the last generation systems to the next generation, is charging times, where we look at something approaching a 4x improvement, which means that the overall charging time is well under ten seconds . All systems seem to benefit here – in our tests, PlayStation 5 is the fastest in similar loads, but with only a second advantage over Series X, which in turn has a very small advantage over Series S. This is good news also all-round in this regard.
We’ll be looking at Hitman 3 with a broader perspective, which includes consoles of the latest generation, soon – and we’ll also focus on the PC version in a separate piece. One thing we can share at the moment is that consoles of the last generation and the next generation have a lot in common, and that PC is indeed needed to really push this engine to its extreme – in this sense Hitman 3 continues the mission in the same way as its predecessor. The pressure at 60 fps does distinguish the next generation consoles, but the curious 1080p60 mode of PS4 Pro is a captivating outlier. We did not spend much time on it, but it works well in the Dubai stage, runs almost flawlessly and it is curious not to see it on Xbox One X as well. Regardless, we have a lot more to share on Hitman 3 and we will report back as soon as possible.