The Medium takes a performance dip on PS5 compared to the Xbox Series X
Last Updated on: 2nd September 2021, 03:25 pm
The Medium launched earlier this year, becoming the first next-gen exclusive title on the Xbox Series X|S, with the game bypassing the Xbox One due to needing the extra power to render to two game worlds simultaneously as part of the Dual-Reality gameplay mechanic.
Nine months on and the game is no longer a timed exclusive for the Xbox Series X|S and is now set to release on the PlayStation 5 on September 3rd.
Ahead of its release, comparisons between the two systems have been revealed and it looks like the PS5 is lagging behind the competition.
You can read our review of The Medium that we uploaded earlier this year here.
The Medium – PS5 Vs Xbox Series X|S
Comparisons between the two next-gen systems running The Medium have been released online, which shows that the PS5 is lagging behind the Xbox Series X|S when it comes to graphics, lighting, and loading times.
Courtesy of the YouTube channel “ElAnalistaDeBits”, we can now see how the PS5 compares to the Xbox Series X|S and PC when it comes to running The Medium.
The comparison shows increased resolution and anisotropic filtering on the PS5 when compared to the Xbox Series X|S, but also lacks in many other areas, such as loading times, reflections, lighting, and the PS5 version doesn’t feature ray tracing.
You can check out the full video here, but we will break down the key things you need to know.
When it comes to the loading times, the game loads in just 8.03 seconds of the Series S, 10.63 seconds on the Series X, while the time almost doubles on the PS5 coming in at 20.60 seconds. It is also worth noting that the PS5 has a faster SSD than the Series X too, so it is quite surprising to see such a difference.
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Both platforms utilize dynamic resolution, with the aim of targeting 4K (2160p). However, the Xbox Series X can drop all the way down to 900p, while the PS5 never gets lower than 1260p, although the Series X does utilize ray tracing which could explain the resolution drop. But, this is still a win for Sony.
When it comes to reflections, unfortunately, the PS5 offers very little performance difference to the weaker Xbox Series S, with the Series X and PC far outperforming it, with much clearer reflection in mirrors and other similar objects.
The PlayStation 5 version also drastically reduces shadows and lighting effects, with them just being outright missing from many objects and areas, which will no doubt help with the performance issues.
It is surprising to see the PS5 run at a much worse level than the Xbox Series X in many elements of the game.
While it does win out on a few, overall the experience is lacking when compared to Xbox.
This could be down to multiple reasons, which could include the fact that The Medium was a timed exclusive on the Xbox Series X|S, which means that Bloober Team may have worked with Microsoft closely to really optimize the game for their system, however, we can’t confirm this it is just speculation.
The PS5 has a much faster SSD, with around double the bandwidth, so it is unusual to see loading times being so much slower.
SSD speed isn’t everything though, if you pair two different CPUs with the same SSD, you will find the system with the faster one will load quicker. I saw a huge performance increase when it came to loading times when I switched from my old i5 4670 to a newer Ryzen 3700X.
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The Xbox Series X does have a faster CPU and GPU than the PS5, so this could play a part, but it seems unlikely it will cause that much difference, so I’m going to put it down to lack of optimization for the system.
Either way, the game is a fun experience, despite being locked at 30fps on both systems, and if you’re into horror games, especially psychological horror, then this is a title you should certainly consider checking out.
