Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Boasts Impressive Performance on Consoles

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2) promises strong performance across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms, showcasing adaptability across various settings. This article delves into KCD2's performance capabilities on different systems and customizable options.

KCD2's Cross-Platform Performance

CryEngine's Photorealistic Visuals

Testing and reports indicate impressive performance for KCD2. PlayStation and Xbox consoles deliver smooth gameplay at both 30fps and 60fps, with the PS5 Pro leveraging its capabilities for enhanced visuals. KCD2's photorealism is noteworthy, particularly given its use of CryTek's CryEngine, a less common choice among modern titles.

Warhorse Studios' continued use of CryEngine, following KCD1, stems from the team's familiarity, enabling them to refine and expand upon its features for the sequel. PC Gamer highlights CryEngine's unique approach: prioritizing performance through a more traditional rendering method with simpler shaders and lighting.

Despite this, KCD2 achieves photorealism via physically based materials. Eurogamer points to CryEngine's Sparse Voxel Octree Global Illumination (SVOGI) as a key factor, realistically simulating indirect lighting effects, enhancing the visual impact of light sources and reflections.

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 only supports the fidelity mode. The PS5 Pro runs at a native 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 rendering, particularly benefiting outdoor scenes and ambient occlusion. The PS5 Pro further elevates the visuals, building upon fidelity mode's improvements with sharper details, enhanced ambient occlusion, superior object quality, and overall image clarity.

PC Upscaling: Player Choice

True to PC tradition, KCD2 offers optional upscaling, allowing players to tailor settings to their hardware. PC Gamer notes limited upscaling options, primarily FSR and DLSS, rendering from lower resolutions. XeSS, sharpening, and frame generation are absent.

While CryEngine prioritizes performance, KCD2 remains demanding, especially at 4K with maximum settings. However, its highly scalable graphics, featuring five quality presets (low, medium, high, ultra, experimental), ensure accessibility for a wide range of PC configurations.

KCD2 provides a comprehensive system readiness guide, detailing specifications, CPU, RAM, GPU, and storage requirements, and other crucial 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.