Anthem RTX/DLSS PC Performance Review

DLSS at 1440p  

At 1440p DLSS has a strange effect on Anthem, creating an image that is sharper in some areas but appears to have more visual noise in others. In some scenes, many players won’t be able to notice the difference, but in others, the game will look like some kind of sharpness filter is enabled.

By default, Anthem provides players with a very clean image making our 1440p DLSS image appear overly sharp. Whether or not this is a better or worse look for the game is up for debate, but I personally prefer the native 1440p presentation that the game offers, though this comes at the cost of a lower framerate. 

Please note that all of the images below are 800×450 sections of a full 1440p image with a 1:1 pixel ratio. The differences below are not as noticeable with a full 1440p resolution on a standard-sized screen. To see full-sized versions of these images follow this link. 

(DLSS Off VS DLSS On)
  
  

In the image below we can see that there is detail lost in most of the objects below, though the design of the table cover is a lot more pronounced when DLSS is enabled. DLSS has clearly been approximating more detail in this pattern, but when looking at most objects, we see more visible noise and losses in quality. 

(DLSS Off VS DLSS On)
  

  
Again we see that DLSS at 1440p adds a lot of sharpness to the image below, but again the non-DLSS image offers a cleaner presentation. With DLSS enabled we can also see a clear quality loss in some areas, with the control console on the walker being a major sticking point. Such details are hard to notice when the game is in motion, but they are there when you look for them. 

(DLSS Off VS DLSS On)
  

  
When DLSS is enabled in this final image, it is clear that Anthem offers a cleaner presentation when DLSS isn’t active, with DLSS offering a final image that appears grainier and less attractive in still shots of the game. That said, higher framerates do help to mitigate this quality reduction, though some areas of the game will look as if the game has gone through a sharpness filter at 1440p.   

(DLSS Off VS DLSS On)