Battlefield V PC Performance Review

Graphical Comparison – Low to Ultra  

As always, we will start our graphical comparisons at Battlefield V’s Lowest preset, using a resolution of 1440p so that we can better differentiate between the game’s texture settings and see some of the game’s finer details.  

When moving from Low to Medium, we can see three major changes to the game, the most notable of which is the addition of HBAO Ambient Occlusion, which adds a lot of fine shadowed areas to the game, especially around the player’s weapon and around areas of the terrain. 

On top of Ambient Occlusion, we can see that we can see more geometric objects in the distance, especially in the area that’s past the German anti-tank “Dragon’s Teeth” defences, the concrete pyramid structures at the base of the hill. In the far distance, we can also see that the centre of the German bunker is not drawn in, presenting a strange graphical artefact. In the near distance, we can also see additional vegetation that’s close to the player.  

The main negative consequences of using Battlefield V’s Low settings is a huge increase in noticeable detail pop-in and the game’s lack of ambient shadows. This can be distracting, though the game doesn’t look as bad as many other titles at their lowest settings. 

(Low VS Medium (Click to see larger version))
  

Moving from Medium to high settings sees the game become a lot of the game’s smaller details become sharper, thanks to higher resolution ground textures and thanks to extended draw distances. 

Here we can see that more German fortifications are visible in the distance and that higher resolution ground textures in conjunction with increased anisotropic filtering enable sharper terrain detail in the far distance. SOme nearby terrain details also appear to be using high-polygon assets, making the game appear much more crisp at higher resolutions. 

Another addition o the game at High settings is screen space reflections, reflecting screen space details on puddles and other reflective surfaces. 

(Medium VS High (Click to see larger version))
  

At Ultra settings graphical details are driven into overdrive, with terrain tesselation adding many tiny details to the ground while draw distances are extended further into the distance, extending beyond the playable area of this mission to add more depth to the environment. More anti-tank defences are visible at a distance and more leaves can be found blowing in the wind, all acting to make the scene feel more alive. 

While Ultra undoubtedly looks better than high, these details can easily be missed while players are focusing on the action, especially at lower resolutions. Every extra detail shines at high resolutions like 1440p and 4K, but at 1080p many of these details are difficult to spot, making high easier to recommend if you desire higher framerates. 

(High VS Ultra (Click to see larger version))