When you’re looking to invest in anew gaming console, there are a few important factors you have to consider before plunking down several hundred of your hard-earned dollars. Some people think exclusives are the most important, but really it’s the third-party games you need to pay attention to since those are the games you’ll be playing the majority of the time. When you’re looking at thePS5 and Xbox Series X, you have to consider more than just the raw horsepower each console has to know which will run games better.
It can’t be understated how drastically different your experience with the same game can be based on how it runs. A poor framerate, lower resolution, or both, can make even the best games instantly turn sour. So far, this generation has shown that thePS5 is not only leadingwith its exclusives but also embarrassing the Xbox Series X by running games available on both systems better. If you have the option to play on either system or want a couple of examples of why you should grab a PS5 over an Xbox, here are just a handful of games that run way better on PlayStation.
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1Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Save the frames
Call of Duty: Warzone.
A massive free-to-play game that might not be too forgiving, but offers a crazy rush if you’re able to squeak a win.
If you ask any hardcore shooter fan how important a steady framerate is, they’ll tell you it is the first, second, and third most important thing. Warzone combines the tense action of Call of Duty with the high-stakes thrill of a battle royale and is perhaps the most skill-dependant game in the genre. Skill can only get you so far when your console drops frames, though. While both systems can hold a steady 60, any serious player will use the 120 FPS mode to really hone in on their aim. Unfortunately for Xbox players, it just can’t hold that many frames without drops. The only thing worse than a bad frame rate is an inconsistent one, so the PS5 has a clear advantage here.
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2Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
There are a number of graphics and performance modes you can pick for Resident Evil 4, but putting the two consoles head-to-head with ray-tracing on in Performance mode, the PS5 blows the Xbox out of the water. During the village sequence, for example, you can experience the terror of the entire town swarming you with pitchforks at a smooth 60 FPS with maybe a frame or two dropping during chaotic moments. If you’re on the Series X, though, you’re bouncing between 50 and 55 FPS at best, maybe even going as low as 45. Now that’s some real horror.
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3Skyrim Anniversary Edition
A complete 180
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
When Skyrim launched on the 360 and PS3, the poor PlayStation version was almost unplayable. It ran terribly from the start, but the more saves you made, the longer your load times would get. Fast forward two generations with the Anniversary Edition and the script has been completely flipped. Not only does the PS5 run the game at a true 4K resolution of 2840x2160 compared to the Series X’s dynamic 4K, but the PS5 even loads faster. If you’ve played Skyrim then you know there’s a ton of loading. Every cave you enter, major city, or time you fast travel prompts a loading screen. Even if you could only save a second or two per load, that could add up to hours of saved time over your game.
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4The First Descendant
The PS5 gets better FSR3
The First Descendant
A new game to add to the ranking is The First Descendant. This is a free game so tons of players swarmed to give this game a shot, but anyone who tried it on Xbox might want to give it a shot on PS5. This game uses the new FSR3 frame generation, which is a technology that adds frames to games that would otherwise run at lower rates. Sadly, for whatever reason, Xbox Series X just can’t use this technology as well as the PS5. In comparisons, we’ve found that the PS5 gets 10 or more frames per second over the Xbox version, while also looking better at the same time. Being a huge live-service game with difficult bosses that require tight teamwork, those frames could be the difference between life and death.
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