Assassin’s Creed Shadows has had its first major patch on consoles, bringing PSSR to the PS5 Pro version and adding RT reflections to the balanced graphics mode, two changes that the developers suggested were on the way in our AC Shadows tech interview last month. So how does version 1.02 compare to the day one patch, and are there are any other major changes to report?
In short, the new version brings in everything promised in that interview and more, with 1.02 hitting all platforms – but being perhaps most impactful on the PS5 Pro, the only console with access to Sony and AMD’s PSSR upscaler. This can now be enabled via a toggle in the menu, and it delivers better stability, less obvious aliasing in stills and better sub-pixel detail at distance.
Foliage is one of the most obvious places to look when turning the feature on and off, with the standard TAAU giving a grainy but relatively sharp look, while PSSR is a bit blurrier on average but also better anti-aliased. We prefer the PSSR look, but this is a matter of taste as much as anything.
The only real compromise in terms of PSSR image quality comes with particles, which suffer from trails in PSSR where they don’t tend to in TAAU. This is most obvious in the opening shot of the game, where there are fiery particles in the air, but you can see similar issues throughout.