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Digital Foundry: Alien Isolation Switch Review, Image Quality better than PS4

Bony Manifesto

Bony Manifesto

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,611
I remember at the time that a lot of people were complaining about how soft the anti-aliasing was on PC. I didn't mind it too much, as I found the hazy image and chromatic aberration suited the 70s sci-fi aesthetic. The bigger problem was that in spite how much it softened the image, it didn't do enough to stop the jaggies!

J6eo9JY.jpg

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plagiarize

plagiarize

It's not a loop. It's a spiral.
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
27,656
Cape Cod, MA
'It's cross gen' only really helps you with the CPU side of things.

I just got done watching the DF video and the PS3 footage is absolutely fucking awful compared to the PS4 footage. It's clear that at least from a GPU perspective, the game was developed on current gen consoles and ported down to last gen. Performance is horrendous in comparison, not to mention the cut graphical features.

I'd pin this more down to old AA techniques compared to modern ones, than anything specifically cross gen related, personally.
 

nikatapi

Member
Jan 11, 2018
245
Very nice port, good that some studios are putting an actual effort to go beyond "it plays ok".
Feral did a great job with GRID as well, seems like they are shaping up to be one of the good porting studios for Switch.
 
Dead Man Typing

Dead Man Typing

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,945
Puffy said:
Looks like the PS4 version was a botched cross gen title. I wonder how their owners feel.
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Nah, it was fine in 2014. It was using 2014 anti aliasing. Just the high contrast nature of the art made flaws stand out more.

Compare the image quality on Rise of the Tomb Raider versus Shadow of the Tomb Raider on consoles. Everything looks a lot cleaner in areas of foliage thanks to the modern AA solution.

The impressive part is a developer going the extra mile for a port of an older game like this.
 

Pokémon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,684
Wow this looks like a fantastic conversion. I am impressed and I will definitely reward them for such an amazing job. The game looks very interesting too.
 
Mistermetz

Mistermetz

Member
Jun 17, 2018
292
Feral Interactive seems to have some crazy talented people. I'm wondering what else they have up to their sleeves. Hope Grid and this one will do well.
 
Cyanity

Cyanity

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,345
One of the best games of the decade. Play it on tv in a dark room for the best experience!
 
SparkleMotion

SparkleMotion

Banned
Nov 3, 2017
2,812
I'm too much of a wimp to complete, but anyone even slightly an Alien fan or sci-fi horror fan should get this.
 
CaptNink

CaptNink

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,139
B.C, Canada
One of the best horror games this generation and a stellar use of the Alien license. Please do yourself a favour and pick this up if you haven't played it.
 
J75

J75

Member
Sep 29, 2018
6,676
TAA is one of my favorite new graphical features introduced this gen. This video really showcases it very well.
 
Neiteio

Neiteio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,261
OK, I just checked the eShop, this is a MUST-BUY. It's only $35! And actually only ~17 gigs. This and The Evil Within were the reasons I originally got a PS4, and it was a GOTY contender that year. It's still one of the most epic and best-playing horror games released this generation (and, well, ever). I'm not even an Alien fan, but you don't have to be — this is just an all-around wonderful experience. Since the porting quality is there (and apparently exceeds the original's quality), this is no-brainer.

Also: The icon is SWEET.

edit: hey speaking of Evil Within, maybe these guys can port that game and its equally rad sequel
 
TheOne

TheOne

Alt Account
Banned
May 25, 2019
947
Yup, just checked the video and it really does look better overall on the Switch than either the PS4 or the Xbox One. It's a great achievement.
 
Neiteio

Neiteio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,261
This game has some genius twists throughout. It's goddamn terrifying enough the first 20 hours, but then you realize the full scope of the spacestation's predicament, and shit gets even crazier. Oh boy, the people new to the game have no idea, lol.
 

Dark1x

Digital Foundry
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
3,530
The big take-away here is that things have changed since 2014. The original release was not 'lazy' or 'bad'. It could have been better on PS4, yes, but it was still good overall. It's just that...things were different five years ago. Anti-aliasing has continued to evolve over time and it's great that the developers opted to implement this in a port of an older game. That's really it. The new AA is so much better than, even at lower resolutions, it looks much much cleaner in motion than the original PS4/XO version.

I think it's great that Feral went the extra mile to do this and more. It's a well optimized game on Switch. It looks and runs much better than Xbox One and is comparable to PS4 (superior in some ways, not in others). When you consider that games like RE5, RE6, Saint's 3 and the like all look and run poorly on Switch, the age of the game doesn't mean anything.

I just wish the PS4/XO versions received updates with this TAA + support for higher resolutions or frame-rates.

Moms_Spaghetti said:
Game feels like it has some input lag on switch- does it have that on ps4?
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Yes it does. As I noted in the video, the Switch version has a tiny bit more lag too as a result of using triple buffer v-sync. PS4 uses adaptive v-sync. Both have lag, though, but it wasn't a huge deal for this game due to its slower pace.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Member
Nov 25, 2017
1,991
FairyEmpire said:
To be fair the console versions of this game were always very poor. Bad image quality, horrible input lag. Good to see a console version finally be where it needs to be some... 5 years after release :\
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You're absolutely right. I had a 4GB GTX 670 and OC 2700K, and Alien Isolation was an incredible experience at 1440p60. Same with Shadow of Mordor. Then I played the PS4 versions and couldn't believe how horrible the ports were. Just unplayable in comparison, and the PS4 was absolutely capable of making decent 60fps versions of both, I think the devs hadn't had the time to optimize I guess.
 
daybreak

daybreak

Member
Feb 28, 2018
2,418
Give Feral more Switch ports, please. They have been incredible with Grid and now Alien.
 
Bomblord

Bomblord

Self-requested ban
Banned
Jan 11, 2018
6,390
Weirdly haven't seen anyone write out a summary

+ 1080p docked (majority) dynamic resolution: lowest recorded resolution was 756p
+ Modern TAA that makes a less aliased images than even the PS4
+ Adaptive sharpening that further refines the image
+ Great Audio (equivelant to PS4)
+ Nearly locked 30fps: Known stress areas have a more consistent fps than Xbox One
+ No screen tearing (vs other console versions)


- Comparable but demonstrably worse loading times
- Ambient Occlusion Removed (or changed dramatically)
-/+ Motion blur disabled
- LOD/Shadow draw distance pushed in
- In game videos running at a lower res

Everything else (chromatic aberation, film grain, reflections, lighting etc) are in tact.
 
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Suede

Suede

Gotham's Finest
Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,623
Scotland
That's cool to see it get a solid port. It's amazing how much they nailed the atmosphere in this game.
 
Commodore64

Commodore64

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,264
There's a reason why pc gamers tended to prefer the third party "alias isolation" mod that added superb TAA over the default AA. Interesting to see the switch port also benefit from excellent anti aliasing.
 
thepenguin55

thepenguin55

Member
Oct 28, 2017
11,881
I might actually get this. The compromised nature of Switch ports (as impressive as they are) generally pushes me away from them but this is impressive. Also I've always been interested in this game but I remember the common criticism of it at the time was that the game should've been about half of the length.
 
NoWayOut

NoWayOut

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,075
Alright then... I guess tomorrow I will get this and Monster Boy. Just when I thought I was good for a while <- First World problem
 
snausages

snausages

Member
Feb 12, 2018
10,428
I remember dropping this on PC cause the flickery edges drove me crazy and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Am I to understand the image on Switch is even cleaner than PC?
 
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