FPS Boost for Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76: performance is excellent

We led the rule on Microsoft’s first wave of FPS Boost titles and came away in awe, while our thoughts for the Arkane-developed duo of Prey and Dishonored Definitive Edition were perhaps even more gushing. Our coverage continues with a look at Bethesda Games Studio titles running on the Creative Engine and impressions are a bit more mixed this time around. Skyrim lands exactly where we expected and overall performs wonderfully, but the Fallout titles are a bit more confusing. Despite a big gap in their respective graphics capabilities, the Xbox Series S and X consoles run these titles at 1080p in order to achieve 60 frames per second, even though the Xbox One X was targeting native 4K.

Fallout titles are somewhat controversial then, but it was great to at least return to Skyrim. In this case we have a real 4K60 and it’s great to see that the user mod experience we previously tested at Digital Foundry is now made fully official with FPS Boost – although it’s worth pointing out that these two techniques use two different techniques to achieve this goal. The mod basically works by removing the 30 fps frame rate limit and turning off v-sync for good measure, allowing Skyrim to harness the extra power of the S and X Series consoles (where backward compatibility force the v-sync to sync again).

The end result is a very tight 60 fps lockdown for the S series at 1080p resolution whether you use FPS Boost or the mod, while the X series runs in native 4K and looks stunning – the price to pay. being a drop in performance whenever volume or full-res alpha effects are in play. Basically it’s 60fps on both and that adds an extra layer of brilliance to what’s still a great RPG. Yes, the visuals are dated, but the gameplay is golden. And of course, PlayStation 5 users now have access to the same experience through their own mod.

With Fallout titles, the situation is a bit more complicated. Beginning with Fallout 4, Microsoft apparently chose to push the X and S series down the Xbox One S code path, which means the game runs at native 1080p, with the frame rate limit removed. Keep in mind that the game originally ran at a dynamic resolution of 1080p on the Xbox One S, upgrading to 4K on the One X. The end result is an enjoyable experience that ensures consistent 60fps for the vast majority of the game.

Only classic bottlenecks such as the Corvega Factory cause problems, with a few performance drops on the X series and a more noticeable drop on the S series. Overall, however, it’s a smooth ride. all along, but you can’t help but think the X Series should do more. Ultimately, patching into something like an optional 1800p alternative to 2160p seems like a good way to go.

However, there is an alternative if you want the best of both worlds on the X series – with 4K and 60 fps. Turn off FPS Boost and you’re back to 4K30 of course, but with better gameplay consistency than the game running on Xbox One X. The next step is a “ 720p60 ” user mod delivers the required unlocked frame rate. for X series as well as a push to 4K (find it in the mods section of the game, activate it and restart the game). And this is where you see Why Microsoft has gone for consistency – the frame rate is not a locked down 60fps while still delivering that high resolution. The Corvega throttle point takes you back to the 40’s, and there’s a lot more general instability. It’s still a big improvement over the stock experience on Xbox Series X, mind you, and many might prefer it. This all leads us to Fallout 76, which is focused on multiplayer, where the setup is similar to Fallout 4 when running FPS Boost. The 1080p60 output of this time-based X-series is fully locked, while the S-series has some small fluctuations from the target frame rate. It’s not perfect, but it’s a vastly improved way to play the game – although again, we lost resolution on the X series using this feature.

Oddly, there is a way forward to using FPS Boost while still maintaining 4K on Fallout games running on Xbox Series X – but it’s what you might call a loophole, and we expect Microsoft to fix it at some point. given moment. Essentially you load up one of the Fallout games with FPS Boost disabled, load another title, re-engage FPS Boost on the Fallout game you were playing, then get back to the action via Quick Resume. This essentially allows 60fps to unlock the benefits of FPS Boost while still maintaining One X resolution. It’s a trick, it works, but thanks to that, you can see why Microsoft called for a switch to 1080p for their solution. Put simply, 60fps is far from guaranteed to be played that way.

In summary, FPS Boost delivers exactly what you expect from Skyrim – turn the feature off and it’s a day-to-night difference, way more than you’d expect. You just can’t go back. With Fallout games, again, FPS Boost works as you would expect, especially if you’re an Xbox Series S owner. You keep the same resolution and performance is typically locked in at 60fps. Fallout games could be limited on CPU, GPU, or even storage at some point – and the improvement in next-gen hardware is telling. However, the X series forces you to make a choice – 4K or 60fps, FPS Boost enabled or disabled. The overall boost is still impressive – games are so much smoother in gameplay – but at this point it’s not. enough the killer functionality we were hoping for.