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Uncharted 4 may be PlayStation 4's showstopper, but it's Quantum Break leading the charge for Xbox One. Blending cinematic third-person action with live action segments, Remedy's latest title is a coming to fruition of Microsoft's original plan to converge TV and video game content into one package. We recently sampled the first two chapters of the game at an event hosted by Remedy, and came away impressed by the technology used to bring the game to life. However, there are also noticeable compromises at work in bringing the game's rich filmic visuals to Xbox One that perhaps distract from the experience.From the outset, the use of film grain, depth of field, and camera and object blur sets the tone for the game, creating a distinctly soft-focused look that squarely hits the cinematic target the developers are aiming for. Image quality stands out here, for both good and bad reasons. On the one hand Remedy's anti-aliasing solution in Quantum Break is excellent, creating a smooth presentation, though some shimmering is present across edges in motion. However, the game also appears soft compared to titles running natively at 1080p, or even 900p for that matter.
In fact, nailing down resolution proves rather difficult, due in part to how various elements on screen are rendered. Based on Remedy's own Siggraph 2015 white paper, we understand screen-space lighting, ambient occlusion, and global illumination pipelines are all handled at 1280x720 on Xbox One in order to budget for a 33.3ms render-time.
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