Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

An extremely busy week at the Foundry but the Direct cannot be stopped - the team discuss the latest news as the "Xbox Reset" enters Phase Two and Halo is shipped off to Activision. Meanwhile, Rich, Oliver and Tom join forces to run the rule over Silent Hill Townfall, becauise the show moves on to discuss the implications of the next-gen consoles' respective GPU TFLOPs numbers. And finally, ending the show on a high note, Rich revisits 007 First Light path tracing, finding a night and day improvement in performance over the original release.

00:00 Introduction
01:12 News 1: Halo Studios decimated as Halo moves to Activision
17:26 News 2: Silent Hill: Townfall tested on PS5, PS5 Pro, and PC!
36:54 News 3: Rumour says PS6 at 40 teraflops, Xbox Helix at 56 teraflops
48:28 News 4: 007 First Light gets path tracing performance boost
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Stellar Blade on Switch 2 enforces the use of frame generation to target 60fps - and Capcom is offering the same feature with a toggle in the upcoming Dragon's Dogma 2 port. So how does it work and what have we learned from testing it in Stellar Blade? Beyond that, Tom, Rich and Oliver discuss whether next-gen hardware should be delayed, why Nintendo is avoiding DLSS in its own Switch 2 titles and whether Valve should release an ARM-based handheld. And finally, what's the point of chromatic aberration?

00:00 Introduction
00:44 Supporter Q1: Is frame gen a good fit for Switch 2 games like Stellar Blade?
17:18 Supporter Q2: Could a next-gen hardware delay be a good thing?
25:03 Supporter Q3: Does Digital Foundry need to produce a “frame health” reference?
32:28 Supporter Q4: Is Nintendo avoiding DLSS so they can switch to AMD for Switch 3?
37:44 Supporter Q5: Should the next gen Steam Deck be ARM-based?
43:15 Supporter Q6: What’s the point of chromatic aberration?
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In a bit of a slow week for news, the team goes hands-on with a bunch of cool games to present their findings - principal amongst them being 007 First Light's visually stunning, but incredibly taxing path tracing upgrade. Redemption Road's 12-minute Kingmakers gameplay deep dive impresses the panel before Tom delivers his thoughts on Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave on Switch 2, with Oliver testing Diablo 4 also on the Nintendo hybrid. Meanwhile, reliable leaker Kepler_L2 says that we're only looking at one new GPU launch in 2027 - and it looks like the desktop version of the same GPU slated to appear in Microsoft's Project Helix...

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00:00 Introduction
01:17 News 1: 007 First Light gets PC path tracing patch
18:28 News 2: Kingmakers resurfaces in extended trailer
26:44 News 3: Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave impressions!
39:34 News 4: Diablo 4 tested on Switch 2
47:49 News 5: Rumour: new Nvidia, AMD GPUs won’t be released until 2028
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With Steam Frame just missing the embargo for the last DF Direct, John, Rich and Oliver share impressions of Valve's latest hardware plus there's some ARM standalone testing of Half-Life Alyx, Cyberpunk 2077 and Streets of Rage 4. Beyond that, it's Supporter Q+A time: why doesn't From Software fix 30fps frame-pacing issues? If DLSS 5 isn't really DLSS, how should DLSS evolve? Finally... with the legendary Kallax having been modded into Skyrim by Ikea, what other Scandinavian furniture should be added to the game?!

Want an ad-free DF Direct experience? Get a private RSS feed and high quality video downloads with the DF Supporter Program! https://patreon.com/digitalfoundry

00:00 Introduction
01:07 Hands-On With Steam Frame, Half-Life Alyx Standalone + More
27:06 Supporter Q1: Is a language barrier to blame for Elden Ring frame-pacing issues?
35:15 Supporter Q2: What new tech should Nvidia explore in a new DLSS?
44:52 Supporter Q3: What Ikea furniture should be included in Elder Scrolls 6?
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A massive week for news. PlayStation ends decades of partnership with Hideo Kojima as Physint is cancelled by Sony - but picked up by Microsoft, meaning it's coming to Xbox. The team take a look at the surprise-but-a-welcome-one reveal of VRR coming to Switch 2 docked mode, while there's commentary and analysis on the Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and a brand new Nintendo Direct. John and Oliver compare notes on Marvel's Wolverine, Rich takes us back to the PS4 Pro reveal on its tenth anniversary while John tells us about the co-op fun he's been having with Big Walk.

The DF Supporter Program gives you early access to DF Direct, an ad-free private RSS feed, high quality video downloads and more: https://patreon.com/digitalfoundry

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:28 News 1: Kojima’s Physint dropped by Sony, picked up by Microsoft
0:24:57 News 2: VRR finally available in Switch 2 docked mode
0:34:17 News 3: Ocarina of Time remake shown at Nintendo Direct
0:46:15 News 4: Nintendo Direct highlights: Kirby, Metroid, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, Stellar Blade, Persona
1:02:00 Content discussion: have reviewers been too harsh on Wolverine?
1:13:45 Retrospective: PS4 Pro announcement
1:26:32 John recommends Big Walk!
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