Digital Foundry Reports Severe Technical Issues in Console Versions of The Blood of Dawnwalker

The Blood of Dawnwalker has received high marks for its atmosphere and role-playing mechanics, but a Digital Foundry analysis has revealed serious performance issues on the PS5 and Xbox console versions.

On base PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, three modes are available with image reconstruction up to 4K. Performance targets 60 FPS, operating at a dynamic resolution of 1600×900 to 2240×1260, and can drop to the low 40s in heavy scenes. Balanced offers 40 FPS at 1920×1080 to 2880×1620, while Quality delivers 30 FPS at 2560×1440 to 2880×1620. The latter two modes suffer from uneven frame pacing.

The PS5 Pro shows the most stable performance and a sharper image. In Quality mode, it is also the only console to offer full Lumen reflections on large bodies of water. In certain scenes, the framerate drops to 50 FPS.

On the Xbox Series S, a single mode targets 1080p with a native resolution of 1408×792 to 1600×900. Foliage density and shadow quality are reduced, and the 30 FPS limit is accompanied by stuttering.

The main technical issue across all platforms is sharp frame time spikes of up to 120 ms during camera cuts in cinematic scenes.