When Ark: Survival Ascended was launched on the Xbox console, it boasted the utilization of the powerful Unreal Engine 5, promising a substantial graphical and performance boost over its predecessors. However, the reality of the game’s performance has come under critical scrutiny by Digital Foundry, revealing significant problems that mar the experience, particularly on the Xbox Series S.
According to Digital Foundry, a tech-focused review team known for their deep dives into game performance and graphics fidelity, Ark: Survival Ascended struggles massively with optimization. The title has even been labeled as "the worst optimized Unreal Engine 5 game we've seen on console." This harsh criticism comes after a detailed analysis of the game’s rendering resolution and frame rate consistency, which seems to be subpar across the Xbox board but is especially problematic on the Series S model.
For technical specifics, both the Xbox Series X and PS5 aim to run the game at 1440p resolution. However, due to dynamic resolution scaling, a common technique used to maintain smoother frame rates by lowering the resolution when necessary, the game often runs at much lower resolutions. On the Xbox Series X and PS5, the resolution frequently drops to about 720p, half of its intended target. The Series S has a worse fate, targeting a 900p resolution but often dipping to 450p in practice. This means that what players see on their screens is far from the high-definition graphics they might expect from a modern console game using the latest in engine technology.
In terms of frame rate, which is crucial for a smooth gaming experience, Ark: Survival Ascended does not perform reliably. The Series S struggles significantly, with a target of 60 frames per second that frequently drops to around 30 fps, and sometimes even as low as 13 fps in particularly demanding areas like dense jungles or during in-game weather effects like rain at night. Though slightly better, the Series X does not escape criticism either with frame rates generally hovering between 30-45 fps, and notable drops into the high 20s in stressful scenes.
Digital Foundry's review highlighted not just these stark numbers but also the visual disparity. The visual quality and gameplay experience vary drastically between the consoles, resulting in the Xbox Series S version looking markedly different and inferior compared to its Series X counterpart, almost as if they were different games.
In reaction to the underwhelming performance, some attempts were made to tweak in-game settings for better results. Nonetheless, the review strongly implies that real improvement must come from the developers themselves, urging them to optimize the game more thoroughly for console play.
