When it comes to video games and the hardware and tech we play them on, the team at Digital Foundry are unparalleled experts. Each week, DF Direct breaks down t...
DF Direct Weekly #201: State of Play Verdict, Crysis 4 "On Hold", Astro Bot PS5 Pro Tested!
It's a gigantor-scale DF Direct Weekly as Oliver, Alex and Tom deliver a 155-minute show kicking off with the verdict to Sony's latest State of Play, followed up by the sad news of layoffs at Crytek and a highly uncertain future for Crysis 4. Beyond that, Alex shares his thoughts on Assassin's Creed Shadows PC specs, while Oliver tests out the PS5 Pro patch for Astro Bot. And in the background, a flu-stricken Rich does nothing much except to write this description.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:11 News 1: State of Play: Tides of Annihilation
0:09:37 MindsEye
0:16:38 Days Gone Remastered
0:22:28 Saros
0:29:12 Dreams of Another
0:36:59 Lost Soul Aside
0:41:39 Other games: Borderlands 4, Sonic Racing Crossworlds, Onimusha, Midnight Walk
0:59:34 Overall impressions of the State of Play
1:06:43 News 2: Crysis 4 put “on hold” as Crytek lays off employees
1:16:24 News 3: Assassin’s Creed Shadows PC specs revealed
1:36:32 News 4: Astro Bot gets PS5 Pro upgrade
1:42:59 Supporter Q1: After 3 months, what do you think of the PS5 Pro and PSSR?
1:52:53 Supporter Q2: Why don’t more developers use CryEngine?
1:59:40 Supporter Q3: Will Nvidia “gate” new AI features to their most recent hardware?
2:09:17 Supporter Q4: Does RTX Mega Geometry eliminate the need for proxy geometry for RT?
2:15:17 Supporter Q5: Could Oliver address some of the recent state of the art AI tech?
2:26:52 Supporter Q6: How much do you need to spend on a GPU to have a good experience?
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2:37:38
DF Direct Weekly #200! Switch 2 Pricing, The NEW Battlefield, Monster Hunter Wilds Perf Concerns!
Through a combination of the passing of time and regularly turning up every week to do the same thing, DF Direct Weekly 'celebrates' its 200th edition! We reminisce over the creation of the show before moving onto the news at hand - Switch 2 pricing and some intriguing new Nintendo patents, along with our first look at the new Battlefield. Meanwhile, we're not particularly enthused with Monster Hunter Wilds performance, Star Wars Outlaws on PS5 Pro gets a PSSR upgrade and the RTX 5080's overclocking prowess plays havoc with RTX 4090/4080 Super performance differentials.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:02:07 News 1: DF Direct celebrates episode 200!
0:32:01 News 2: Nintendo sets Switch 2 price expectations
0:46:17 News 3: Next Battlefield shown in brief teaser
0:55:45 News 4: Monster Hunter Wilds beta, benchmark tested
1:09:05 News 5: RTX 5080 overclocking tested
1:26:52 News 6: Epic admits Unreal Engine has a #StutterStruggle problem
1:34:17 News 7: Star Wars Outlaws updated with new PSSR version
1:41:07 Supporter Q1: Could you test the 5090 with no AI features vs. the 5080 with all AI features?
1:47:23 Supporter Q2: Could DF establish a latency rating system?
1:54:41 Supporter Q3: Would increasing resolution and AA quality be enough for Nintendo Switch 2 games?
1:57:53 Supporter Q4: Is a Bloodborne remaster imminent?
2:03:32 Supporter Q5: Could 1080p actually be preferable to 4K for Switch 2 games?
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2:12:18
DF Direct Weekly #199: Forza Horizon PS5, Next-Gen Xbox Hints, Spider-Man 2 PC, Nvidia Smooth Motion
Join Rich, Alex and Oliver for another huge Direct, covering off the 'no red lines' Xbox news and the Forza Horizon 5 PS5 announcement, hints from Phil Spencer about next-gen Xbox, along with early impressions on Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on PC. Meanwhile, the team field questions about the controversial RTX 5080 release, while Alex tests out the surprise new feature - Nvidia Smooth Motion. Finally, Oliver is very, very excited about DeepSeek - but does it spell the end of Nvidia's AI dominance?
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:00 News 1: Forza Horizon 5 headed to PS5
0:12:04 News 2: Phil Spencer: Xbox hardware will be the differentiator
0:30:37 News 3: Spider-Man 2 PC disappoints
0:44:44 News 4: RTX 5080 review reaction
1:11:48 News 5: Nvidia Smooth Motion adds frame gen on all games
1:18:46 News 6: DeepSeek R1 LLM impresses!
1:32:51 Supporter Q1: Does AMD have a big opportunity with the RX 9070 series?
1:40:31 Supporter Q2: Is there a risk in shipping console hardware ML acceleration too early?
1:45:00 Supporter Q3: What kind of techniques do you think will be accelerated by ML in the future?
1:51:02 Supporter Q4: Should GPU reviewers test different upscalers at “equivalent image quality” settings?
1:55:28 Supporter Q5: What would Apple need to do to compete in AAA gaming?
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2:06:05
DF Direct Weekly #198: Doom The Dark Ages Reaction, Xbox Developer_Direct, RTX 5090 Reaction!
As we close in on the 200th edition of DF Direct Weekly - where we currently have no special plans whatsoever - Alex, Oliver and Rich discuss Microsoft's brilliant Xbox Developer_underscore_Direct, and get highly excited about Doom: The Dark Ages, before moving on to discuss the reaction to the RTX 5090 reviews, the problems of GPU reviewing, Sony's baffling live services strategy - and the mysterious delay of AMD's RDNA 4 cards.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:00:56 News 1: Developer Direct 2025 - Doom: The Dark Ages
0:17:36 Ninja Gaiden 4
0:22:54 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
0:27:55 South of Midnight
0:32:38 News 2: RTX 5090 review reaction
1:14:39 News 3: Radeon 9070 cards arriving in March
1:27:53 News 4: Sony cancels Bluepoint and Bend Studios live service games
1:36:27 Supporter Q1: Could the Switch 2 pack unanticipated custom hardware?
1:42:18 Supporter Q2: Will GTA 6 cost $100 US?
1:48:11 Supporter Q3: Should the PS5 Pro be supported with new games for longer than the PS5?
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2:04:49
DF Direct Weekly #197 - Nintendo Switch 2 Reaction - New Hardware, Mario Kart 9, Back Compat + More!
Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been revealed in a somewhat detail-light two minute presentation, showcasing renders of the new hardware, some details on backwards compatibility and a teaser for what may well be Mario Kart 9. John, Rich and Oliver sit down after the reveal and discuss the reveal - along with some intriguing leaks about the clock speeds of the main processor.
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:12 Switch 2 hardware
0:16:42 New Mario Kart analysis
0:28:32 Only partial backwards compatibility?
0:36:44 Rumoured Switch 2 clockspeeds
0:47:52 Supporter Q1: Can Switch 2 use transformer model DLSS?
0:50:32 Supporter Q2: Can DLSS salvage Switch 2’s output on 4K screens?
0:52:19 Supporter Q3: Will Nintendo release performance patches for Switch 1 games on Switch 2?
0:58:21 Final Switch 2 thoughts and impressions
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When it comes to video games and the hardware and tech we play them on, the team at Digital Foundry are unparalleled experts. Each week, DF Direct breaks down the latest breakthroughs in video game visuals, sound, and performance happening on PlayStation, Xbox, the most powerful PC setups, and more. If you’re a geek for graphics, GPUs, or just video games in general, DF Direct will help you get the most out of your gaming setup. DF Direct is a part of the Geek Media Podcast Network, an IGN Entertainment Brand. Visit Geek.com for more information.
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