State of Decay 2 Looks Better on Xbox One X, But Runs Worse

Undead Labs and Microsoft's open-world zombie survival game State of Decay 2 looks better on the Xbox One X than the basic Xbox One or Xbox One S, thanks to its technical superpowers. However, while zombie head popping and the way shadows dance off the big ol' body of a Juggernaut looks best on Microsoft's premium console, the game notably doesn't run as well as it does on inferior hardware.

As you may know State of Decay 2 isn't the prettiest game to release this generation. In fact, on the plain Xbox One it almost looks like a last-gen game. However, on the Xbox One X it looks considerably better, with less pop-in, improved lighting, and more.

Further, issues that plague the game on non-X hardware -- such as motion blur, a variety of pop-in, and grainy textures -- don't impact the souped-up console. The Xbox One X version also comes with upgrades, such as denser foliage, higher poly character models, and better draw distance. In short, the game looks better on the Xbox One X, as you would expect from a Microsoft published game.

Performance is another story though. Both the Xbox One and X versions of the game come packing an unlocked frame-rate with no bottom 30fps cap. When you factor in the Xbox One X's various visual upgrades, the end product is a lower performance level. While the Xbox One S runs usually between 30fps to 45fps, the X version can slip into the high 20s. And because there is no performance mode in the game, if you're playing on the X, you're stuck with a worse frame-rate than perhaps your friend on a launch Xbox One. Basically, you're trading performance for visual upgrades, with no choice in the matter.

As Digital Foundry points out, this goes against Microsoft's own developer guidelines for developing on the Xbox One X, where the frame-rate should either be equal or higher.

It's worth pointing out that Undead Labs – with further support for the Xbox One X version – could remedy the issue of inferior frame-rate, but at the moment of writing this, it hasn't.

State of Decay 2 is available on Xbox One and PC. For a more in-depth technical analysis of the title -- which surpassed one million players in just two days on the market -- be sure to check out the Eurogamer article linked below.

Source: Eurogamer