Engine, Technology, and Asset Enhancements
- Ray Tracing, including Ray Traced Global Illumination and Ray Traced Ambient Occlusions
- FSR 2 and DLSS 3
- Dynamic resolution scaling
- Screen space reflections still used for water, improved and expanded to other materials
- Higher quality textures (courtesy of HD Reworked modification)
- Higher foliage density and rendering distance
- Higher level of detail scaling
- Higher quality environmental meshes (eg: cobblestone in Novigrad now 3D, not a normal map)
- Improved asset streaming
- Further draw distance (eg: rendering of smoke from distant villages)
- New weather conditions
- Reduced stutter in cutscenes
- Bug fixes
- Ultra+ setting tools for PC (not presets, but a set features to tinker with to extend rendering distance, background character detail, assets, LOD, etc further)
Console Specifics
- 30fps Ray Tracing Quality mode, 60fps Performance mode
- Ray Traced Global Illumination and Ambient Occlusions used in Quality mode
- FSR 2 and dynamic resolution scaling used to maintain target framreates
- PlayStation 5 haptics and adaptive triggers used for sword impacts, spell casting, etc
Gameplay and Features
- Photo mode
- New optional camera, closer and to the side (can be toggled and set for different states, eg exploring, combat, riding, etc)
- Quick casting of signs by holding shoulder button and pressing assigned buttons, to prevent having to go through radial menu
- Map filters to remove clutter, such as points of interest and Skellige caches, for cleaner presentation
- New control options, such as enabling Geralt's spring via control stick tilt, not a button
- Hybrid/dynamic hud and minimap options, such as hiding quest markers in general gameplay, viewed when tapping focus mode
- Subtitle scaling
- Quest fixes
- Cutscene pausing
- Chinese (simplified) dubbing, fully voiced
- Improvements to other languages
- New short quest with returning actors (eg: Geralt) for Netflix content, to unlock Geralt's armour and swords from Season 1 and Season 2
- New optional outfits for Dandelion and Nilfgaard armour, togglable via menu
- Cross saves between platforms (eg: take old save from PC, buy game on PS5, import and continue save from there)
- Additional 'surprises', quality of life features, mod integration, etc