Players are putting those with high-end PCs can already replicate those effects in games optimized for those consoles. In this case, Ubisoft's open-world London provides the perfect ray tracing-ready window into the future.
Ray tracing is a high-end graphics technology that mimics real-life rays of light and renders out what they'd do in a virtual environment. For years, the tech has only really been feasible in PCs with high-end graphics cards, but both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will bring this new level of visual fidelity to the living room for the first time. In the case of Watch Dogs: Legion, the game will run in 4K with ray tracing at 30 frames per second, providing what Ubisoft promises is a smooth and cinematic experience. Even if players don't choose to play the whole game at a lower frame rate, it might be worth switching on just to see some truly amazing graphical feats.
Or, if Watch Dogs: Legion on a next-gen console is out of reach, players can sample what ray tracing technology brings to the table in footage circulating the Internet. Shared by Niklasgunner on Reddit, this quick comparison video shows a player on a flying drone, and activity common in the hacker's paradise of Ubisoft's new game. The player goes past a building with a mirrored wall full of hexagons, which can be seen in all its glory below:
With ray tracing disabled, the wall has a distinct sheen that still looks better than what current-gen consoles can muster, but it's nothing worth writing home about. With the ray tracing cranked up, the entire scene instantly becomes more realistic. The environment around the building distorts in the wall, and the reflection of the drone and the player shines back in triplicate when hovering into a corner. It's a small detail that someone wouldn't notice in the real world, but instantly brings the worlds of video games one step closer to either ultra-realism or heightened surrealism. It's really up to the developer at some point.
Much like other innovative technologies before it, it's hard to really get a grasp on the potential of something like ray tracing until a showcase like Watch Dogs: Legion hits the mainstream. This will be one of the first games a large group of players will experience that has this technology baked in from the word go, and it will inevitably move up the expectations regarding what players expect from a big-time release. Whether the constant need to outdo what came before is a good or bad thing is a talk for another time, but it's hard not to be excited about seeing what ray tracing can do going forward.
Watch Dogs: Legion is out now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Google Stadia, and PC. The game will come to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 at launch.
Source: Niklasgunner