Avowed’s low frame rates but smooth-feeling gameplay makes me wonder if we PC gamers worry too much about the numbers

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Lately, I’ve been devoting a significant portion of my time to evaluating the performance of recently launched video games on diverse PC setups. Games like Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, Civilization 7, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and now Avowed have kept me occupied for hours on end, running tests repeatedly. The aim is to gather a comprehensive set of performance figures that offer insights into how these games perform across various hardware configurations. However, graphs and video footage don’t fully convey the whole picture because they can’t express how a game experiences while playing it.

In terms of Avowed, it’s quite significant since it generally offers a smooth sensation, although not consistently across all devices I tested. The performance doesn’t always align with expectations based on the numbers, but the overall experience is more pleasant than anticipated. For instance, when running it on my Ryzen 7 5700X3D and GeForce RTX 4070 setup, it achieves an average of 68 fps at 1440p with the High quality preset and no upscaling.

Quite good, wouldn’t you agree? It’s not outstanding, but certainly above average. However, the game has a low frame rate (fps) that drops below 60 fps in just 1% of instances, which is 34 fps. This is quite a noticeable difference from the average performance, especially in other games. But in Avowed, it runs exceptionally smoothly on this specific PC, feeling almost buttery smooth with those settings. Unfortunately, occasional traversal stutter slightly mars the experience.

I can’t help but ponder if we, as PC gamers, pay an excessive amount of attention to performance or the numerical aspects of it. Of course, this puts me in a bit of a predicament since my role is to evaluate products based on their performance metrics, numbers, and charts.

There’s a notable gap between the operation of hardware and video games, to be clear. Unlike hardware, one can’t physically sense how swiftly a game is performing by feeling it. Instead, it simply performs or fails to do so, and the only reliable way to confirm this is by running tests and observing the resulting figures.

However, when it comes to video games, particularly competitive ones that could potentially generate income for you, performance matters more. Even in those cases, though, as long as the game runs smoothly without hindering your ability to accomplish your objectives or enjoy the experience, its speed isn’t crucial, is it?

It’s important to note that what feels acceptable to me might not be for someone else when it comes to feelings, but I don’t believe this absolute subjectivity applies to video games. Given my unique situation of testing multiple games across various PCs, I can offer insight on the relative feel or quality of these games compared to others.

In many gaming conversations, players express their preference for games or hardware that run at 120 frames per second (fps), stating they’re uninterested otherwise. To be clear, I respect these viewpoints, but personally, frame rate doesn’t significantly impact my own gaming experience—I don’t even check it regularly, unlike when evaluating performance for reviews. For me, it’s all about launching the game, enjoying it as is, and then adjusting settings until it feels optimal to play.

In my analysis, Avowed truly stands out as an exemplary case. Similar to other games I evaluate, I dedicated a couple of hours to reach a stage where I could execute multiple test cycles to gather and average data. Interestingly, I continued playing beyond that point to explore potential optimizations, but whether or not I can do so depends on the available time. Eventually, after spending several hours navigating Avowed’s initial stages, I found myself impressed by its smooth performance, marveling at its efficiency.

Initially, I gathered performance data from all my testing systems, and I found myself a bit taken aback by the results. For instance, a 1% low of 34 frames per second (fps) was much lower than the average of 68 fps. Considering this difference, one would expect it to exhibit some choppiness, not quite stuttery but definitely rough. However, in Avowed, it feels just as rough. Intriguingly, it seems even more problematic when it runs excessively fast, if that clarifies things.

Instead of discarding performance charts altogether and delving into vague narratives about the gaming experience at 1080p Medium, it might be beneficial to pause the numerical analysis momentarily and read through everything first. This approach resembles waiting to look at a game’s review score until you’ve digested all the critic’s comments. Given that very few people are likely to follow this practice, it appears I’ll continue testing performance data for quite some time.

In my case, I think I’ll continue based on instinct. And while it’s an intriguing idea to develop a ‘feels-per-second’ measurement, it’s simply another numerical figure.

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2025-02-13 22:17