Scenes that look perfectly fine with traditional shadow maps look so much better with ray traced shadows enabled: soft and diffuse at distance, ultra-sharp close up, just as they should be. In terms of overall effectiveness, RT shadows are often overlooked, but the effect in Cold War is exceptional, almost as if the game's art designs are built around the technology. That stars with ray traced shadows, which - as the video below demonstrates - replace the baked shadow maps enjoyed in the other versions of the game. Let's kick off by digging into the features that separate Series X and PS5 from all of the other versions. Microsoft's pint-sized new console - the Series S - is also impressive enough, but appears to lack the signature next-gen features its more expensive counterparts deliver. The premium machines also benefit from two key features: 120Hz and ray traced shadows, both of which are transformative to the experience. Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War manages the cross-gen transition gracefully, delivering excellent performance whether you're gaming on PS5 or Xbox Series consoles.

Call of duty cold war ps4 on ps5