Just Cause 4 isn’t the sort of game that’s going to win awards for visual fidelity alone. It’s fairly easy on the eye but it’s also not exactly leaps and bounds ahead of 2015’s Just Cause 3. Really we’re here for the jaw-dropping draw distances, roaring explosions, and hyperactive speed as Rico Rodriguez wingsuits, paraglides and grapples his way across a diverse island.
That said, there are definitely shades of quality and those planning on playing Just Cause 4 on Low graphics settings will be in for a markedly different experience than those gunning for Ultra.
Just Cause 4 Low v Ultra Graphics Comparison
(slide your cursor over the images to compare)
Okay, onwards! We’ll start with this pair of screenshots taken from an early portion of Just Cause 4. There’s a number of factors at play here which leads to far greater image quality in the Ultra pic. Shadows are clear, distinct, and more numerous on Ultra. Combined with Ambient Occlusion this creates a far more richly detailed image with a dense treeline. Texture Detail also helps add to the image, particularly on the struts holding up the roadside railings.
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This next pair tells a fairly similar story, albeit while soaring high with a parachute. Draw distance is admittedly impressive regardless of your graphics settings, although foliage pop-in is visible in Just Cause 4 when played at Low.
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And the next two images below demonstrate the frankly horrific water and reflection effects in Just Cause 4 should you turn your settings down. You could actually play Tetris with those blocky pixels. Ultra doesn't look fantastic but it looks a damn sight better.
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The vast majority of your time playing Just Cause 4 will be spent traversing its wilderness. On this front, foliage is plentiful, crisp and sharp on Ultra. It does still look okay on Low but the lack of Shadows, Ambient Occlusion and Antialiasing really does hurt the image. Ah, and if you click on the slider to expand the images you can get a good idea of the horrid aliasing that is present at 1080p resolution. Look at Rico's hard and beard, which shimmers during movement.
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And last but, well, least, a final screenshot to demonstrate it's not all bad for Just Cause 4 players playing on Low. Heading to certain areas such as these snowy mountains and Just Cause 4 can look practically the game no matter what graphics settings you've picked.
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