[Update] The early PlayStation 5 Pro analysis from Digital Foundry is now available publicly. You can now watch it below.
[Original Story] The PlayStation 5 Pro is going to bring visual and performance improvements to games even without patching, although some games will benefit more than others from the console's improved specs.
In the latest episode of their Weekly podcast, which is currently only available to Patreon supporters, the tech experts at Digital Foundry analyzed a high-quality version of the console's announcement video, revealing some interesting details on each of the shown games, as reported on X by @JMaine518. First-party games such as The Last of Us Part 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart see increased image quality and more stable performance thanks to the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution scaler. Another first part game, Horizon Forbidden West, runs with higher detail, but the resolution didn't look 4K, so it was probably not using PSSR. Speaking about Gran Turismo 7, Digital Foundry revealed how the game runs at a lower resolution (1188p) than on the base model, upscaled to 4K with PSSR on PS5 Pro and at native 4K without ray tracing.
When it comes to third-party games running on PlayStation 5 Pro, it seems like the console's increased power isn't enough to address the low base resolution some of these games run at. Alan Wake 2, for example, at the two shown modes, targeting 60 and 30 FPS respectively, runs at the same resolutions it does on the base model, 846p and 1260p, although PSSR is presumably used in place of AMD FSR 2. The 30 FPS mode could also feature ray tracing, while the 60 FPS mode features screen-space reflections.
Hogwarts Legacy is a step up over the base model, featuring ray-traced reflections and possibly even ray-traced shadows mixed with screen-space reflections. Interestingly, one game that could see a massive performance improvement on PlayStation 5 Pro is Dragon's Dogma 2, which looked to be running at 60 FPS, possibly with PSSR. Assassin's Creed Shadows also seemed to run at 60 FPS but at a low 846p resolution, presumably upscaled to a higher resolution using PSSR.
Notes from the Digital Foundry Direct Weekly #180 - PS5 Pro Breakdown
The Last of Part 2 - 1440p internal resolution at 60fps in this PS5 Pro Mode (same as PS5 Performance Mode) with improved image quality due to PSSR
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Between 1440p and 1800p…
— King J 🤴🏿 (@JMaine518) September 15, 2024
Judging from this early analysis, it really seems like the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution upscaler will be the true game changer Digital Foundry thinks it will be. The other two pillars of the PlayStation 5 Pro, while important, look like they won't be as impactful as the AI-driven upscaler.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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