PS5 Pro - The Game Assessments - Part 4
For anyone who might be considering dropping the $1199 AUD required to pick up a PS5, you’re going to want to know that the purchase is justified. Well for all that there are numerous technical upgrades present with the console, you also need the software to support those additions. I’ve been checking out 20 different PS5 titles, all now with Pro support, to share the changes that I’ve noticed and hopefully help you to decide whether the console upgrade is worth it. Here’s today’s line-up of titles
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
I was surprisingly in mixed minds about the work done to Rift Apart. Certainly post-launch the game lost some of its sheen as we came to learn about the actual nature of the rifts that supposedly, but the various pro additions shifted the balance of the game in ways that I didn’t adore. Fidelity Pro targets 30FPS allowing for wonderfully realised ray-tracing and other graphical wonders, with plays given the ability to tune everything to their preference. The game looked gorgeous but the drop to 30FPS was disappointing given my previous experience. Performance Pro provided all the improvements you would want to see, holding strong at 60FPS despite some visual improvements, however I felt like some scenes, notably at the games’ introduction where massive crowds are present were less densely populated that before to allow for the improved visuals with the higher framerate. For anyone new to the game, you’re going to be fine, but as someone who has played it before, this was slightly deflating.
Until Dawn
The original PS5 version of the Until Dawn remake was unusually lacking in fidelity and performance modes, but the latest update brings that to all players now. Not sure why it wasn’t there to begin with, however, it’s there now. Disappointingly, there was an opportunity here to launch a PS5 Pro specific balanced option where you can get elements of the best of both worlds – they didn’t do that and so, much like the initial PS5 release of last month, I’m left here wondering why.
Alan Wake 2
Some console firsts are coming to Alan Wake 2 with this Pro update, namely the addition of a Pro Quality Mode and a Pro Performance Mode. In Quality, Alan Wake 2 is now locked at 30FPS but ray tracing effects have been added, while the game now outputs in 4K. As for Performance, the base PS5’s Quality Mode is now the baseline for Pro Performance, while the game now hits 60FPS and 4K, although the render resolution is lower than what is available in Pro Quality Mode. I’d only recently returned to Alan Wake 2 for The Lakehouse, so it was fresh in my mind, and the improvements were immediately noticeable. You love to see it.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Patch 1.4 of Resident Evil 4 Remake brings wiht it a range of fantastic updates to what is many games’ favourite game of 2023. Essentially the Resolution and Performancce modes of the original release are now beefier than they were before, locking in at 4K resolution and 60FPS, with the ability to unlock the framerate and toffle on all the extras, from the hair stand physics, to raytracing, Resolution and still hold strong at above 60FPS. Deciding not to activate those additions allows the game to crank the performance up to 100FPS! There’s no doubt in my mind that with this Pro update, there is now no better way (on console at least) to play this classic game.
That concludes our Day 4 look at the various games to have received PS5 Pro upgrades. Tune in across the week for another day worth of looks at various updated PS5 games. Have some titles you want me to check out? Reach out via social media to let us know what games you’d like a report on
