Product test
PS5 Pro review: for enthusiasts like myself
by Philipp Rüegg
The launch of the PS5 Pro is getting closer. These games will receive free upgrades for the launch of the new console.
Update from 6 November
You can read our review of the PS5 Pro in this article:
Sony publishes a list of 55 games that will receive a free upgrade at the launch of the new console shortly before the launch of the Playstation 5 Pro. These games are labelled PS5 Pro Enhanced in the Playstation Store. Further titles will be continuously supplied with updates after 7 November.
In addition to the expected first-party games from Sony, the launch line-up also includes some high-calibre titles from third-party publishers - including "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6", "Star Wars: Outlaws" and "Hogwart's Legacy".
According to Sony, the GPU of the new console is up to 45 per cent faster - this should enable the display of more detailed environments and character models. The console also offers improved performance with ray tracing effects and is said to enable higher resolutions without any loss of performance thanks to the in-house upscaling technology "Playstation Spectral Super Resolution" - PSSR for short.
The publishers and development studios of these games have already communicated the advantages of the PS5 Pro version. Below you will find all launch games with already revealed upgrades in alphabetical order. Where video material has already been published, I have embedded the corresponding videos.
Developer studio Remedy promises ray-tracing reflections for their horror adventure in Quality Mode, which were previously withheld from the PC version. The Performance Mode will run at 60 FPS as usual - but in 4K resolution and with similar graphical settings to the Quality Mode on the normal PS5.
The remake of the PS3 classic shines on the PS5 Pro with a Pro Mode. This runs at 60 FPS and also in 4K thanks to PSSR upscaling. Both original modes of the PS5 launch game are still included in the PS5 Pro version. The Cinematic Mode in the original ran at 30 FPS and 4K, while the Performance Mode ran at a lower resolution with 60 FPS. Digital Foundry has already been able to take a look at a demo:
Bioware's dragon RPG is not getting a new mode, but the existing modes are being pimped. Both the Fidelity Mode with 30 FPS and the Performance Mode with 60 FPS will run at a higher resolution. The latter will also receive Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion - a feature that was only available in Fidelity Mode on the PS5.
Capcom promises a generally higher frame rate for the PS5 Pro version of "Dragon's Dogma 2" thanks to PSSR upscaling and a better implementation of ray tracing effects. Digital Foundry has seen a demo and is not impressed with the result:
The racing game shines in the new Quality Mode with ray tracing for reflections, lighting and ambient occlusion during the races. In Performance Mode, 4K is available via PSSR upscaling in 120 frames per second - but without ray tracing. You can get an impression of the upgrades in the hands-on video from Digital Foundry:
The second part of the remake trilogy will according to Square Enix receive a new Enhanced Mode. This should combine the advantages of the old Performance Mode with the Graphics Mode. In other words: 60 FPS in 4K with PSSR upscaling.
The wizard adventure offers three modes: a Fidelity Mode with higher resolution ray tracing in 30 FPS, a Fidelity Mode without ray tracing in 30 FPS and a Performance Mode in 60 FPS. The latter should be reminiscent of the PS5's Fidelity Mode in terms of graphical quality. All modes benefit from a higher resolution thanks to PSSR.
Guerilla Games promises with the PS5 Pro update of "Horizon Forbidden West" exactly what Sony explained at the PS5 Pro presentation in September: A Quality Mode in 4K, running at 60 FPS. Apart from the resolution, the upgraded mode is also said to offer a range of other graphical environment details that were not possible on the PS5. It is exciting that the game does not make use of the PSSR upscaling technology, but instead relies on its own solution from the in-house Decima Engine.
The recently released remaster of the first "Horizon" game should according to Guerilla Games also score with similar graphical features as "Forbidden West".
"Lies of P" director Jiwon Choi promises that the Quality Mode will have a 30 per cent higher frame rate than on the normal PS5. In Performance Mode, there is now a native 4K resolution without upscaling.
The development studio Insomniac Games has given the spidery superhero a new Performance Pro Mode. This combines the 4K resolution and ray tracing of the old Fidelity Mode with the 60 FPS of the old Performance Mode.
See "Spider-Man 2"
See "Spider-Man 2"
The fourth game from Insomniac also receives the "Spider-Man" upgrade with a Performance Pro Mode.
For the survival horror classic Capcom is hinting at a "higher frame rate" with "more detailed environments". Exactly how this will be implemented in which modes is still unknown.
The eighth "Resident Evil" instalment will feature a mode that allows the game to run at 120 FPS. Considering that the game is a little older and has also been released on the PS4, this ambitious goal seems realistic.
Team Ninja confirms on X that their open-world samurai game will have "better frame rates" and "improved graphics". Let's hope that the annoying performance problems of the PS5 version can be eradicated.
Respawn Entertainment promises higher resolutions and better performance thanks to PSSR. The Quality Mode runs in 4K with 30 FPS. The Performance Mode runs at 60 FPS as usual, but now has ray tracing reflections and ambient occlusion - two features that were previously not available in Quality Mode.
The crazy action title from Korea is getting a new mode in which you can play the game in 4K with 50 FPS - thanks to PSSR. Also new is a HFR - High Frame Rate mode, which allows the game to run at 80 FPS.
The Hawaiian racing game promises a higher resolution with more details than before on the PS5 Pro thanks to PSSR. The game should run at a stable 60 FPS.
The more powerful GPU of the PS5 Pro enables according to Magnum Studio better lighting and more realistic shadows. Thanks to PSSR, the game should have a higher resolution and thanks to FSR 3.1 Frame Generation, "The First Descendant" should offer a higher frame rate.
The remake of Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic classic will receive a new PS5 Pro mode. This calculates the game in a 1440p resolution and upscales it to 4K via PSSR. This should allow the game to run at a stable 60 FPS. The old Performance and Fidelity modes are also included and should generally run more smoothly than on the old PS5.
The remaster of "Part II" receives the same upgrades as the remake of "Part I". Here you can get an impression of the new functions:
In addition to the games listed above, for which the publishers have already communicated specific improvements, these games will also receive an update for the launch of the PS5 Pro. It is not yet clear which specific improvements they will benefit from.
Editorial colleague Phil tested whether the new Sony console and the game updates actually deliver what they promise. You can read a detailed review of the PS5 Pro here:
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.