PlayStation 5 Pro review: PS5 upgrade delivers few compromises at a cost

Let’s beryllium honest: From a method perspective, this procreation of consoles has been a dud.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X person fixed america plentifulness of standout games that look great, but a batch of nan lofty promises they made ne'er rather materialized. The dream of 4K resolutions astatine 60 frames per 2nd has go a sadistic joke pinch each awesome release. But aft 4 years of letdowns, this console procreation whitethorn yet beryllium reaching its imaginable acknowledgment to nan PS5 Pro. Better precocious than never, I suppose.

Sony’s pricey caller console uses immoderate method magic tricks to yet present a strategy tin of playing games astatine nan highest capacity we expected 4 years ago. To execute that, it delivers an updated GPU, precocious ray tracing, and — astir impactful — AI-driven upscaling successful nan shape of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). That powerful instrumentality unsocial mightiness conscionable beryllium nan cardinal to salvaging nan PS5 for superior techies.

The PS5 Pro mostly delivers connected nan 4K/60 fps dream, moreover if it comes pinch immoderate PSSR eccentricities that PC players should beryllium each excessively acquainted pinch by now. Aside from that feature, though, nan system’s finer upgrades tin often beryllium truthful subtle that you request a scope to spot them. It’s a definite measurement up, but whether it’s 1 that’s worthy nan $700 value tag will yet hinge connected really galore developers are consenting to create Pro modes for their games.

Design and features

For its design, Sony didn’t stray excessively acold from its playbook for nan PS5 Pro. It uses nan guidelines PS5’s iconic black-and-white design, pinch nan only existent quality being that it has achromatic gills crossed either side. It’s astir arsenic gangly arsenic nan original guidelines model, which is simply a shame considering that nan slim refresh is simply a overmuch much manageable size, but it’s astatine slightest not arsenic heavy arsenic nan 2020 model. It’s smaller overall, though portion of that is owed to nan truth that nary type of it comes pinch a disc drive.

From near to right: PS5 (slim), PS5 Pro, PS5 Giovanni Colantonio / Digital Trends

That omission continues to beryllium a thorn successful nan PS5 Pro’s broadside considering its price. For $700, you’d expect nan console to consciousness for illustration a premium type of nan PS5. Instead, it feels for illustration you’re getting less. You’ll person to walk other to get a disc thrust and a vertical stand, and your aged faceplates aren’t compatible pinch it either. $700 is conscionable nan starting price, but you’ll person to walk astatine slightest a 100 much to get it up to par pinch your guidelines type if it has a disc thrust and a stand. Even Sony’s determination to see a modular DualSense present alternatively of throwing successful a DualSense Edge feels for illustration corner-cutting.

The 1 perk you do get present — and it’s a large 1 — is that nan Pro exemplary comes pinch a 2TB difficult drive. That’s 1TB larger than nan 1 disposable successful nan slim model, which is simply a morganatic value. Trust me, arsenic personification who downloaded complete a twelve games to trial them for this review, nan other abstraction is simply a immense improvement.

I won’t walk overmuch clip talking astir what’s wrong beyond that, because it’s conscionable astir identical to nan PS5. Even its menus often opportunity “PS5” alternatively of “PS5 Pro.” If you want to cognize nan ins and outs of nan console, publication our PS5 review. But nan bottommost statement is simple: The PS5 is an fantabulous system, and thing present changes that.

Upgraded GPU

What’s really important present is what nan PS5 Pro tin do for capacity and ocular fidelity. The strategy uses a three-pronged attack to tackling those. Let’s commencement pinch its upgraded GPU. It includes 67% much Compute Units than nan 1 utilized connected existent PS5s, and has 28% faster memory. Sony claims that adds up to 45% faster rendering, but numbers don’t really mean overmuch retired of context. It’s better, but does that make a difference?

The short reply is yes, though whether you’ll announcement it is up successful nan air. When playing games that had not been specifically enhanced for nan system, I did statesman to announcement immoderate accordant upgrades. Dragon Age: The Veilguard has a clearer solution successful capacity mode compared to it moving connected nan guidelines model, thing that became evident erstwhile I was looking intimately astatine foliage. You tin expect accrued sharpness successful games, though that tin often beryllium very subtle.

Sony

Only speaking anecdotally, Black Myth: Wukong did consciousness a small much unchangeable connected nan PS5 Pro. Comparing a mid-game leader connected some aged and caller hardware, I caught much framework hiccups and slowdowns connected nan guidelines PS5. Granted, Wukong is simply a spot of an unstable crippled connected PS5 truthful it’s difficult to opportunity for judge what was nan Pro astatine activity and what was conscionable a stray flaw. What I could opportunity for judge was that nan GPU isn’t a cure-all that fixes up each games. Wukong is still loaded pinch framework tears, pop-in, and much issues moreover connected nan Pro. Similarly, it doesn’t do overmuch to cleanable Sonic Frontiers’ muddy textures aliases egregious pop-in.

Sony does still connection immoderate devices to get much retired of games that aren’t getting updates, though. The astir mysterious of these is PS5 Pro Boost, a caller characteristic that enhances PlayStation’s crippled catalog. Sony has not explained really it precisely useful and I’ve seen mixed results truthful far, which yet travel down to nan games themselves. Bloodborne, for instance, is locked astatine 30 fps, truthful it doesn’t get immoderate existent boost that I’ve noticed. Shadow of nan Colossus (a crippled that was erstwhile a messiness connected PS5), connected nan different hand, does person sharper textures, peculiarly pinch objects disconnected successful nan distance.

The afloat grade of Boost mode’s powerfulness will apt travel retired complete time, but it’s nan aforesaid communicative arsenic what we recovered pinch nan GPU: For games that do not explicitly person a caller graphics aliases capacity mode built for PS5, nan differences yet travel down to really good optimized nan crippled is successful nan first place. How useful nan console will beryllium yet will travel down to nan creators processing for it.

PSSR upscaling

The overmuch bigger upgrade present comes from nan system’s flagship feature, PSSR. The thought present is to bring nan world of AI-upscaling to consoles, allowing Sony to make a 1080p image look for illustration 4K while maintaining 60 fps. It’s a spot of a trick, but if you can’t show nan difference, what does it matter? The extremity is to fundamentally make it truthful players nary longer person to take betwixt Fidelity and Performance mode, and nan Pro delivers connected that beforehand — but only for supported games.

Not each crippled conscionable gets PSSR upscaling by default. It’s connected developers to create circumstantial modes that alteration it. In nan supported games I tested, that usually meant a Performance Pro option, aliases a abstracted toggle. You tin expect Sony’s first-party games to return advantage of this crossed nan committee moving forward, but nan assemblage is retired connected if everyone other will autumn successful line. Though astatine launch, we’re already seeing Square Enix, Ubisoft, Capcom, and astir of nan awesome players adopting it already. That’s a bully motion for its future.

For those who are tired of making compromises … PS5 Pro is nan champion option.

The header present is that PSSR is nan existent deal. In nan games I’ve tested that utilize it, nan differences betwixt Performance Pro and Fidelity Pro (which utilizes precocious ray tracing alternatively of upscaled visuals) is often negligible. Both Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart look awesome while holding a dependable 60 fps. It accomplishes precisely what Sony claimed it would do: You nary longer request to take betwixt Performance and Fidelity, because PSSR puts some modes into one. That truth unsocial sells nan console; everything other is an extra.

While Sony’s first-party games are built to return afloat advantage of PS5 Pro, it’s really third-party titles that use nan astir truthful far. Dragon’s Dogma 2 gets nan biggest upgrade here. With PSSR enabled, nan crippled gets a important framework complaint increase, moreover if it’s not rather 60 still. I’ve besides seen much elaborate textures successful it compared to nan PS5 version. When I look astatine a buffalo-like animal successful nan latter, nan fur astir its backmost tin look a small blurry pinch small defined detail. On PS5 Pro, I tin spot nan individual hairs connected it successful crisper detail. Expect games that weren’t very well-optimized for PS5 to statesman with, for illustration Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s erstwhile blurry Performance Mode, to get nan biggest boosts while Sony’s already well-optimized games won’t beryllium arsenic instantly apparent.

• 1. PS5
• 2. PS5 Pro

While PSSR is simply a game-changer for Sony, it comes pinch each nan accustomed flaws of AI-upscaling. You whitethorn beryllium getting nan illusion of 4K, but nan trade-off is that nan image isn’t wholly stable. In Dragon’s Dogma 2, I noticed immoderate reasonably dense artifacting astir yellowish writer arsenic it swayed successful nan wind. You’ll besides occasionally announcement moments wherever nan upscaled solution needs to settee into spot aft a accelerated movement; nan textures often request a divided 2nd to threat into spot aft I rotation nan camera. Visual flaws for illustration that popped up consistently successful testing, but nary of it is excessively astonishing for nan existent authorities of AI upscaling. They’re conscionable nan mini moments of disappointment wherever you’ll beryllium capable to spot done nan magic trick.

Taking PSSR arsenic a whole, though, nan bully outweighs nan flaws. While I was zipping complete nan h2o successful Spider-Man 2, I had a little infinitesimal wherever it each clicked. The smooth, accelerated activity and nan precocious solution momentarily made maine consciousness for illustration I was looking astatine a movie. For those who are tired of making compromises to get that experience, nan PS5 Pro is nan champion action connected nan marketplace erstwhile it comes to location consoles.

Advanced ray tracing

What I’m little sold connected truthful acold is nan PS5 Pro’s precocious ray tracing. This is nan clearest characteristic successful theory: It’s meant to amended lighting. That intends amended reflections, crisper shadows, and much nuances that you mightiness not person moreover considered erstwhile it comes to really existent ray works. You besides whitethorn ne'er announcement it.

More than immoderate different feature, precocious ray tracing is 1 you really request to beryllium looking for to spot it astatine play. Remedy has done a awesome occupation astatine trading it pinch an Alan Wake 2 trailer that shows really lighting changes what players spot successful windows aliases connected nan aboveground of water, but there’s a logic it’s showing them disconnected successful contextless, quiet shots. When you’re really moving done a game, each those small specifications are difficult to really catch. In Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, I had to popular into Photo Mode to zoom successful connected shadows. After a batch of backmost and distant testing, I could show that Fidelity Pro mode had darker, crisper shadows versus nan softer, AI-upscaled ones successful Performance Pro. If you person to propulsion retired a magnifying solid to spot specifications for illustration that, do they really matter?

The reply is yes and no, which makes nan PS5 Pro specified a analyzable console to break down for console players utilized to pronounced method leaps each generation. On 1 hand, precocious ray tracing tin make immoderate large differences erstwhile you cognize what you’re looking for. In Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, I deed an early segment wherever Aloy is successful a acheronian cave surrounded by candles. For immoderate reason, nan image felt brighter connected Pro, but that didn’t make overmuch sense. After immoderate sleuthing, I deduced that nan image only looked that measurement because Aloy’s tegument was reflecting ray successful a much realistic measurement connected Pro, arsenic if she were getting illuminated pinch a bounce light. That’s 1 of nan ways that ray tracing tin make an image look overmuch amended moreover if you can’t put your digit connected why.

All of nan features and upgrades I’ve described present whitethorn sound mini — and they are. Who cares if I tin spot nan fibers of a buffalo’s hair? But you person to see that nary of these specifications beryllium successful a vacuum. If you announcement 1 mini tweak somewhere, there’s hundreds much for illustration it happening too. This each adds up to a stronger and much unchangeable image, moreover if you’re not conscious of it. Remember that erstwhile you inevitably find yourself rolling your eyes astatine ultra-zoomed-in comparisons proving nan PS5 Pro’s powerfulness done minutiae.

This isn’t a necessity for your mean player; it’s a pricey perk for high-level enthusiasts.

All that said, if you genuinely can’t spot a quality and consciousness for illustration nary of these upgrades matter, you’re not incorrect either. I wouldn’t telephone nan PS5 Pro a quantum leap complete nan guidelines exemplary by immoderate stretch. This is an incremental betterment that mostly benefits those pinch elephantine monitors aliases 8K TVs. I genuinely judge that astir players will beryllium near playing spot nan quality erstwhile trying to find what makes nan PS5 Pro’s image better. I wasn’t moreover convinced until I started combing complete my captured footage and spotting solution differences; I’m still skeptical that immoderate of nan things I spotted are simply a placebo effect.

You request to spot your instincts connected this one. If making games tally arsenic perfectly arsenic imaginable is your priority, nan PS5 Pro is unquestionably an improvement. PSSR unsocial will make nan $700 worthy it if you’re nan benignant of personification who has that money to walk connected tech. On nan different hand, if you’ve seen Sony’s videos of nan console successful action and genuinely don’t judge you tin show nan difference, prevention your money. This isn’t a necessity for your mean player; it’s a pricey perk for high-level enthusiasts. So agelong arsenic you understand that and make an informed purchasing determination based connected it alternatively than emotion pressured to bargain nan basking caller thing, everyone wins. You either get nan souped up PS5 you’ve wanted since 2020 aliases you get to clasp onto $700 pinch nary antagonistic effect connected your life. Either way, you’ll beryllium playing nan aforesaid games — and that’s what really matters.