Thanks to a single software update, the PlayStation 5 Pro is now a much better console than it was at launch in 2024. How much better will depend on the games you’re playing, whether those games support the latest software, and if you can spot infinitesimal variations in visual quality.
Since 2020, we’ve been hoping to find a current-generation console that makes good on Sony and Xbox’s original promise of playing games at 4K and 60 fps with ray tracing enabled. The glory of real-time lighting simulations always seemed just out of our grasp. The PS5 Pro promised more horsepower to achieve high-fidelity graphics and smooth responsiveness. It just wasn’t the huge graphics uplift that made it worth spending even more money. After Sony hiked the price in 2025, the PS5 Pro now costs $750. That’s without the additional $80 disc drive.
The aging PS5 hardware was never going to be enough on its own. Sony’s rejuvenated PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which we’ll refer to as PSSR 2, manages to enhance visual quality for a select few of the prettiest games available on the console. At the same time, the upscaler won’t offer such a radical improvement in image quality outside of a modicum of premiere titles.
Resident Evil Requiem is the star of the show
Left, Resident Evil Requiem on PS5 Pro with ray tracing enabled ; right, the game on a base PS5. © Capcom; Screenshots by Gizmodo
Since the PS5’s launch, Sony has worked hand-in-hand with AMD to craft novel upscaling technology. While AMD has pushed its own FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), now FSR Redstone, specifically for its latest Radeon RX 90-series GPUs, PlayStation has been working to update its own PSSR upscaler. This software takes games running at a lower resolution and uses AI to fill in the pixels to make an image appear like it’s running at a higher resolution.
Upscalers also usually run games at a higher frame rate, though it also introduces some graphical issues. The original PS5 ran on AMD’s older hardware-agnostic FSR. A hardware-specific upscaler has proved much better for offering cleaner visuals. The PS5 Pro was already running an earlier version of PSSR, but the new version brings in some FSR 4 capabilities to enhance the existing software.
Left, Resident Evil Requiem on PS5 Pro without ray tracing; right, the game running with ray tracing. © Capcom; screenshot by Gizmodo
The first title to promote the new PSSR capabilities is Resident Evil Requiem. While the regular PS5 version doesn’t support ray tracing, the PS5 Pro version does. In the game’s moody opening sequence, where protagonist Grace Ashcroft walks down rain-slicked streets, you can see headlights dancing off the wet sidewalk and pedestrians’ soaked umbrellas. With the game’s ray tracing setting turned off, you lose many of the shadows and reflections that help set the game’s mood.
Resident Evil Requiem doesn’t look terrible on a regular PS5. It just looks many times better on the PS5 Pro.
Some games were revitalized for PSSR 2
PlayStation promoted several other games that actively incorporated the improved PSSR 2 into the experience. Titles like Alan Wake 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. These titles are not adding any new graphics settings or adding ray tracing where it wasn’t available before. Instead, they’re improving frame rate stability, enhancing subtle particle effects, and making the game look better when characters are in motion.
And that’s for the games that have been reconfigured with PSSR 2 in mind. Sony already lists many other titles that are “Enhanced” for PS5 Pro. Those games already support extra “Pro”-level graphics settings. Some games, like Horizon: Forbidden West, may have three separate PS5 Pro-specific graphics presets. Another title like Star Wars: Jedi Survivor will have the same “Fidelity” and “Performance” graphics settings as the regular PS5.
You can brute force PSSR 2 into these PS5 Pro Enhanced games. The latest system update does. Users who dive into the console settings menu and then scroll down to Screen and Video, and then Video Output, will find the option for “Enhance PSSR Image Quality.“
Some games look marginally better with PSSR 2
I tested these settings in a range of games on both an 86-inch IPS LCD TV and a high-end 32-inch QD-OLED monitor. Depending on the screen’s PPI (pixels per inch), you may not see nearly as much of an impact in game visuals with this setting turned on.
Left, Ghost of Yōtei running without the PSSR setting; right, the game running with enhanced PSSR enabled. © Sony Interactive Entertainment / Screenshots by Gizmodo
Let’s run through a few examples. Ghost of Yōtei with the PSSR 2 setting enabled didn’t so much change the quality of characters in the foreground even when running on the game’s “Ray Tracing Pro” graphics mode. The most important distinction is that far-off trees don’t have nearly as much of a blurred, hazing effect as with PSSR 2 mode turned off. The same goes for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Fine details in the distance seem slightly sharper running on “Fidelity Pro” mode.
And still, you could run through some games with a fine-toothed comb and not spot any differences in lighting or visual quality. Star Wars Jedi Survivor running on “Fidelity Mode” doesn’t change the visual experience to any degree I could see. As far as performance, the PSSR update may not change much for most games. Other games may not see any impact at all. Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West uses its own form of upscaling outside of PSSR to enhance game visuals.
Left, Spider-Man 2 running without the updated PSSR; right, the game running with the updated PSSR. © Sony Interactive Entertainment; Screenshots by Gizmodo
There are certainly titles I haven’t tested that may feature more of a graphical boost with the PSSR update. However, it’s clear that only those games reconfigured with PSSR 2 in mind will receive the lion’s share of benefits. There are a few future titles, like Crimson Desert, that should support the new upscaler. Other existing games, like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Shadows, will also receive future patches. We may see more games integrate these features in the future.
The PS5 Pro is the best, most piecemeal console
Gamers who demand the best visual experience should feel safe leaving the “Enhance PSSR Image Quality” setting turned on. This is a more piecemeal gaming experience than what you can normally find on consoles. If fine-tuning graphics modes isn’t your cup of tea, you can feel safe sticking to a cheaper PS5.
Not only are PlayStation titles split between those built with PS5 Pro in mind and those that aren’t, but there are even more games that don’t take full advantage of the latest upscaling technology. With the rumored PlayStation 6 likely not coming until 2028 at the earliest, in part due to the ongoing RAM shortage, the PS5 Pro may now be your best bet for high-fidelity gaming without paying out the nose for a gaming-ready PC.
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