For more than 25 years, Sony’s PlayStation has been synonymous with gaming. It’s given players experiences like God of War, The Last of Us, and Final Fantasy VII alongside technological innovations from CD-ROMs all the way up to 4K, VR, and cloud gaming. There have even been attempts at portable gaming with the PSP and Vita. Across multiple generations the company has been a pioneer, starting with the original PlayStation and continuing with the PS5.
The just-released PS5 Pro (here’s my review!) has a bunch of ways to amp visuals. But since Sony says most people prefer 60fps, we’re comparing the 2020 PS5’s 60fps “Performance” modes, and the new “Performance Pro” modes that give you higher detail at the same 60fps target. Plus Bloodborne for PS4.
Hopefully Meta doesn’t compress the video too much!
Need I say more? If you’re determined to hear every little morsel about Sony’s upgraded console and a thorough breakdown of which games benefit most from the added GPU horsepower and PSSR upscaling, here you go. No one does it quite like the folks at Digital Foundry.
8
Verge Score
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is out today on PC and PS5, but like previous games in the series, its release has been overshadowed the launch of another, more anticipated game. Horizon’s original release in 2017 got obliterated by Breath of the Wild. Then, Horizon Forbidden West launched the same week as Elden Ring. This time, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, also launching today, is the specter looming on Horizon’s shoulder.
PlayStation has revealed the trailer for Death Note Killer Within... and it’s basically an Among Us-style social deduction game. Instead of hunting for the “imposter,” L’s team must try to find Kira.
Insomniac has released patches adding PS5 Pro support to Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and both updates add new “performance pro” and “fidelity pro” graphics modes and toggles for ray tracing. The studio didn’t share screenshots or video alongside the updates, so we’ll have to wait and see if the improved graphics are worth the cost.
[Insomniac Games Support]
Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment shared details of the game’s enhancements for the PS5 Pro. As shown in a video, reflections in Quality Mode look seriously impressive.
The game will also be getting an “Anniversary Update” on October 22nd, the same day as the launch of The Lake House DLC, that adds quality-of-life features and some great accessibility settings.
Remember the Dbrand Darkplates that pissed off Sony and eventually let you make your PS5 retro-translucent? You can now buy a $60 black version for PS5 Slim that unifies the original split panels — and for $70, it’ll come with a self-aligning magnetic stand.
Stand doesn’t work without panels; panels don’t work with Sony’s tiny stand.
The Go! Explore PSP GPS accessory for directions still works today, and even looks surprisingly modern, as Jon Cartwright shows in this Good Vibes Gaming video. He says it worked well.
But also, I never knew that Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops had a GPS feature! I miss that era of Sony.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, because that era of 3D platformers haven’t necessarily aged well — but I’m feeling some nostalgia well up anyhow! The three-game Tomb Raider collection is coming February (trailer below), while Jedi Power Battles (trailer here) is coming January.
As Reddit, Push Square, and others are pointing out, the very good 2022 game is suddenly sporting a “PS5 Pro Enhanced” badge. Sony hasn’t yet confirmed a patch, nor do we have details on how the game might get enhanced.
As reported by friend of The Verge Cameron Faulkner for Polygon, the refurbished consoles, revealed last month, are now on sale. A digital PS5 costs $349.99 (half the price of a PS5 Pro!) while the model with a disc drive costs $399.99.
Grab the game and any DLC you might want before they go away on October 31st, 2024. If you already own the game and any content for it, you’ll still be able access that after everything is delisted.
Sony shut down the game’s servers earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the original game has been delisted on Steam, Polygon writes. (You can still get it in a bundle with the remaster, which requires you to link a PSN account.)
Sony introduced the same requirement for God of War: Ragnarök earlier this year, and unlike with Helldivers 2, it hasn’t taken that decision back.
Rise of the Ronin, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, The Last of Us Part I, Spider-Man Remastered and Spider-Man Miles Morales. If I’m counting right, we’re up to 25 confirmed games.
Sony revealed the new ones in this monster blog post where developers also discuss what you can expect from the patches. We’ve also got a whole hands-on PS5 Pro preview about that!
Here’s what to expect from PS5 Pro Enhanced games.
Alan Wake 2 was already the scariest game I have ever played, and the new trailer for the second DLC expansion, The Lake House, looks even scarier. (Warning: there’s a jump scare.)
Alan Wake 2 was also one of my favorite games I’ve ever played, so I’ll almost certainly be facing my fears when the expansion comes out in October.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on February 28th, 2025, Capcom announced today. While the game got a new trailer during PlayStation’s State of Play, it will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC.
During today’s State of Play, Stellar Blade is getting a long-awaited photo mode, enhancements for the PS5 Pro, and its soundtrack will be available on a streaming platform near you. Speaking of... Sony also announced that Eve will team up with another scantily clad android when the Stellar Blade x Nier Automata DLC launches sometime later this year.
While some of us regret our purchases, there was one token PSVR 2 game in Sony’s presentation today... and Hitman World of Assassination looks good! A bit bloody, fair warning. If I owned the headset, I’d probably buy it. More details here. It’s coming December as a $10 upgrade for the base flatscreen game.
