After all, The Witcher 3 launched in 2015, and still holds up pretty well by today’s standards. But CD Projekt RED is aiming higher with the remaster, essentially making it so that you won’t want to go back to the original. How much of that will apply to the visuals, especially after the Next-Gen Update from 2022 brought the game up to a pretty strong standard? Let’s find out, but first, it’s important to ask…

How Much Further Can It Go?

Four years ago, the Next-Gen Update was all the rage for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and not just because it brought native Xbox Series X/S and PS5 support. It introduced ray-traced global illumination and ambient occlusion, and the PC version pushed it further with optional ray-traced reflections and shadows. Improvements abounded for vegetation, water and meshes; sky textures were updated and looked far more vibrant (barring the new “Grey Sky” weather type that lent a more fitting overcast atmosphere at times); and several character textures were upscaled to 4K, besides receiving high-resolution self-shadowing (albeit only in cutscenes). And that’s not even getting into the new Ultra+ setting on PC, which offered significant upgrades for details, terrain quality, foliage density – even the number of background characters.

However, a lot can change in four years. The Next-Gen Update leveraged FSR 2.1 and DLSS 3 at launch – by comparison, the remaster features DLSS 4.5, FSR 4, and XeSS 2.0 support alongside Ray Reconstruction. There’s also Path Tracing, a rework to global lighting, subsurface scattering – the list goes on. So while the Next-Gen Update is certainly a high bar, the remaster proves that there’s room to grow.

Lighting and Atmosphere

And that’s immediately noticeable through the lighting, especially in the flashback sequence in Kaer Morhen. It’s warmer than the Next-Gen Update, with softer shadows, and more natural-feeling illumination. GTAO shines spectacularly here, especially given the different types of objects and light sources in this scene. Of course, even if it’s a single light source in relative darkness, that warmth is all the more pronounced, illuminating Geralt’s model and the surrounding environment. I can see some preferring the harsher shadows in places with the Next-Gen Update, but the remaster is a notable step up without dramatically altering the mood of various scenes.

Ray-Traced Shadows and Reflections

Then there’s Path Tracing, perhaps the most stunning new addition. The Next-Gen Update’s implementation of ray tracing is pretty well-handled, but the remaster takes things to a whole new level. The clarity is more pronounced, even on surfaces which aren’t fully reflective, striking a balance between natural and more detailed. One particularly impressive detail is in Kaer Morhen, when Geralt steps out on the balcony, and it’s seamlessly reflected in the floor tiles. Let’s not forget about the shadows either, which appear to more naturally encompass objects, even in broad daylight.

Vegetation and World Density

That Kaer Morhen vista is more than just gorgeous skies and mountains, however – it’s also an exemplary showcase of vegetation in the world. As such, the amount of forestation is pretty significant in the Next-Gen Update, and while you’d need to compare them side by side to really grasp the remaster’s improvements, it certainly offers denser, richer landscapes. The comparison becomes starker when getting ready to venture through White Orchard after slaying the Necrophages. Distant foliage looks denser, but even the thinner trees and shrubbery nearby are fuller and more detailed, doubtless due to the rework to foliage shading.

Textures and Environmental Detail

While the texture work hasn’t massively changed (though several updates are noticeable), the lighting changes do a great job highlighting the details on armor, particularly the cracks and creases on Geralt’s chestplate and the worn-out leather. Even smaller objects like bread and cups reveal startling new details, though this can vary at times depending on the angle and shadows.

Draw Distance and Busy Scenes

With all this environmental detail in the remaster, you’d figure something has to give. The Witcher 3’s environments are dense, whether you’re gazing out at the landscape and seeing birds scatter over a treeline or traveling the Path and passing through fields and ruins. From that perspective, the draw distance certainly holds up, though there is some occasional pop-in when racing through at high speed. It’s noticeable at times, especially at longer ranges, but does little to disturb the overall composition, especially when admiring the picturesque landscape at a slower pace.

Character Models and Hair

All of the improvements certainly make characters stand out more, showing that the Next-Gen Update’s high-resolution textures still hold up. But the most notable new feature is Path Traced Hair. Have you ever wanted to see Geralt’s locks naturally shift around, or bounce realistically as he ventures through the land on horseback? Now’s your chance. It may sound like a joke, but the difference is palpable from the Next-Gen Update without feeling completely overdone, especially during regular conversations.

Weather, Water and Volumetric Effects

It’s readily apparent when viewing the mist at Kaer Morhen, but it feels more natural and alive, seamlessly sweeping over the landscape in the remaster, and looks superior to the Next-Gen Update. Of course, there are other things to consider, like the water and how it looks more realistic, especially with Path Tracing reflecting the nearby environment in staggering detail, even if its surface movement can appear more subtle at times. The weather can be as foreboding as ever, especially during thunderstorms, though once again, it may not be as shrouded in darkness due to the lighting changes.

Image Quality in Motion

It feels odd to say that this is the crispest that The Witcher 3 has ever looked, especially since the Next-Gen Update wasn’t particularly lacking in this regard. But it’s true. The combination of Path Tracing, lighting changes, subsurface scattering, and so on, alongside the previous high-resolution textures makes for gorgeous visuals that feel clean throughout, whether you’re stopping and admiring characters’ faces mid-conversation or engaged in combat and tumbling around, as Geralt is wont to do.

Visual Gains vs PC Performance

Our testing rig consists of an AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, an Nvidia RTX 5080, and 64GB of DDR5 RAM, and even at 4K on RT Ultra with everything set to Ultra+ – not including Path Tracing and Ray Reconstruction – we managed between 70 and 100 FPS. This is with Dynamic Frame Generation and DLAA enabled, though there is sometimes a slight hitch when opening menus. Obviously, these are very heavy settings, but the performance cost feels worth it considering the fidelity.

Does It Feel Like a True Remaster?

Based on everything that CD Projekt RED has put together, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Remastered feels like a proper remaster. Even with the Next-Gen Update putting in so much work when it comes to the textures on characters and environments, the addition of Path Tracing, the lighting overhaul, and much more makes it a clear leap. And with the low, low cost of “free,” at least for current owners, you can’t go wrong.

We’ve been blown away by the lighting, character models, animations, and all of the new world rendering that’s on offer in Dylan’s romp through Manhattan’s altered reality. It holds up really well across the board, and we put it through its paces on the PS5, PS5 Pro, and PC. Each version met its stated performance targets reliably, allowing the game’s impressive presentation to shine without major performance problems.

Let’s begin with how it measures up against Control before we head on over to each system that we ran it on.

Lighting

The original Control made excellent use of lighting to establish the Oldest House’s distinct visual identity. The glow of lights contrasted well with the darkness of the shadows to make every environment within the FBC headquarters feel very atmospheric and moody, working very well with whatever bizarre presence the game was throwing at you to draw your attention.

It was excellent yet unobtrusive, and a great way to set the tone of scenes that needed it. Well, Resonant carries that torch quite well when you’re indoors, using similar techniques but with a lot more polish thanks to a better implementation of ray tracing this time around. Rooms seem more naturally illuminated now, with lamps casting a gentle and convincing glow across nearby surfaces, while the shadows now look deeper and darker as a result.

Direct lighting, shadows, reflections, and volumetric effects work together convincingly, giving each scene greater depth and atmosphere. That only improves once you guide Dylan to Manhattan’s streets, the chaos and desolation of the Hiss taking over as an evident part of your surroundings.

Reflections appear across car windows and puddles, while light glints convincingly off metal and wet surfaces. Of course, the PS5 Pro and PC handle things a lot better than the PS5, with indoor environments looking especially better on the beefier systems thanks to better and more accurate reflections.

Overall, the lighting immediately sets up Resonant as an upgrade over its predecessor, and manages that without compromising on the surreal and often spectacular style that the first game established.

Character Models

The improvement is also evident in the character models, in both close-ups and dialogue sequences, thanks to better facial detailing, better skin and hair rendering, more detailed clothing materials that remain visually distinct under different lighting conditions, and just more complex models overall.

It’s more of a refinement of the good work already on offer in the previous game, but it’s tangible enough to make you appreciate the improvements.

Animation Improvements

That’s true of the facial animations as well, as well as movement animations that have been refined to support the new combat system.

They’re now faster, with shorter wind-ups and faster transitions between actions to suit the more melee- and traversal-focused gameplay loop that Dylan’s bringing. They’re also more fluid, with attacks, evasive manoeuvres, and traversal actions flowing so smoothly into one another that it makes Dylan feel quite responsive in your hands.

Excellent enemy reactions, environmental destruction, and ability effects strengthen the connection between Resonant’s gameplay and visual presentation. It makes for a very cohesive approach to presenting Dylan’s story while making you feel the new powers he commands.

All of these improvements are a good thing when you consider that the world he’s exploring is much bigger in size and scope than the Oldest House.

Excellent World Rendering

Resonant’s sheer environmental density and the expansive draw distances visible across its larger environments when the game allows it are, simply put, superb. There’s also so much geometric complexity and a lot of detail packed into intense scenes. You’ve probably already seen glimpses of the fight with The Artist, and we can tell you that it’s so captivating when you’re in control, you’re at risk of taking damage simply because you’re enthralled by what’s unfolding in front of you.

Particles float around streets where desolation underlines every step, while they also fly off Dylan’s weapons when they hit enemies or objects. In a game where reality itself is at the mercy of forces that Dylan must then learn to overcome, you can imagine that combat leaves visible damage across concrete, glass, metal, and other environmental surfaces.

It all shines through brilliantly, and the fact that the game maintains a clear image and keeps the action readable even with all this going on is a testament to how well it’s been optimized across platforms. Its rendering tech helps sell a world that feels unstable all around, which in turn feeds a sense of unpredictability as you engage with everything it throws at you in the process.

Resonant’s world is densely detailed and visually distinctive, and Dylan’s story benefits from that stronger sense of place. But how well does that world hold up under scrutiny across the platforms we’ve tried it out on?

The PS5 Vs. PS5 Pro

On the base PS5, a Quality Mode targeting 30fps at 2160p is joined by a Performance Mode aiming for 60fps at 1440p. FSR handles image reconstruction quite well, letting both modes hit their performance targets fairly reliably over time.

The PS5 Pro makes use of its additional muscle to offer Quality at ray-traced 2160p and 30fps, while Performance goes for 2160p and 60fps without ray tracing. A Balanced option goes for ray-traced 2160p at 40fps but needs a compatible 120Hz display. PSSR handles the image reconstruction, and once again, each mode held up quite well when it was tested.

Your personal preferences may vary, but the PS5 Pro’s Performance Mode was the one we stuck with thanks to how well it reliably maintains its 2160p output and 60fps target in a title where those frames matter.

The PS5 Pro’s ray-traced modes also produced more consistent lighting and reflections than the base PS5. On the base console, some effects could pop in or change abruptly, whereas the PS5 Pro handled these transitions more naturally.

We did see the merit in the Pro’s Balanced Mode as well, and it’s definitely a great middle ground for those of you who can live with the lower frame count. We’d also remind you that PSSR does generate a cleaner and more stable reconstructed image than the PS5’s FSR.

You’re still going to have a blast playing Resonant on the PS5, but the PS5 Pro brings ray tracing, improved image quality, and a superb compromise between Quality and Performance in its Balanced Mode. That makes it the version to beat, and a more flexible one to boot. And then there’s the PC version of the game.

A Beast On PC

We gave Control Resonant the respect it deserves, running it on a test system consisting of a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, an RTX 5080, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, with DLAA selected and DLSS enabled. That let us push a remarkably detailed list of graphical options to their highest possible settings, which we’re going to come back to in just a moment.

Performance reached up to 144fps, with even the lowest recorded figure remaining close to 100fps. That’s obviously a boon in a game with this one’s combat, but even exploring Manhattan can get fast-paced with sudden changes in direction or intense events that unfold almost dynamically as you go along. We didn’t encounter any noticeable shader-compilation stutter or significant frame-time spikes, even during demanding scenes.

That is an impressive result considering that every available setting was pushed to its maximum with DLAA active. Speaking of settings, there were ones for texture quality, shadows, reflections, volumetrics, effects, ray tracing, upscaling, and frame generation, among others- a comprehensive selection that should help players balance image quality and performance across different hardware configurations.

The PS5 Pro’s Quality Mode provides the closest console approximation of the maximum PC presentation, combining a 2160p output with ray tracing. However, the PC’s superior image quality, maximum settings, and 99-144fps performance make it the definitive version. Balanced Mode remains an excellent alternative for players willing to accept some visual compromises in exchange for a smoother 40fps target.

However, the PS5 Pro’s Quality and Balanced Modes do a good job of approximating what that high-end presentation would look like, and present it in a way that doesn’t compromise on the experience that’s on offer.

As it stands, Control Resonant is an excellent technical evolution over the previous game, with tangible advances across the board in lighting, animations, rendering, and the complexity of the environments it puts you in. It also meets its stated performance targets reliably across PS5, PS5 Pro, and PC.

On PS5 Pro, Performance Mode provides the smoothest experience, while Balanced Mode offers the best compromise between ray tracing and responsiveness. However, it’s the PC version with all of its settings at maximum that stands as the definitive version of the game.

But no matter where you play it, it’s an impressive continuation of the franchise’s distinct visual identity, and a genuine technological leap into a new chapter and whatever its future holds for Dylan and Jesse.

We’ve seen things, both good and bad, in the process, and we can safely say that the tech works very well to make an older title or one with splendid visual fidelity even better, making such titles look substantially more modern and more detailed. However, things get murkier the closer you look, and there’s always the performance cost that the magic it can work would bring.

Well, we put DLSS 5 to work on a beefy setup that includes a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, 64GB of 6000MHz DDR5 RAM, and a 5080 GPU. That gave us a lot of power to play with, and the tech some breathing room to operate in. There were bugs/oddities that are attributable to the mods too, but the experiment was enough to get a good grip on what works and what doesn’t with DLSS 5. Let’s dive right into the games, beginning with:

1. Cyberpunk 2077

A sprawling, first-person open-world title that boasted a lot of detail and some substantial demands on any system, it felt like an obvious choice for our experiment. Wanting to hang out with Johnny Silverhand again might have had something to do with it, of course, but Cyberpunk’s close and personal shots of NPCs you’re in a conversation with are perfect places to see DLSS 5 in action.

Well, that’s just what we did. Getting to the marked location on our map, with all of our settings tuned up to the max, was an already visually astounding experience to begin with, and you might not notice just how much DLSS 5 manages to smooth out details in the open world. We must mention its effect on the game’s lighting systems, though, as it does a great job of creating more natural, authentic reflections and gives a more authentic look to spots lit up by rays of light. However, getting to the meeting with our contact was where things got really interesting.

The dimly lit room with bright neons was a perfect place for the rendering to do what it did best, and it ironed out a lot of glare from a red light nearby, which was reflected quite unrealistically in the NPC’s eyes, while casting a weird glow on their face. Well, not with DLSS working in the background to balance things out, and the resulting image was not only cleaner, but more detailed.

The difference was tangible, with the textures on the man’s skin looking so much more realistic, the light gently glinting off pores in his skin, while his eyes still caught the light, but didn’t make him look like an unhinged maniac in the process. Materials on clothing and the like also got wrinkles and reflections to make what we were seeing look quite authentic indeed. It’s equally impressive that we were able to maintain a consistent 60fps at 4K with everything maxed out.

It’s easy to see why people are excited about what DLSS 5 can do after that hour in Night City. Of course, that was only the first stop on our journey with NVIDIA’s latest. We’re joining Naked Snake in a remake that brings out more of what the tech can manage to light.

2. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

Konami’s remake of the popular classic was already quite a looker to begin with. But turning DLSS 5 on and off in the game’s opening moments showcased a tangible difference between the original image and the new one. The clouds looked more detailed, while the sun’s rays glanced off the plane’s metal surfaces ever so gently with DLSS running in the background.

Inside the cockpit, Major Zero’s skin tone and face might have been too much of a deviation from the original for our taste, but it wasn’t too distracting to be an issue. Naked Snake’s dive from the plane benefited from the better lighting, although the software did behave quite strangely with the fake hair, its color often switching from an ashen-blonde to brown, so darn tangible. That issue solved itself once Snake peels off the mask he’s wearing to conceal his real face, but it does bear mentioning nonetheless.

The jungle you find yourself in benefits greatly from the enhancements that DLSS brings, no complaints there. But as far as Snake is concerned, we did think its enhancements came with the price of looking a tad too artificial. Konami’s meticulous detailing might not be necessarily enhanced by DLSS 5. Instead, it just looks different, and that’s a bit of a problem.

Snake does still look like Snake, yes, but his eyes seem strangely devoid of expression, an unfortunate side effect of the original game’s representation of an operative who is calm and collected at all times, his expressions never giving away what he’s thinking. We can’t safely say it was the case with DLSS running, though, as his face did look more realistic in terms of textures, skin, and hair, but felt strangely devoid of expression in his eyes.

It’s kind of like the effort to make him look more human kind of had the opposite effect, and while we think all of that can probably be ironed out by some optimizations, things were on the fence for DLSS in the game’s take on Russia. We’re off to Gotham City next, where Rocksteady’s deliberate stylization stands to clash with NVIDIA’s new neural rendering.

3. Batman: Arkham Knight

Here’s where things get interesting. We expected DLSS to have a lot to do in an older game, and Arkham Knight’s unique art style and the dark, gritty vibe that Rocksteady brought to it felt like a good choice to see how the tech performs in environments where the lighting isn’t as bright as the last two games we tested.

It turns out that DLSS 5 was surprisingly good at preserving Rocksteady’s original vision for what its characters should look like. The kind waitress from the game’s unforgettable opening looked quite similar to the original game’s rendition of her, although the tech did well to bring out stray strands in her messy bun and improve her reflection on the cafe’s polished floors as she walked on over to the kitchen.

But it’s when you stand on Gotham’s streets and turn it on that you see a kind of accidental remaster of what the game looks like. The lighting gets an instant, very welcome boost, with rays of light now falling softly on the concrete, lighting it up while the pitter-patter of rain becomes ever so slightly more tangible as a result.

This one’s a great showcase of how an older game stands to benefit from neural rendering, generating a better image while not replacing any of the original assets. It wouldn’t have been ideal if DLSS had changed Batman’s iconic jawline too much, or perhaps tried to make Gordon look like he’d just stepped out of a salon. Instead, it preserves that grimy look that most of the characters whose night has gone on too long have, while working its magic on the world around you to make Gotham look even more resplendent despite the grim situation it faces in the game.

We expected exaggerated materials and perhaps even skin thanks to how close the game likes to get to faces, but that was blissfully absent from the experience. However, we couldn’t stay in Gotham no matter how melancholically beautiful it looked, as we had one more stop with our superpowered rig: the Nora heartlands in Aloy’s debut adventure.

4. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

We’ve had a fairly good amount of praise for DLSS 5 so far, but this is where things get interesting, and where a few cracks begin to show in its armor. It does a good job of making Aloy’s whole world look more realistic, with better facial textures and more details in the world; there’s no doubt about it. However, as another relatively older title, it presents an interesting contrast to Arkham Knight.

It was evident from the very second we turned on DLSS 5 in this one, but it totally interferes with what Guerrilla originally envisioned the world to look like. It adds a sort of reddish hue to it all, sort of like the software decided that every minute of every day in-game was stuck in perpetual twilight, the reddish glow of the setting sun bathing the world in a color that was far removed from the original image.

Your returns with all the good things it does in Zero Dawn then become subjective, and quite hard to defend from anybody who argues that the tech can interfere with existing art styles that are deliberate choices from artists and developers. Greater realism doesn’t necessarily mean that the image is better looking in this case, and it’s the first loss for DLSS 5 in our testing. But we’ve been holding back. There’s another part of our experiment that we’ve saved for last, and it’s where the tech met its match!

5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

We saw what DLSS 5 could do with the remake of Snake Eater on a powerful system, but we wondered if it could do the same on a title that was a port of a PS3 game, and manage to make enough of a difference to matter. Additionally, we did our testing on a PC with significantly lower specs, with an RTX 3080Ti working with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 5950X powering it all.

As you can imagine, trying to run things in 4K with DLSS 5 on tore into our performance, with low framerates interfering with our ability to enjoy the experience. Going down to 1440p made the game playable, but it was at 1080p that we were able to get somewhat stable, consistent performance out of the game. There’s no denying that it did improve environmental details, character models, and lighting and shadows by a considerable margin, but at the cost of a significant nerf to resolutions as it worked behind the scenes to improve on textures and assets that were designed for an era long past.

It’s rather ironic that something called DLSS can demand a lower resolution, but Guns of the Patriots is a great example of how computationally expensive it can be, and how lower-specced systems struggle to make effective use of it.

The Intent Behind Good Performances

There you have it. We put DLSS 5 to work across a variety of games that were chosen to test out what it can do, across two vastly different systems. There are great things like how it immediately improves the lighting and details in environments and on character models, but what it does with a few faces might not be everybody’s cup of tea. Making deliberately stylized imagery more photorealistic might not be the best use of what it can do, and that’s an area that is definitely in need of improvement thanks to how vocal concerns about preservation of artistic visions currently are.

More details do not necessarily mean better graphics, too, and an important question to consider is whether graphical tech should simply reconstruct images to make them better, or attempt to reinterpret them with results that currently seem a tad too unpredictable for the tech to be called consistently good. There is a degree of subjectivity involved, and we must say that things looked really good when DLSS 5 worked as intended, but we can see how others might not like what it does with the images it works on.

We’d say that the tech is impressive, but its implementation is a mixed bag at the moment. We’d say that it needs to be more subtle about what it’s doing, its improvements being subtle enough to make a tangible difference to any scene without it completely switching things up in some cases. Developer control becomes more important than ever with software that threatens to override it from time to time. It’s important to remember that our results were via modded use of the software, and you should take a look at 2K27 to see what it looks like when developers take control of its output.

What it produces is more in line with NVIDIA’s claim that the software is guided by artists and developers, and you can see what Visual Concepts has done to ensure that it doesn’t overdo its job.

It’s why the results of our experiment were both exciting, thanks to what it could achieve in good hands, but equally concerning if it’s left to do its thing without some guidance from the people whose artistic visions it aims to enhance. It cannot become a universal solution to making things look realistic, and its implementation needs to focus on improving instead of replacing aspects of an image that an artist places in it with deliberation.

DLSS 5 adds details and makes games look better in most cases, but whether those improvements would be in line with what the developers of each experience intended is another story altogether. It’s only the beginning of the journey, but NVIDIA would do well to set a path to a more cautious use of its new tech if it‘s going to make it as awesome as what it has managed to achieve so far.

Of course, there is the PS5 Pro’s extra firepower, and the question of how much it improves the experience over its rather skinnier sibling. We’re diving into it all, claws out and roaring a challenge as we tell you all about what it feels like to watch Logan’s latest adventure unfold.

Let’s begin with all of the graphical modes on offer.

Graphical Modes

On the base PS5, Wolverine comes with a Fidelity Mode that runs the game at 30fps with an improved resolution for those among you who want the best possible visual fidelity from the game. However, we must note that the Performance Mode is no slouch, running the game at 60fps with ray tracing enabled. With only minor differences from the Fidelity mode in terms of the details we could see without actually stopping to look closer, we’d say that it’s a great default option to have.

It’s worth noting that performance was excellent across both options, with only minor frame drops that you really need to be looking for to catch. When you’re making your way through a level or tearing through enemies with your claws, these minor issues are not going to be a problem in the slightest.

Things get more interesting on the PS5 Pro, where both Fidelity and Performance Pro Modes retain the same frame rate targets as their PS5 counterparts, but with a higher rendering resolution and more visual effects. The Performance Pro mode is the highest possible performance you’re going to get out of the game, and with the improved resolution, anti-aliasing, and graphical enhancements that come with the Pro, it looks and runs like a charm.

Indeed, it does so well that we found ourselves gravitating to it since the Fidelity Mode’s cleaner image was only a slight improvement, and didn’t feel worth sacrificing the extra frames for considering how blindingly fast fights can unfold when this game gets going. We’re going to talk more about how the base PS5 and the PS5 Pro versions measure up against each other again, but it’s a good idea to get the ball rolling on all the good stuff that Insomniac has brought to Logan’s latest.

Character Models And Animation Quality

Let’s begin with how the cast looks and feels in action, beginning with the main man himself. Logan’s facial model is fantastic, conveying a gamut of emotions on a journey that pushes even him to his limits. The hair and clothing on his model and all of the other important cast members is phenomenal, and Sabertooth’s long, golden locks wave gently in the breeze, lending an ironic beauty to his grizzled visage.

We expected special attention to be paid to the costumes and uniforms that characters in such worlds tend to don to stand out, even more so since this was a game that required its visual identity to retain easy distinctions between friends and foes in battles where you only get a split second to decide where to point your claws. 

Of course, swinging those claws around, or using your battle momentum to unleash their destructive potential in efficient and spectacular ways is a pillar of the experience, and we’re happy to say that it looks as good as it feels. Wolverine feels agile in your hands, his ability to leap astounding distances between foes made believable by how the game handles those jumps. His claws connect with satisfying brutality, and the blood flows generously to make the entire experience feel as visceral to lend a sort of primal, feral ferocity to the combat.

Enemies respond with great realism to your attacks, and it’s all so fluid that it almost feels like the game is doing the heavy lifting for you, requiring only that you tell Logan whom to attack, and how. Unleash his claws in any given direction, and you’re going to see who it isn’t just enemies who respond well to the stimuli he provides.

Destruction, Physics and Environmental Detail

Wolverine is a violent romp through varied environments, the story taking Logan to many places with varying infrastructure laid out for him to make use of in a fight. Explosive barrels, electric containers, debris, breakable objects, and combat that’s appropriately reactive in a physical sense further drive home the sense of violence that Logan’s ferocious attacks are meant to invoke.

Watching the world break down in real time as Logan and his enemies duke it out made us marvel (pun intended) at how Insomniac has managed to make the entire experience feel so naturally reactive to Logan’s chaotic presence while managing to make the game perform as well as it has. You can see a lot of polish in how environments are detailed, and how those intricacies are actually tied into the gameplay in the form of interactions that you can take advantage of in clever ways.

It also helps that each environment comes with a lot of detail, and elements that are constantly interacting with graphical systems to present a clean image and a very dynamic one. There’s always something happening around you to improve the immersion, be it those gentle reflections off of glass panels on buildings, or how shadows and reflections move along, responding to light and movement in ways that look ever so natural.

This is a world that’s believable from start to finish, and Insomniac’s usual polish is on full display, made even better by a more controlled presentation that has facilitated some incredibly detailed stages for you to tear apart.

Lighting, Shadows, and Reflections

We touched upon this briefly in our analysis of the environments, but the lighting system on offer in Wolverine performs well enough to merit a closer look. It’s excellent across the board, rays of light gently glancing off the first things they touch, behaving as they should to make outdoor environments truly shine, while indoor ones are also great at conveying the intended mood for a scene.

The reflections are fantastic, as are the shadows, indicating the level of quality we’ve come to expect from Insomniac while lending Wolverine the cinematic quality it needs to stand tall as a PS5-exclusive release worth its salt. That ray tracing’s present across the board immediately lends the presentation a layer of quality that you’d otherwise have to compromise on if you were playing on a PS5, and we’re glad to see studios making use of the console as well as they are in recent times.

Cinematics

We’ve saved the best for last, as the game’s cutscenes are where all of what we’ve talked about come together, and also allow you to see just how good this game looks without the action forcing your attention in another direction. They come in so seamlessly from the gameplay and transition out the same way, the quality never once declining in a way that was distracting or out of place.

It’s where the game’s polish is on full display, and it’s evident in the facial animations, character details, the sparks that fly between metal surfaces straining against each other as Logan pits his claws against equally ferocious opponents, and in the way the game never really lets up on the intensity of its battles or in the quality of its presentation. The set-pieces you’re going to witness are simply spectacular, and are definitely going to stay with you long after you roll the credits on the adventure.

PS5 Vs. PS5 Pro

From what we’ve already said, it’s probably no surprise that the PS5 Pro version of Wolverine has obvious advantages over the base version. But that’s even before we consider Advanced Ray Tracing, which can give you a vastly superior experience on a compatible display. If you’re in possession of one that can take advantage of these features, you’re looking at an uncapped framerate that doesn’t just chug along but actually thrives when things get intense.

But it’s in these features and the higher rendering resolutions that the PS5 Pro gains an edge, and the base version is more than all right for those of you who are looking to join Logan’s fight on the lower-specced system.

How Does It Hold Up Against Spider-Man 2?

We’re going to kick this section off by highlighting that Wolverine has an obvious advantage over Spider-Man 2 in that it doesn’t have to render and sustain an open-world, and as such doesn’t require the improved draw distance, or the need to render an entire city moving past you at blinding speeds. As it stands, it’s definitely better-looking than Insomniac’s last stab at a superhero, but the improvements are more noticeable up close rather than at scale.

More refined character models, more physical reactions to combat along with smoother animations, and denser environments with improved lighting and more destructible elements are all part of a package that aims to present a more visceral experience this time around. Those tighter spaces plant the scope for more detailed assets, better ray-tracing and anti-aliasing, and generally richer environments, textures, and materials especially on the PS5 Pro.

Spider-man 2 still has its own strengths, but they apply to an entirely different experience and they’re tied to rendering massive worlds, something that Wolverine simply doesn’t have the space to include.

And that’s a wrap on how Marvel’s Wolverine holds up in the graphical front. The PS5 Pro is the version to beat, and its Performance Pro mode was our personal choice to play the game. The superior image quality and visual effects make a significant difference to a title that’s often enjoyed up close and personal thanks to how fights pan out, and you’re in for a treat if you fire this one up on the beefier console although you’re going to be just fine even on the base PS5.

It’s almost time to throw on your most imposing grimace and clench your fists to lay some serious damage out for those who seek to harm mutants, and you can now go into the adventure knowing that it’s going to look and feel every bit as good as you’ve been hoping for.

It’s a lot of good news overall, but the console versions are remarkably straightforward to talk about as opposed to a slightly more complex situation on the PC. As always, we’re happy to dive right into it all. Let’s go.

A Superb-Looking Fighter

We’re very happy with the art style and how evocative it is of the comic books that likely brought many of the game’s players on board in the first place. The Unreal Engine 5 foundation makes for a strong visual presentation of the stylized animations that the excellent character models pull off, their facial details communicating their reaction to situations very convincingly indeed. A lot of their innate personalities slip through, from Spider-Man’s smug self-assurance to The Hulk’s barely-contained fury, and the visual effects that accompany their attacks, supers, and transitions are all handled well, allowing the spectacle of each battle to shine through across all playable platforms.

The stages that battles take place on are also well-designed with a lot of environmental detail in the foreground as well as in the background. There’s a lot going on at any given moment, and it helps set the scene very well as you try to observe what’s going on while fending off attacks from all angles against a talented opponent. Of course, we’d understand if the animation quality on each attack proves enough of a distraction, as it’s quite lovely across the board and really sells a unique vibe to each character and adds impact to each hit.

PS5 Pro vs PS5 Versions

On consoles, jumping into a battle is a breeze thanks to extremely fast loading times, particularly during transitions into matches or rematches. Overall, this one’s a technically impressive title that’s making good use of its hardware to bring a very unique art direction to life, the tech and creative vision working very well together to achieve that. It’s easily among the finest lookers among contemporary fighting games today.

But as happy as we were with that, it was a tad disappointing to see no options for graphics/performance modes, or even any toggles on either the PS5 or PS5 Pro. For a title that’s Pro-Enhanced, we expected to find some options to fiddle around with, but alas, there were none to be found. It’s only a nitpick since both consoles target and manage to sustain a locked 60 PS, making the action flow along quite smoothly.

Speaking of meeting targets, the PS5 Pro makes excellent use of PSSR to produce a crisper upscaled image at 4K, with fine details, edges, and distant background elements looking noticeably cleaner. Of course, that’s not to say that this one’s base PS5 version is bad on the graphical front, with only minor performance differences and perhaps occasional drops on the lower-specced console. The experience isn’t fundamentally different on the Pro, but it does look sharper on it.

That covers the console versions. It’s time to take on the PC version, and talk about the unfolding situations a little.

A Complicated PC Release

We’re getting this out of the way early: our experience with Fighting Souls on PC was excellent on a test configuration that consisted of a Ryzen 9 5950X, and an RTX 3080 Ti which was quite comfortable ahead of the recommended specs. The graphics menu on offer was quite modest, and while some players may not mind the limited selection, we’d have preferred a much broader range of advanced settings.

We went ahead with everything maxed out and DLSS Quality at 4K, and we’re given mostly excellent 60 FPS performance, with any drops coming from character introductions/transitions instead of the actual fights. Gameplay performance remained quite stable throughout our test weekend, with loading times similar to the console versions making getting to the next match quite quick.

Against the PS5 Pro, the PC version wins out when running the game at maxed settings with 4K DLSS Quality. We kind of expected that, but it’s very impressive how close the PS5 Pro gets to the experience on offer. Yes, the PC version had finer details, and more clarity with better native image quality, but the Pro did manage to put out a more consistent frame delivery. It’s quite a close contest between the two platforms this time around, and while the PC wins on the image quality front, the PS5 Pro isn’t too far behind.

However, the criticism that the PC version is receiving from other players bears mentioning. Reports of stuttering and frame-time problems, unexpected drops in frame rates, and inconsistent performance have come up from hardware that should be capable of running the game without problems. We’d advise keeping in mind that a fighting game is a lot more sensitive since 60 FPS isn’t just cosmetic, but a necessary part of a fun experience.

While we couldn’t reproduce any of the issues other players experienced on our test rig, the sheer number of complaints mean that Arc Systems Works must sit up and take notice before it loses out on a key part of its player base, a facet made even more crucial by its availability only on PC and PlayStation. But we’re quite confident that the PC version can be brought up to scratch with a little bit of timely intervention from the developers.

Console Versions Are Better, For Now

As far as its visuals and graphical performance is concerned, Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is definitely an exceptionally attractive fighter regardless of the platform you’re playing it on. The PS5 presents you with excellent image quality, rock-solid 60 FPS, and very little to complain about as far as sustaining those targets goes. The PS5 Pro takes that up a notch with PSSR facilitating a cleaner version of the already solid presentation on board, but we think that not giving players options to tweak graphical settings is an omission.

Of course, the PC version should be the champion but since that applies only when it works as intended, we couldn’t honestly recommend that version of the game to you as it is right now. Yes, our test system gave us excellent results and we’ve nothing but good things to say about our own time with the game, but other players’ reports are troubling, unless Arc Systems Works manages to get some good fixes in before interest in the PC version of the game begins to wane altogether.

It looks like Fighting Souls does its best work on PC when everything is running as intended, but the PS5 Pro’s cleaner image closes the gap considerably over the already brilliant PS5 version. In fact, it gets close enough to the PC experience that the difference between the two systems can start to feel a little too close for comfort.

That’s all we’ve got for you with this one. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got a bit more fighting left in our day.

Of course, the question remains: Which platform is the best, and if you’re not playing on PC, what’s the console of choice? The answers may or may not surprise you. Without further ado, let’s outline exactly what you can expect, starting with…

A Surprisingly Strong Console Showing

Regardless of your console, be it Xbox Series X, PS5 or PS5 Pro, you have two graphics modes to choose from: Quality, which runs at 30 FPS and, obviously, prioritizes resolution and graphical fidelity, and Performance, delivering 60 FPS at the cost of image quality and some dialled-back settings.

Each platform uses dynamic resolution scaling, but in different ways. PS5 and Xbox Series X rely on Unreal Engine 5’s Temporal Super Resolution while PS5 Pro relies on Upgraded PlayStation Super Spectral Resolution.

PC is a whole different conversation. We tested Campaign Evolved on an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti, and 32 GB of RAM. Even with the console versions remaining competitive, the PC version ultimately wins out.

PS5 Quality vs Xbox Series X Quality – Almost Identical

As the first Halo title to ever grace PlayStation’s consoles, you have to wonder how the PS5 matches up to Xbox Series X. Surprisingly, very well. When testing Quality mode on both consoles, they delivered similar results in frame rate and image sharpness.

Environmental density, foliage and geometry shine through in the remake, as does global illumination, reflections, shadows, and lighting, with neither console showing a distinct advantage over the other. Textures and material quality look near identical, and both work well enough in hitting that 30 FPS target. But what about when performance is the main benchmark?

PS5 Performance vs Xbox Series X Performance

As noted earlier, Performance Mode on consoles targets 60 FPS. Dynamic resolution scaling is in effect on both platforms, resulting in lower rendering resolution and a softer overall image. The fidelity takes a hit in places, which is most noticeable in the environmental detail and lighting. It may not affect your overall immersion, but it is noticeable.

This may not matter for those who prefer performance over fidelity, especially in a shooter. To that end, both consoles hit 60 frames per second, even if there’s the infrequent dip here and there.

PS5 Pro – The Clear Console Winner

But of course, it’s the PlayStation 5 Pro that pulls ahead in both Quality and Performance Mode, offering better fidelity. PSSR 2 delivers better image reconstruction, which translates to superior visual quality when playing at 60 frames per second. Furthermore, because of the stronger GPU, that performance is far more stable than the base consoles. You won’t find any 120Hz or uncapped framerate modes but kudos to Halo Studios for ensuring the basic modes excel.

PS5 Pro Quality vs PS5 Quality

So you didn’t want to buy a PS5 Pro when it launched for $699, and now it costs $899. Surely it doesn’t make that much difference when compared to the base PS5 in terms of fidelity for Campaign Evolved, right? Well, surprise, surprise, at least on Quality Mode, because they’re actually closer than you might think.

While they differ in their reconstruction methods, and the PS5 Pro edges ahead thanks to a cleaner image overall (especially when it comes to the finer, temporally unstable details), the remake still looks very good on PS5. Both hit 30 FPS pretty consistently, so you really can’t go wrong with either.

PS5 Pro Performance vs PS5 Performance – The Biggest Pro Upgrade

But as we noted before, performance is ultimately what matters for a first-person shooter, especially one that needs to make some visual compromises on base consoles. PS5 players will need to deal with softer image quality and reduced graphics settings for a reasonably solid 60 FPS. A significant sacrifice but still not enough to deliver the absolute best performance among all platforms.

The PS5 Pro suffers none of this, though. Besides hitting the 60 FPS target more consistently and boasting better image quality courtesy of PSSR 2, it also retains some settings from Quality Mode. As a result, the difference in fidelity is incredibly stark, putting it ahead of the PS5. Again, Quality Mode will deliver the best possible visuals – even going as far as competing with the PC version, which we’ll get into later – but as far as the best possible console configuration, the PS5 Pro in Performance Mode easily wins out.

The PC Version – Much More Scalability

If you’re playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on PC, it’s for two reasons: First, mouse and keyboard- no further details needed. But second is the scalability and amount of control over different settings. For instance, you can tweak the geometric quality, global illumination, reflections, lighting quality, and more, which the console versions don’t allow.

Is this the most extensive range of graphical options in a PC release? Not even close, but it’s far from nothing, and the results are pretty stunning at 4K with all settings maxed and DLSS set to Medium.

PC Performance

How does all this fare during actual gameplay, though? With so much detail on-screen, and how hectic things can get during a typical Halo mission – grenades flying, Grunts exploding, vehicles overhead – you would think Campaign Evolved would buckle under the weight of its technical ambition. But thankfully, that’s not the case. It manages to stay around 60 FPS while more demanding sections drop into the mid-50s.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but though we didn’t test it first-hand, dropping the resolution to 1440p would likely help, given the abundance of GPU headroom.

PC vs PS5 Pro Quality – The Real Graphics Comparison

So with these parameters established, how does the PC version with maximum settings fare against the PS5 Pro on Quality Mode? Surprisingly, the latter’s fidelity is strikingly close to what the higher PC settings offer, making it roughly akin to playing on High to Ultra preset. Considering this is Halo Studios’ first release on PS5 Pro, it’s pretty impressive.

Now, that said, the PC version is superior overall because its individual effects manage to go further than the PS5 Pro, resulting in noticeably higher fidelity.

PC vs PS5 Pro Performance – Bigger Difference

Performance Mode on PS5 Pro makes the differences with the PC version all the more stark. Even with some Quality Mode settings carrying over, and PSSR 2 delivering well, its overall fidelity ranks lower. Even if the PC version is relying on DLSS, it has the benefit of reconstructing images at the maximum graphical settings into 4K. However, just because PS5 Pro’s Performance Mode pales in comparison to PC doesn’t mean that the actual performance is a let-down.

Where the Consoles Beat Our PC Configuration – Consistency

Because even with more fidelity, the PC version ultimately falls behind when it comes to consistency. While our configuration averages around 60 FPS mostly and drops to mid-50 FPS where justified, the PS5 Pro delivers better stability, more consistently targeting 60 FPS throughout. It’s a slight trade-off for those incredible visuals, and even if the consistency is by no means awful – hitting 60 FPS more often than not is still worth praising – this does show just how well the console versions, especially PS5 Pro, have been optimized.

Pre-Rendered Cutscenes – The Disappointing Part

On a side note, perhaps the most disappointing thing about Halo: Campaign Evolved is that all the pre-rendered cinematics are in 30 FPS. That’s the case across all platforms, and while not sticking out as much if you’re playing on Quality Mode, it’s painfully obvious when playing at 60 FPS, especially when going to 30 FPS and then back to 60. The fact that the PC version suffers the same even with more powerful hardware is also a shame.

Final Verdict

Once again, to no one’s surprise, the PC version wins out when it comes to fidelity, thanks to its wider range of customization and optimization. Still, the PS5 Pro is a close second, followed by the PS5 and Xbox Series X pretty much neck and neck. And while the overall winner is still the PC version, the PS5 Pro wins out among consoles for its balance of quality and performance. The Xbox Series X comes in second, only slightly ahead of the PS5 due to a more stable frame rate on Performance Mode.

Regardless, the fact that Halo Studios can deliver such strong results across the board, bringing the PS5 version so close to PC in terms of quality while also ensuring that the base consoles don’t fall too far behind. If those rumored Halo 2 and 3 remakes end up happening, then this may be the start of something special for Halo on Unreal Engine 5.

As far as the graphics are concerned, Campaign Evolved is certainly the clear winner, but it isn’t just because it brings Unreal Engine 5-powered visuals to a rebuilt world. The question is whether it manages to make those changes mean something to a game that has held an almost reverential spot in modern gaming, and add value to every frame of the reworked experience.

Well, we’re happy to tell you that there’s good news, and a lot of it. Here are a bunch of ways Campaign Evolved sets itself apart from 2001’s Combat Evolved, and the 2011 Combat Evolved Anniversary release. There’s 25 years of evolution over the three titles, and it’s a lovely showcase of how far games have come as an entertainment medium, so strap in.

1. The Art Direction

It’s been a minute, but we remember how Combat Evolved featured clean environments, simple shapes, and vibrant colors that helped light up the sparse scenery on offer. All of those served it well, making for an extremely readable image that the hardware on offer at the time could work with. Anniversary took that up a notch, with denser detailing, more visual flourishes, improved complexity of surfaces, and a presentation that felt brighter overall.

Well, Campaign Evolved has given a layer of modern realism to the experience, largely managing to capture the original experience with greater environmental density and modern, sophisticated materials and lighting systems. The image is as readable as it’s ever been, though, and this one feels like the final form of an art style that’s managed to stay unique and true to itself over the years.

2. Environmental Geometry

You’re probably not going to be surprised that Combat Evolved’s physical construction of environments is quite basic in comparison to its subsequent editions. Cliffs, rocks, interior spaces, hills, tunnels, and pathways were certainly serviceable, and were certainly immersive back in the day. But when you think about how Anniversary did so well to dress them up even better, you’re going to be all the more appreciative of what Campaign Evolved is offering.

Natural shapes and environmental complexity are now on par with modern standards, making for environments that look so darn real, you’d be forgiven for thinking they actually exist. It’s in how seamlessly individual elements of a scene meld together and interact with each other so naturally that it really sells the experience in this area, and it’s clear that Campaign is certainly the definitive way to play the classic title.

3. Lighting

Once again, there’s no surprise that Campaign Evolved brings hardware ray-traced Lumen global illumination alongside MegaLights, producing one of its most immediately noticeable generational upgrades. Rays of sunlight now stream across surfaces, gently bouncing off of some while creating realistic reflections on others. That all this happens irrespective of whether you’re exploring or taking on Covenant forces in intense, all-out firefights is a hallmark of current-gen hardware at this point.

We’re especially happy with how dark areas handle light, and how transitions between exterior and interior areas don’t disrupt things too much to be distracting. It’s been a boon in battles that necessitate such transitions, to be sure.

4. Shadows

If we were to compare Combat and Campaign side by side, it’s clear that the former’s approach to shadows was limited to what the hardware the game was meant to run on was capable of. The original game’s shadow rendering was naturally much simpler, with far less definition, range, and interaction with environmental lighting than what modern rendering techniques allow. The shadows weren’t convincing (by modern standards, at least).

Well, that’s a thing of the past as objects are considerably more grounded within the environment, and thus respond to its various parameters, light included, more organically and definitely more convincingly this time around.

Anniversary substantially improved shadow definition and environmental shading, but Campaign Evolved goes much further with dynamic lighting and substantially more nuanced contact and indirect shadowing.

5. Texture Quality

While we’re on the subject of objects responding naturally to environmental stimuli, the textures on offer deserve a special mention. The terrain, floor, walls, weapon and vehicle surfaces, uniforms, and props in Campaign Evolved are definitely housing some excellent textures. It isn’t just about improved resolutions, but how those improvements are used to convey natural wear and tear, scratches and other damage, dirt, and other material variations that help sell the history, wear, and physical construction of objects throughout the environment.

The original release and Anniversary did well for their respective time periods, but Campaign is where the evolution is at, and displayed with pride.

6. Materials

Another crucial differentiator between the three games we’re looking at in this one is how they represent different materials, and Campaign handles that part so well that it gains yet another distinct advantage over Combat and Anniversary. While both early releases did manage to distinguish different surfaces like metal, glass, sand, stone, snow, ice, water, fabrics, and painted surfaces well enough, Campaign has almost lovingly handcrafted each of those surfaces to respond so well to the new lighting and textures that they feel almost alive.

As far as being able to visually distinguish between different materials on surfaces is concerned, Campaign takes the original release in a very immersive new direction.

7. Vegetation and Environmental Density

When you’re outdoors, you begin to see how Campaign has been careful about balancing the original experience in Combat with additions that make every scene it presents feel reminiscent of the original, but far denser and naturalistic. Combat used open spaces quite intentionally, allowing them to be staging grounds for battles more than anything else. Anniversary did a lot to add in environmental dressing, making things more believable.

But Campaign has made things real, and it’s evident in every blade of grass, the clutter on the ground, in bushes, plants, trees, fallen branches, and small objects whose presences don’t interrupt the action, but serve to make the battlefield a living, breathing part of it all.

8. Draw Distance and Background Detail

When we look back at both Combat and Anniversary, we think about how we’ve come to take the level of detail in a game’s world for granted. Looking into the distance in both those titles was definitely great at the times of their respective releases, but doing the same thing for distant mountains, trees, or structures in Campaign just hits different.

With tangible foliage, environmental objects, terrain detail, and fogging for as far as your in-game eye can see working overtime to give it a layer of realism, the remake communicates a sense of scale far better than its predecessors have managed to, and it is visually better off for it.

9. Skyboxes and the Halo Ring

Of course, the land isn’t the only stunning part of a Halo title, and it’s time to look to the skies, where the titular Halo resides amongst stars, clouds, distant planets, the sun, mountains, distant horizons, and atmospheric effects that serve to make every look one that invokes a sense of wonder. Combat Evolved has a sky that felt almost surreal because of how clean it was, and Anniversary did well to make it look richer.

But Campaign Evolved’s systems make the entire skyline look and feel so active, and yet so subtly believable that you don’t really think it intrudes on what’s in front of you but is always bewitching to see when you do look at it. It’s definitely among the highlights of our visual examination of the game. The Halo Ring is a stunner, and is absolutely mesmerizing in this one.

10. Fog, Volumetrics, and Atmospherics

This is an area where Campaign Evolved just steals the show away from the previous iterations of weather-based effects and atmospherics in scenes. With an enhanced weather system taking over from the ancient one in previous editions, you’re going to see fog, mist, snow, rain, haze, and the particles that come with each effect in immense detail.

It automatically makes the presentation feel so realistic, with a lot of atmospheric depth and volumetric light helping bring life to each scene in ways that the previous releases were simply not equipped to handle back in the day.

11. Water

Just land on a beach, and the chances are that Campaign’s water effects are going to have you stopping to watch the waves gently caress a shoreline before receding back into the ocean so naturally, they lend a serene beauty to beaches. Rays of light dance along the water’s surface, while the shorelines throw up foam effects in tandem with the rhythm of waves. Looking through and into the water also produces substantially more convincing distortion and surface interaction without compromising readability.

Campaign’s water systems are a great showcase of how it evolves the original experience on the visual front.

12. Master Chief Himself

As a sort of mascot for an entire console’s life, and a debutant in another one’s play at mass appeal, Master Chief is no stranger to being the front face of a successful franchise. He already cut an imposing figure in Combat and Anniversary, but the level of detail in his character model in Campaign could have us rambling on for hours about how deliciously detailed it is.

The armor geometry is exquisite, while his helmet reflects light gently off its visor and rounded surfaces. The materials on his armor and undersuit are tangibly different, while wear and tear effects like scratches and weathering, along with proportions, are all cooked to perfection. It’s clear that the frontman spent a lot of time looking the part in this one.

13. Human Characters and Facial Details

Like Master Chief, the rest of the game’s cast is noticeably better-looking this time around; we’d say that Cortana is the best representation of how much those makeovers matter. While Captain Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, and the Marines are all decidedly more detailed with better facial geometry, expressions, lip syncing, and lighting, the representation of an AI that’s been a franchise mainstay is definitely something that truly shines.

Her expressions are now better geared towards conveying her dialogue, while the added detail in her face, eyes, and hair creates an interesting contrast with the unmistakably holographic nature of her appearance, but a welcome one thanks to her central role in the story. We can’t get enough of how her glowing aura is now resplendent thanks to the new lighting, and the way environments react to her presence, factors that work very well with her new character model.

14. Weapons and Vehicles

We’re not going to get into the gameplay part of the weapons and newly drivable vehicles in this one, but you should know that they come with excellent levels of model detail, and come with excellent levels of model detail, including weathering, scratches, dents, and other surface imperfections. They interact with different surfaces quite accurately, while their interior details are top-notch.

The same goes for Campaign’s weapons, with recurring ones like the Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, and Rocket Launcher looking decidedly more ominous while also coming with tangible indicators of the duress you put them through as you play the game. Campaign definitely takes things up a notch over Combat and Anniversary in this area.

15. Explosions, Smoke, and Particle Effects

Naturally, this is an area where things were quite basic in Combat, while the spectacle was substantially beefed up in Anniversary. But of course, Campaign is the biggest leap in terms of how the absolute chaos of its battlefield is brought to life.

Explosions ring out with substance, lighting up the battlefield with their glow even as smoldering particles pepper the air around you. Dust, sparks, and debris rise and swirl with the impact, while fires break out and nearby vehicles take a beating right in front of you. It’s the current generation of gaming hardware working its magic on an experience that’s familiar to make it feel so fresh, it’s a new direction altogether.

And that’s essentially what Campaign Evolved does to a title that’s been redone before. It might be the most technologically advanced of the three versions, but that isn’t what makes it special. That’s reserved for the way it uses modern technology to make its visual detailing feel distinct, and in line with the experience that the original Combat Evolved was meant to be. It’s used what made it so memorable to create a new take on the classic that is surely a generational leap worth diving into.

Forza Horizon 6 looks and feels as good as the cars you’re going to be driving, and its take on Japan is probably as close to the real thing as you can find in a modern video game. It’s going to be quite hard not to sound like a fanboy when we’re writing this one, and that’s simply because this title is a beast for visual fidelity in the racing sim genre.

So, what’s got us this enthusiastic about the visuals on display in this latest addition to the Forza franchise? We’re delighted to tell you. Let’s get right to it.

A Deep Dive Into ForzaTech

Forza Horizon 6’s visual splendor is going to be evident from the very first minute you spend in the game as you make your way through three different races designed to give you a taste of what’s to come, both on the track and off of it. Let’s begin with Japan itself. There’s an astounding amount of environmental detail to see as you make your way across winding roads, coastal highways, city streets, back alleys, and so much more.

The foliage on trees stands out as well as individual blades of grass, while specks of dust or perhaps purple flowers fly up around your car as you tear across the road. Drops of water are pushed across your camera lens when they fall on it, just as they would move if they were on a glass surface that was moving at some very high speeds in the real world.

The draw distance is especially eye-catching, and you’re going to see the road and scenery in the distance, all of it rendered so beautifully that it lends Japan a sort of ethereal quality and a subtle beauty that makes you feel like you’re right there, speeding along the road to your next race.

The level of detail in the environment is equally present on the cars you drive, with each material being reproduced so darn well that your ride can look good even without a fancy paint job to make it stand out in a crowd. Roll into a city, and there’s such a seamless shift into a more urban vibe.

We do think that cities like Tokyo felt weirdly empty, with only minimal traffic on its roads and activity on the pavement. It’s almost as if news of the Festival had most people either choosing to stay in or leave early to find a great spot in the stands of whatever event you’re driving to on empty streets. Does it help sustain smooth performance and make exploring feel easier instead of being forced to navigate traffic? Sure. But it does break the spell a little bit if you’re not willing to suspend your disbelief.

Thankfully, the ray tracing and global illumination make light such a lovely part of Forza Horizon 6’s visual design that we were able to move past our previous complaint quite quickly. Sunlight bathes the roads and open fields in a warm glow, creeping through thick forest cover to light up patches of the ground so well.

Glossy paint jobs on cars reflect the world around them so darn well, and that’s irrespective of whether they’re in motion or standing parked in the sun. The car models are fantastic, as are the character models for the humans who drive and otherwise interact with them. The animations on characters are top-notch and make the entire experience very believable and immersive.

Material quality is brilliant across the board, while shadows work as well as reflections to create very authentic effects when the light interacts with either you or your ride. The weather system and the effect it has on the visual presentation are probably our favorite bits about the game’s graphics.

While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Japan transformed into different versions of itself based on the seasons, this is definitely the first time that it’s come as close to what the country is likely to look like if we were to visit it today. Our pick was probably when the Wisteria flowers were in full bloom, but each season has something to offer based on where you’re at when you experience it.

It’s all so realistic and works well with excellent texture quality and streaming to really sell the experience on offer. Streaming stayed stable even at higher speeds, making this one a graphically strong offering with well-implemented physics.

Each car felt distinct and unique to handle, making you adjust your handling of it to coax every bit of performance you could get out of it. The collision physics are spot on, while damage is clearly visible and quite believable in the event of a fender bender. Each engine, and the environmental sound design as a whole, is done very well, and a good set of speakers can make this one all the more immersive for it.

Of course, it goes without saying that all of this beauty has been so good to behold thanks to some stable performance across the board.

An Evolution From Forza Horizon 5

Before we talk about how well this one runs on all available platforms, we thought it would be a good idea to comment on how the latest Forza flagship has made meaningful upgrades over its predecessor’s take on Mexico. The shift between urban and rural settings is a big one, and it’s much better in the new game. Tokyo’s scale makes that easier, of course, but its density and the way in which it seamlessly jumps between different settings showcase how exploration through curiosity is baked into its design, and that’s a serious upgrade over Mexico in Horizon 5.

When you’re in urban environments, there’s verticality in the form of elevated highways, which contrasts well with street-level industrial docks, tunnels, and alleys. Of course, Tokyo is the star of the show as the largest urban area in the Horizon Festival’s history so far, and its neon-heavy vibe is the perfect showcase of the game’s visuals. Of course, the weather system throws in another layer of nuance into the mix, and the way in which it makes even familiar roads feel fresh is something that the previous game doesn’t really come close to.

The lighting and the way it all interacts with car models are another highlight. Horizon 5 might have done pretty well to make things look and feel real, but being current-gen only allows the new title to take things up a notch, and it shows. No matter the scene, you’re going to find both objects and environments reacting so well to the game’s lighting, with reflections and shadows so well-implemented that they make this one a phenomenal showcase of what ray tracing done well looks like.

Aside from these three main highlights, the engine audio and steering animations are all noticeably better in the new game, and it’s a true evolution of what the Forza franchise can achieve in a new game.

PC Performance

Playing Forza Horizon 6 with all of its graphical settings maxed out (with only environmental geometry quality and shadows set to Ultra), and the quality on reflections and global illumination set to low, along with balanced DLSS on our PC, was nothing short of breathtaking.

It helps that it manages a consistent 50-60 fps on our system, which includes an RTX 3080 Ti, 32GB RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. It did annoy us that cutscenes are locked at 30 fps across platforms, but that’s something we can live with since the gameplay remains buttery smooth.

It’s definitely a great game to play with all of its bells and whistles toggled on, or at least tuned to higher settings, as watching it in action is about as current-gen as it can get today. Forza Horizon 6 looks, sounds, and performs so well that you’re going to find yourself marvelling at how well it all comes together.

Xbox Series X Performance

On our Series X, we got to pick between Quality and Performance modes, with the former bringing Native 4K capped at 30fps, prioritizing greater details in environments, along with a better draw distance and higher quality shadows. The latter brings the resolution down to a dynamic 4K with a locked 60 fps to give you smooth and responsive gameplay, an important detail in an experience like this one.

Performance was flawless between both modes, and we didn’t encounter any noticeable issues, although we’d suggest going with Quality for the visual bump on this one.

PC Vs Xbox Series X Comparison

Of course, the PC version comes with advantages over its console counterparts, with support for ray-traced reflections on cars and RTGI support. But how much of a difference does that make to the experience? Quite a bit, actually. It’s a world of difference when you compare details like neon lights, sunrises or sunsets, the quality of car models, and the way different materials respond organically to a scene’s lighting, environmental detail, and so much more.

Car model quality is largely the same across PC and Xbox, with paint, glass, carbon fiber, interiors, headlights, and tail lights all holding up well on both versions, so the cars themselves do not show any major visual gap. The bigger difference comes from the world around them, where PC takes the lead.

Tokyo’s buildings, rural roads, docks, tunnels, mountain routes, road textures, signs, walls, foliage, and interior textures all look cleaner and sharper, while pop-in is also better handled, especially at high speeds through the city and across highways. World streaming, however, remains largely similar. A good PC setup can feel slightly cleaner in motion, but the Xbox version still keeps up well during fast driving and does a solid job of holding the world together.

The superior visual capabilities of our PC made a pronounced difference between the two versions, and that isn’t too surprising. The load times were blazingly fast across the board, and we didn’t see any drastic differences between platforms.

Conclusion

But irrespective of what you’re playing this one, as far as its graphical fidelity and performance go, Forza Horizon 6 is a masterclass and a great title to show off what your PC or console can do. It’s replaced its predecessor as a new benchmark for graphical fidelity among racing sims, and is definitely the one to beat on that front.

But what has made us so impressed with this bullet hell action title from Housemarque? How has it built upon what was so magical about Returnal? Join us and find out more about everything we’ve been seeing during our time with this upcoming title, and how it manages to make the most of the PS5 and PS5 Pro’s spec sheets.

An Evolution That Makes Sense

Before we get into how the game looks and performs, it’s important to look at how Saros has built on Returnal’s gameplay loop, and how those changes have impacted its approach to presentation. For starters, where Returnal was akin to an obstacle course in which you were aiming to avoid taking damage from enemy gunfire, Saros presents bullets as a resource that you can use to turn the tide in your favor. That’s thanks to the Soltari Shield, which you deploy tactically while facing off against enemies, collecting the energy from their gunfire and sending it back at them for extra damage.

That mechanic works very well with what Hosemarque is calling a “bullet ballet” style of combat, and a revamped approach to VFX that makes its battles feel denser and more stylized. There’s also the fact that Saros takes a more character-driven approach to its story that lays an emphasis on cinematic presentation, a factor that we’re going to dive into when we examine its cutscene quality. And finally, it’s important to remember that the game features procedurally generated side paths that vary every time you visit a biome, allowing for a more dynamic gameplay loop even as the main path through an area still feels authored.

From a graphics perspective, Returnal handled its characters with purpose more than depth, relying on Selene to anchor the emotional core while the broader experience drew its strength from Atropos, the oppressive atmosphere, stark darkness, and eerie enemy designs. In contrast, Saros seems to shift the spotlight firmly onto its characters, prioritizing expressive performances, a stronger ensemble dynamic, and more cinematic presentation. Housemarque is clearly leaning into this direction, emphasizing the realism of its cast and the meticulous process of translating each character from written concept into a fully realized on-screen presence.

A similar progression shows up in the game’s environments and effects. Returnal defined itself through a darker, more restrained aesthetic, bioluminescent lifeforms, writhing tentacle tech, and overwhelming bursts of projectiles that made Atropos feel both threatening and mesmerizing. Saros, on the other hand, looks to retain that signature Housemarque clarity and visual intensity while pushing things further. Its setting, Carcosa, appears more intricate and fluid, with greater environmental diversity, cleaner image fidelity, and more advanced rendering overall, especially evident in its PS5 Pro upgrades and the added focus on higher-end character detail, lighting, and post-processing during narrative sequences.

All of these are relevant to how the game performs, as they are all evolutions of what Returnal brought to the table in some form, especially in terms of design and rendering. How, you ask? That’s exactly where we’re going next.

The Image Quality

This is an easy one. Saros is a stunner, whether you’re playing it on a base PS5 or the PS5 Pro. It runs at a solid 60 fps on the PS5 while the image holds up even when you try to pinpoint any compromises. If you don’t have a Pro on your hands, you’re going to be fine.

But with the game coming with PS5 Pro Enhanced features at launch, it’s important to look at what the mid-gen beast brings to the table. Firstly, Saros supports PSSR 2, delivering a sharper image that’s quite close to native 4K. That gives the game a clean image source for its higher base render resolution prior to upscaling, which is important because it means that you’re getting an image that’s both sharper and cleaner while sustaining the base version’s consistent framerates.

Of course, there are differences in reflections and overall quality, making the PS5 Pro version more than just a resolution leap. The cinematic cutscenes run at 30 fps with the aim of a better quality that places an emphasis on characters, lighting, and post-processing, and the PS5 Pro does have an edge over its base variant. On both consoles, you get great texture readability, object stability in motion, sharp edges, and well-designed geometry, making the game quite pleasing to the eye.

The PS5 version of Saros has set a strong baseline with a focus on performance-led presentation, while the Pro builds on that core experience with cleaner reconstruction, sharper output from scene to scene, and a boost in quality of reflections and cinematics. There’s also reduced shimmering and breakup on the Pro, but they aren’t going to be too noticeable on the base PS5 unless you’re really looking out for them.

But how good an image can get is only one part of the equation. It’s time to dive into how those images translate to a solid experience.

The Graphics

Spoiler alert: it’s all good news for both the PS5 and the Pro. Beginning with the art style around Carcosa’s environments and their atmospheres, things are quite good. We’re going to stick to the two biomes you’ve probably already seen in the interest of letting you experience the other ones for yourself, but we were quite impressed with how Shattered Rise and the Ancient Depths felt distinctly varied from each other, the cliffs on the former allowing for more open, spacious areas that immediately turn into cramped spaces in the Ancient Depths, which felt downright claustrophobic in comparison.

The way environments are presented in Saros blends geometry and atmospheric factors like lighting and haze quite well. Color grading is applied in a way that makes each new area you explore feel authentic and immersive, while enabling the Eclipse to immediately transform the area in a way that makes the added danger feel palpable thanks to how it transforms the scene before it. That’s thanks to the effective use of overlays that extend to enemy projectiles as well.

It’s here that the new combat mechanics shine through, with the game supporting its ambitions with excellent projectile density and readability, energy absorption effects on your Shield, excellent discharge effects, and, of course, your own weapons and their bullets. It’s all a part of the game’s charm and spectacle, woven into the core gameplay loop in a way that keeps it all readable at 60 fps even in the busiest of battles on both the PS5 and the Pro.

The lighting is a major part of that allure, and it works very well to make everything you see quite believable during both gameplay and the cinematics, lending the game’s horror aesthetic a superb balance between darkness and visual stylization. Contrast and volumetrics are applied well enough to lend each scene a layer of authenticity, while shadow falloff adds to it. You see it in reflections, which are markedly better on the PS5 Pro. Wet surfaces and water throw reflections back at you, while metallic surfaces glow with the light of projectiles around them in battles.

Indoor scenes are similarly well implemented, the soft glow from screens or other sources of light in darker places making everything so immersive that it can get challenging to actually pay attention to what’s unfolding in front of you. That’s because Arjun’s character model, and those of the NPCs you meet along the way, are all well-detailed in both gameplay and cutscenes across the board. It also applies to enemy models and animations, with combat being very readable even in the most intense fights, of which there were plenty for us to test out.

Every dodge, parry, Shield blast (that’s what we’re calling the ability to disperse your stored Shield energy), and weapon transition was animated very well, and it’s all melded in so well with the Dualsense’s haptics and adaptive triggers, which we’re going to comment on shortly. Saros is a graphical treat on the PS5 and Pro, no doubt about it. But how do its atmospherics hold up under the spotlight?

The Core Of The Evolution

Of course, Saros is an experience that sets itself apart from Returnal thanks to an emphasis on setting a grim mood over the spectacle of Selene’s time on Atropos. Carcosa is a planet that isn’t just about what you see, but about what you hear and what you feel while you navigate its biomes. The easiest way to test out how the game handles its atmospherics was to engage with the Eclipse System, which makes everything more dangerous but also more rewarding to overcome.

That’s on the gameplay side of things, but on the visual front, it’s quite a shift with the world getting a sinister red hue while the soundscape also changes once it’s active. That immediately sells the idea that you might be in over your head, but with the gameplay being as technically balanced as it is, tackling those new dangers feels more like a challenge and less like a way to just squeeze out more rewards from a run.

Of course, it’s all supported very well by the effective use of the PlayStation 5’s unique features like Tempest 3D Audio (we recommend a good pair of headphones with this one) and the DualSense’s features. Your weapons and Shield are immediately noticeable areas where the adaptive triggers work with you, giving tactile differentiation to each tool in your arsenal, while the haptics are a definite step up from their implementation in Returnal, as they feature in a larger chunk of the experience in Saros.

Additionally, we definitely did appreciate the blazing-fast load times on both consoles, and getting back into the fight after you die feels almost instantaneous. Triggering an eclipse is similarly well-handled, and you’re not going to do any doom-scrolling on your phone while you wait for the game to get you into Carcosa.

With all that’s been said, you’ve probably guessed that our time with Saros has been quite impressive on the technical front. It’s a refinement of Housemarque’s penchant for sensory immersion and clarity, while it remains uncompromising on the urgency of its gameplay loop that made Returnal so memorable. It’s a game where all of its systems come together so seamlessly you can’t help but want to pause the action just to marvel at it all before you dive back in.

While the base PS5 does a solid job of presenting that core experience, the PS5 Pro does get an edge thanks to a better baseline image quality and an improved upscaled output, along with better reflections in gameplay and cutscenes. But irrespective of the console you’re going to play this one on, Saros is certainly a title that justifies investing in a PlayStation 5. As a showcase of what the console can do, it’s right up there with the best of what the past few years have had to offer, and it’s a lot of fun to play too!

Of course, by now, it should be obvious that Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced succeeds in that regard. It makes significant changes from top to bottom in almost every respect, bringing it to the level of fidelity you would expect in 2026. However, the result is still unmistakably that of the original, down to the atmosphere and traits of its unforgettable cast.

Built from the ground up on the latest version of Anvil Engine, what are some of the most noticeable graphical leaps that we observed from Resynced’s reveal? Let’s go over them, though, keep in mind that this is just an initial impression. With the remake out on July 9th, expect far more details on aspects like performance, loading times, and more. But without further ado, let’s start with…

Environmental Overhaul

Set in the Caribbean, Black Flag’s story unfolds across several locations, from Havana to Nassau, where the pirate republic ultimately stations its headquarters. Between the fortress, the various thatch rooftops and more modern-style buildings with moss filling their tiles, the former offers a pretty eclectic variety of sights.

So right off the bat, Resynced improves foliage quality in almost every respect, whether it’s the trees and how much more naturally they flow with the breeze or more prominent leaves growing on buildings, lending a more obvious weathered look and feel. More NPCs can be seen roaming the streets, and it feels like the environment is more to scale with how it would be in the real world, as strange as that sounds.

Regardless, it reinforces something that you’ll see in pretty much every aspect of the remake. The development team is not looking to change the plot and characters, or even the parkour playgrounds that you’ve known and love, so much as take them to the next level in terms of graphical realism and immersion. Of course, it’s also an incredible showcase of the high-resolution textures and lighting improvements, the latter feeling more dynamic. However, it’s just fascinating to pick out all the different additions to each environment.

Which also applies to the one place where you’ll arguably spend the most amount of time: The ocean. When Black Flag was first released, it received extensive praise for its water, be it in physics, motion, texture quality, and so on. But Resynced, as you’ve probably guessed, is on a whole other level. The reflection quality, the waves – even when the water crashes against the rocks, the foam looks so much more natural and realistic. It’s something that should stand out as prominently in naval combat, especially with cannons ringing out and shards of your ship intermixing with the waves or when exploring underwater, and simply admiring the serene flora and fauna – until you’re fighting for your life against a shark, of course.

All in all, Resynced could have easily called it a day with the improved lighting and high-resolution textures, but the development team went the extra mile in detail. We can’t wait to see how the rest of the world has changed, especially given the dynamic weather and how much more realistic rain and other phenomena, including hurricanes, look. A note on the latter: They’re far more foreboding than before, so steer clear.

Character Models and Cutscene Improvements

This is another core aspect of any remake. You don’t want to mess with the looks of iconic characters too much, and given the developer’s focus on immersion and realism, that’s very much a possibility. Yes, some faces will look decidedly more different than others, but I have to say: Edward Kenway and his crew aboard the Jackdaw have never looked better.

Leaving aside the more emotive eyes and facial animations – which took a fair amount of hand-crafting to rebuild – there’s far more realistic-looking hair and facial stubble. Clothing elements like fabric and leather look so much better, the former sporting subtle folds and wrinkles, while the latter can have varying degrees of polish and cracks. The lighting changes highlight this all the more – Edward Thatch has never looked better, especially when it comes to the various details on his embroidered coat.

Then there are the cutscenes, which appear to have undergone adjustments in cinematography and background scenery. But the real star in these instances is the animation, which has undergone numerous tweaks, both subtle and otherwise, to further lean into the realism.

Combat and Parkour Animations

And it would be incredibly remiss not to mention how much that animation work translates into combat and parkour, vastly improving both in numerous ways. Edward is far quicker in a fight, but the transitions between moves flow much better. For example, shooting someone at a distance and then quickly parrying an oncoming blow – what could have been janky instead looks smooth and natural. The same applies when you’re moving from one target to another, taking them down in style, or tossing opponents into barrels, which realistically shatter into pieces. Heck, enemies are even jerked forward more realistically with the grapple.

As for parkour, between the new free jumps, back ejects and side ejects, it would be easy for Resynced to feel too much like the more recent Assassin’s Creed titles. However, the development team was adamant about retaining Edward’s moves – the key is that parkour feels more natural, helping maintain that flow as you navigate past awnings, walkways, rooftops and more in your impromptu routes.

It should be stated again, however, that we don’t know nearly enough about the performance, especially in larger battles (both on land and sea). I’m also keen to see much more extensive footage of combat and parkour, especially during full-fledged missions. Nevertheless, from the clips shown thus far, Resynced manages that near-impossible feat of channeling the original while also looking far better in the process.

Early Verdict

And that’s what it really comes down to: Sticking to the original vision and its design pillars while bringing it forward into the modern day. There’s still so much that I’m keen to witness, like how the lighting improvements impact stealth, especially since you can freely crouch when sneaking around. How detailed can the ship destruction be? Will NPCs have more detailed animation cycles to further enhance realism? Just how violently can a shark maul you?

I’m still a bit divided on the decision to not include the DLC – multiplayer is a different issue, but at the very least, stories like Freedom Cry would have been wonderful to experience in this updated style. Nevertheless, if that means the development team focused more resources on what truly matters – that is, the journey of Edward and his crew, from riches to tragedy – then I’d say the results are worth it. Now all we have to do is wait and see how each platform will handle it.