PSSR Could Potentially Be More Important Than Direct Increase in GPU Power

The PlayStation 5 Pro is only nine days away, and the price notwithstanding, some of its features carry significant potential for upcoming titles. These include Dying Light: The Beast, a standalone follow-up to the first game featuring the return of Kyle Crane. Techland’s Tymon Smektała is keen on the console’s GPU and how it offers “a lot more flexibility with graphics in performance.”

In a recent interview with GamingBolt, the series’ franchise director said, “We’re just starting to discover the full capabilities of PS5 Pro, but it’s already exciting as it gives us a lot more flexibility with graphics and performance. The boost in GPU will allow us to push visual fidelity, especially with complex environmental details like weather effects, which are very core to Dying Light: The Beast’s experience.

“This kind of power also means generally smoother gameplay at higher resolutions, and that’s something very important for a game like ours, where the highest level of immersion is of utmost importance.”

However, he feels that PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) could be “even more important” in the long run. The proprietary AI upscaling solution is a major factor in hitting 4K (and, in some cases, 8K) resolution for titles at 60 frames per second.

As Smektala notes, “Sony’s PSSR is a substantial push for the supersampling tech that other companies are experimenting with. It’s a great initiative as, in the future, this can allow developers to focus slightly less on performance and have bigger creative liberty. If what Sony is proposing will become a new standard, then PSSR could potentially turn out to be even more important than the direct increase in GPU power that the console delivers.”

Time will ultimately tell, especially as developers spend more time with the hardware. Other titles confirmed to leverage the PS5 Pro’s capabilities include Alan Wake 2, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (which recently received the patch), and more. Head here for new details about the console before it launches worldwide on November 7th.