With the PlayStation 5 Pro, Sony is doubling down on power, promising smoother gameplay, sharper visuals, and a gaming experience that pulls you even further in. After experiencing the PS5 Pro for myself, there’s no denying it’s the best way to experience PlayStation 5 games, but is it worth the $1200 upgrade?
Gamers no longer have to pick between high frame rates and great image quality. That said, if you’re not already using a crisp 4K display with 120Hz support, you might want to start there. Without one, a lot of the Pro’s benefits will pass you by.
READ MORE: Unboxing the PlayStation 5 Pro
I’ve had hands-on time with the PlayStation 5 Pro for almost a week now, testing games and trying to pinpoint the differences between the original console and the Pro. I’ll admit, it’s not easy to illustrate.
Visually, the PlayStation 5 already offers great image quality and a huge bulk of current-gen PlayStation games offer 60 frames per second as standard. At launch, the PlayStation 5 Pro is offering enhancements to over 50 PlayStation 5 titles.
Revisiting some favourites from recent years — including The Last of Us Part I, Star Wars Outlaws, and Hogwarts Legacy — has been rewarding, but the highlight of my PS5 Pro experience, without a doubt, has been Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the most noticeable of the lot when it comes to image and frame rate enhancements. It truly is a boost in image quality and framerate, with ray tracing a major highlight.
In Performance Pro mode, the PS5 Pro aims for a smooth 60 frames per second without sacrificing the image quality found in Fidelity mode. Thanks to PSSR, it keeps all ray-tracing features active. Insomniac Games says this mode is the way to go!
READ MORE: Review | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PlayStation 5)
I couldn’t do a better job at highlighting it than the developers, but agree with their depiction. Here’s their recently released overview:
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
The Horizon Zero Dawn remaster only launched a week ago, so it’s fitting that I put it to the test. It’s a visual masterpiece as it is, so the Pro enhancements are very welcome.
The Pro’s Zero Dawn enhancements include image upscaling and stability, especially noticeable on finer details like peach fuzz and skin.
In the game’s display settings, there are Pro visual modes available. Favor Resolution Pro enables the best possible image quality for the console with 60 frames per second support.
No Man’s Sky
There’s no adjustable visual settings for No Man’s Sky on the PlayStation 5 Pro, you’re now getting the best on offer from the moment you boot the game up.
The Pro update was already applied in the recent update titled ‘The Cursed’, which was released a couple of weeks ago, so I dove straight into the new “horrors”.
The latest update provided the perfect backdrop for the upgrade, with celestial jellyfish firing plasma and creating waves of fire all around me.
Developers Hello Games have already confirmed No Man’s Sky will eventually support 8k resolution at 30fps on the PS5 Pro.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard has been enhanced for the Pro, and after spending 80 hours in the game without these visual enhancements, I’d become quite accustomed to the game’s fidelity.
Upon launching the Pro version, I immediately noticed a difference in image quality, but particularly in the game’s lighting. The Veilguard is a standout on the Pro compared to the standard PS5 version.
READ MORE: Review | Dragon Age: The Veilguard (PS5)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth:
One of the most anticipated titles for the Pro console is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — because as if it didn’t look good enough already.
There are four settings for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Versatility being the latest and greatest.
- Graphics
- Performance – Sharp
- Performance – Smooth
- Versatility
Here’s a short clip captured in Versatility mode, which targets 4K 60FPS:
After finishing FFVII Remake earlier this year, I look forward to finally diving further into Rebirth. Thanks to Square Enix for supplying the game code.
READ MORE: Review | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PlayStation 5)
Stellar Blade
There are two new graphics modes for Stellar Blade the PS5 Pro:
Pro: Enhanced Balanced Mode, optimized for the PlayStation 5 Pro console. This mode utilizes PSSR for superior quality.
Pro Max: Enhanced Prioritize Resolution Mode, optimized for the PlayStation 5 Pro console. This mode provides a higher framerate.
Both Pro and Pro Max modes are exclusive to the PlayStation 5 Pro console.
READ MORE: Review | Stellar Blade (PlayStation 5)
Hogwarts Legacy:
New Balanced and HFR Performance modes have been introduced to Hogwarts Legacy on the PS5 Pro.
While playing this one, I found noticeable upgrades in visuals and a far smoother overall experience — particularly on HFR Performance mode.
The new Hogwarts Legacy modes:
Balanced: A rendering mode aiming for a balance between resolution, graphics quality, and performance. Only available on supported output devices.
HFR Performance: An ultra-high-framerate mode favoring maximum performance. Only available on supported output devices.
Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 Games:
PlayStation says PS4 titles are set for a quality boost with new image enhancing technology, but I honestly could hardly tell the modes apart.
The settings read: “Improve the image quality of PS4 games to enjoy higher-quality gameplay for some games. Turn this off if you experience unexpected behaviour during gameplay.”
With thousands of games on offer, I went to the most pressing of all…
PlayStation 4 darling, Knack. It was the Astro Bot of the time, yet I couldn’t notice any difference with PS4 image enhancement enabled.
Spot the difference:
Maybe it’s my display? Or maybe I just don’t have a… knack… for advanced image testing?
Checking out Ratchet and Clank (PS4), however, was noticeable — albeit a tiny amount. I did see a slight refinement to the image quality while checking this one out.
All of that said, it’s only available with “some” PS4 titles, and there’s no list available.
How much more power is the PS5 Pro offering?
According to PlayStation, the PS5 Pro’s upgraded GPU includes 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory than the original PS5. They say this enables up to 45% faster rendering, which should make gameplay much smoother and more responsive.
I’m by no means able to test this, but from my experience with the console, the visuals are certainly improved.
PlayStation also highlights advanced ray tracing capabilities, claiming the Pro can handle lighting effects, reflections, and shadows at triple the speed of the standard PS5 — Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 highlights this incredibly well.
Additionally, PlayStation has introduced PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), an AI-driven upscaling technology designed to boost image clarity by adding intricate detail.
If you’re planning to get the PS5 Pro, keep in mind it doesn’t come with a disc drive. If required, you’ll need to buy this at an additional cost of $149 — if you can find stock.
PS5 Pro 2TB SSD
The whopping 2TB SSD out of the box is one of the best features of the Pro console. If you haven’t already upgraded your PS5’s storage, two terabytes of hard drive space goes an incredibly long way. It’s storage upgrade is double the slim console, while the original PS5 console has just 500GB.
Here’s what I managed to install on the PS5 Pro:
- Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
- Fortnite
- Hogwarts Legacy
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Diablo IV
- The Last of Us Part 1
- No Man’s Sky
- Dead Island 2
- Rise of the Ronin
- Stellar Blade
- Star Wars Outlaws
- Resident Evil 4
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Call of Duty Black Ops 6 + Campaign
- Metro Awakening VR
- Hollow Knight
- LEGO Horizon Adventures
- Final Fantasy VI Rebirth
- Ratchet and Clank (PS4)
- Knack (PS4)
With room to spare… I certainly bit off more than I could chew in the testing department.
Should I buy the PS5 Pro?
In the end, the PS5 Pro isn’t for everyone — it’s built for those who want the absolute best. The standard PS5 already delivers an impressive experience, and the Pro mainly takes away the hassle of choosing between performance and fidelity.
If you’re using a $3500, 4K OLED display and want a console to match that level of quality, the PS5 Pro is an ideal choice. But if you’re simply after a solid PlayStation gaming experience, the standard PS5 model is still a fantastic option.
Set to launch on November 7th, the PS5 Pro will retail at $1,199.95 AUD and comes with a 2 TB SSD, a DualSense controller, and — like the original PS5 — Astro’s Playroom is pre-installed.
PlayStation Australia supplied a PS5 Pro to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
