The best of both worlds.
When Mark Cerny introduced the PlayStation 5 Pro console in a short presentation in September, he chose The Last of Us as his first example. Everyone was amazed at this, and it seemed to me an extremely strange choice. But after more detailed testing, I can say that the PS5 Pro versions of both games are better than they might seem at first glance. They were just shown very clumsily in the presentation.
What do the original PS5 versions look like?
However, the fact is that the remake of the first Last of Us and the remaster of these two games look very good already on the base PS5. As usual, the game offers two modes: Fidelity and Performance.
The first mentioned targets native 4K resolution at 30fps, while the performance mode achieves native 4K resolution with simple upscaling from 1440p but delivers a stable 60fps. Additionally, both modes can be played with the framerate unlocked, which we’ll look at later as it will allow for a good comparison of the performance of both consoles.
- Performance
- Entrance: 1440 RUR
- exit: 2160 RUR
- Upscaling + smoothing: Simple spatial + TAA
- Maximum frame rate: 60 fps (VRR 120 seconds)
- Actual frame rate: Stable 60 fps (70 to 100 with VRR)
- Loyalty
- Entrance: 2160 RUR
- exit: 2160 RUR
- Smoothing: TAA
- Maximum frame rate: 30fps (VRR 60s)
- Actual frame rate: Stable 30 fps (VRR 40 to 55 seconds)
What’s new on PS5 Pro
Developers at Naughty Dog are one of the few to decide to go down the path that Cerny was tempted to take in the original presentation – the best of both worlds. So they kept the original two modes, but added a new Pro mode on top of them, which delivers a stable 60fps with image quality comparable to the original Fidelity mode. However, the rendering settings are close to the Performance mode, as it is also upscaled from 1440p, but again using PSSR technology.
- For
- Entrance: 1440 RUR
- exit: 2160 RUR
- Upscaling + smoothing: PSSR
- Maximum frame rate: 60 fps (VRR 120 seconds)
- Actual frame rate: Stable 60 fps (80 to 100 with VRR)
Vegetation
As we can already see with Alan, PSSR is distinguished by vegetation, that is, grass, leaves and other vegetation, which in The Last of Us makes up a large part of the environment. In Performance mode, vegetation blurs and individual spines blend together, but Pro mode provides very sharp and accurate renderings.
Know this in both games.
And also on the yellowed grass in the late stages of doubles.
The Pro mode easily competes with the original Fidelity mode, as promised.
I would not even be afraid to say that in terms of vegetation it is even slightly superior, although the difference in clarity and sharpness of rendering is, of course, not as great as in comparison with the Performance mode.
Details
The big advantage of PSSR is also the overall higher image sharpness and detail reconstruction. We can see this, for example, on Dina’s backpack in the next frame. The difference is quite significant.
In the same way, a shift can be observed, for example, in the hair of a horse and in general animal models or figurines.
And the inscriptions are more detailed and easy to read even from a greater distance.
Additionally, details are also an area where the Pro mode is equal to or superior to the loyalty mode.
On the other hand, I noticed that grain appeared in the image, and no, I did not have film grain turned on, I deliberately re-tested some areas. This seems to be one of the negative features of PSSR, because the already mentioned Alan Wake 2 has a similar problem. But there it is quite extreme, in TLOU you practically don’t notice it unless you zoom in on the image or really. focus on this.
Nicknames
Another major advantage of Pro mode is the elimination of aliases, or at least reducing the number of them, which it does well. Although it has not disappeared completely, it is much less, especially on objects in the distance.
Compared to Fidelity mode, image stability is very similar, each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages. I wouldn’t call any of them the clear winner here.
Shimmering
Hair and beard shimmer is also virtually eliminated, as we see on Joel for example.
Plus, Pro mode makes your beard and hair look cleaner than Fidelity mode.
Cutscenes
The combination of improvements can also be seen in the cutscenes, which look very good anyway in the basic Performance mode, even if it is more action-oriented…
…or a more intimate scene.
Frame rate
Measuring frame rates in these games is quite interesting. In all modes, the frame rate remains stable and there is nothing to decide, but if you have a 120Hz display with VRR support, you can unlock the frame rate in each mode.
If you do this in the new Pro mode, you can expect the frame rate to be between 80 and 100 fps, but it’s possible that it will drop even further in more challenging passages. Either way, it’s a solid step up from the base 60fps.
If you don’t care at all about how the game looks, you could theoretically also go into performance mode with the framerate unlocked. On the base PS5, frame rates will be somewhere between 70 and 100 fps, while on PS5 Pro you’ll almost always top 100 fps, and in less demanding sequences you’ll even hit the absolute limit of 120 fps.
The last option is Fidelity mode, which on the base PS5 supported a frame rate of 40 to 55 FPS; on the new console, at least in the tested locations, it is stable at 60, but it is possible that the frame rate may drop.
Summary
Overall, The Last of Us PS5 Pro update was much better than I thought it would be during testing. Pro mode offers significantly sharper and cleaner images compared to the original Performance mode, especially noticeable on foliage and higher detail. In many ways it is even superior to Fidelity mode.
So Pro mode is the obvious choice for anyone looking to play The Last of Us on PS5 Pro. However, purely theoretically, two initial modes can be used. Performance mode for those who care solely about frame rate values, and Fidelity mode for those who really want native 4K at 60fps, although as I mentioned above, you’ll mostly suffer in terms of image quality compared to Pro mode. losses, not additional gains.
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Source :Indian TV
