I played the PS5 Pro and it is clearly better

Eight years ago, PlayStation chief architect Mark Cerny showed me the power of the PS4 Pro in this room. Today, I'm trying out the new PS5 Pro instead – and I'm having a massive sense of déjà vu.

As before, Sony is showing journalists at its PlayStation US headquarters just outside San Francisco a room full of screens playing 11 games side by side on the original hardware and the innards of the new $700 Pro. As before, you're paying a hefty premium for graphical enhancements rather than new titles. As before, games need to be patched to get most of those enhancements, and not all patches are created equal.

And as before, these improvements really impressive if your TV is close enough to your couch. This time, it highlights details like individual blades of grass, improves particle density on the screen, unlocks optional 8K and ray tracing modes, and even reduces the annoying flickering that was often present in games on the original console.

Michiel van der Leeuw, technical director for all horizon Games, shows me how much smoother Horizon Forbidden West can be on the PS5 Pro, how much sharper it is now that it samples textures that are rendered more clearly, and that it no longer has to show the same ugly clouds.

“It was as if a pair of dirty goggles had been removed from my eyes,” I wrote about the PS4 Pro in 2016. I have exactly the same feeling with horizon and most of the other PS5 Pro Enhanced games I'm trying out now.

I will go into more detail below, but I want you to know my conclusion is not exactly the same as it was eight years ago. While it's clearly better than the PS5, I'm still not convinced. That's mainly because Sony is charging several hundred dollars more than last time – but also partly because I had to stand so close to the 4K screen to get this stunning result.

In Sony's demos, we're so close to the TVs that it's impossible to miss improvements, as the fixed-length wired controllers encourage us to stay close. But when I step back, the PS5 Pro's graphical improvements become increasingly difficult to spot. Some disappear at 6 feet, most at 10 feet, in any game. That's a bit further than I measured with the PS4 Pro compared to the PS4 eight years ago.

But if you're one of those people who already tunes their PS5 games to “quality,” “fidelity,” or “graphics” rather than “performance,” you're sure to notice significantly improved smoothness with the PS5 Pro, no matter how far away you sit. Some games went from completely choppy to downright buttery smooth for me on the PS5 Pro, with almost the same image quality (if not better) as the original PS5's fidelity modes.

The biggest surprise for me, however, was seeing a console that can offer so many of the immersive benefits of ray tracing without massive slowdowns. It is unlikely that many games add Raytracing modes specifically for the PS5 Pro, but Formula 1 racing game F1 24 already had it – and now you can drive in upscaled 4K and 60 fps with the features turned on.

When producer Simon Lumb turns ray-traced graphics on and off for me, it feels like the whole picture comes to life. Suddenly, the car's crash bars cast realistic shadows on the bodywork; natural reflections appear in puddles on the track and on the car's shiny hood; windows seem to refract light.

Both F1 24 And Gran Turismo 7 lets you choose other modes instead of ray tracing. You can optionally use the PS5 Pro's extra power and AI upscaling to offer an 8K picture (for the few and proud owners of 8K TVs) or a smoother 120Hz mode with upscaled 4K resolution instead. But now that I've experienced it myself, I'd choose ray tracing again and again.

Short note: When a developer says their game runs in “4K” resolution, you should know that this is not necessarily a direct comparison with other “4K” games. In any case, the PS5 Pro a 4K image on your TV thanks to the magic of AI upscaling, with all the sharpness it offers. However, the game's internal rendering resolution can be quite a bit lower, and it varies while you play. All of these can affect the final quality.

Developers tell me that Sony's PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling can keep up with all of that, turning a 720p image into a 4K image in the blink of an eye at 59.94 frames per second — but of course, 720p upscaled to 2160p might not look as good as 1440p upscaled to 2160p. Some developers might still want to sacrifice frame rate for resolution if Sony lets them. (A leaked document suggests they might do that, but Sony hasn't confirmed it.)

Also, while developer after developer tells me that the PS5 Pro offers “the best of both worlds” in terms of fidelity and performance, this is not the case with the PS5 Pro. quite offer twice the performance of the original console – so small compromises have to be made.

For example Insomniacs Spider Man 2 actually runs at a lower rendering resolution in the new PS5 Pro mode “Performance Pro” than in the “Fidelity” mode of the original PS5. While I far preferred However, the PS5 Pro experience can have some interesting edge cases where fine details of certain objects (such as windows of distant buildings) may not be quite as easy to see.

With Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartthe same developer has taken a different approach: if you look closely, there are actually fewer spectators in the stands in the “Performance Pro” mode of the PS5 Pro than in the “Fidelity” mode of the standard PS5. Still, thanks to the changes on the PS5 Pro, the game looks both smoother and crisper, so I can't complain. And in some areas, even more detail!

When developers have to choose, several tell me they've decided to prioritize “stability,” addressing the biggest sacrifices they had to make with the original console. However, some games will also ship with their original performance and fidelity modes if you prefer those.

And some games actually seem to be the best of both worlds: In my short time with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — The hair and fine details on the PS5 Pro even surpass the “Graphics” mode of the original PS5.

We're looking forward to getting a PS5 Pro to test so we can do a comprehensive review. In the meantime, I'll leave you with some rough notes on each game I've seen!

• Demon Souls: A single PS5 Pro mode targeting 60fps at a PSSR upscaled 4K resolution – might not always hit 60, but feels very smooth for a FromSoftware game. Old modes are retained as well. Lots of additional Souls-like particle effects thanks to PSSR! From the Boletaria Bridge, I can see flagpoles on a castle in the distance that aren't visible on the original PS5 as long as I'm within 1.5 meters of the TV.
• Dragon's Dogma II: PS5 Pro mode currently achieves 55-60 fps VRR in the city, capped at 60 fps outdoors, at PSSR upscaled 4K resolution. I don't want to talk about the internal resolution.
• F1 24: 1440p render resolution, PSSR upscaled to 4K at locked 60fps. Ray tracing mode also 4K, locked 60fps. Also 4K120 and 8K60 modes. On the original PS5 had to run at half resolution internally to reach 4K60, so 1440p is an improvement.
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: A single PS5 Pro mode at PSSR upscaled 4K60, variable internal resolution. Best showcase game for the PS5 Pro, as the original PS5's Performance Mode looks muddy in comparison. From 1.5 meters away, you can clearly see scratches on Cloud's sword that are invisible in the original PS5's Performance Mode; from 2.5 meters away, they're barely noticeable.
• Gran Turismo 7: Four PS5 Pro modes: Prioritize Ray Tracing, Prioritize Frame Rate, 8K Mode, 120Hz 4K Mode, all use PSSR to upscale and all target 60fps; 8K mode slightly sharper than 4K. Ray tracing mode allows cars to clearly show reflections from each other.
• Hogwarts Legacy: Three PS5 Pro modes: Fidelity, Fidelity + Ray Tracing, Performance. PS5 Pro Performance mode offers more detail than the original PS5 Performance mode. Ray tracing looks impressive (but targets 30fps), now includes ray traced shadows, and more detail in reflections. All modes have dynamic internal resolution, but it's now capped at 80 percent of 4K instead of 67 percent of 4K.
• Horizon Forbidden West: A single PS5 Pro mode at PSSR upscaled 4K60, based on a variable internal resolution “higher than 1440p.” Also offers old PS5 modes. On the original PS5, an 1800p checkerboard was offered based on a lower internal resolution. Far less distracting shimmer on distant details, increased texture detail (all textures one mipmap sharper), improved shadow filter quality on faces, and more.
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2: A single PS5 Pro mode at PSSR upscaled 4K60, based on a lower rendering resolution than the original Fidelity mode. A “Fidelity Pro” mode is also being considered. Shimmering has been significantly improved at a distance.
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart: A single PS5 Pro mode at PSSR upscaled 4K60, based on an internal render resolution “generally a tick or two higher” than the PS5. (The original render resolution varied, but was at least between 1080p and around 1280p depending on the mode.) Small details like pieces of confetti don't disappear as easily; shimmer on details is reduced.
• The Crew Motorfest: A single PS5 Pro mode at PSSR upscaled 4K60. Increased loading and shadow distances, but at racing speeds you can't really tell the difference. Also increased internal resolution though: I can see the carbon fiber structure of a spoiler from 1.5 meters away from the TV, which I can't see on the original PS5.
• The Last of Us Part II – Remastered: A single PS5 Pro mode at 4K60, PSSR upscaled from 1440p. The original PS5 only offered native 4K30 or 1440p60. It's noticeably sharper than 1440p60 (the grass!) and much smoother than 4K30. Some small details in the original native 4K30 arguably look better.

Photos by Sean Hollister / The Verge