Buzz
The PS5 Pro offers a unique console update: It lacks exclusive games, a disc drive, or a stand, and is priced at $699. Beyond its slightly redesigned look and quieter operation, the primary focus is on its graphical improvements. Interestingly, these enhancements aren't limited to PS5 games but also benefit PS4 titles.
It's important to note that the PS5 Pro doesn't universally enhance every game in your collection. For PS5 games, developers must update them to be "enhanced" for the new console. Recently, Sony revealed a list of 55 such games, including God of War Ragnarök and The Last of Us Part II Remastered. When played on the PS5 Pro, these games can leverage the improved GPU for higher resolutions and smoother frame rates.
This is where Sony's promised experience truly delivers. Gamers can enjoy faster ray tracing for more realistic lighting, AI-upscaling for better visuals without straining the hardware, and expanded "game mode" options. While base PS5 games often let you choose between Performance mode (prioritizing frame rate over graphics) and Fidelity mode (prioritizing graphics over frame rate), PS5 Pro-enhanced games provide additional flexibility, such as 4K resolution at 60 fps.
PS4 games aren't officially "enhanced," but there are ways to improve them
On the other hand, PS4 games won't receive enhanced versions since they are designed for the PS4, not the PS5. Therefore, purchasing a PS5 Pro with the expectation that it will automatically upgrade your PS4 library to match enhanced PS5 games is unrealistic.
However, the Pro does provide an option to improve the visuals of PS4 titles through a new setting in the menu. By enabling "Enhance Image Quality for PS4 Games," you can give your older PlayStation games a slight visual upgrade. (The term "enhance" can be a bit misleading here. The distinction is that PS5 enhanced games are optimized by developers for the PS5 Pro, while PS4 games benefit from a hardware-based setting on the console itself.)
Since this is a basic setting rather than a developer-optimized update, PS4 games won't look drastically better on a PS5 Pro compared to a PS5 or PS4 Pro. Additionally, this setting doesn't improve frame rates, so if a game is locked at 30 fps, enabling the PS4 image enhancement won't alter that.
That said, you will see some visual improvements. A prime example is Bloodborne: Sony has never released a remastered version of this beloved PS4 game, meaning since its 2015 launch, it has remained at 1080p 30fps on any PlayStation console. While the frame rate remains unchanged, the visual enhancements make this the definitive way to play Bloodborne on PlayStation.
Sony hasn't provided extensive details on how this visual upscaling works (AI processing might be involved). However, the company cautions that enabling this setting could cause unexpected issues in some games. If problems arise, Sony advises turning off the feature.
