Returnal on PS5 Pro: Stunning Visual Upgrade Ignites Newfound Appreciation
Returnal, Housemarque's acclaimed roguelike shooter, has received a surprise PlayStation 5 Pro upgrade, reigniting interest in this visually stunning and challenging title. To celebrate its fourth anniversary, the developers rolled out a patch that delivers a significant resolution boost, promising up to 2.5x higher resolution on Sony's Pro hardware. But is it just about resolution, or does the upgrade address more than just visual fidelity?
Digital Foundry's in-depth analysis reveals that the PS5 Pro update pushes the resolution to a peak of 3072x1728, utilizing dynamic resolution scaling (DRS) to adapt to GPU load. The lowest recorded resolution during intense boss battles was 2400x1350. This is a significant jump from the base PS5's fixed 1080p resolution, which was then temporally reconstructed to 1440p and upscaled to 4K via checkerboard rendering. According to Housemarque, the patch offers up to 2.5x higher resolution than the base PlayStation 5 version.
So, what does this mean for the player's experience? While the fast-paced action of Returnal might not always make the resolution boost immediately apparent, the upgrade shines through in the details. Textures appear sharper, moiré patterns are minimized, and aliasing is reduced, resulting in a cleaner and more visually appealing image. The flickering is reduced on hard edges, and bursts of effects are cleaner with very little aliasing.
However, the 2.56x resolution increase isn't consistently sustainable. Given that the PS5 Pro offers a 1.45x boost in GPU power compared to the base model, dynamic resolution scaling plays a crucial role. It ensures that the game delivers the highest quality frames possible while maintaining a smooth framerate. And while the upgrade is impressive, it doesn't include ray tracing. That feature remains exclusive to PC gamers.
Performance-wise, the update is a welcome improvement. Returnal on the base PS5 maintained a solid 60 frames per second, but frame rate drops were possible. According to reports boss battles are locked tightly at 60 frames per second on the Pro. While traversal hitches persist, the Pro version appears to iron out most of the frame-rate dips found on the original PS5 release.
While some players have reported experiencing frame-rate dips with the Pro patch installed, the consensus is largely positive. The improved image quality, combined with a more stable framerate in demanding scenarios, makes Returnal on the PS5 Pro a worthwhile upgrade for those seeking the ultimate visual experience.
With the anniversary update, the game does get more attention from Housemarque. Resolution and performance boosts are perhaps not the most ambitious use of Pro hardware. However, the upgrade is impressive overall: the only minor catch is a higher occurrence of 50ms frame-time hitches just on striking an enemy, but the pros outweigh the cons in getting to a more stable 60 frames per second with a significant image quality upgrade. Returnal is the best shooters ever made and the Pro upgrade is an opportunity to revisit one of this generation's all-time classics.
Do the visual enhancements and performance improvements encourage you to revisit the world of Atropos? Share your thoughts and experiences with the Returnal PS5 Pro update in the comments below!
