So, you’ve got yourself a PS5 Pro. Great shout. Sony’s mid-gen update is one of the best consoles you can get your hands on at the moment. With a load of fancy new tech under the hood, it ratchets up the performance and visuals of your favourite titles to game changing levels.
But now you’re wondering what the best PS5 Pro games are, right? You’re in luck. We’ve rounded up *the* must-play adventures that’ll get the most from PlayStation’s latest. Plus, there’s an in-depth look at how the beefier tech makes a big difference to each of them. Let’s dive in…
Horizon Forbidden West
Aloy’s quest is going to seem way better than you remember. First, it’s been upgraded to a 4K resolution with a solid 60 frames per second. You won’t be stuttering your way through crazy robo dinosaur battles, even when the metal starts flying. And all that extra horsepower from the Pro is easy to spot from the off too.
It’s let Guerilla fine-tune the feel of the world even further. Those dark clouds gathering overhead look especially dark and brooding. Depth of field is increased, meaning far off mountains will be clear and blur-free. And shadows are cast in a far more lifelike way. It’s absolute eye candy.
One thing to mention for the techy among you – the game isn’t using Sony’s in-house PSSR upscaling system though. And the devs have done it all using their own set of smart tools. Kudos to em’, because it’s really paid off.
What is PSSR?
PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (or PSSR) is Sony’s impressive new upscaling tech. By using an AI algorithm, they can upscale – or boost – the look of your games. Giving them a seriously sharp image and boat loads of detail in every scene.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Our Spidey senses are tingling. Spider-Man is already one of the best-looking games on the PS5. And now it’s something you’ll be able to marvel at (sorry) even more. That PSSR tech we’ve spoken about really comes into its own here. The detail gets bumped up to insane levels. Like, you can literally see the threads and stitching in Peter Parker’s iconic red suit. Or the individual hairs of Kraven the Hunter’s majestic bushy beard.
Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned the ray traced sunsets yet. While you web swing your way across New York, the city gets bathed in brighter, richer colours than before. It’s important to take in those quieter, picturesque moments. After all, taking down supervillains is stressful work…
Gran Turismo 7
The PlayStation exclusive racer is now rocking support for ray tracing during races. This wasn’t even possible on the base PS5, but now every lap will feature the clever lighting tech. The surface of your car (and your competitors’) will show a full reflection of any others whizzing by. How’s that for realism and immersion?
Talking of immersion if you own a PSVR 2 headset, you’re in for a treat. The render quality has been turned up a notch, and there’s smoother playback too. Maybe now you won’t get car sick when you strap in for a quick spin round the track.
What is ray tracing?
Ray tracing makes light in games behave just like it does in real life. Let’s say you’re shining a flashlight in a dark room. Your light beam will hit objects, bounce off surfaces and create shadows and reflections.
The tech can calculate these paths (or rays) of light in real-time, making the graphics look a lot more realistic. So, you end up with lifelike reflections on water, shinier surfaces and shadows that are actually deep and dark. It’s smart stuff.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
If you’re playing Ratchet & Clank on the standard PS5, you’ve got a big decision to make. ‘Graphics’ or ‘Performance Mode’? Picking either means you miss out on the best things about the other. Not with the Pro though.
It can run a version of the game that’s literally the best of both worlds. It blends the performance and graphics modes together into what the studio are calling “the true vision of the game”. Making your frame rate higher and smoother, without taking anything away from the quality of the visuals. And if that’s not a great selling point, we don’t know what is.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Like Ratchet and Clank, the makers of Rebirth have found a way to let you play with a high framerate and jaw-dropping graphics at the same time. The new ‘Versatility Mode’ was built especially for the Pro and lets you explore the world with more fluid gameplay and graphics that’ll have you gawping.
There won’t be any frustrating lag either. The game’s making full use of a ‘High CPU Frequency Mode’ that’ll give you a rock-solid framerate. Even when the action kicks off and you’re taking down enemies left right and centre.
The Last of Us Part II Remastered
The post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us is an extremely grim place to be. But hey, now it’s looking a bit prettier at least. A new graphical setting – the ‘Pro Mode’ – uses PSSR to boost the resolution to 4K, while also targeting a solid 60 FPS. Which for the non-techy folk among you, basically translates to better quality graphics and higher performance.
So, while you’re scrabbling for supplies in the ruins of Seattle, all those smaller details will really stand out. From the dried blood on Ellie’s weapons, to the snowfall settling on Joel’s jacket. Just don’t get too distracted by the game’s shiny new look. Otherwise, you might end up as a Clicker’s next meal.
God of War Ragnarök
Slaying Norse gods and all manner of mythical beasties has never looked so good. Santa Monica Studio have added in a special PS5 Pro ‘Enhanced Mode’ for you to try out. It switches on the ‘Favour Quality’ visuals in the settings, but also manages to target 60 FPS. So, it pretty much doubles the performance of the regular PS5’s 30 FPS ‘Quality Mode’. Now that’s Thor-some…
For those of you with a VRR-capable display, there’s even a High Frame Rate option that bumps things up further. How does 120 FPS sound? Your battles against Odin and co. just got a whole lot better.
Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls was one of the PS5 launch titles way back in 2020. And while it’s a bit of a golden oldie by now, the devs haven’t left it to gather dust. Instead, they’ve given it a nice little facelift - adding PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) 4K upscaling into the mix.
This targets 60 FPS, making your framerate a whole lot more fluid. Who knows, maybe now you’ll have the edge over that boss who has been crushing you for the past five years…
Alan Wake 2
Both of Alan Wake II’s ‘Performance’ and ‘Quality’ modes have had a welcome upgrade on the Pro. The ‘Quality’ setting brings 30 FPS with ray tracing to the party (plus a 4K resolution), while ‘Performance’ increases that frame rate to 60 FPS and adds a 4K output too.
And all that’s about to make your journey extra creepy. The look of thick fog and lighting becomes incredibly atmospheric. Whereas shadows are more accurate than they were before. You might not see what’s lurking in them until it’s too late.
EA Sports F1 24
Just like the engineers on the grid, Codemasters have been tinkering under the bonnet to get the most from EA Sports F1 24 on the PS5 Pro.
The main thing worth shouting about is the new ray tracing effects that have been included with its ‘Quality Mode’. You’ll really notice the difference in realism (and your immersion), especially when you’re going for that top spot on rain-soaked courses. You’ll see everything from the tiny droplets on a driver’s visor, to the reflections in puddles pooling on the corners of the track.
And we know F1 is lightning fast. Which is why the devs have introduced a special 4K, 120 FPS ‘Performance Mode’ to match the speedy gameplay. Those extra frames might help you shave a second or two off your record lap time!
Upcoming PS5 Pro enhanced games
The PS5 Pro enhanced games don’t stop there though. We don’t know exactly how they’ll make the most of the new tech just yet. But it’s safe to say the likes of Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yōtei and Marvel’s Wolverine are pretty likely to come with their own performance and graphical updates.
And speaking of future titles, there’s a lot of other exciting stuff hitting consoles later this year. So, check out our upcoming games page and never miss a release. We might even have a few discount codes for you over there too.
You’ve got the PS5 Pro. You’ve decided on some PS5 Pro games. How about a new telly to go with them? We’ve handpicked the best TVs for PS5 right here. And if you’re thinking about signing up for a PlayStation Plus subscription – but don’t know where to start – we’ve got you covered. Our PlayStation Plus tiers explained article will run you through the Essential, Extra and Premium memberships on offer. They’re all pretty epic.
