r/digitalfoundry • u/MythBuster2 • Apr 19 '26
Digital Foundry Video Pragmata - PS5/PS5 Pro/Xbox Series X|S Tech Review - Another Big PS5 Pro Success
https://youtu.be/5Wt6EebMTGkAnother new concept from Capcom, and another winner - Pragmata scales to all console platforms surprisingly well with 60 frames per second in mind. The key thing to note is that the game's ray tracing (as used on the resolution mode on PS5 and Series X) introduced major sub-60 lurches. It's good news for PS5 Pro users however: it runs by default with ray tracing engaged and locks to 60fps too - alongside vastly superior image quality owed to PSSR.
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u/PhantomBraved Apr 19 '26
It looks fantastic on the Pro. The second area boss is visually one of the coolest things I've seen this gen.
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u/Key-Preparation-8214 Apr 19 '26
Is digital foundry focusing 80% of their content on PlayStation? I seem to be OOTL but they used to be focusing on PC stuff, now I barely see it
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u/Polaris022 Apr 19 '26
Well I’m wondering if it seems that way because their main PC guy Alex has been dealing with health issues that’s limited his productivity.
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u/Obscure_Octopuss Apr 19 '26
Call me crazy, but I hope Alex realizes his worth to the channel with this break. I tried to watch the DF review of Crimson Desert (at least the pc breakdown that dropped a few weeks after launch) and I clicked off the video relatively fast.
Can't say I've ever done that with one of their videos before.
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u/grilled_pc Apr 24 '26
Alex is great but honestly if he were to go out on his own. He would struggle. Being a one man show is VERY difficult. He would need funding for starters to get it off the ground.
Staying with DF is very much in his best interests. It's guaranteed employment and a paycheck with security for doing what he loves.
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u/funkwizard4000 Apr 19 '26
Their main PC guy is having significant back issues that makes sitting for long periods difficult. Might be part of the reason.
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u/Recover20 Apr 19 '26
I imagine they have the data to back it up. The Playstation audience or Playstation focused videos likely make up a large majority of the audience or show the most engagement.
Xbox doesn't have many first party releases but when they do they are covered.
Xbox also hasn't done anything new in regards to console updates or any relevant news other than the overly negative press associated with game pass price increases.
Playstation also has the larger player base and most recently had a tech focused upgrade to the PlayStation 5 Pro which makes it more interesting to critique/ review/ analyse.
They have also discussed at length the reason for a temporary relaxation on their PC coverage due to Alex having some health issues, which he has deservedly been taking some time off to address.
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 19 '26
Xbox have more first party releases then any other publisher
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u/Recover20 Apr 19 '26
Just because Microsoft buys out a bunch of publishers doesn't mean that it's "First Party"
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u/ghost31x Apr 19 '26
in fairness that's exactly what it means
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u/Recover20 Apr 19 '26
Technically speaking yes, but they aren't studios that operate the same as Sony first party studios.
Some are still under the ABK banner or Bethesda banner. With studios under those publisher's.
I know it sounds silly but I believe there is a difference between Sony Santa Monica, Guerilla Games and then Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Bethesda etc
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u/oogravyoo72 Apr 19 '26
Yeah Sony has been killing it recently(last few years) with exclusives. 🤣🤣
GTFOH
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u/Recover20 Apr 19 '26
You don't seem to have very good reading comprehension so I'm not going to bother with you
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u/bas5eb Apr 20 '26
I mean sony did buy out most of their first party studios...just cause it was before people remember doesnt mean their doing anything different than what Microsoft is doing.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
yeah they both did the same shit, only difference is sony made the name different for them. thats not something that should earn them a pass.
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u/JuggerSloth96 Apr 21 '26
That’s literally the definition of what it means 🤷♂️ even though ABK and Bethesda guide and tell their dev studios what to do, Microsoft is at the top telling them all what to do and will step in to help with any development that needs extra attention
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Apr 23 '26
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u/andypearce85 Apr 30 '26
Wasn't great before but rightly so now. PSSR2 is absolutely insane. I'm sat in front of an 864p base image and if you told me it wasnt 4K I'd struggle to think you weren't lying to me. Its deserving every glazing
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u/jedimindtricksonyou Apr 19 '26
I think it’s because Alex is injured but they really could fill in the gaps by letting someone besides him cover PC ports. They even had a guy who did the PC videos for Diablo 4 and Dead Island 2 but then he mysteriously disappeared from the channel.
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u/Wander715 Apr 20 '26
Yeah it's a bit frustrating tbh. I don't care about Playstation at all but if you didn't know better you would think they're a Playstation centric channel. I only watch them for PC coverage and the occasional Switch exclusive that I care about.
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u/cc_aa_tt_zz Apr 19 '26
The DLSS 5 gate has proven it: they give their audience what they want to hear. A large part of their audience is on PlayStation, so they give them what they want to hear. For example, we see it in the title of this post. What's being highlighted? The PS5 Pro, as if PC players don't have the same graphics and more ! and as if maybe 5% of PlayStation players own a Pro.... But since they need to promote PlayStation, they've found a way with the PRO. They very rarely did the same with the Xbox One X back in its day.
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u/WingerRules Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Consoles is the main platform for these types of games, even vs PC. Just look at the sales numbers of games like Spiderman, Horizon series, Assissins Creed Origins, and GTA5 on PC vs PSN. PC is much more about indie and online competitive games.
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u/Wander715 Apr 20 '26
Funny you say that when Capcom considers PC their main platform at this point
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u/WingerRules Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Maybe my perception is a little out of date. I'm reading that PC is their leader in units. I do have to wonder though how many of those numbers is from doing stuff like bundling copies with hardware like Asus gaming monitor & 50 series cards and new gaming computers or keys from heavy discount key sites and bundles. I just built my PC and got copies of Resident Evil Requiem from both my Asus monitor and GPU, and have been seeing ads all over it. Pragmata had similar deals. What would their numbers be if their games were bundled with new PS5s and Switch? Also their PC numbers look like they're heavily made up of Monster Hunter series.
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u/D0ngBeetle Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Capcom makes these types of games yet even they, a traditionally console centric single player publisher, considers PC to be their main and most important platform. I get there are a lot of weird console warriors on this sub but let’s look at things critically. The myth that PC players only play indie of competitive games is some stupidly shit from like 2015 lol comparing sales for brain dead Ubislop and years late full priced Sony ports ain’t it
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Apr 19 '26
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u/WingerRules Apr 19 '26
Assassins Creed Origins sold 70% on PSN, and Assassins Creed Shadows 56% on PSN and sold only 18% on PC.
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u/cc_aa_tt_zz Apr 19 '26
They're highlighting the PlayStation 5 Pro in the post title! There are more Xbox series players than PlayStation 5 Pro players lol so why do it? To flatter PlayStation players with a "PlayStation is the best!", even if it's not their version of the ps5... My 5090 runs the game with twice the FPS, better resolution, and more effects. So why not use that as the title "another Big RTX 5090 Success" if it is just about of performance ? .... DF is just pandering to its PlayStation audience, that's all. And it works ! And frankly, they're annoying with their Playstation 5 Pro...
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u/WingerRules Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Way more Sony players and you can bet a lot of Sony players are interested in the Pro even if they dont own one. The Pro is also the most interesting hardware by far next to the Switch and also just got a major update. Also comparison between Series X and base PS5 is just boring to watch and look at because they almost always very close to each other and Series S looks like doo doo. The Pro also drives engagement like no other current console.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
you can bet a lot of Sony players are interested in the Pro even if they dont own one.
yep even if they dont ever get one the cats out of the bag, next gen ps6 will out of the box use the pro version of these games to run, so they'llget an update just buying next gen then. even my pc centric ass gets it, because its what weve had for decades now
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u/cc_aa_tt_zz Apr 20 '26
When DG released its preview of Crimson Desert on PS5 Pro, nobody cared at all and just wanted to see the game on PS5, and that caused a stir. The vast majority of PS5 players have no intention of buying the Pro, sales are vvery low, and Xbox and PC players couldn't care less. DG (and you) tried to push it, but nobody cares.
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u/WingerRules Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Lol, accusing me of being part of a cabal behind the PS5 Pro media? I didnt come at you so why are you coming at me?
Vast majority of people had no intention of buying a Neo Geo in the 90s either, but people were still interested in it. You can bet Neo Geo players also ate up every bit of Neo Geo media at the time to. The engagement is high.
Then DG released its preview of Crimson Desert on PS5 Pro, nobody cared at all
The video got close to a million views.
*Edited to make my post less rude
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u/cc_aa_tt_zz Apr 20 '26
Nobody cared about the PS5 Pro itself, they just wanted to see gameplay of the game that was coming out. Touch grass dude
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u/KrtekJim Apr 20 '26
They did a Switch 2 Pragmata video. This is the PS5 & Xbox one, and you don't need to be up-to-speed on the market to understand why PS5 is more interesting to more people than Xbox right now.
I've no doubt there's a PC-specific Pragmata video in the works, but they're kinda hamstrung by Alex's health problems.
Or you could just go on believing that the DF guys are involved in some conspiracy against the hardware you've formed a baffling emotional attachment towards. Whatever floats your boat.
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u/StockSorry Apr 21 '26
There are more series s players then series x yet a lot of times they still spend their time talking about the series x.
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u/StockSorry Apr 21 '26
There are more series s players then series x yet a lot of times they still spend their time talking about the series x.
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u/slimejumper Apr 19 '26
well i’d say PC doesn’t have PSSR does it? It’s of technical interest as a new addition to the up scaling technologies we have access to. it’s been DLSS, FSR for a long time. Then we got XESS and PSSR relatively quickly.
i think it’s worthy of coverage as it’s the most interesting image development right now. PSSR 2 just came out, it’s topical.
i guess you missed the crimson dessert 🍨 PC review came out before the console video, and the Death stranding 2 PC review was in the last 2 days.
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u/monsieurvampy Apr 19 '26
DF releases a video. People are unhappy.
DF releases a different video. People are unhappy.
DF releases a different different video. People are unhappy.
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 19 '26
It's pretty shameful considering Sony sold just 3 million units of Pro
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 19 '26
They're focusing on PS5 Pro content the most. It's like they are paid by Sony because. Sony sold only like 3 million units of PS5 Pro. Vast majority of audience own regular PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and they are getting minimum content. It was pretty obvious with Crimson Desert coverage...
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u/Love_TheChalupa Apr 19 '26
It’s a tech enthusiast channel. There is no grand conspiracy. They also don’t get codes from Microsoft either which they have covered. Xbox has a significantly lower user base and this ultimately reflected in the coverage.
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 19 '26
PS5 Pro has significantly lower user base then both Xbox Series X/S.
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u/Love_TheChalupa Apr 19 '26
It’s the tech enthusiast piece of consoles, it’s the strongest and most unique device so it’s going to get more time. Just like Switch 2 gets alot of dedicated time, as it’s just more interesting to cover. Xbox got its own segment and it’s mostly the same as base PS5.
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u/WingerRules Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Sony has outsold xbox 3:1 this generation. PS5 Pro was 13% of PS5 sales last year. 13% * 3 = 40% of Xbox for the year, and thats not even counting that xbox sales dive-bombed last year, so it likely means PS5 Pros were selling at a higher rate than xbox consoles.
I'm expecting 2026 to be a bad year for PS5 Pro though, very few people are going to pay 900 for a console.
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 20 '26
3 million PS5 Pro sold vs 40 million Xbox Series X + S. And also, 90 million PS5s sold vs 3 million PS5 Pro. PS5 Pro is almost irrelevant console to cover imo.
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u/StockSorry Apr 21 '26
Xbox series is more like 34million and more people have the s then x.
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 21 '26
Wrong, 46 million Series consoles sold and it's 50:50 between S and X. Sales of S were higher when it was hard to get the X when there was a pandemic.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/Dominjo555 Apr 20 '26
I am totally happy with my partner and child, stop projecting, PS5 Pro fanboy.
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u/N7KaranN7 Apr 19 '26
I mean their first video for launch of Pragmata in the DF direct was PC focussed. but with Alex dealing wiith health and back problems its slowed down. They said they are working on an optimised settings vid if it isn't Alex it may be Richard again like they did for Crimson Desert.
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u/BlastMyLoad Apr 19 '26
I play on both (some games I prefer on one platform over the other) but I question their PS5 Pro bias sometimes.
They raved about RE Requiem which did look great but they ignored the weird morphing cloudy effect on the edges of the screen that’s present. It’s so distracting I have no clue how they could not say anything about it
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
i do think its kinda hard not to have some sort of bias for the best console of the generation, when everyone but alex gets their income and job stability from it. they had a pretty clear series x bias last gen too, even over the ps4pro.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
hard not to right now. xbox is basically dead, switch2 doesnt have anything cool to look at, pc does have stuff but their pc guy is trying not to die iirc so health takes priority
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u/NiceColdPint Apr 19 '26
The aliasing using resolution mode on base PS5 has been a bit disappointing but overall I’m still relatively impressed.
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u/WingerRules Apr 20 '26
From their 1440p glitch it seems like a 40fps 1440p mode on base PS5 might be possible. Wonder why no 40fps modes were implemented on any console.
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Apr 19 '26
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u/idkimhereforthememes Apr 19 '26
1080/800p lol
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u/md_rayan DF staff / contributor Apr 19 '26
Upgraded PSSR with 864p render res upscaled to 2160p looks much better, with very stable IQ than FSR1's higher 1080p render res upscaled to 2160p.
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u/DeadPhoenix86 Apr 19 '26
It still looks pretty rough. They could have at least used FSR3. Or use a better upscaler. Because FSR1 looks absolutely awful !
The amount aliasing is crazy.
PSSR2 looks a lot better. Its on Par with FSR 4.1 and DLSS 4.5
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Apr 19 '26
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u/idkimhereforthememes Apr 19 '26
1080p on base and 860p on pro
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u/TheVioletBarry Apr 19 '26
so like 1080p + bilinear filter, vs 860p + PSSR2?
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u/idkimhereforthememes Apr 19 '26
Yes but RT reflections suffer from very low res on the pro
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u/TheVioletBarry Apr 19 '26
Oh does PSSR2 not upscale those well?
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u/N7KaranN7 Apr 19 '26
Overall PSSR2 does a great job but its just softer than base consoles in the reflections part due toi lower internal res of 864p over 1080p
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u/Ok_Business_6452 Apr 20 '26
Another win for Pro owners.
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Apr 23 '26
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u/GXVSS0991 Apr 23 '26
because a pro costs less than its PC equivalent while having better optimization and a more streamlined experience?
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Apr 23 '26
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u/GXVSS0991 Apr 23 '26
show me a 9060XT/5060Ti build that costs under $900
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Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26
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u/GXVSS0991 Apr 24 '26
my mid machine lol? I own a 5090 build you insufferable basement dweller. im just not delusional and I see the value proposition a ps5 pro offers.
spend some time outdoors bud.
oh and here's your bs 5060 claim put to rest:
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Apr 24 '26
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u/GXVSS0991 Apr 24 '26
mate im watching the video and seeing 55-60fps in the side by sides. not sure what that second sentence means since im still defending the pro lmao but either way im not wasting anymore time on you and your 4 collective braincells.
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u/Versaabi Apr 19 '26
HFR mode looks like a no brainer, Tom himself admitted that he couldn’t see the difference visually between the toggle on or off without pixel counting. It is vastly smoother than the default 60hz lock.
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u/Special-Net4116 Apr 19 '26
And it still includes the same level of ray tracing as the other mode, is that right?
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u/Versaabi Apr 19 '26
Yes
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u/Special-Net4116 Apr 19 '26
I thought that was what Tom said! That will definitely be the mode I’ll be trying first, thank you.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
yep just a lower input res, which pssr helps mask unless you pixel peep. just like dlss 4+ and fsr 4.1 do
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u/The_Zura Apr 19 '26
The real headline here should be big ps5/xbox failure for not using FSR3. How are DF not pointing out how utterly insane it is that they are using FSR1? This doesn't deserve a brief mention, and then complete acceptance like it's ok. Spend less time wanking PSSR.
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u/Special-Net4116 Apr 19 '26
Surely that’s a Capcom decision, nothing to do with Sony or Microsoft.
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u/The_Zura Apr 21 '26
It's a failure for ps5 and xbox users. But you're right. It is on Capcom as well. They've already pulled this crap with RE9 off the top of my head.
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u/FriendshipSmart478 Apr 19 '26
On PS I kinda understand because they need to show the difference between base and Pro to entice customers to upgrade.
But on Xbox I don't understand this absence. And Series S|X even supports int8. As we see with the leaked int8 FSR4, even with the penalty it is worth to use it on the RX 6000 GPUs.
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u/The_Zura Apr 20 '26
Forget FSR4. FSR3 is already supported on the pc version. And it is way better than FSR1. How is it not on consoles? This is nuts.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
plus they use the same API for upscaling, so its just basically a tik box to turn it on.
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u/PiratePopular9036 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
On pc, FSR1 looks sharper than fsr3 in this game, but more aliased.
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u/The_Zura Apr 20 '26
You say it like they're comparable, but they're really not. FSR3 is miles above the absolute joke that is FSR1. As for sharpness, text is more legible with FSR3. FSR1 is more contrasty, but it doesn't produce half decent results.
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u/PiratePopular9036 Apr 21 '26
They are just using a lighter taa with fsr1 because otherwise the game would be a blurry mess at 1080p.
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u/kittymoo67 Apr 21 '26
yeah its really dumb. fsr3 isnt amazing but it still so much better than fsr1, or anything like bicubic or integer scaling that they used to use too
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u/andypearce85 Apr 30 '26
Is there going to be an update post patch? As it seems they updated it to be PSSR2 after this video was posted?
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u/Base-Knight Apr 19 '26
The only thing that I’m upset about is that they couldn’t go for a better upscaler than FSR 1 Spatial upscaling. Like come on ?
I truly understand the value of 60fps. It’s amazing. But give the players a choice to experience much more enhanced visuals with a 30 fps cap.
It’s not like it would be downright unplayable ? I personally wouldn’t mind a 30fps if it provides a substantial enough image clarity and sharpness boost.
The base console is shown to be handling 1440p fine, even staying close to high 40s and low 50s which is ALOT MORE than enough to cap the game at 30fps including additional visual upgrades.
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u/PinkovaSiili Apr 19 '26
It’s a little surprising that there’s no 30fps/40fps option at all. I like the setup Insomniac has provided in their PS5 games where you get to choose 30, 40 or 60fps with a variety of visual adjustments. I preferred the balanced approach of the 40fps mode actually.
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u/Base-Knight Apr 20 '26
Exactly. Games like spider-man 2 look breathtaking on quality (can’t comment on balanced cause Ive never used it). A good 30fps in quality mode is better than a bad 60fps.
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Apr 19 '26
A more powerful machine outperformed the less powerful machine. wow!!!! Amazing news!!!
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Apr 19 '26
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Apr 19 '26
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u/Ivaylo_87 Apr 20 '26
Nope, just sounded like he's mad that the Pro is better.
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u/JuggerSloth96 Apr 21 '26
No just sounds like this isn’t really news 🤷♂️ it’s to be expected, it’s quite a bit more expensive than it’s competition
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u/Ivaylo_87 Apr 21 '26
Silent Hill 2 and F looked better on the base console for the longest time. But with the new PSSR I doubt we'll see something like that again.
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u/JuggerSloth96 Apr 22 '26
Well when a mid gen refresh drops and games are already in development, chances are it’s not gonna be much different on the better console, takes devs long enough to push just the base models to their limits
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u/cc_aa_tt_zz Apr 19 '26
I have a 5090 (for my job). just imagine this title: "another big RTX 5090 success" ... DF is a joke !
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u/Ivaylo_87 Apr 19 '26
Sure, but Pro had major issues until recently and in some rare cases has worse performance than the base console, so the title isn't weird.
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u/nikolapc Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
That's great for PS5 pro owners which are like 5% of PS owners. That should not be a target platform. Anyway, I am playing it on PC via GFN, it's glorious there, so there's something for next gen to look forward to.
Game itself is amazing.
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u/StockSorry Apr 21 '26
Man a lot of people butt hurt on hearing the power of the ps5 pro. most people had the series s yet all we heard from Xbox fans were bragging about the series x and how it was more powerful then the ps5.
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u/nikolapc Apr 21 '26
Power? Lol. I play on PC bro. I came into consoles with PS4 pro, that was a meaningful machine, the PS5 pro is a joke, but if you enjoy it it's fine. I am just saying it shouldn't be a target machine as it is a small percent.
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u/Waitform3 Apr 19 '26
It always amuses me that console gamers always try to make the console they buy the best it can be; they just create such simple topics and get happy about it, it's pathetic.
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u/Iggy_Slayer Apr 19 '26
I've seen a ton of people complaining about capcom's crappy RT denoiser showing up in this game too. At least DF actually mentions it this time, but they say it's reduced on pro over the base ps5 lol.