Support NeoGAF

[Lunatic_Gamer]

There's no shortage of modes and toggles in developer Pearl Abyss' console release of Crimson Desert - and we try them all in its PS5 and PS5 Pro form today. Despite offering so many ways to play it's clear that base PS5 struggles to find one definitive setup, between its 30, 40 and 60fps modes. VRR helps however, as does the availability of a balanced mode with 30fps cap. The greater GPU grunt of the PS5 Pro however does give us more flexibility where performance is concerned - plus it's bundled with support for Sony's new PSSR upscaler. Tom covers every detail in this first round of console coverage - with Xbox to follow soon

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:51 Sponsored by Where Winds Meet
05:33 Base PS5 Modes Compared
07:09 Fixed 4K Output Mode Test
10:02 The 30/40FPS Mode Advantage
12:22 PS5 Pro Visual Upgrades
16:00 Base PS5 Frame-Rate Tests
20:42 PS5 Pro Frame-Rate Tests
22:49 Verdict

• Base PS5 Modes Compared and Fixed 4K Output Test: On base PS5, three primary modes are available. Performance mode renders natively at approximately 1080p (with optional fixed 4K output toggle enabling FSR3 upscaling to 4K); it targets 60 fps but frequently drops to the mid-40s or below 48 fps in CPU-heavy scenarios such as NPC crowds or specific areas like Bug Hill. Balanced mode uses native ~1280p–1296p with FSR3 upscaling to 4K and targets 40 fps (or locked 30 fps on 60 Hz displays). Quality mode employs native ~1440p with FSR3 to 4K, targeting 30 fps while enabling higher presets for ray tracing, lighting, and model quality. Textures and shadows appear solid, but water exhibits shimmering, FSR3 introduces ghosting, and foliage/water quality remains fixed at medium across modes. No single mode avoids compromises in stability or sharpness.


• The 30/40 FPS Mode Advantage: Lower target modes (30/40 fps) deliver improved visual consistency and reduced fluctuations compared to the 60 fps performance mode. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support mitigates tearing and stuttering effectively. The balanced 30 fps cap option provides a practical compromise with retained resolution and upscaling settings, minimizing noticeable frame drops while preserving detail levels.


• PS5 Pro Visual Upgrades: The PS5 Pro benefits from enhanced GPU power and Sony's PSSR upscaling (first-generation version in the tested build). Performance mode renders natively at 1080p with PSSR to 4K and near-quality settings (high ray tracing/lighting presets, medium model/post-processing). Balanced mode uses native 1440p with PSSR to 4K and higher ultra settings. Quality mode achieves native 4K with no upscaling and ultra ray tracing/lighting, though post-processing can soften the image. Overall, textures, shadows, and environmental detail appear sharper and more stable than on base PS5, with dynamic ray-traced global illumination and reflections active across modes. Foliage and water quality stay at medium.


• Base PS5 Frame-Rate Tests: Frame rates on base hardware show significant variability due to CPU bottlenecks. Performance mode ranges from 50–60 fps in lighter areas to mid-40s (or lower) in dense scenes; with VSync off and 120 Hz, peaks reach 65–70 fps but still dip sharply in heavy encounters. Balanced mode struggles around 35 fps in battles, while Quality mode maintains closer to 30 fps but drops into the mid-20s during water interactions or intense sequences. Image quality includes blotchy shadows and ghosting artifacts from FSR3.


• PS5 Pro Frame-Rate Tests: The PS5 Pro demonstrates markedly improved stability thanks to additional GPU resources. Performance mode largely holds 50–60 fps (with peaks exceeding 100 fps when VSync is disabled on 120 Hz displays) and offers roughly 10 fps gains over base PS5 in non-CPU-limited areas, though heavy scenes like Bug Hill still drop to around 30 fps. Balanced mode provides the tightest lock near 40 fps (often mid-50s in practice). Quality mode frequently falls below 30 fps in demanding sections. CPU limitations persist in crowded areas, but overall stuttering is minimized and flexibility is greater.


• Verdict: The base PS5 delivers playable experiences with VRR assistance and balanced options, yet suffers from inconsistent performance and upscaling artifacts. The PS5 Pro offers superior visual fidelity through PSSR, higher detail presets, and more reliable frame rates, making it the preferred platform despite shared CPU constraints in extreme scenarios.

 

[onQ123]

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:51 Sponsored by Where Winds Meet
05:33 Base PS5 Modes Compared
07:09 Fixed 4K Output Mode Test
10:02 The 30/40FPS Mode Advantage
12:22 PS5 Pro Visual Upgrades
16:00 Base PS5 Frame-Rate Tests
20:42 PS5 Pro Frame-Rate Tests
22:49 Verdict

That gif reminds me of Lair

 

[bender]

That gif reminds me of Lier

It reminds me of Lair.

 

[adamsapple]

That gif reminds me of Lier

Were the pants on fier?

 

[Gaiff]

Oof, game is rough on PS5 in performance mode.

 

[PSFore]

I don't see the need for another PS5 Pro analysis.

This doesn't take into account the latest PS5 patch. They waited this long, they should have just delayed the video.

 

[Gaiff]

I don't see the need for another PS5 Pro analysis.

This doesn't take into account the latest PS5 patch. They waited this long, they should have just delayed the video.

It includes the March 29th patch. Was there another one?

 

[PSFore]

It includes the March 29th patch. Was there another one?

Well a few people in the comments said it didn't, but I haven't watched the whole video yet.

 

[J Required]

PS5Pro

 

[Gaiff]

Well a few people in the comments said it didn't, but I haven't watched the whole video yet.

Yeah, it's covered. The patch didn't address performance issues. It just gives an option to increase resolution with a fixed 4K option. The trade-off is the performance in performance mode takes a huge hit. You lose up to 12fps. Areas that ran at 60 can drop to 48 and places in the 50s drop to the mid-40s.

 

[Bojji]

Oof, game is rough on PS5 in performance mode.

40FPS mode is the winner on base PS5

Yeah, it's covered. The patch didn't address performance issues. It just gives an option to increase resolution with a fixed 4K option. The trade-off is the performance in performance mode takes a huge hit. You lose up to 12fps. Areas that ran at 60 can drop to 48 and places in the 50s drop to the mid-40s.

Yep, big performance hit (and big difference in IQ as well):

 

[kevboard]

so, the PS5 Pro quality mode looks worse than any other mode? why even go for native 4k when you then use a setting that ruins image quality?

 

[Bojji]

so, the PS5 Pro quality mode looks worse than any other mode? why even go for native 4k when you then use a setting that ruins image quality?

Some sort of PP effect is fucking it up

 

[kevboard]

Some sort of PP effect is fucking it up

looking at the 1080p mode on base PS5, I could also see their TAA being an issue. at least at 1080p it looks like pure garbage. that might also be the reason they showcased that native 4k PC demo before launch, with FSR3 as the Antialiasing method

 

[adamsapple]

This is probably the biggest difference I've seen in a Performance vs Quality mode.

Even FFVII Rebirth's Performance mode wasn't this blurrry. It was close, but not this blurry.

 

[onQ123]

It reminds me of Lair.

Phone changed my text I think because I could have sworn I typed Lair

 

[Bojji]

This is probably the biggest difference I've seen in a Performance vs Quality mode.

Even FFVII Rebirth's Performance mode wasn't this blurrry. It was close, but not this blurry.

I think it was ~1200p or something.

 

[adamsapple]

I think it was ~1200p or something.

We've seen 1080p games with TAA before. They're not usually this blurry.

What the fuck is going on here ..

 

[kevboard]

This is probably the biggest difference I've seen in a Performance vs Quality mode.

Even FFVII Rebirth's Performance mode wasn't this blurrry. It was close, but not this blurry.

they should unironically consider running the game at 960p and using FSR3 up to 1440p for the performance mode. I bet it would look far better than what they're doing now, and run better than their 4k lock mode

 

[Bojji]

We've seen 1080p games with TAA before. They're not usually this blurry.

What the fuck is going on here ..

Games with 1080 output (no TAAU or FSR) kinda always looked like shit on 4k screen...

 

[kevboard]

We've seen 1080p games with TAA before. They're not usually this blurry.

What the fuck is going on here ..

modern TAA in combination with dithered elements and extensive denoising of those dithered elements.
same reason SSR looks worse in most modern games than it did literally 13 years ago when it became popular on PS4 and Xbox One.

look at Screen Space Reflecions in early PS4 games and then look at modern games, the difference is insane.
and the reason is excessive denoising of dithered and jittered elements.

 

[adamsapple]

Games with 1080 output (no TAAU or FSR) kinda always looked like shit on 4k screen...

1080p to 1200 is not really anything of a difference but just the inclusion of FSR3 makes it look so much sharper than 1080p.

They should have used it on Perf, it's already missing its 60fps target, what's a few frames more under VRR.

 

[owandeseis]

The gap between base consoles and the pro is really big IQ wise, the extra power and it being the first console to have a real upscaler makes a difference.

But for a 900€ console where people expect locked 60 Fps, not sure how future proof will it be in certain games, it's an already dated CPU today

 

[nosoynadie22]

Yeah. They should have aimed for 847p before applying FSR3; at least it would have been a decent-looking 1290-1440 image.

 

[Bojji]

1080p to 1200 is not really anything of a difference but just the inclusion of FSR3 makes it look so much sharper than 1080p.

They should have used it on Perf, it's already missing its 60fps target, what's a few frames more under VRR.

They use it in that patched mode

 

[adamsapple]

They use it in that patched mode

They added it to perf in patches?

Ok that's good I guess. Will pick up later in the summer, as long as it's above 40, it should be within the SX VRR range easy.

 

[Fbh]

Lol, no wonder they were hiding the base Ps5 version.
I'll just pick this from the bargain bin on some future hardware.

 

[squallbr]

The perf Mode looks terrible

 

[vkbest]

Games with 1080 output (no TAAU or FSR) kinda always looked like shit on 4k screen...

This game looks as shit on a 1080p tv with 1080p native + TAA. It's not because 4k screen

 

[Bojji]

This game looks as shit on a 1080p tv with 1080p native + TAA. It's not because 4k screen

Games with TAA never looked sharp.

Yesterday I launched Dark Souls 3 on PS5 Pro and holy shit, that 1080p PP AA image looks HORRIBLE (even with enhanced toggle).

 

[vkbest]

Games with TAA never looked sharp.

Yesterday I launched Dark Souls 3 on PS5 Pro and holy shit, that 1080p PP AA image looks HORRIBLE (even with enhanced toggle).

This game looks much worse than DS3 at 1080p on PS5 base

 

[NickFire]

PS5 Pro advantages are the most interesting part of game releases (heck, often news) lately. It must be drawing serious views if they're racing out comparisons before getting to all the consoles.

 

[Portugeezer]

At least the quality mode is stable 30, aside from some specific spots. And it looks fantastic.

Performance mode is too often into the 40's to bother IMO.

 

[Bojji]

This game looks much worse than DS3 at 1080p on PS5 base

Hmmm.

DS3 vanilla

enchanced

It looks like crap... There was a reason why we got "4k" consoles last gen.

 

[Dark Shinobi]

So what's the consensus on best mode to play on the Pro? Balanced with v-sync off?

 

[Bojji]

So what's the consensus on best mode to play on the Pro? Balanced with v-sync off?

Performance.

 

[Dark Shinobi]

Performance.

Really? I was under the impression that balanced had better resolution and defaulted to higher settings for textures, ray tracing, etc.

 

[Bojji]

Really? I was under the impression that balanced had better resolution and defaulted to higher settings for textures, ray tracing, etc.

Looking at the video, image quality comparisons etc. losing almost half of the performance is not worth it in this case.

Balanced is the best mode for base PS5 owners.

 

[Brucey]

Reading fail on my part.

 

[DanielG165]

I think I'll just wind up picking this game up on PC? The consoles seem kind of a mess in terms of which modes are best, what settings to use as to not make the game look gummy etc.

 

[Flabagast]

So what's the consensus on best mode to play on the Pro? Balanced with v-sync off?

I would say yes, you get enhanced IQ and visual effects / RT + the game still feels very smooth imho (you need to have a VRR-ready 4k@120Hz screen though, otherwise go performance)

 

[JusticeForAll]

So what is objectively the best way to play on ps5 pro? I will soon start the game and if I could skip the whole "trying out every graphics mode bit switch back to performance anyway"-thing, I would be happy. There is so many conflicting info about this...

One says performance, the other balanced. Is the difference between the two big?

 

[GymWolf]

The milking continue.

 

[MazingerDUDE]

Yep, big performance hit (and big difference in IQ as well):

The performance difference is just insane, 60fps to 48 means 16.67ms of frame time vs 20.83ms that's almost 4ms of disparity. (double the cost of PSSR!!)

I doubt FSR3 would cost so much on a PC with similar spec as PS5, so there's got to be much more to this new 4K option than just simple upscaling.

 

[adamsapple]

The performance difference is just insane, 60fps to 48 means 16.67ms of frame time vs 20.83ms that's almost 4ms of disparity. (double the cost of PSSR!!)

I doubt FSR3 would cost so much on a PC with similar spec as PS5, so there's got to be much more to this new 4K option than just simple upscaling.

Will be interesting to see how the Xbox version compares in Part 2 of this video, whenever it comes out. Whether the bigger GPU helps lessen the FSR3 overhead in the fixed 4K resolution mode.

 

[vkbest]

Hmmm.

DS3 vanilla

enchanced

It looks like crap... There was a reason why we got "4k" consoles last gen.

I'm not saying DS3 looks good on 4k tv. I'm saying the game is much less blurry than Crimson Desert at 1080p + TAA. DS3 looks good on a Full HD tv, CD looks blurry in the same TV.

 

[Bojji]

I'm not saying DS3 looks good on 4k tv. I'm saying the game is much less blurry than Crimson Desert at 1080p + TAA. DS3 looks good on a Full HD tv, CD looks blurry in the same TV.

DS3 is not using TAA, that might be helping.

When I had PS4+1080p tv, all games with TAA were pretty soft (but not aliased).

 

[Dark Shinobi]

Haven't seen much discussion about the HUD. Is it pretty static and distracting or are there some good options to customize it for immersion purposes?

 

[mrqs]

How the heck image quality is better on performance mode on ps5 pro

fuck that! lol

 

[adamsapple]

How the heck image quality is better on performance mode on ps5 pro

fuck that! lol

Extra post processing that ends up degrading IQ.

smrt optimizations