Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

3 realistic improvements we want to see with PS5 Pro games

Tomas Franzese
By
A red and blue PS5 stands on a table with matching controllers.
Giovanni Colantonio / Digital Trends

As we reach the middle of this current console generation, people are wondering when improved “Pro” versions of consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will arrive. PS5 fans had their curiosity rewarded this week when Moore’s Law is Dead and Insider Gaming leaked the specs of what has become colloquially known as the PS5 Pro and is reportedly referred to as “Trinity” internally at Sony.

The leaked documents indicate that the PS5 Pro will have a similar CPU to the base model that can be modified to run at a slightly higher clock speed, as well as 67 teraflops of 16 bit floating-point calculations, a GPU with 60 AMD compute units and faster memory bandwidth, and more. These are improvements over the launch PS5 model, but it isn’t a console generation-like leap in terms of hardware power.

Recommended Videos

People should keep their expectations in check in terms of just how much better games will look and play on the PS5 Pro, but there are still some more realistic expectations people can have for games running on this improved PS5 hardware. In particular, I hope to see the following three improvements to PS5 games after the release of the PS5 Pro.

Related

More stable frame rates

A Mystic Spearhand attacks enemies in Dragon's Dogma 2.
Capcom

One of the most disappointing things about this generation so far is the plethora of games that have had frame rate issues. As recently as this week’s Dragon’s Dogma 2, some AAA games are struggling to run at even 30 frames per second (fps) smoothly on base current-gen consoles. While analysis from Digital Foundry suggests that games limited by the PS5’s CPU won’t see massive frame rate boosts because of minimal improvements to that part of the console, it does point out that “greater stability” for 30-fps games is much more achievable.

At this point, even with these improvements, it seems like the pipe dream of most AAA games being able to run smoothly at 4K and 60 fps is still just that. Despite the disappointment that comes with that realization, I’ll be content if games run more smoothly on the PS5 Pro at whatever frame rate the developers can realistically aim for.

Better ray tracing

Robots from Astro's Playroom.
Sony Interactive Entertainment

Heading into this generation, ray tracing was yet another widely lauded feature and capability of a next-gen console like the PS5. It’s over three years in, and I’m still left relatively unimpressed by ray tracing’s implementation in PS5 games, especially when compared to their PC counterparts. Thankfully, the leaked documents suggest this is something the PS5 Pro will directly address with better ray-tracing architecture that improves performance by up to four times.

Lighting is incredibly important when it comes to establishing the mood, look, and tone of a scene or location in a video game, and ray tracing has the power to enhance that while making the lighting look more realistic. I feel like we still haven’t seen the full potential of ray tracing in video games, especially on console, so any improvements the PS5 Pro brings on this front are welcome.

True 8K support

The box for the PS5
Sony

Something that has always bugged me is that the PS5 box boasts 8K support, yet almost no games on the console have come anywhere close to having true 8K support. Admittedly, this is a resolution that’s not widespread yet, and support 8K would likely come at the cost of higher frame rates in most scenarios. That doesn’t make it feel any less misleading, though. Using machine learning, the PS5 Pro might make displaying in 8K a more achievable possibility.

The leaked documents tease something called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which uses machine learning to generate color buffers and upscale a game resolution, and claim that 8K support for this feature is on its way. Even if 8K super-resolution support is achieved, I doubt we will see wide adoption of 8K resolution in video games this generation, especially in more graphically intense ones aiming for higher frame rates. Still, it’s a step in the right direction and can finally fulfill a promise made on PS5 boxes in 2020.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
You need to try PlayStation VR2’s most psychedelic game yet
Key art for Akka Arrh shows psychedelic images.

You know that it's a busy year for gaming when a project by an industry legend launches with hardly any fanfare. That's exactly what happened in February 2023 with Akka Arrh. Created by Jeff Minter and his eccentric studio Llamasoft, the neon-tinted shooter is a remake of a 1982 Atari game that never saw the light of day after being deemed too difficult. Minter got the greenlight to revive the project, bringing it to life as a retro arcade shooter built in his unmistakable style.

While the project was exciting for game historians, it didn't exactly crack into the mainstream (it only has 37 user reviews on Steam). Thankfully, Akka Arrh getting a second chance to shine this week as its new PlayStation 5 version adds PlayStation VR2 support. While that might not be enough to make it a commercial hit, it does give PSVR2 owners a good reason to dust off their headset and check out a delightfully oddball project from one of gaming's true visionaries.
It's a trip
Akka Arrh is the rare example of a game that might be easier to explain on paper than in practice. In this throwback arcade shooter, players control a stationary ship that's tasked with protecting pods from attacking aliens. To fend off foes, players drop bombs that blow up in a different geometric pattern on each level's map. Every time an enemy touches that blast radius, it blows up in the same pattern, chaining to other enemies. The goal is to keep an uninterrupted chain going as long as possible by using a limited number of bullets to knock out foes that can't be destroyed by bombs and grabbing power-ups by hovering the cursor over them.

Read more
PS5 themes: Can you customize your homescreen?
A person plays Crash Bandicoot using a PS5 DualSense controller.

There's a lot to love about PS5, but it's missing one key feature from the old PS4 -- themes. On the old console, themes were used as a way to customize your homescreen and were often inspired by iconic games or beloved characters. Unfortunately, themes aren't available on PS5, though Sony has implemented a cool new feature that modifies the background as you browse your collection of games.

Here's a comprehensive look at how you can customize your PS5 homescreen and whether you can change its background.
Does the PS5 have themes?

Read more
You need to check out this killer action game on PS Plus this month
A character in Rollerdrome skates in an arena.

Of the three games available for no additional cost with a PlayStation Plus Essential subscription this February, the best game isn’t the highest-profile one. A lot of attention is going to Foamstars, the odd multiplayer game Square Enix launched free on PS Plus, but the real gem of February 2024’s PS Plus Essential lineup is Rollerdrome from Roll7 and Private Division.

First released for PS5 and PC in August 2022, I previously described this game as Max Payne meets Skate. Essentially, Rollerdrome is a sports combat game where players must roller-skate around and do tricks in order to accrue ammo used to shoot enemies with guns. It’s a simple gameplay loop and premise that Rollerdrome gets the most out of, and it's a must-play for those looking for some simple yet satisfying action.
Blood sport
In Rollerdrome, players control a character named Kara Hassan as she ascends the ranks in the titular sport, which sees “players” combat each other with deadly weapons. While many of the enemies Kara takes on are mostly static, she can skate around on a pair of rollerblades. Rollerdrome features a full-on combo system like a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or Skate titles, although it’s not as punishing if you mess up an input or chain together a combo properly.

Read more