PS5 Pro review: for enthusiasts like myself

It’s the highlight of every graphics card upgrade: installing tons of games and enjoying better visuals and performance from the quantum leap. The switch from PS5 to PS5 Pro isn’t quite so drastic. However, the new PlayStation can rightly call itself the fastest console on the market. Enthusiasts like me will be delighted with the numerous improvements – even if I have to look for some of them with a magnifying glass.

Faster, more memory, but no drive

Sony emphasised three main pillars at its presentation for the PS5 Pro: an upgraded graphics processor, enhanced ray tracing and upscaling via AI. The console has 67 per cent more computing units, and the memory is 28 per cent faster. Simply put, the console is more powerful and can make games look better. Sometimes it’s through more ray tracing effects that influence lighting, reflections, shadows, etc. Other times it’s thanks to the new upscaling technology PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution – PSSR for short – which upscales lower resolutions and still keeps the picture sharp.

There’s also two terabytes of memory, which I’m more than chuffed with. The original PS5 has 825 gigabytes, the Slim one terabyte. All three can be retrofitted with an M2 SSD. What isn’t particularly «pro»: the new console doesn’t have a Blu-ray drive. Still, you can retrofit one, but you’ll have to pay another 130 francs/euros for this. The PS5 Pro is most definitely an expensive upgrade.

With Wi-Fi 7, the Pro supports the latest wireless technology for faster downloads – provided your router is equipped accordingly. Alternatively, you can still connect an Ethernet cable. There are now two USB-C ports on the front instead of one USB-A and one USB-C. There are still two USB-A ports on the back.

The PS5 Pro is slightly smaller than the standard model. There are also the striking black grooves in the middle. Otherwise, it remains true to the futuristic design.

It’s all game by game

Unlike a PC upgrade, games on the PS5 Pro don’t run better or look prettier across the board. Things vary from game to game. There are three categories:

• Games with a PS5 Pro patch.
• Games that benefit from the PS5 Pro without a patch.
• Games that don’t benefit from the PS5 Pro.

Unfortunately, there’s no filter or search function to display patched games. Even with the new function («Improve picture quality for selected PS4 games on PS5 Pro consoles» – find it in the system settings), I don’t know which games it’s actually used for.

I relied purely on my impressions when testing. In other words, that’s graphical improvements I can see with the naked eye, as well as noticeably smoother gameplay. I can’t measure frame rate purely by eye. Still, at least I won’t be influenced by numbers and stats.

Games with a PS5 Pro patch

The majority of games I’ve tried have already been patched. An overview of all games with a PS5 Pro update has been compiled by fellow editor Domagoj. This usually means there are new Pro graphics options. Horizon Forbidden West uses a PS5 quality mode, doubling the frame rate from 30 fps to 60 fps. However, there’s still a 30 fps quality mode on the Pro. I have to look closely for any graphical improvements in the lighting effects and water, smoke and fire animations. The difference between performance and quality mode is visually much smaller than on the standard PS5.

Ray tracing reflections are clearly visible in Alan Wake 2. The street and vehicles are reflected in the window of the Oh Deer Diners on the Pro. Someone is hanging a banner in the street, his reflection clearly visible in a puddle. The world as a whole is more vibrant, the game also appears somewhat smoother in quality mode. Performance mode, on the other hand, flickers significantly less than on the standard PS5.

An interesting example is The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered. The game will have a Pro mode in addition to the existing Quality and Performance modes. It combines the latter two, delivering 60 fps at maximum detail. This is made possible by PSSR upscaling, which renders the game in 1440p and upscales it to 4K. For me, Pro mode plays just as smoothly as Performance mode, and the upscaling isn’t recognisable as such. The game looks incredible and razor sharp. And that’s the way it should be.

Another great example of the Pro’s performance is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. In it, you also get the best of both worlds. The new Pro mode combines 4K image quality with the smoothness of Performance mode. Although the three previous options are still available, you can safely ignore them.

New ray tracing options, such as those offered by Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, are too much of a good thing for me. In quality mode, I can adjust various ray tracing effects for lighting, reflections and shadows in three stages. Personally, I don’t like this on console. Luckily, I can leave everything at maximum and both games will run smoothly. Spider-Man 2 even manages 60 fps with the ray tracing effects you get on PS5 in quality mode. As with most of Sony’s own games, improvements are less noticeable since the games are already superbly optimised.

Unchanged games, and those that get better even without a patch

The latter category includes games that have a fixed frame rate or for other reasons don’t benefit from the increased performance of the PS5 without a patch. Days Gone, for example, which features huge hordes of zombies, already runs at a stable 60 fps on the PS5. I couldn’t see any improvement there on the Pro.

Games such as Monster Hunter Wilds fall into the second category – at least the current beta. It definitely struggles on the PS5. On the Pro, my fighter controls noticeably better and more precise, even without the official Pro patch.

Almost without exception, all the games I’ve tested show the same picture: they run more smoothly and look better on the PS5. It isn’t uncommon to get the previous quality mode in combination with the pros of performance mode. However, any differences to the standard PS5 aren’t always insane. And the choice is still as tricky. Do I want the most beautiful graphics or the most fps? The PS5 Pro does nothing to end this debate.

I consider it almost mandatory to have a TV with a variable refresh rate (VRR) and at least 120 Hz. This makes many games significantly smoother on both the PS5 and the PS5 Pro.

I’ve summarised all my impressions in the following table.

Volume, stands and faceplates

Like my PS5 at launch, the PS5 Pro is silent as the grave. I haven’t had any gaming sessions lasting several hours without interruption, but the fan concept at least doesn’t seem to have got any worse.

What the PS5 has, but the PS5 Pro lacks, is a stand for vertical positioning of the console. Only two small plastic clips for horizontal positioning are included in the packaging. If I do without the optional drive, the console wobbles. With the drive included, the brackets are mandatory if I want to set it up horizontally. Without the drive, it’s relatively stable even without a stand. The same applies to vertical use.

If you’re using alternative faceplates on your current PS5, they won’t fit the Pro. All three PlayStation models have unique side panels. There are still no official ones for the PS5 Pro.

Anyone who already has an SSD installed in their PS5 can add it to the PS5 Pro without hesitation. If, like me, you’ve already installed some games, the system will ask you on startup whether you want to delete the duplicates on the SSD. All others remain installed and can be played directly.