The PS5 Pro’s PSSR upscaling gives several games a huge visual upgrade – can it compete with Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor?

by Junna Base November 12, 2024

Digital Foundry believes PSSR is a huge step forward for PS5 games
Some of the biggest improvements are visible in Starblade
Nvidia’s DLSS 3 successor could face competition

Sony’s PS5 Pro was released on November 7, 2024, giving many people the chance to finally put the new PSSR upscaling method to the test, with strong comparisons to Nvidia’s DLSS on PC.

Digital Foundry’s John Linneman praised the impact PSSR has had on the visual quality of several titles, stating: “It’s a gigantic leap, it’s probably the best implementation I’ve seen to date in terms of image quality.”

This comes after several Digital Foundry tests in titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart And The Last of Us Part II carried out before the console’s official release. The outstanding improvement for Linneman since the console’s release is visible in Starblade (Runs at 80fps in PSSR Pro mode and game’s VRR). Despite the inability to achieve a consistent 60 frames per second in games like… Elden RingThe image quality improvements bode well for Sony’s future PlayStation 6 console, which will likely leverage this technology to offer even more impressive graphics and performance.

Nvidia’s DLSS 3 is the leading upscaling method for RTX 4000 series GPU owners, delivering excellent image quality and frame rates across multiple games (even with ray tracing enabled).

Considering PSSR’s leap over FSR 3, with better anti-aliasing for smoother edges on on-screen objects (in performance mode), it’s the closest thing to Team Green’s upscaler – and while PSSR doesn’t manage to outperform Nvidia’s DLSS (particularly in Comparison to Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart), it manages to do an excellent job within its performance modes, as highlighted by Digital Foundry, and offers a decent level of image stability.

(Image credit: Digital Foundry)

How would PSSR stack up against the successor to DLSS 3?

We still have no official word on when Nvidia might unveil the new RTX 5000 GPU series, so there’s little guidance when it comes to the successor to DLSS 3, which is likely to launch alongside the new GPUs becomes. What we do know is that Nvidia has been pushing DLSS 3 as a key selling point for RTX 4000 series GPUs, helping PC gamers get the most out of their hardware.

Since PSSR is no better than DLSS 3, it’s hard to imagine that the new upscaler can be on par with Team Green’s kitchen. However, don’t let this tempt you to write off PSSR from the competition.

It’s already a great start for Sony for this generation of gaming hardware, and with PSSR offering better performance than DLSS’s main competitor, AMD’s FSR, it seems like PSSR has come at the perfect time, especially since Team Red is also delivering it an AI-driven FSR 4. There is also ample chance that PSSR will receive numerous updates and improvements over time.

Does this justify buying a PS5 Pro? If you use a PC or plan to switch to the platform, I don’t think so. But if you plan on sticking only to console, especially with titles like GTA 6 Now closer than ever (there won’t be a PC version at launch), it might be worth considering buying if you want the best Sony has to offer.