Cyberpunk 2077
Image: Push Square We'll start with CD Projekt Red's open world RPG. When it first released for PS4 in 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was an unmitigated disaster — a sh*tstorm of technical issues that beggared belief. But the Polish developer stuck with its creation, eventually transforming it into one of the most immersive and emotionally impactful adventures you'll find on PS5.
However, as mentioned, 2077 isn't perfect on Sony's current-gen console, exhibiting some frame rate fluctuations in especially busy parts of the map. There are even a couple of areas where the game is known to crash if you cause enough chaos — although it's fair to say that most players will simply never encounter this issue.
On PS5 Pro, the frame rate really does hold up better when making use of the game's performance mode. Heavily populated locations, like in front of the megabuilding where V lives, seem to stick closer to the 60 frames-per-second target.
Granted, it's still not perfect, but from what we can tell, the drops aren't nearly as noticeable. You have to start spinning the camera around to get any kind of clear impact, and it's the same story in similarly demanding areas, such as the markets near Vik's clinic, and Corpo Plaza.
Of course, the next phase of testing involves a bit of well-meaning violence. We engaged hordes of cops across what felt like half of Night City, and the whole rampage was nice and smooth.
To round things off, we made our way to where V first meets Songbird in the Phantom Liberty expansion — an infamously taxing spot swarming with enemies, just outside of Dogtown. No crashes, and no prevalent frame rate problems. If you've ever tried to start a firefight there, you know that's a win.
Final Fantasy 16
Next up, Final Fantasy 16. The 2023 action RPG's performance mode aims for 60fps, and while it does manage to maintain that target in most combat encounters, it's actually during exploration that you'll be hit with some sluggishness on base PS5.
Visiting as many different locales as we could on our endgame save, we're happy to report that Final Fantasy 16 does seem to enjoy a better frame rate pretty much across the board on PS5 Pro. Hurrah!
However, it's still not a silky smooth 60fps. Dips do still exist when Clive runs at speed, and although the fluctuations do appear to be less persistent overall, it's not the kind of underlying boost that we were hoping for.
In any case, it is improvement, and we're left wondering whether Square Enix will issue an official PS5 Pro update. After all, the foundations already seem to be in place, thanks to the new console's improved innards.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
Released just last month on PS5 (and PS4!), Metaphor: ReFantazio makes for an interesting test subject. On the standard PS5, the turn-based RPG runs into some eyebrow-raising issues, like a frame rate that somehow struggles to maintain 60fps, even though the game itself is so basic in terms of graphical fidelity.
Fortunately, the $700 system does a great job of picking up Atlus' slack, pushing the title much, much closer to a smooth and steady frame rate. Based on what we've played, areas that previously chugged — such as the market street in the bustling city of Grand Trad — run borderline perfectly now.
Again, Metaphor is a game that should be running without issue to begin with — but it's still a decent example of the what the PS5 Pro can do straight out of the box.
Will you be playing any of these games on PS5 Pro? Are you happy to see some unpatched titles getting performance boosts on Sony's new system? Count those all-important frames in the comments section below.
