PS5’s PSSR Revolution Revealed: Ultimate Graphics Upgrade Showdown in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) Steals the Show: A Comparison with FSR 3.1 and DLSS

The wait is finally over, and Sony has joined the machine-learning based image reconstruction race, bringing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) to the console space. At Digital Foundry, we’re thrilled to see this technology reach the console world, and as part of our recent PS5 Pro capture opportunity, we delved into the world of reconstruction-based shots using the PS5 Pro and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. How does PSSR fare against FSR 3.1, the technology it will likely replace, and how close is it to the state-of-the-art Nvidia DLSS?

Caveats and Limitations

Before we dive in, let’s address the caveats and limitations. We compared the PS5 Pro to a PC on approximate quality settings, but achieving a perfect match was impossible. Additionally, Rift Apart uses dynamic resolution scaling, while the PC implementation is vastly different, so we had to perform pixel-counting on each individual test shot to match the resolution precisely on DLSS using the DLSSTweaks tool. Keep in mind that we were limited to FSR 3.1’s quality mode, which typically uses a slightly lower base resolution than the Pro. We also attempted to disable motion blur on the PS5 Pro for increased clarity, but it only seemed to lower the intensity of the effect, so we matched that on our PC captures.

A Ratchet and Clank Head-to-Head

Finally, please note that this is just one game, and the quality of upscaling implementations varies from title to title. While we haven’t seen enough of PSSR to draw solid conclusions like we can with FSR and DLSS, it’s possible that what we’re seeing here with PSSR may be indicative. For now, it’s essential to view this as a comparison between a single game – Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

Watching the Video

I strongly recommend watching the video above, as it offers a more detailed visual representation of the differences between the technologies. The video provides a better medium for understanding the results, and you’ll see that comparisons against FSR 3.1 were the first order of business. AMD’s compute-based upscaler is heavily used in the console space and is essentially the technology PSSR aims to supplant.

Disocclusion Fizzle and Particles

Let’s dive into the results. I began by looking for ‘disocclusion fizzle.’ A third-person game like Rift Apart is ideal for testing this, as it’s essentially the quality of newly revealed detail with little to no ‘history’ to draw upon from previous frames. This is my major complaint with FSR 3.1’s quality mode – it fails to effectively anti-alias newly revealed detail, resulting in ‘fizzling’ in motion. On the other hand, like DLSS and XeSS, PSSR does not suffer from this issue, and it’s as clear as day to see. Ratchet and Clank runs at relatively high resolutions on the PS5 Pro, so this gap in quality may widen when dealing with lower quality input pixel ranges – something we’ll test in the future.

FSR also struggles with particles, whether it’s the particles when Ratchet collects his first gun or the fluttering confetti in the background during the opening stage. Particles appear wispy and ghost-like when processed with FSR, and PSSR does a demonstrably superior job, presenting with more confetti. That’s not because it’s actually there, but because PSSR particles are more temporally consistent, staying on-screen, unlike FSR 3.1.

Rift Apart’s Art and Geometry

In the same vein, hologrammatic signs appear better with PSSR, and FSR 3.1 lacks anti-aliasing coverage here, resulting in a more jagged presentation. However, PSSR is not perfect, and its edges are slightly less sharp.

Grass and Dynamic Resolution

Finally, processing grass in the first stage is challenging for FSR, to the point where it can produce seemingly liquid-like artefacts. Machine learning-based upscalers tend to discriminate better, and PSSR aims to clamp down on this issue. While it’s not perfect, PSSR ensures the grass doesn’t look as odd as it does with FSR.

Comparing PSSR to Nvidia DLSS

Comparisons against Nvidia DLSS have less practical value, as you won’t see a Sony console using this upscaling technology. However, considering DLSS holds the crown as the most accomplished machine learning-based upscaler on the market, we can get an idea of how close Sony has come with its debut iteration. Across all my test clips, I noticed a kind of moving fizzle. I’m unsure what it is – perhaps some sort of meta instability – but it’s found across every image I’ve looked at so far. It’s not present in FSR 3.1 either, to be fair, and I also found that in some areas, DLSS resolves moving geometry with less aliasing.

This bears out when comparing a rapidly moving object. PSSR does a better job than FSR in movement, but against DLSS, it doesn’t anti-alias as well. You’ll also notice that PSSR produces a softer image than DLSS. Nvidia’s upscaler no longer has an inherent post-process sharpener built into the model, and even with post-process sharpening off, I think we can see how the resolve of PSSR is noticeably softer. This can be seen as a detriment, but I found it highly preferable to instances where Ratchet’s in-game post-process sharpener is ramped to the max. Of course, the resolve of a reconstruction technique is essentially subjective and a matter of personal taste.

Conclusion and Future Testing

In conclusion, based on today’s testing, there are areas where PSSR is vastly superior to FSR 3.1, the technology it will likely replace, and – to the eye – it’s easily preferable. Assuming these differences translate to other games, PS5 Pro owners can appreciate significantly improved upscaling quality. The issues with stability are something to watch in the future, to see if it presents in other games, and if so, whether it’s improved in future iterations of PSSR. With Alan Wake 2 and other titles that have pushed FSR technology to its limits, we’re looking forward to testing PSSR’s capabilities and seeing if it can deliver the same level of quality. The PS5 Pro’s November 7th release date is drawing closer, and we’ll have more coverage as soon as possible.