Horizon Zero Dawn Ps5 Graphics Mode Unavailable

Aloy rides a Charger down a brush-covered hill in Horizon Forbidden West on PS5 — A photo mode scene from *Horizon Forbidden West* on PlayStation 5, captured with the Favor Resolution graphics setting.

In Horizon Forbidden West, I'thou constantly switching between the 60 fps and 4K graphics modes

Favor Resolution or Favor Performance? Hm ... why not both?

By Feb 14, 2022, three:01pm EST

Horizon Forbidden West is every bit the PlayStation 5 technical showpiece that major first-party games like it need to be. Guerrilla Games renders its 31st-century version of what we know every bit the American West in exquisite detail, vividly bringing to life the varied biomes of states like Utah, Nevada, and California (and, in the game's fiction, the crimson blight that is poisoning these lands and their inhabitants).

But what's the best way — if there even is a definitive best way — to feel everything in this sprawling earth? Subsequently all, the PS5 version of the game offers two different visual modes, each with its own pros and cons. Meanwhile, PlayStation 4 players don't accept a pick; the experience they get depends solely on whether they own a standard or slim console, or a PS4 Pro.

You tin read our review of Horizon Forbidden West to see our thoughts on this expansive sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. Simply here, let's dive in and discuss the technical details of the latest PlayStation blockbuster.

Horizon Forbidden West's graphics modes on PS5 and PS4, explained

Aloy perched on a wood beam high above a misty river valley in Horizon Forbidden West on PS5

We've known for a while that Horizon Forbidden West would offer two visual modes on PS5, but Guerrilla Games hasn't discussed the details of the graphics settings until now. And it'southward only inside the past few weeks that Sony has shown any footage of the game'due south PS4 version.

I've been playing a PS5 review copy of the game for a couple of weeks now, switching dorsum and forth betwixt the rendering modes. You'll find the toggle, which is marked Graphics Mode, under the Visual tab of the settings card. The options are "Favor Resolution," which the game says "favors a college fidelity at a lower frame rate," and "Favor Performance," which "favors a college frame charge per unit at a lower fidelity." How illuminating!

Since the in-game descriptions are and so nonspecific, I reached out to Sony for more than information. Here are all the details, courtesy of a PlayStation representative.

The Favor Resolution style — the default setting — runs in native 4K resolution (2160p), targeting a frame rate of 30 frames per 2nd, with a combination of temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) and fast approximate anti-aliasing (FXAA). The Favor Performance style runs in 1800p resolution with checkerboard rendering, targeting 60 fps. (That extends to the in-engine cutscenes, although they're the one place where you'll sometimes see drops below the target; the frame rate in both modes is essentially locked in gameplay.)

On PS4, the resolution and image quality depend on which model of the panel you're using. A base or slim PS4 delivers native 1080p with TAA and FXAA, while the PS4 Pro raises the resolution to that of the PS5 operation fashion: a checkerboarded 1800p. As for frame rate, the game runs at 30 fps on all PS4 models; there's no 60 fps selection.

It's worth noting that the resolution figures here are maximums — the game uses dynamic resolution in all graphics modes, scaling the image "where needed" to maintain the target frame rate in question, according to Sony.

In that location'due south a prissy impact meridian of all of this (literally). Horizon Forbidden West'due south user interface is rendered separately and layered atop the game — information technology isn't bailiwick to the resolution scaling — so the text and icons stay well-baked at all times. (The UI is rendered at native 1080p on PS4, native 1800p on PS4 Pro and in the PS5 performance way, and native 4K in the PS5 resolution manner.) What's more, even if y'all're using the resolution fashion, which runs at 30 fps, all the menus still run at 60 fps. Corking!

PS5 resolution or performance mode — which is better?

The gap in fidelity between the Favor Resolution way (4K, 30 fps) on the left and the Favor Performance mode (1800p, lx fps) on the right is most obvious in how foliage is rendered, peculiarly in the altitude. Simply too bank check out the texture filtering in the rope and carved wood of the Tenakth totem pole; in the thatched roof and wooden structure of the lean-to; and in Aloy's hair and outfit.

Prototype: Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon and Image: Guerrilla Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment via Polygon

The near obvious and noticeable difference between the Favor Resolution and Favor Performance modes is the doubled frame rate. As someone who completed Horizon Nothing Dawn on a PS4 Pro in that game's 30 fps Favor Resolution mode, I can say that it'south thrilling (and useful) to be able to play the sequel at 60 fps the first time through. In the early going, Aloy is underleveled compared to many of the machines she encounters, and the performance mode's increased responsiveness has helped me survive some hairy battles.

At the same time, when I'm playing an open up-globe game, I dear to explore every nook and cranny of that world. Allegiance matters more to me than operation if I'g gazing at the scenic beauty of the environments and marveling at the level of detail in characters' dress and equipment.

The Favor Resolution mode is, of course, the best showcase for Horizon Forbidden West's stunning visuals. Every single frame of this game is brimming with item, making this post-mail service-apocalyptic world experience full of life. Get up shut and examine every flower, rock confront, animate being (whether organic or robotic), and homo; there's nary a fuzzy texture to be institute, whether yous're above ground or underwater. The native 4K rendering coupled with Guerrilla's mix of TAA and FXAA delivers an incredibly clean epitome that remains sharp even in motion. Information technology'southward unclear how far the resolution can driblet when dynamic scaling is engaged, just any resulting softness hasn't been apparent to me in this mode.

Some people may value the polish 60 fps activity of the Favor Performance mode so much that they prefer to play the whole game that way. After all, the ii graphics modes look very like in direct screenshot comparisons like the ones in this article, aside from the thirty fps style's expected improvements in texture filtering and texture resolution. Elements like shadows, lighting, and the describe distance await basically identical beyond both settings. And although the performance mode has a somewhat more than controlled management of levels of detail — I've occasionally noticed objects or textures pop in as I approach them — this issue tends to be masked by cute volumetric lighting furnishings, whether it'south a dusty haze hanging over the desert or clouds of mist higher up forests and jungles.

Having said all that, the shortcomings of Horizon Forbidden West's Favor Performance mode get more apparent when the game is in motility. And unlike in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, the reduced prototype quality and clarity is a trade-off that I'm not willing to make in guild to play at a higher frame charge per unit (except, equally I noted, in combat).

Moving the camera around is smoother at 60 fps than 30 fps, of course, just doing so highlights the drawbacks of the rendering techniques used in the Favor Performance mode. There is a lot of vegetation throughout Horizon Forbidden West'due south earth, from desert brush to mountain shrubs to leafy treetops. The checkerboard rendering tin do a number on leaves and grass swaying in the breeze, causing visible artifacts on their edges. And without the Favor Resolution fashion'southward superb anti-aliasing implementation, in that location'due south a distracting degree of shimmering in elements similar leaf that I've institute impossible to ignore.

As such, I've spent the majority of my time in the Favor Resolution mode, poring over the gorgeous environments at my own pace. When I run into combat scenarios, I intermission the game and switch to the Favor Operation mode.

Does that brand me weird? Actually, don't answer that. Either manner, I'm glad that the game indulges my idiosyncrasies. The ability to cull a graphics style matters particularly in Horizon Forbidden West because of the nature of the game: It features a massive, beautiful earth crafted by an army of surround designers and artists, while many of the machines and humans populating information technology are trying to impale yous on sight. That is to say, you'll often want to end and smell the roses ... until yous need to dodge an attack from a robot kangaroo.

Horizon Forbidden Westward will be released on February. xviii on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. This article is based on time spent playing a downloadable PS5 copy provided by Sony Interactive Amusement. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These practise not influence editorial content, though Phonation Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can detect additional information well-nigh Polygon'southward ethics policy here .