Sniper Elite 5 released this week positive reviews. Our own review praised the gameplay, the Invasion Mode and the impressive level of detail strewn about the complex maps.
Sniper Elite 5 features some gorgeous artwork and fine architecture, inspired by real-world locales and crafted with obvious care.
But today we’re comparing PS5 and PS4 versions. As always, images have been captured at 4K before being downscaled using the same process. PlayStation 5 screenshots are on the left, PS4 are on the right when viewing on mobile. PS5 screenshots are on top and PS4 are on the bottom on PC.
Lost Generation
One thing we did note was the distinctly ‘eighth-gen’ look to the title on PlayStation 5. In our comparison of PS5 versus PS4 we can see that the game doesn’t offer much in terms of visual upgrade on 9th gen. hardware.
The upgrades are mostly in terms of image quality and performance with a fairly consistent 60 fps offered on PS5 and Xbox Series X along with a target of 4K. PS4 and Xbox One offer a less consistent 30fps with resolution running between 1080p and 1440p.
Pixel Peeking
We’ve seen tonnes of sliders adjusted to bring games to a certain console or to make some use of the extra power in machines. We’ve seen denser or more detailed crowds, denser foliage and grass, enhanced filter and after effects, alterations to level of detail.
Sniper Elite 5 does none of those. As far as we could tell, the only bumps were to texture quality and grass quality. Neither offer that big of an improvement and both are only really visible at certain distances.
Enhancement Rather than Upgrade
Given Sniper Elite‘s place as a AA series rather than a AAA one, it was probably unrealistic to expect much work to have been done optimising the game for the relatively small 9th gen. user base.
It’s also probably unfair to have expected too much from a free upgrade from a AA series.
But on the other hand, PC games of all budgets have graphics sliders to land in a performance sweet spot. Adjusting LoD, swapping up texture filtering, alterations to grass density and many other settings are ubiquitous in PC gaming.
It’s perhaps a little disappointing that a little more could not have been added to the visual immersion of Sniper Elite 5 for PS5. The artwork and map design might have deserved a better technical presentation on the 9th gen. system.
Is the minimal difference an issue given the more modest budget of a AA title? Or is this a bit lazy? Would you have preferred a selection of graphics modes for 9th gen. systems? Let us know in the comments below…
