Digital Foundry's back with another tech analysis, this time taking a look at Ratchet & Clank - arguably one of the PlayStation 4's most polished titles. Given how pretty the game looks to begin with, we would have assumed that the release wouldn't benefit from the additional power of the recently released PS4 Pro to any large degree, but according to the aforementioned publication, the colourful platformer is better than ever on Sony's supercharged console.
Although it's not flaunting native 4K, the heightened resolution apparently gives the title a nice visual edge, and the frame rate holds strong at 30fps even when there's complete chaos unfolding on screen. Good stuff, then, but supposedly, it's the HDR settings that really make the difference. According to Digital Foundry, the game pops to an unprecedented degree with HDR enabled - so much so that going back to the standard settings makes the title appear washed out.
Have you given Ratchet & Clank a whirl on PS4 Pro? Grab some nuts and bolts in the comments section below.
Comments 22
Noice, took the punt on a 4K TV and this'll be the first game I'll try at the weekend. Can't wait to see what this HDR malarkey is all about.
Now I want a PS4 Pro for the stream god dammit.
I have tried Ratchet in 4K without HDR and it looks amazing.
Surprised ye haven't mentioned Last of Us and Skyrim running worse on the Pro yet
So that's R&C, Fifa 17, Battlefield 1, Titan Fall 2, COD and any others I've missed that actually run better on the Pro. The other Pro supported titles run worse than the original PS4.
I don't need native 4K just some more details and stability.
It seems that Insomniac knows what they are doing.
Game looked stunning in the first place.
Anyone know how Sony/PS4 determines if a TV can do HDR?
I have my PS4s set to 'Auto HDR', but SS & First Light just say 'HDR Unavailable'.
I'm guessing there's a database of TVs in the PS4 firmware maybe...
Over time, they might add more TVs hopefully. TV looks amazing anyway tho.
2016 Sharp 43" 4K LED purchased for my pitch dark mancave.
This makes me wanna splurge and get a 4K tv so badly!
@GamerDad66 I don't know about your particular model, but there is possibly a setting for each input on your TV to turn on full colour or similar, which will trigger the HDR option in the game.
@GBMatthew You have missed loads but fanboys struggle to count.
@GamerDad66 I don't think they whitelist, that wouldn't make much sense. What does the PS4 Pro video information option say?
@SnowstormX Performance isn't the end all be all. I care absolutely nothing for anything higher than 30 FPS. I have been gaming for nearly 30 years (since my first NES) and have never once been able to tell the difference between a game at 30 and one at 60. The same way that I can't tell if the sound I am listening to is from an uncompressed source or is 128 bit lossy compression. Very few people can actually tell, and even fewer actually care. If a game ran at 60 FPS on the classic, but looked so much better and ran at 30 on the Pro, thats a win as far as I am concerned.
I think most people that complain about a 30 FPS rate, or similar, couldn't tell the difference if their life depended on it, they just think that it should be 60 because thats the number everyone throws around as "ideal" and if they get less than that, they are some how being taken advantage of. ** Most people does not include Pro Circuit level players that have critical win or lose millisecond timing.
sort of off-topic, but is there anyone kind enough to tell me if HDMI 2.0 port is a must have on 4K TV or 1.4 port with 2.0 cable will do? And by "do" I mean running all these great games in their full potential on my new family member, the almighty ps4 pro..
@SnowstormX You need to grow up.
@PlaytendoGuy Agreed, they should have opted for a 60hz option instead as nobody played this game and thought it needed a higher res.
@thedevilsjester I'm not going to say you're wrong, because that would be dumb of me, but I am suprised that you can't tell the difference between a game running at 30fps and one at 60fps. Try the toggle option on Last of Us on PS4 if you have it, it's immediately obvious. Ultimately as long as a frame rate is consistent I don't really mind if it's low. Ocarina of Time was okay at 20fps because it maintained that speed throughout the entire game. It's just distracting when it's going up and down, it becomes frustrating to time attacks during combat etc
@SnowstormX Ok that's enough of your trolling, if you are not going to add to the conversation then please don't comment, especially if you are going to just atrack users who has a different opinion then yours. Consider this a warning.
Thanks for understanding.
@GamerDad66 You'll probably have to wait for a firmware update to fix your issues (It might be a while as no one is taking responsibility for some TVs not having functioning HDR with Pro and Sony's customer service is terrible), but here is a link that might help you. The functions on the Pro are incredibly inconsistent and differ even on TVs of the same model. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2016/11/13/ps4-pro-not-working-with-your-tv-here-are-7-things-to-try/#264639ee1e25
@GBMatthew They said they couldn't though because the game was designed to run at a locked 30. It think if they unlocked it, it may have caused a lot of problems.
Been playing this on a 4K, non-HDR screen and it's fantastic. So are Shadows of Mordor, Rez infinite, Infamous First Light and TLOU. Far better than on the original PS4. Some devs seem to be doing better than others.
@adf86 Thanks for the info I wasn't aware of that issue.
@kyleforrester87 I am sure with a toggle it would be more obvious, thats not the point I was trying to make though. I am not saying that I am not capable of telling the difference between the two when they are side by side (or with a quick toggle), but that I have never noticed when playing a game whether or not it was 30 or 60.
Take almost any gamer off the street, show them The Last Of Us on 30 (don't tell them its 30) have them tell you if its 30 or 60. Do the same (with a separate set of people) for the 60, and I would wager that very few actually can tell the difference when its not side by side. I have seen very similar tests with audio, and despite the claims of almost everyone in the study, they were not able tell you which one is playing with any degree of accuracy.
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