GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE 1080P
GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE PS4
GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE SERIES

We often talk of a 'locked 60 frames per second' but there are usually exceptions to the rule - God of War is basically flawless and combined with a presentation like this, it's an experience not to be missed. You can expect the tiniest of performance drops elsewhere within the adventure, but nothing you're likely to notice. I didn't even notice it to be honest, as the 'handheld'-style camera used by God of War is by its very nature a little inconsistent. Let's put it this way, across one hour and 45 minutes of play, just 33 frames were dropped from a total in excess of 378,000 - and those were in a non-playable cutscene.

GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE PS4

Not surprisingly, the 30fps mode is totally locked from start to finish, tidying up some relatively minor slowdown exhibited on PS4 Pro, but the revelation here is just how solid the 60fps experience is.

GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE 1080P

The 1.35 patch for the game is fascinating - the 4K and 1080p modes of the Pro version (targeting 30fps and 60fps with varying degrees of success) are gone, replaced with straight 30fps and 60fps modes still using 2160p checkerboard rendering. But while the studio has clearly moved on, God of War 2018 is a game that respects its technological legacy in extracting the most from its generation of console hardware.

I say that because everything that made God of War so epic in prior instalments is still there in 2018 - the fantastical environments, the gigantic beasts, the visceral, ultra-violent fighting - and of course, Santa Monica Studios' state of the art rendering. The point is, the franchise is re-invigorated - not rebooted. Watch on YouTube A deep dive into God of War performance - PS5 takes centrestage, but there's an interesting story to tell on PS4 and PS4 Pro too. Regardless, Santa Monica Studio has moved on, the story has moved on and maybe the audience has moved on too. By comparison, the older God of War titles almost feel like exaggerated word-of-mouth legends.

GOD OF WAR PS5 UPGRADE SERIES

A series that began life as a technologically state of the art arcade brawler with set-piece bosses has slowed down, there's a genuine story here and fully fleshed out characters. A number of gambles here pay off spectacularly. Beyond what's happening with the software, God of War on PS5 is a much more pleasant experience simply because a nuanced story of profound loss and parenthood plays out without high-pitched fans running at max speed in the background.ДЄnd in returning to God of War, what struck me was just how risky this title would have been for SIE and Santa Monica Studio.

On the noise front especially, this game caused the fans to spin up to an obtrusive degree, depending on which iteration of the hardware you have. God of War actually became our title of choice for testing power draw, acoustics and thermal performance of PlayStation hardware. In extracting so much from the last-gen silicon, Santa Monica Studio inadvertently ran head-first into another issue - the cooling design of PS4 and PS4 Pro. In fact, before we talk about the raw performance numbers, we should probably address what you might call the quality of life improvement. A nigh-on flawless 60 frames per second is the final flourish for a game that pushed PS4 and PS4 Pro to its limits.

It's almost like the final piece of the puzzle: the original release was hugely impressive with its 4K graphics, extreme detail, phenomenal lighting and excellent performances. God of War - the 2018 sequel for PlayStation 4 - has finally received a patch for PlayStation 5, and in common with similar updates for Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima, it opens the door to a classic game running flat out at 60 frames per second - and in common with those other Sony first party juggernauts, the impact is indeed transformative.

God of war ps5 upgrade