Digital Foundry Says PSSR 2 Delivers a Much Better Image on PS5 Pro, Though Some Issues Still Remain
Sony’s updated PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution rollout appears to be a meaningful step forward for the PS5 Pro. According to Digital Foundry’s Oliver Mackenzie, the new version of PSSR delivers “overall, a much better image” across a wide range of tested games, improving image stability, reducing noise, and producing cleaner results in motion. The timing is important for Sony, because first generation PSSR had a rough reputation in several titles where the image could look unstable or visibly worse than players expected from premium upgraded hardware. Sony itself has said the upgraded PSSR improves reconstruction precision, boosts motion stability, and gives developers more flexibility in how they balance performance and visual quality on PS5 Pro.
One of the most important details in this rollout is that PSSR 2 can be enabled in 3 different ways. Some games receive direct patches from developers that implement the upgraded solution. Others are whitelisted so the updated system software can override the original implementation. There is also a manual option through the PS5 Pro system setting called Enhance PSSR Image Quality, which allows supported PSSR titles to use the newer image quality path even if they have not yet received a dedicated game patch. Sony has officially confirmed that this optional setting exists and can improve existing supported games, making it one of the most practical quality of life additions in the new update.
That broader compatibility matters because it means PSSR 2 is not limited to only brand new releases. Sony has already confirmed support or rollout activity for games including Resident Evil Requiem, Silent Hill f, Monster Hunter Wilds, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Crimson Desert, while broader reporting around the update notes additional tested titles such as Alan Wake 2, Control, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. In other words, this is not a narrow tech demo style deployment. It is quickly becoming a wider platform level visual upgrade for the PS5 Pro library.
Where PSSR 2 seems to make the strongest immediate impression is in image stability and noise reduction. Digital Foundry’s testing, as summarized in the coverage around its report, points to clearer motion handling and less distracting instability in games like Gran Turismo 7. Unreal Engine 5 titles also appear to benefit significantly, especially where PSSR 1 struggled with noisy ray traced global illumination. Reports around the new testing suggest that this problem is reduced enough in some games to create a visibly cleaner presentation, with Silent Hill f specifically called out as looking dramatically better under the upgraded solution.
That said, Sony is not fully out of the woods yet. Remaining issues still show up in certain edge cases, and Digital Foundry reportedly highlighted Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Dragon’s Dogma 2 as titles where artifacts are still visible. In particular, sharp noisy reflections in motion and recurring dot pattern issues remain part of the conversation, showing that while the new reconstruction model is clearly stronger, it is not yet a universal fix for every scenario. That is probably the fairest way to frame PSSR 2 right now: substantial progress, but not complete maturity.
Sony’s own messaging also suggests this is part of a larger technical direction rather than a one off correction. The company says the upgraded PSSR is tied to ongoing work with AMD through Project Amethyst, and Mark Cerny has reportedly said the improved version is also faster at runtime than the original. That combination of higher quality and lower processing overhead is exactly what Sony needed if it wants PSSR to become a long term pillar of the PlayStation graphics roadmap rather than a mixed experiment attached only to the PS5 Pro generation.
For now, the practical takeaway is clear. If you own a PS5 Pro and play PSSR supported titles, the upgraded implementation appears to be the best option in most cases, especially if you manually enable the Enhance PSSR Image Quality setting where needed. It does not erase every artifact or solve every reconstruction challenge, but it does seem to move Sony’s in house upscaler much closer to the quality bar players expected in the first place. That may not end all criticism around PSSR, but it does make the PS5 Pro’s visual story significantly stronger than it was at launch.
Do you think PSSR 2 is enough to change the conversation around the PS5 Pro, or does Sony still need more game by game fixes before players fully trust it?
