The Xbox One X might be stealing some of the limelight in the 4K gaming stakes right now, but that should not diminish the gigantic catalogue of visually enhanced games that have steadily built up on the PS4 Pro over the past year. To help you in your quest for visual perfection we’ve selected some of the titles that really benefit from the Pro’s extra power.
Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4 Exclusive)
Not only is Guerrilla’s open world action adventure one of the best titles of 2017, it also happens to be easily one of the best looking games to appear on any platform. To see Aloy striding around fighting gigantic robot dinosaurs on the PS4 Pro is a routinely jaw-dropping experience that really pushes what modern 4K, HDR-enabled TVs can do. The ever-changing weather and lighting conditions are a particular delight, and provide the benchmark demonstration of what High Dynamic Range brings to the party. Some developers only really use it as a window dressing, but the enhanced colour gamut along with more dazzling contrast is in evidence throughout. The enhanced 4K resolution is the icing on the cake, and delivers a quite insane spectacle that makes you understand exactly what the point of the PS4 Pro is. Also bear in mind the game’s DLC The Frozen Wilds is the size of most games on its own…
GT Sport (PS4 Exclusive)
Getting the most out of 4K tellies involves a lot of fannying around with settings, but the visual calibration process you have to go through to even play GT Sport is perhaps the most convoluted ever seen. Thankfully, the effort is all worth it, because the end result will make you want to invite friends around and show them what the future looks like. Seriously, as with Horizon, the implementation of HDR techniques makes a massive difference, and when you’re blasting around a track at 140mph, you can’t fail to be seduced by the absolutely glorious sunsets. The enhanced ambience that lavish lighting and a sharper picture provides is not mere window dressing—the smoother frame rate provided by the Pro brings it all together, and the benefits to PSVR are also worth a mention (if you’ve picked one of those up too). In short, it’s a majestic looking driving experience.
FIFA 18
Building on the (already pretty great) 4K enhancements to last year’s FIFA, EA has come up with one of the best looking sports games around. Presentation has never been lacking in this huge-selling series, but this year some of the changes to stadium lighting, weather, FUT pack-opening effects, and the dramatic cut-scenes in The Journey story mode make a big difference to the spectacle. Playing the game on a massive 4K telly is so convincing at times that you’d easily mistake it for the real thing at first glance. The kind of detail normally lost is easy to discern, which makes it easy to identify specific players—even from a distance. And another thing—the extra power of the Pro speeds up the menus, which is a real plus if you’re a FUT addict.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Sure, it’s been out for a while now, but there are few games that top the most recent Lara Croft adventure for sumptuous visual splendour. Beautifully detailed environments come as standard for this expansive action adventure, but seeing them in 4K HDR is something else entirely. Better still, Crystal Dynamics understands that some players might prefer raw performance over visual opulence, and offers a bunch of simple options to tailor the experience accordingly.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4 Exclusive)
Somehow this wonderful action adventure has been rather sidelined this year, but trust us, this spin-off from the main series is deserving of the highest praise. For one thing, it has some of the most amazing set-pieces in any game in the genre (never mind this series), but seeing them running in all their no-compromise 60fps, 4K, HDR glory makes this game look years ahead of most games in the visual stakes. Given its price (somewhere around £12.99 at the time of writing) this one is a no-brainer. Also, don’t forget Uncharted 4, which also benefits from a raft of beautiful PS4 Pro enhancements.
Resident Evil 7
An absolutely stonking return to form for the survival horror series, with its best entry since the legendary Resident Evil 4 way back in 2004. On PS4 Pro, the game benefits on several fronts, not least the presence of excellent 4K and HDR, which makes the game’s many gloomy environments even more grim and atmospheric. The wretched detail of the game’s many internal environments also come to life in the game’s VR mode, which on PS4 Pro get a notable detail bump over the standard PS4. Either way, you can’t lose. The main game is fantastic, and also has some wonderful DLC, so horror fans should put this one right at the top of their list.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
From the makers of Enslaved and DMC, comes Hellblade, one of the most incredible looking games around right now. Described loosely as a “psychological horror-action-adventure”, you must, among other things, rescue the soul of your dead lover, while dealing with a form of psychosis. From the moment the game boots, it emerges as something unique and special, with stellar production values that put players on a memorable journey. On the Pro, what was already a great looking game transforms it into one that you’ll want to demo your console and TV with. Take a bow, Ninja Theory.
Battlefield 1
One of many games around at the moment that has benefited from the PS4 Pro treatment (but not Xbox One X) is DICE’s World War I shooter. On Sony’s machine, the Pro version can boast enhancements to textures, resolution and frame rate, which fundamentally brings an already fine-looking game up to stunning levels of fidelity. As things stand, this is the best way to play the game on console platforms.
The Witcher 3
Apart from being a brilliant game, the great thing about CD Projekt’s classic RPG is its seemingly infinite technical scalability—as witnessed by the long list of visual and technical improvements that PS4 Pro owners can stand to benefit from. Checkerboard rendering gives a beautiful 4K output, with better texture filtering at a smooth 30fps. Buzzwords aside, the game looks absolutely glorious, and right now has the edge over the Xbox One version—until the enhanced version sees the light of day.
Ratchet & Clank
Even back in the PS2 era, Insomniac knew how to make amazing looking games, and it therefore comes as no surprise that its first PS4 Ratchet looks completely ridiculous running on a PS4 Pro. With near native 4K rendering and HDR, this is like a Pixar movie running in real-time, with the added benefit of fantastic characterisation that comes as standard in this top-notch platform shooter. Seriously, if you haven’t played a R&C game in a while, this will remind you of why we’re still talking about the series 15 years later.