The PlayStation 5 upgrade for Crysis Remastered works wonders, yet Performance Mode showcases how the shooter still struggles to maintain 60 frames per second. Crytek surprise released the remaster's next-gen upgrades for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S last week. The update improved the experience with three different modes - Quality, Performance, and RayTracing.
On PS5, specifically, Performance Mode runs the ground-breaking shooter at 60fps in 1080p; meanwhile, the Quality Mode targets 60fps in a resolution of 1080p. On the other hand, Crysis Remastered's RayTracing Mode on Sony's newest console aims for 1440p at 60fps, Crytek confirmed when the upgrade went live. Such enhancements led many to believe the title would finally run much more competently on consoles. And, to a certain degree, it does run better overall. However, Digital Foundry found a few noteworthy hiccups that suggest Crysis Remastered's console performance still isn't up to par.
Across PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, Performance Mode in Crysis Remastered targets 1080p at 60fps. Yet, testing by Digital Foundry (via Eurogamer) shows the 60fps target is not stable on these platforms. The frame rate on PS5's Performance Mode often drops to the high 50s and even dips into the 40s on occasion, though it's not as bad as Quality Mode. More enemy AI-intensive sections in Quality Mode, particularly the first two levels, see Crysis drop from its 1800p target to 1080p. Despite this, the frame rate still chugs at times.
Digital Foundry posits such a shortcoming is due to resolution heavily impacting performance, culminating in the "higher resolution ceiling [causing] CPU stalls." Thus, even when Quality Mode dips to 1080p, it runs worse than just having the game locked on 1080p in Performance Mode. Since later levels aren't as demanding with regards to AI, Performance Mode doesn't experience as many frame rate troubles in later areas. Presumably thanks to its lower resolution targets, Crysis on PS5 performs a bit better compared to the Series X version; the latter has the resolution advantage, though.
It seems the remaster's higher-end PC settings remain the benchmark, but PS5 and Xbox Series upgrades are undoubtedly the best way to experience the seminal first-person shooter on consoles. Whether or not Crytek plans to further optimize these versions of the game isn't known.
In addition to the performance and graphical boosts, Crysis Remastered's free next-gen upgrades boast the Classic Nanosuit menu and the Ascension level, the latter being a section of the game that allows players to pilot a VTOL. Unfortunately, it appears Crytek has no interest in remastering the original game's Warhead expansion.
Crysis Remastered is available to play on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.
Source: Eurogamer, Digital Foundry