Crimson Desert: First Thoughts On The Base PS5 Version

We've had access to a PlayStation 5 Pro build of Crimson Desert for sometime now - and you can see how the 4K 30fps quality mode stacks up in the video embedded above, delivered in HDR no less. However, the key question has always been how the same game presents on the standard PlayStation 5. To cut a long story short, let's cut to the chase: the quality and balanced modes look reasonable, but the performance mode has issues and we can't recommend it. In terms of how knobs and dials Pearl Abyss tweaks for each mode on base and Pro consoles, the firm was nice enough to provide PC equivalent settings, which we've replicated below.

But before we go any further, a public service announcement is required. Crimson Desert on PS5 supports 120Hz displays, but it does so indiscriminately. If you've enabled the 120Hz option within the PS5 front-end, the game boots in 120Hz mode regardless. Now, in theory, that does have its plus points. Increasing display refresh rate does have the effect of lowering input lag - but there's a reason many games only switch to 120Hz mode when selecting a 120Hz-applicable graphics mode.

Put simply, there are many TVs out there that do support 120Hz, but do not support 4K at 120Hz. Some screens drop resolution down to 1440p. Others take it further, only supporting 120Hz at 1080p. So, the game's balanced mode runs at a native 1296p, using FSR 3 upscaling to 2160p - but if you have 120Hz selected and your screen doesn't support 4K120, the game will downscale to 1440p or 1080p, then get upscaled back to 4K. It looks rough. If your screen isn't supporting full HDMI 4K 120Hz, turn off 120Hz on the dashboard.

Right now, we're just beginning our tests on Crimson Desert and we're kicking off with a base PS5/Pro head to head for our upcoming video, but we can immediately share some basic observations about what we've seen so far.

First of all, similar to Resident Evil Requiem, this is a game that absolutely shines on the PlayStation 5 Pro - mostly because of its extra GPU power alongside support for the newly upgraded PSSR. In both base and Pro performance modes, internal resolution is just 1080p. However, base PS5 runs this natively with no form of upscaling at all. Meanwhile, 1080p upscaled to 4K via "PSSR2" makes a world of difference. There are quality boosts to settings on top of that too.

In short, especially with VRR in the mix, Crimson Desert performance mode on PS5 Pro is a viable option, but the hit to frame-rate and especially image quality on the standard PS5 means that we can't recommend the 60fps performance mode as an option. In the first hour of play alone, we've seen frame-rates in the high 30s up to 60fps on the base console, while the lack of upscaling reminds us just how useful the technology is. Swap between performance mode and quality mode on PS5 and the difference is quite astonishing. Balanced mode increases resolution - but not dramatically - and does support FSR3 upscaling and again, the difference is huge compared to the performance mode.

In terms of how the game scales across both consoles across all modes, here's the information that Pearl Abyss has supplied to us. We'll be checking the big ticket items as testing continues but everything seen here makes sense.

Pearl Abyss also supplied us with the internal resolution and frame-rate targets for each of the modes on both consoles. What's interesting here is the "ray tracing quality" setting. On initial viewing, we're not quite sure of what that's actually doing - but we must assume it's something not seen on the PC version which only has an RT on/off toggle. We've enquired with Pearl Abyss about this and will update if and when we have an explanation.

So, right now at least mere hours into testing, that's what we think of Crimson Desert. It's excellent on PS5 Pro, but still seems perfectly decent on the base PlayStation 5 - it's just that the performance mode doesn't look great, while 60fps is indeed best described as a "target frame-rate" as opposed to a general description of its overall performance level. Not having access to 60fps gaming might be a disappointment, but when using the quality toggles to swap to balanced and quality modes, the boost to perceived resolution and detail level is so vast, you're willing to make the trade.

That's what we have got for now, but in the meantime we'll be doing more testing, and we'll report back as soon as we can with more.