The Digital Foundry tech review.
First, let’s rewind.
This is where PS4 enters the picture.
That PS4 Pro code also runs great on PS5, so what more could a native PS5 version offer?
As it turns out, there’s more to this project than we anticipated.
But before we dive into those comparisons, however, let’s quickly touch on the basics.
Furthermore, the precious few scenes that were real-time on PS4 have been completely remade.
The changes here are evident from even the opening scenes of the game.
Expect new materials, smoothed-off edges, greater incidental detail, new background structures and tons of small flourishes.
This also means that improvements introduced in Uncharted 4 are here as well, such as physically-based materials.
So now surfaces have a base color plus roughness, specular and metallic properties.
Reflections on water are now more prominent too.
In Part 1 however, secondary bounce is far more frequent even in moderately lit areas.
In Part 1, however, this no longer occurs.
So the original does have that going for it!
Cutscenes are of comparable quality and both look exceptionally excellent.
These real-time sequences are among the best-looking cutscenes I’ve seen in a video game.
Given all this, let’s shift gears a bit and talk about gameplay.
In this case, Naughty Dog opted for the latter.
However, more here has changed than I expected.
Animation, camera work and even enemy behavior has changed between the two versions.
I’d have enjoyed new levels but who knows how the vocal fanbase would react.
Whether you appreciate this decision or not, I suspect this is why it was designed this way.
The whole scene just looks goofy.
On PS5, things are much different.
The difference in behavior is significant here.
In Part 1, even on easier modes, enemies offer a wider range of behaviour.
The environments feel more reactive this time too.
This represents much of what Naughty Dog refers to as ‘improved gameplay’ and this description does seem accurate.
It’s as complete a remake as you could hope for, given the age of the original.
