One of the PlayStation 5’s most exhilarating exclusives just leveled up—again. In celebration of Returnal’s fourth anniversary, Housemarque has rolled out a free PS5 Pro enhancement for the chaotic roguelike shooter. While the upgrade might not introduce new content or flashy features like ray tracing, what it does offer is a masterclass in meaningful next-gen optimization: sharper resolution, steadier frame rates, and dynamic scaling that intelligently flexes with the mayhem on screen.
For fans of Sony’s atmospheric and punishing bullet-hell odyssey, this update isn’t just a cosmetic touch-up—it’s a chance to experience Selene’s cycle of death and rebirth in crisper detail and with more consistent smoothness than ever before. And that’s saying a lot for a game that already pushed the base PS5 hardware to its limits back in 2021.
How dynamic resolution scaling breathes new life into Returnal’s relentless action
At the core of the PS5 Pro update is a clever implementation of dynamic resolution scaling (DRS). Unlike the standard PS5 version, which locked Returnal to a fixed 1080p base resolution (temporally reconstructed to 1440p and then upscaled to 4K via checkerboard rendering), the Pro version dynamically adjusts resolution on the fly—peaking at a stunning 3072x1728 (roughly 1.7K) and dipping only when the GPU is under intense strain.
This isn’t just a numbers game. As Digital Foundry’s in-depth analysis reveals, the variable scaling is smartly calibrated to keep the game locked at 60 frames per second during even the most explosive boss fights. That means no more occasional dips into the mid-50s during key encounters—just smooth, responsive combat as it was meant to be experienced. And when the resolution does scale down, it rarely drops below 1350p, which is still a visual step above the base PS5’s static 1080p.
In practice, this creates a visual experience that feels both sharper and more stable. Textures pop with greater clarity, fine details like floor patterns and metallic surfaces lose their old aliasing jitters, and chaotic particle effects—so abundant in Returnal’s world—no longer cause brief moments of visual graininess. Even the notorious moiré patterns that cropped up on staircases in the original release are largely tamed on the Pro.
Not just a sharper image—better performance where it counts
While the resolution boost is the headline, the performance improvements quietly steal the show. Returnal’s procedurally generated nature makes exact benchmarking impossible, but tests across repeatable scenarios show that the PS5 Pro version consistently holds a rock-solid 60 FPS in fights where the base console wobbled. Key boss encounters, like those in the Overgrown Ruins and the Tower of Sisyphus, now run with unwavering stability—a small but significant upgrade to the player’s sense of control and flow.
That said, the Pro version isn’t flawless. Some players have noted a slight uptick in micro-stutters—brief frame-time hitches that seem to occur as the dynamic resolution scrambles to keep up with sudden spikes in GPU load. These moments are rare and generally minor, but they do highlight the trade-off inherent in pushing dynamic scaling to its limits. Still, it’s a minor quibble in an otherwise solid performance package.
Why this upgrade matters more than its simplicity suggests
There’s a certain elegance to what Housemarque has done here. Instead of chasing the shiny allure of ray tracing or adding optional graphics modes like 120Hz, they focused on what truly enhances the experience of Returnal: image clarity and frame-rate consistency. It’s the kind of pragmatic upgrade that speaks to a deep understanding of both the game and the hardware.
And while the PS5 Pro patch doesn’t unlock the next-gen fantasies seen in the PC version (like ray-traced reflections or ultra-quality volumetrics), it doesn’t need to. Returnal on PS5 Pro isn’t about spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It’s about refining a formula that already won three Game Awards and earned praise for its design, audio, and direction. It’s about letting players see and feel the game at its best.
Returnal Pro Update: A love letter to fans and a blueprint for meaningful enhancements
One of the most intriguing aspects of this update is how it recontextualizes the value of the PS5 Pro itself. Sony’s premium console has often been critiqued for lacking distinctive upgrades in older titles, but Returnal’s patch shows what’s possible when developers tailor updates to leverage that extra GPU muscle intelligently.
It’s also a reminder that next-gen evolution doesn’t always have to mean new games or features. Sometimes, it’s about looking back at what made a game special and asking, “How can we make this shine even brighter?” For Returnal, that question has been answered with sharper pixels, steadier frames, and a higher-fidelity trip through a dying world that refuses to let you go.
So whether you’re a Pro owner who’s been waiting for a reason to dive back into Returnal, or a fan who simply appreciates smart tech enhancements, this patch is a win. It may not justify the price gap between PS5 and PS5 Pro on its own, but it sure does give the premium hardware a chance to flex in a game that belongs in the hall of generational greatness.