Three visual and gratifaction choices are obtainable in this outing if you are playing on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X – Fidelity, Performance RT and Performance. The previous caps the framerate at 30fps, delivering a 4K image and making use of ray traced shadows throughout, while the latter two options target 60fps in a 1440p resolution.
Fidelity, while delivering a crisper image and better detail, immediately felt slow to me. Being spoiled with fantastic 60fps modes on console games recently, I couldn't stand the idea of working all things in the numerous action sequences in GTA V's story mode in this manner again.
Performance RT, however, was my preferred way to play. This mode felt like the best approach to take for all those wanting a snappier frame rate while still experiencing some degree of ray tracing. Playing GTA V at 60fps on console makes a resounding difference to the overall experience, even though I understand some will happily sacrifice frame rate for quality of visuals, I found it tough to warrant such a massive cut to performance. The input lag, while rough in every mode available, can be quite cumbersome at 30fps – especially during on-foot sections. It's worth mentioning Xbox Series S doesn't have any ray tracing possibilities and is restricted to 1080p 60fps in Performance mode, while Fidelity mode sees the Series S support upscaled 4K at 30fps.
The visual jump between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Grand Theft Auto V and also the current-gen versions seemed significant enough. Again, the game looks fantastic for almost all the time you're moving through Los Santos and Blaine County, and also the higher quality textures used from the PC version of the sport make enough of a difference to recommend to players wanting the best GTA V experience on console.
The biggest change in the two versions, though, may be the load times – it is a monumental improvement over what's come before. It's finally time to bid farewell to the tediously long loading time (two minutes plus) seen on the older version of the game, that have now been substituted for load times that exist 6x faster. Huge. Whether you're cold booting the game out of your console's main menu, switching to a different character in story mode or switching over to Grand Theft Auto Online, there is a significant load time difference to enjoy. If anything, this is exactly what I had been looking to see and I'm pleased to confirm the super-fast SSDs in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles deliver.
While it's rarely been my bag, Grand Theft Auto Online's new streamlined introduction sequence and Career Builder enables you to jump relatively quickly in to the mode from scratch, which was nice to see. That said, cross-play between console generations isn't available today, so take that into consideration if you have buddies who play which are still on last-gen platforms. Once you result in the transfer towards the current-gen form of GTA V your save is going to be wiped in the last-gen version.
As I alluded to earlier, the notion of the version of Grand Theft Auto V being 'Expanded and Enhanced' is gone. There's hardly any new happy to experience here, therefore if you've done it all before don't expect any surprises. That said, GTA V's story mode continues to be among the series' greatest and is really worth a revisit whether it's been quite some time because you last entered into the shoes of Franklin, Michael and Trevor. Similarly, in case your buddies make the make room to the current-gen versions from the game it's worth kickstarting or continuing your crusade on Grand Theft Auto Online. It feels much more welcoming of computer ever has.
Is it well worth the paid upgrade? I am not so sure. We have seen updates such as this for many games during the last few years which have released and price nothing. As such, it's a bit disheartening to determine this launch as a paid upgrade (even though it's currently discounted for a couple of months). It's still a fantastic game though, and well worth revisiting if it's been some time or if you've somehow never were able to give it a crack.
