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Horizon Forbidden West, Guerrilla Games’ latest addition to the Horizon series, is the first of the studio’s games to appear on both the PS4 and PS5. With the game bridging a cross-generational gap, the power of the PS5 allows fans to play the game at either 60fps or 30fps, both using dynamic resolution scaling to adjust image quality, ensuring steady framerates. This guide will explore both options to help choose which mode offers the superior next-generation experience.

Checking Display Resolutions

When choosing between the modes, players must decide what they prioritize in a video game: image quality or frames per second. Exactly as it says on the tin, performance mode offers a slick and smooth 60fps rendering at a dynamic 1800p, while resolution mode provides a crystal clear dynamic 4k at 30fps.

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Players must also be aware of what display they’re using to play Horizon Forbidden West and whether the 30fps cost is worth the jump in fidelity. Most displays on the market today are capable of running at 60Hz, so players needn’t worry about whether they can run the performance mode but not every display can reach the 3840 x 2160 pixel count needed to display the game at 4k, so that may be worth checking before making a choice.

Image Clarity and Performance

Like the previous game, Horizon Forbidden West is rendered at a native 4k and then downscaled using checkerboard rendering to enhance performance, lending the game some impressive visuals. This means that resolution is adjusted dynamically as pixel count is reduced when image density increases. Therefore, while up-close images like cutscenes and conversations look more or less the same, the modes differ wildly when looking at objects in open-world gameplay.

Starting with performance, both modes run exactly as intended with very rare dips in fps during high-intensity moments, and many of these kinks will likely be smoothed out as more patches for the game are released. The most noticeable of these drops occur when fighting the more deadly machines in the game, which have a tendency to throw themselves across an arena, sending some performance-demanding chunks of debris flying at the player. Outside of these fights, however, drops are rare and barely noticeable.

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The games’ most distinguishing feature is resolution, which has a noticeable impact on image quality depending on the mode. Because of the checkerboarding solution, images in performance mode can often look much blurrier on a 4k display while the resolution mode upholds a sharp and impactful image.

In performance mode, fine details like the dust kicked up from running on sand, the flecks of red that drift from blighted plants, and even the light weave of the invaluable Shieldwing are lost in translation.

Verdict – Which to Choose?

While it’s nice to experience the game at a steady 60fps, where the fluidity of combat is much improved, due to the sheer density of the open world in Horizon Forbidden West, resolution mode is the superior next-gen experience.

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Littered with high-resolution textures and filled to the brim with dynamic foliage and vegetation, just walking around and taking in the beauty of the Nevada desert or the California coast in 4k is an unmissable experience on the PS5.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.

MORE: Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Guide & Walkthrough