GTA 5 is a true phenomenon that forever changed our industry and persuaded the undecided to embrace games-as-a-service. GTA Online has achieved unprecedented success, and fans of the classic Grand Theft Auto had to awaken their hidden enthusiasm for online gameplay because Rockstar abandoned all narrative add-ons. Years after its initial release, the adventure of three gangsters has made its way to the PS5 and XSX|S, confirming my concerns – GTA V Expanded & Enhanced is the best console edition of the hit, but it doesn’t bring significant new features to the IP.
Do you remember what you were doing on September 17, 2013? I will never forget the release day of GTA 5 gratuit because instead of waiting for a courier, I was driving from store to store in search of a free copy of the game that I had been anticipating for many months. I can’t even remember which store messed up and collected pre-orders without having an adequate number of Grand Theft Auto 5 copies, but I do know how irritated I was driving around three nearby cities in search of the game. I don’t remember the 2014 debut on PS4 because I opted for the version from the PlayStation Store and played it only a few days after the release. I downloaded the PC edition but only started playing it after upgrading my hardware. However, I do know that each time Rockstar’s production returned, offering us something new. The modest sense of freshness made me eager to play the game on three platforms, and that’s the same mindset with which I downloaded it on PS5. As it turns out… this time, the developers opted for minor improvements.
Last year, Rockstar served players a true disaster with GTA: The Trilogy The Definitive Edition, so when I picked up the reviewed GTA 5, I didn’t really know what to expect. Fortunately, the developers didn’t hand their work over to amateur destroyers this time, so the production could return without major flaws and unforgivable problems. However, the studio didn’t focus on expanding the adventure, and almost all of its processing power was directed towards modestly improving the experience.
The latest GTA 5 on PS5 and XSX offers three gameplay modes – performance (1440p/60fps), fidelity (4K/30fps), and performance RT (1440p/60fps). I won’t hide that the most interesting option for me was the first one because I wanted to play Grand Theft Auto 5 on a console at 60 frames per second. It’s not perfect because the game only “aims” for that magical threshold, and we can’t even dream of a constant 60 fps, but for me, it’s the best option for playing. In the most “intense” moments, such as larger shootouts with explosions and more spectacular actions, the smoothness can drop to around 50 frames. The situation is worse in performance RT, as here, despite slightly improved graphics, I even noticed 35-40 fps, which is honestly unacceptable to me.
I definitely prefer running around the city in greater fluidity – after all, we’ve been waiting for those 60 frames on consoles for years. It’s not perfect, of course, but I have the impression that the fidelity mode positively influences the experience… It’s worth mentioning that Rockstar did their homework and improved the 60 frames compared to PC gameplay – if you had the chance to spend a few hours with this title on personal computers, you might have noticed that character movements were not sufficiently smooth. Now, the developers have refined the animations, which is noticeable from the very first hour on the console.
During my tests, I also played the game in 4K at 30 fps, and even in this situation, we can’t speak of constant smoothness, as you can still experience dips in the frame rate, especially during destruction sequences, where the PlayStation 5 struggles slightly and provides gameplay at 20-25 fps. Much depends on the events on the screen, but I’m not sure if sharper visuals and denser grass will tempt players to sacrifice greater fluidity. At least for me, it doesn’t make much sense – if I’m going to play the new GTA 5, it’s precisely for those 60 frames.
