God of War Ragnarok released on the PlayStation 5 as well as the PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 4 Pro much to everyone’s surprise, as players thought it would be a next-gen exclusive game.
With the game being on next-gen as well as current-gen PlayStation consoles, there are a few evident differences between the three versions. Read on to find out information about the performance and all the contrasts between the PS4, PS4 Pro and the PS5 version of God of War Ragnarok.
God of War Ragnarok PS4 vs PS4 Pro vs PS5 Graphics Comparisons
It is surprising how good God of War Ragnarok looks on the PlayStation 4, despite it being a current-gen console. The PS4 versions look almost as good as the PS5 version and you can only tell the difference if you compare them closely side-by-side
However, there are several graphical enhancements which are not available on the PlayStation 4 versions of God of War Ragnarok.
Improved Ambient Occlusion – Better Scene Lighting:
- Uses Screen Space Directional Occlusion (SSDO) to avoid light leaking issues, improving the indirect lighting quality.
- This indirect lighting improvement leads to environments that look properly illuminated, making characters and dynamic objects fit the scene properly.
Upgraded Shadow Quality – Improved & More Accurate Shadows
- Better-looking and more realistic shadows across the board.
- This improvement is even more noticeable in the Favor Quality graphics setting on PS5, as it also features contact hardening and higher-quality shadow maps.
Additional Lighting on Cutscenes – Improved Cinematic Ambience in Cinematics
- This mild change makes some cinematic scenes look more polished with richer environments.
Screen Space Reflections Improvements – Better Reflections
- Higher quality, better cube map alignment, and more accurate reflections in relation to the camera position.
- This improvement is more noticeable while using the Favor Quality settings on PS5.
Increased Resolution and HFR Mode – Support for Higher Resolutions & Frame Rates
- Ragnarok on PS5 can reach native 4K and supports high frame rate modes depending on your display and the graphics settings you choose.
God of War Ragnarok PS4 vs PS5 Load Times Comparisons
Load times on the PlayStation 5 for God of War Ragnarok is significantly faster than on the PlayStation 4 versions. The PS5 Version is 60-70 % faster than the PS4 versions. However, the base PS4 version still gives an incredible performance, considering it is a console from almost a decade ago.
Initial Loading Time (From Main Menu):
- PS4 – Average 30 – 40 seconds
- PS4 Pro – Average 30 – 40 seconds
- PS5 – Average 10 – 20 seconds
Load Times After Dying:
- PS4 – Average 10 – 12 seconds
- PS4 Pro – Average 10 – 12 seconds
- PS5 – Average 3-5 seconds
God of War Ragnarok PS4 vs PS4 Pro vs PS5 Performance Comparisons
God of War Ragnarok on PlayStation 5 offers native 4K rendering along with unlocked framerates, various performance modes which are unavailable on the PlayStation 4 versions. The game is locked at constant 30 FPS for the PlayStation 4 while the PlayStation 5 offers 60 FPS.
The game runs absolutely fantastic, even on the PlayStation 4 versions with minor differences in its graphics. It is shocking how good the PS4 versions look when compared to the PS5 version. Undoubtedly a major improvement from the 2018 game.
About God of War Ragnarok
God of War Ragnarok is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released on November 9, 2022, for PS4 and PS5.
Ragnarok is the ninth installment in the God of War series, chronologically, and the sequel to 2018’s God of War. Loosely based on Norse mythology, the game is set in ancient Norway and features series protagonists Kratos and his young son Atreus. The events of the game are expected to initiate Ragnarok – a series of events that, according to Norse lore, bring about the end of days and the death of the Norse gods.
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