The PS4 version of Sega and Atlus’ latest role-playing game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, offers smoother performance via backward compatibility on PS5 compared to the native PS5 release.
In its analysis of Atlus’ latest role-playing game, Digital Foundry has found a number of technical problems with the game that are worth highlighting. Among the mentioned issues is one that concerns the performance of the current-gen console versions of the game. It turns out that the PS4 version of Metaphor: ReFantazio offers smoother performance via backward compatibility on PS5 compared to the native PS5 release.
As of writing, the only way to get a stable frame rate that targets 60 fps on consoles is via the PS4 version of Metaphor: ReFantazio running in backward compatibility on PS5. The frame rate in the Xbox Series S version drops all the way down into the 30s. Meanwhile, the native PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game can drop into the 40s, and generally stay within the 40 to 60 fps range, which isn’t ideal either. The latter two versions do have the option to enable 120 Hz mode, but with the lack of system level Low Frame Rate Compensation (LFC) on PS5, it is far from the ideal way to play the game on Sony’s current-gen console.
While running the PS4 version of Metaphor: ReFantazio via backward compatibility on PS5 does deliver stable performance that meets its target of 60 fps, image quality takes a major hit compared to the native PS5 version. The latter runs at a native resolution of 1656p, while the PS4 version runs at a native 1080p on the Pro console.
Ultimately, fans of Atlus’ latest role-playing game who play on the PS5 will need to make a compromise between image quality and performance. Usually, we’d favor performance, but, given the turn-based nature of combat in Metaphor: ReFantazio, the native PS5 version is the way to go in our subjective opinion. Alternatively, waiting for the PS5 Pro’s launch next month would also help with performance in the native PS5 version.
