Update 1.006 for Konami and Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake is now available, and here’s a comparison that shows improvements as well as a major drawback on PS5 Pro.
The patch specifically aims to tackle image quality issues on PS5 Pro that were introduced via update 1.005, which included PSSR support. However, the PSSR implementation resulted in the global illumination looking incoherent both in motion and at rest. It also added unwanted disocclusion to screen space reflections. Update 1.006 addresses both issues, but comes with a drawback of its own.
The patch has improved image quality on the PS5 Pro by changing the upscaling technique from PSSR with TSR, but only in Performance mode. The lowest resolution threshold in this mode has also been increased from 864p to 900p. Quality mode, on the other hand, still exhibits the same problems seen in update 1.005, as PSSR is still in effect in this mode. Furthermore, it’s rather disappointing to see that, instead of attempting to improve its PSSR implementation, developer Bloober Team has opted to revert to the upscaling technique used in the base PS5 version of the game.
Another drawback comes in the form of the lower frame rate seen in stressful areas after update 1.006 compared to version 1.005. While this comes as disappointing, the average frame rate after update 1.006 is slightly higher compared to the base PS5 version running in Performance mode. After the new update, both the PS5 Pro and base PS5 use TSR for upscaling.
On the whole, the improvements brought forth by update 1.006 for the Silent Hill 2 remake are insufficient, and further work is needed to take full advantage of the PS5 Pro. Ideally, the PSSR implementation should be improved and added back to Performance mode on the mid-gen console.
Detailed patch notes for update 1.006 of the Silent Hill 2 remake can be seen here.
