Cyberpunk 2077's PS5 Pro update has finally justified my pricey upgrade

Cyberpunk 2077 is the gift that keeps on giving – and this time PS5 Pro owners are the main beneficiaries.

Originally released in 2020 and a mess on consoles, it has been tweaked and improved countless times since – with each major patch and releases adding features and enhancements.

Cyberpunk 2077 — PS5® Pro Update Trailer - YouTube

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Now, six years later, we finally have a dedicated PS5 Pro update and it is nothing short of magnificent.

While it's not quite at high-end PC levels, the game running on PlayStation's most powerful (and pricey) machine is the console version I've been waiting for. A whole suite of ray tracing upgrades are enabled and the game looks next level.

I'd argue that this is now the game the PS5 Pro has been waiting for since day one.

Of course, whether it's worth the full £789.99 / $899.99 the console has recently risen to is another matter – only you can decide – but it certainly demonstrates the marked difference in GPU power between it and the standard PS5.

There are three new graphics modes that have been added with the PS5 Pro patch – each made possible thanks to the new version of PSSR Sony has recently opened up.

The top tier and mode I use myself is Ray Tracing Pro. This is the option I've opted for in my new playthrough of the game. It effectively replaces the Ray Tracing mode, as found on the standard PS5, and adds additional RT features.

You now get ray-traced reflections and lighting added to the shadows available with the previous high-end mode. It's not quite at PC rig levels (there's no path tracing, for example) but it's still a marked difference over the previous option. And thanks to PSSR 2 tech, it looks crisp and detailed at 4K (upscaled from around 1440p, according to Digital Foundry).

Cyberpunk 2077 PS5 Pro Review: All New Modes & Features Tested! - YouTube

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There's an added bonus for owners of 120Hz TVs too – you can play in the Ray Tracing Pro mode at 40 frames-per-second, which is mostly locked. This looks great on my Philips OLED 809, for example. It runs at 30fps on non-120Hz TVs.

If you prefer higher frame rates, there is a middle Ray Tracing mode, which runs with ray-traced shadows only but at 60fps. It too uses PSSR 2, so looks better than the highest tier on standard PS5 (and smoother too).

And finally, a new Performance mode makes use of VRR (variable refresh rate) tech, if your TV is capable. This can run at up to 90fps, although it can vary up and down (again, according to Digital Foundry). It also ditches ray tracing altogether.

Let's also not forget just how brilliant Cyberpunk 2077 already is (one of the best RPGs of all time) – its Phantom Liberty expansion too. And PS Plus Extra and Premium members can download and play it for free, as it was added to the game catalogue last summer.

It might be a stretch to say it's worth the newly-elevated price of the PS5 Pro on its own, but with the likes of Assassin's Creed Shadows also getting a dedicated patch recently and the Pro version of Crimson Desert being arguably the best-looking console game of all time, there's further evidence that Sony's mid-generation upgrade was a wise move.

And, if you shop around, you might still be able to get one at a pre-hike price – such as from Argos in the UK which has it for £699.99.

I'm certainly using mine more and more as the month's tick by.