Alan Wake 2 with ray-tracing will run at 30 FPS on PlayStation 5 Pro

With hands-on impressions of games running natively on PlayStation 5 Pro hardware, it's safe to say that for console gamers looking for the best visual fidelity, Sony's mid-generation refresh won't disappoint. From in-race 60FPS ray tracing in Gran Turismo 7 to the impressive Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 running at a full 60 FPS with Fidelity Mode visuals.

Throw in PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution or PSSR upscaling, which uses AI like NVIDIA's DLSS to deliver a crisper and cleaner image compared to the baseline PS5 console, and there's definite hype surrounding the Pro after the lukewarm initial reaction.

However, the PlayStation 5 Pro, even at $699, will not be able to compete with a high-end or mid-range GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU in terms of its overall performance and ray-tracing capabilities - case in point: Remedy's Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake 2 is getting PlayStation 5 Pro enhancements, including the addition of ray tracing to the game's Quality or Fidelity mode. Thanks to PSSR, the 60 FPS Performance mode also has improved visuals, effects, and overall image quality.

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"Our graphics engineers at Remedy have greatly enjoyed improving Alan Wake 2 for PS5 Pro together with the team at Sony Interactive," Thomas Puha, Communications Director at Remedy Entertainment, writes. "With a game like Alan Wake 2, where the mood and environmental story-telling are essential, bringing ray tracing to the game as a brand new feature adds another layer of immersion. We have also used the additional power of PS5 Pro to improve the visuals and effects in the 60 FPS Performance mode, where we have upped the output resolution to 4K, making the experience look even better than before."

Although we only saw Alan Wake 2 running on the PS5 Pro during the console's reveal, the footage showcased 30 FPS Fidelity and 60 FPS Performance modes.

Now, on PC with full path tracing, Alan Wake 2 is one of the most visually demanding games on the market, requiring DLSS and Frame Generation to deliver 4K 60+ FPS on a GeForce RTX 4090. However, one of the critical technologies that make Alan Wake 2's ray tracing look so good is DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction, another game changer exclusive to GeForce RTX GPUs. Check out our DLSS Primer to learn about Ray Reconstruction brings to the table.

Ray reconstruction or not, Alan Wake 2 is a true showcase for where game graphics are headed. So it'll be interesting to see how much of the PC version's ray tracing is brought to Alan Wake 2 on PS5 Pro. With its cinematic presentation and slow pace, the game is entirely playable at 30FPS. But, even with the PS5 Pro's improved ray tracing, it won't be able to hit the visual heights of the game running with full ray tracing on a high-end PC.

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