10 Best PS4 Pro Games You Need to Try Out on Your New System

RATCHET & CLANK

The PS4 has been out for a little over a month, offering big enhancements for PS4 titles including improved frame-rates, upscaled resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD, and high-dynamic range (HDR) for brighter colors, improved brightness, and a sharper contrast. While some games either don’t show much of a difference on the new system, or don’t even have a patch released to support PS4 Pro options, others are thriving with the new enhancements. Whether you own a PS4 Pro or are considering purchasing one in the future, check out these 10 games that look great on the new and improved console.

This re-imagined title based on the first in the long running Ratchet & Clank series looked great on the PS4, and now looks even better on the Pro. Whether players own a 4K or standard 1080p HD definition TV, they will see visible improvements for the resolution. HDR is also offered, and with a colorful game like this you’re sure to see its vivid art-style pop dramatically with a wider range of both tone and brightness.

Developer Insominac Games achieved these improvements with a technique they call temporal injection. This will eliminate what the games industry refers to as jaggies, or artifacts in raster images with sharp edges that are anti-aliased. Essentially, lines will be sharper and resolution and colors will be improved, making Ratchet & Clank a title you will defiantly want to check out on the PS4 Pro.

THE WITNESS

The Witness is a strikingly beautiful and colorful puzzle game developed by Jonathan Blow, creator of the critically acclaimed indie title, Braid. Along with HDR support to enhance The Witness’ already broad color spectrum, resolution enhancements for both standard and 4K TVs are offered.

If you’re outputting onto a standard 1080p TV, The Witness will render at 1080p, 60fps, 4x multisample anti-aliasing (MSAA), while the base PS4 supports 900p, 60fps, 2x MSAA. Those with 4K TVs have two modes to choose from via the option menu, the first being 1440p 2x MSAA rendering of the game world, upscaled to 4k, text and UI rendered at 4k, 60fps, and the second option is 4K 2x MSAA rendering for everything, 30fps. These two options simply differ with a focus on either all-around 4K resolution or smoothness in gameplay via higher fps.

FIREWATCH

Campo Santo’s first-person title Firewatch received a PS4 Pro patch that added improvements for standard HD and 4K TV players. Those with a 1080p display will notice smoother loads, higher quality shadows, and improved draw distances.

If you’re outputing onto a 4K TV then Firwatch runs at WQHD (2560x1440p) with UI rendering at 4KUHD (3840×2160) for an enhanced level of detail. Make sure to pick up Firewatch for the PS4 Pro if you’re looking for a intriguing narrative game that also looks great.

RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER: 20 YEAR CELEBRATION

Rise of the Tomb Raider released back in 2015 for Xbox One and PC platforms, and arrived to PS4 in 2016 in the form of the 20 Year Celebration Edition.

The PS4 Pro’s extra power is put to good use with this title with three visual modes available. The first supports the 4K visuals at the highest resolution while maintaining a lower frame-rate at 30fps, the second favors high-frame rates by allowing 60fps at 1080p, and the third mode rus at 30fps on 1080p and uses the remaining processing power to  focus on “both new and existing rendering features to improve overall image quality.”

This variety in visual modes aims to satisfy the preferences of any player, whether they place resolution or frame-rate as top dog, or wish to keep them equal to improve other aspects of the visual quality.

INFAMOUS SECOND SON

Infamous Second Son is another title that optimized to include HDR, offering apparent improvements for its visuals. Brighter colors stand out from darker backdrops, and combining this with Infamous Second Son’s ability to upscale to 4K options makes for a crisp and beautiful image for this 2014 title, all while maintaining a target 60fps.

On the base PS4, Infamous Second Son looks quite standard overall when it comes to visuals. However on the Pro its quality is enhanced in numerous ways due to both the 4K and HDR support, so expect to see a significant difference in appearance when comparing it back to the base PS4. Infamous Second Son shows that the Pro has the potential to take sub-par visuals and raise them up to players expectations for next-gen.

THE LAST OF US REMASTERED/LEFT BEHIND DLC

The Last of Us already had a quality bump when its remastered version came out for the PS4, and it continues on with an even better enhancement onto the PS4 Pro. With HDR bringing rich textures, varied colors, and more detailed shadows, The Last of Us Remastered runs at 4K with 30fps selected and 1080p with 60fps selected.

This also includes improvements for the single-player DLC Left Behind that acts as a prequel to The Last of Us following Ellie and her friend Riley before meeting fellow protagonist Joel.

Along with fellow Naughty Dog release Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, The Last of Us Remastered also received a 4K photo mode so you can show off you’re heightened PS4 graphics to all your friends on social media.

NBA 2K17

Support for the PS4 Pro was added to NBA 2K17 in November, allowing players to run at a native 4K resolution at 60 FPS on the Pro. If you’re looking for the best looking basketball title on console, NBA 2K17 on PS4 Pro is the one for you.

HDR support was also included, for a richer visual experience that is sure to make those jersey color really pop. Brightness and contrast values were also improved HDR inclusion, making NBA 2K17 appear sharper and more defined on the Pro as compared to the base PS4.

CALL OF DUTY: INFINITE WARFARE

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare runs at a solid 60fps on both the PS4 and Ps4 Pro, but Pro owners can take advantage of 4K support via a checkerboard rendering technique where developers render half the pixels in a checkerboard pattern and then reconstruct the remaining half, offering crisper lines on a higher resolution screen.

Modern Warfare Remastered also got PS4 Pro support running at 1620p with more consistent 60fps when looking at this frame-rate test video between the Pro and base PS4, while Infinite Warfare can run up to 4K while maintaining 60fps. Modern Warfare Remastered can often see dips in the frame-rate when excessive affects such as explosions appear on screen on both platforms, but the rate stays higher overall while running on the Pro.

WORLD OF TANKS

World of Tanks released on the PS4 at the beginning of this year, and now is offering PS4 Pro support. Executive Producer TJ Wagner stated in a PlayStation Blog post, “We’re rendering each frame at 3200 x 1800 resolution and the PS4 Pro does a high quality upscale from that to 4K which is 3840×2160 pixels. Tank and terrain textures are stunningly detailed, even up close. The already lush vegetation looks fuller and more natural on PS4 Pro due to the higher quality anti-aliasing.”

World of Tanks is also offering HDR support and smoother frame-rates for the most tank-battle eye-candy they can muster on console.

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END

In Nathan Drake’s final adventure, for standard HD TVs the single-player campaign’s resolution has been increased from 1080p on the PS4 to 1440p on the Pro. As well, its multiplayer mode can be enhanced to 1080p up from 900p on the base PS4.

Those who own a 4K TV can experience higher resolution rendering scaled down to 1080p, with the game running at 30fps across all outputs and resolutions. HDR is also offered for Uncharted 4, providing rich colors and brightness to its already beautiful animations and scenery.

Like The Last of Us Remastered, there is also a new 4K photo mode allowing players to take hi-res screenshots of whatever they please during their playthroughs.

What games do you notice have significant improvements on the Pro? Or what games do you hope get support patchs in the future? Let us know below!