Even in backwards compatibility mode, PS5 offers substantial upgrades over PS4 Pro - a 2.5x multiplier in compute performance and twice the memory bandwidth. In terms of actual performance, you are effectively looking at a locked 60fps experience that is nigh-on perfect. On a modern LCD screen, this helps to blend them somewhat, making them less noticeable. Despite no improvements in how the game renders, there's an argument to say that graphics have improved perceptually thanks to the frame-rate upgrade - simply because checkerboarding artefacts persist for just one display refresh now rather than two. That means that the 2160p checkerboarding solution remains in place, but the PS4 Pro's alternative 1368p native rendering performance mode option has been removed as it's essentially redundant. So, what does the patch actually do? On the face of it, Horizon Zero Dawn follows the template laid down by the God of War, Days Gone and the initial Ghost of Tsushima patches in that graphics are totally unchanged from the original release and frame-rate is unlocked, with v-sync providing a 60fps limit. The bottom line is that however Guerrilla managed it, it works, and it works well. Put simply, it's clear that this patch took real effort to produce and it's likely that many of the solutions in the revised PC version worked their way back to this new PlayStation 5 upgrade too. This showed that simply removing the frame-rate cap brought into a focus a range of issues for a game designed primarily with 30fps in mind. This patch is an interesting, because unlocking 60fps is not as easy as flicking a switch, as demonstrated by the initial release of the PC version last year. In a Gamescom virtual event relatively light on content, the release of a free 60 frames per second PS5 upgrade for Horizon Zero Dawn was a definite highlight, giving another Sony first-party classic the full frame-rate upgrade and dramatically improving the experience as a result.

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