Gran Turismo 7 is out tomorrow, and to give you an idea of what to expect performance-wise, Digital Foundry has provided an analysis for the PS5 version.
According to Digital Foundry, the game’s checkerboarded 1800p has been upgraded to full, native 4K since Gran Turismo Sport was released. Along with a higher pixel count, images are enhanced thanks to texture filtering, shadow quality, reflection quality, and more. DF says while it’s not perfect, it “goes a long way to reducing some of the visual artifacts you could spot in GT Sport.”
The game also sports the addition of per-pixel motion blur during actual gameplay at full resolution, however, there aren’t any lower resolution options that may have allowed for hardware-accelerated ray tracing to be used in-game.
A key feature in Gran Turismo 7 is hardware-accelerated ray tracing, but you’re offered the choice between using ray tracing or a higher frame rate. When using ray-traced reflections, the feature is used in every scene that includes cars – except actual gameplay. This means that replays and the menu system use the feature, but the frame rate is capped at 30fps while turning off ray tracing removes the performance limit.
Ray tracing really makes car paint shine, as the clear coat reflects light allowing for realistic surfaces across vehicles. With ray-traced reflections, the result is “more accurate as the paint reflects not just the environment but also other cars as well as inner reflections.” When active, ray tracing is applied to all cars and all reflect one another properly.
Cars are presented with a “high level of detail within the acceleration structure,” which means you can expect accurate reflections, especially in replays, but the hit to performance makes it unsuitable for gameplay, where Polyphony targets 60fps.
With ray-traced replays, frame-rate is capped at 30fps and is maintained most of the time. The replays “run very consistently and look great with RT reflections,” but, stress test conditions for gameplay “have a similar impact in replays,” causing things to drop below 30fps. Once cars are spaced out in a race, the problem disappears. While replays without ray tracing target 60fps, things are “mostly solid,” but a “tightly packed grid” mixed with inclement weather will cause dips.
Digital Foundry says it is currently testing Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro and will post its findings soon.
If you are wondering whether or not to pick up the game, you should check out our Gran Turismo 7 review, where we gave it a 5/5 because it’s so good, it could probably “turn casual players into bonafide petrolheads.” You can also have a look at what other critics think through our round-up.