Infamous: Second Son/First Light PS4 Pro Enhancements Detailed
"The powers look amazing" on a PS4 Pro, Sucker Punch says.
With the PlayStation 4 Pro set to come out in just a few days, we now know more about what Infamous: Second Son and First Light players can expect from the new console.
In a PlayStation Blog post, Jason Connell of developer Sucker Punch said the game benefits from the PS4 Pro in a number of ways, one of which is HDR support. If you have an HDR-ready TV and a PS4 Pro, you'll get even more realistic-looking lighting and exposure effects, Connell said.
"We wanted the art direction and tech to reflect realism in a way that immerses players in the damp, rainy streets of Seattle," he explained. "We did a lot of work to ensure our sky, sun, and light sources felt like the real thing. So why is HDR such a big deal now? This patch, along with an HDR capable TV, pushes those crazy bright values even further.
"Yes, that means looking at the sun or sky in our game feels extremely bright, providing a level of contrast I've never seen in our game before," he added. "The vibrancy of the sky and lighting creates some really striking and beautiful moments. Furthermore, this particular feature will work on the standard PS4 as long as you have an HDR capable TV."
Additionally, for both Second Son and First Light, the resolution is increased and should make game world elements like signs, coffee cups, puddles, and leaves look "even more crisp."
"You can see detail on bricks and signs that previously went unnoticed. When we created the Seattle landscape, we had a goal to make everything wet," Connell said. "That means reflections of those details on every surface. It also meant a fair amount of specular aliasing. The increased resolution improves this and many other alias issues. And if you don’t have a 4K TV, you’ll still see a smoother image as the PS4 Pro will scale down to match your 1080p display."
Third, Connell said the superpowers that Delsin wields in Second Son and Fetch in First Light are improved, so much so that it even surprised the developer.
"The powers look amazing. Delsin's smoke powers and Fetch's neon powers are particularly impressive," Connell said. "Watching the original effects now in 4K and HDR, I notice details I didn't even know existed. For example, when Fetch does a ground pound, waves of brilliantly flickering particles erupt in all directions. We even improved photo-mode to let you pause on powers. My favorite is winding up Fetch's ultimate neon bomb and then quickly activating photo mode to pause and observe the thousands of emissive particles bits forming around her."
The $400 PS4 Pro, which features a replaceable 1 TB hard drive, launches on November 10. For lots more on the console, check out GameSpot's roundup of everything you need to know.
Second Son/First Light were already patched to support PS4 Pro. They're not the only games getting PS4 Pro updates, as numerous others that have or will get updates include Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Modern Warfare Remastered, and Horizon: Zero Dawn, among many others. Check out GameSpot's roundup to see all the games that are getting PS4 Pro patches.
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