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We already know a lot about PlayStation Neo. It’s a high-spec PS4 (that possibly looks like a Big Mac) capable of running every PS4 game in its original ‘Base Mode’ and a new ‘Neo Mode’, a more powerful option that takes advantage of the upgraded hardware to deliver improved performance and visuals.
But what we don’t yet know is which games are planning to support it – whether it be brand new games announced at PlayStation Meeting, upcoming games shipped with support for the enhanced Neo mode, or older titles patched to make use of the more powerful hardware.
There are some games, though, that I’d love to see take advantage of the new hardware to deliver an improved, better-looking experience. From older back catalogue titles that could see a new lease of life on Neo, to new releases that could look even better than we’ve been expecting, here are some games I’d love to see shown off at Wednesday’s PlayStation Meeting:
BATTLEFIELD 1
As with DICE’s earlier Battlefield games, Battlefield 1 runs at 900p on the current PS4. But what if Neo could deliver the game at 1080p, and with a few extra bells and whistles to bring it more in line with the PC version? We can dream… But even if DICE is planning on making use of the hardware in such a way, we likely won’t see it at Wednesday’s event – Microsoft has the game’s marketing deal, meaning EA probably isn’t allowed to show it off at PlayStation Meeting.
UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END
Initially targeted at 1080p/60fps, sacrifices had to be made across both Uncharted 4’s single-player and multiplayer to hit the Naughty Dog bar on the current PS4, dropping to 900p/60fps in multiplayer and 1080p/30fps in single-player. But with the added power of Neo, reaching 1080p/60fps across both modes could be achievable. And if I were to bet on it, I’d expect Uncharted 4 to be one of the key games presented during Wednesday’s event.
NO MAN’S SKY
Set down on any one of No Man’s Sky’s quadrabillion planets and you’ll see that they’re a little vacant. But by taking advantage of Neo, creator Sean Murray has already said that we could potentially see planets filled with an increased amount of foliage. This could be at PlayStation Meeting, but with such a small team already working on making improvements to the current version of the game, it may be one that gets shown off later.
BLOODBORNE
Probably one of the most requested performance patches, many will be hoping to see Bloodborne updated to run at 60fps on PlayStation Neo. Hopefully FromSoftware will be able to address the game’s frame-pacing issues at the same time, and maybe, just maybe, include an option to disable chromatic aberration, too.
GRAN TURISMO SPORT
To be fair it was still an early build, but Gran Turismo Sport had noticeable performance issues when I played it back in May. The added power of Neo, though, should just be enough to let Polyphony’s racer shine. It might not be enough to let the game render at 4K, but it should go some way to help ensuring Gran Turismo Sport is the best-looking – and performing – racing sim when it goes on sale next year.
DRIVECLUB
There was a time when – much like Uncharted 4 – Evolution was targeting 60fps for DriveClub. Sadly, it didn’t achieve its goal, halving the frame rate to 30fps. But as current-gen’s best-looking racer, updating DriveClub to run at 60fps would be quite the feat – and an easy way to portray the power differential between PS4 and PS Neo. Given Evolution’s closure, the only real barrier, perhaps, is working out who should update it. But with DriveClub VR a reality, there’s a chance this could work out, too.
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER
Here’s an odd one. Originally running at 1080p/30fps on Xbox One, Square has said that it’s targeting a “minimum of 30fps” for Rise of the Tomb Raider on PS4, adding that “anything beyond that is a bonus”. That to me sounds like they could be thinking of aiming higher for Neo, but again, the relationship with Microsoft means we might not see it on Wednesday.
THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT
Another game I’d love to see optimised to run at 60fps. But which would you prefer: a higher frame-rate or native 4K support?
PLAYSTATION VR
Here’s something you can almost guarantee Sony will be showing off on Wednesday. Games running on PlayStation VR look good, but there are clear sacrifices being made to ensure they maintain a high enough frame rate. With the added power of Neo, the visual fidelity we expect from PS4 could be brought back somewhat, while delivering the performance required to render at a high frame rate.
FALLOUT 4
Alright, we’d all love to see this running at 60fps, but just getting Fallout 4 to run at a solid 30fps on console would be enough to warrant Neo’s existence.
Sony’s PlayStation Meeting kicks off at 8pm BST this Wednesday, September 7. Alongside PS4 Neo, Sony is also expected to officially reveal the PS4 Slim.
