For those of us who haven’t done a ton of gaming on the next generation consoles, it can still be a bit weird choosing which graphics mode to turn on. Should you prioritize performance for a smoother framerate and better resolution? Or is pushing the graphics to their best the way to go? In this guide, we’ll explain what the different settings are for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and provide some image comparisons to help you decide!
More Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart:
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- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Tips Guide – 8 Things The Game Doesn’t Tell You
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Graphics Settings
There are three different settings in Rift Apart:
- Performance Mode: 60 frames per second. 4K resolution.
- Performance Mode RT: 60 frames per second. Lower resolution. Features ray-tracing, adjusted lighting, VFX, and screen density.
- Fidelity Mode: 30 frames per second. 4K resolution. Features ray-tracing, enhanced lighting, additional VFX, and higher screen density.
Which should you pick? It depends what’s important for you! Performance Mode is the default. You’ll get a 4K resolution at 60 frames per second with graphics that are still top notch. Performance Mode RT turns on ray-tracing and keeps the focus on 60 FPS. As a result, however, it outputs at a lower resolution which can be a drawback for those on 4K televisions. Fidelity Mode is essentially playing the game on ultra. You’ll get the 4K resolution, ray-tracing, and all the bells and whistles. With that mode, however, it caps the framerate at 30 FPS.
What do we recommend? Personally I think you have to keep it at 60 frames per second. The game is buttery smooth and it feels wrong to not maximize that with a game where motion is so common. After that it depends on what type of TV you have. For those with a 4K television, I’d recommend going with Performance Mode. If you’re only rocking a 1080p screen, enable that ray-tracing and enjoy the view. Otherwise it’s up to you. I personally think games look weird when viewed on a 4K screen but the console is outputting in a lower resolution.
Here are some comparison images to help. Keep in mind that a lot of the differences aren’t super visible unless the game is in motion. Sadly our video player doesn’t particularly like the PlayStation 5’s video file format so we’re stuck with images for now.
Performance
As you can see, without ray-tracing the puddles just have generic reflections which isn’t the end of the world.
Performance RT
Turning on Performance RT gives you that ray-tracing, more accurate reflections, and other improvements like more particles in the air alongside more colorful combat due to accurate reflections on foes and environments.
Fidelity
Fidelity is easily the sharpest image available and pushes the graphics even further than Performance RT. It does, however, come at the cost of the gameplay. Rift Apart certainly feels less smooth due to the halved framerate.
If you’re looking for more assistance, make sure to check out our tips guide where we highlight all of the things the game doesn’t tell you. We also have a Gold Bolts location guide you can follow as you trek through the universe. Getting all 25 isn’t a super easy task and does take some time, so why not gather them as you go?
