A new Spider-Man: Miles Morales update has added an alternate Performance mode with ray tracing enabled. This mode runs at a smooth 60FPS but also has the graphical improvements added to the game by the ray tracing feature.
What is Spider-Man: Miles Morales' new mode?
You can access the new mode from the settings menu. It's known as "Performance RT" (i.e., performance ray tracing). The devs describe it as an alternate version of the standard 60fps Performance mode, only with ray tracing added. This has been achieved by "adjusting the scene resolution, reflection quality, and pedestrian density", according to Insomniac and Sony. Here's a quick and dirty comparison between the game's three graphical modes. First up, the Fidelity mode, which emphasizes visual quality and runs at 30fps (note that this was not captured on a 4k TV):
Next, here's the original Performance mode, which raises the frame rate to 60fps but lowers some of the visual fidelity (particularly raytracing) and the resolution:
And finally, here's an example of the new Performance RT mode, which keeps things at 60fps but also adds ray tracing tech into the mix:
There are a couple of caveats we should add to these screenshots. None of these were taken in 4K, so the differences might not be immediately apparent. In addition, it's probably not as easy to see the differences between the three modes if they're not in motion; after all, the difference between 30fps and 60fps isn't apparent in a still image. Nonetheless, you can notice some changes around the shadows and lighting in the three shots.
Which mode is best for Spider-Man: Miles Morales?
That depends. All three modes are, of course, perfectly fine for enjoying the game. If you want silky-smooth animations and performance, you should naturally opt for the Performance mode. The new Performance RT mode adds a little more oomph to things like lighting, shadows, and reflective surfaces, but crowd density and resolution will suffer as a result. Finally, the Fidelity mode offers the best visual experience, but performance will naturally take a hit if you select this mode. Again, the game will work well in all three modes, and looks wonderful, so it's really a matter of personal preference.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available right now on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.
Will you be checking out the new Performance RT mode in Spider-Man: Miles Morales? Let us know in the comments below!
