PS4 Pro is the best way to play Destiny 2 now, but only if you really want the resolution bump – report

By Sherif Saed

Destiny 2, much like its predecessors, looks and runs great across all versions.

If there’s a platform with an advantage today, though, it’ll be PS4 Pro. That’s according to a new report from Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, having now spent enough time with the PS4, Xbox One, and PS4 Pro versions to make an assessment. (Although maybe not as long as we have; just check out our Destiny 2 guide.)

Right off the bat, the effects work on display is already a step above what Destiny 1 offered, with more detailed textures everywhere you look, clearer reflections, use of bloom and lens flare effects, and the like. Lighting was noted as a high point, offering atmospheric scenes in the EDZ with fog and volumetric lights. This also extends to indoor scenes.

Alpha effects are still present here, most notable in firefights, and they’re even expanded upon making all fights as flashy as ever. However, with the increase of the number of alpha effects came a drop in their resolution. The report notes that this stands out from the rest of the game’s sharp presentation. That said, because they flash by very quickly, it’s hard to notice unless you freeze the frame.

As far as the technology and effects at work, the report notes that Destiny 2 improves on almost all fronts over the original. Performance is rock solid at 30fps across all platforms. Xbox One is prone to some frame pacing issues from time to time, though they’re mostly unnoticeable.

Resolution is where things get interesting. On PS4 Pro, which the report notes as being the best version today, the resolution dynamically scales between 3072×2160 and up to 3840×2160 thanks to checkerboard rendering. When using a 1080p display, you’ll get a super-sampled image down to 1080p, which helps reduce some of the noise and shimmer around edges.

On a regular PS4, the resolution is fixed at a native 1080p, but the game dynamically adjust the resolution on Xbox One. It can go as low as 1344×1080 up to a full 1080p buffer. Outside of the that, the two versions are identical.

PS4 Pro, on the other hand, benefits from slightly better shadow quality, and a touch higher AF texture filtering. But that’s kind of about it for the presentation, which is very similar to how the original ran on PS4 and Xbox One. The Xbox One X version could bring more meaningful improvements, though that’s unlikely.

Read the full report on Eurogamer, or watch the video above, for more information.

Looking for more on Bungie’s latest? The World Quests and Weapon Quests in Destiny 2 are good fun and very rewarding, and from what we’ve seen in the wilds many of you could stand to learn a bit more about Heroic Public Events in Destiny 2.

Otherwise? Point and shoot, Guardians. You know how it’s done.