Grand Theft Auto V on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S: the effective but lazy return of a legendary game

Grand Theft Auto V is a space-time anomaly in the gaming galaxy. In an industry where it is customary to say that commercial success is almost entirely determined by the few days following a launch, GTA V flies over the masses with total irreverence: more than 8 years of existence and 160 million Passed copies (making it the second best-selling game of all time, behind Minecraft) still haven’t been enough to dry up the commercial potential of Rockstar Games’ bandit game.

It is therefore very natural that the title was entitled to a rebirth on March 15, 2022 on the 9th generation consoles that are the PS5, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. This umpteenth reappearance still makes GTA V a extremely rare case: that of a game not only cross genbut even “triple gen“, since it was initially released on PS3 and Xbox 360 at the very end of its life, before making a second start on PS4 and Xbox One in 2014, then on PC in 2015.

A very light ray-tracing

However, we should not expect from these new-gen versions the trappings of an authentic “remaster” of the game. While the transition from generation 7 to generation 8 had been synonymous with a real technological leap, the arrival of GTA V on generation 9 is only accompanied by marginal visual improvements. The technical basis of the PC version is instantly recognizable, even though these new versions still allow themselves the luxury of a few new flourishes in their rendering.

Among these are of course ray-tracing, an essential technology of this new generation – the implementation of which, however, is not very spectacular here. Ray tracing only applies to certain solar shadows, of which it corrects certain shortcomings, without however transcending their rendering. Less banding, less imprecision at the contact points: this is essentially the extent of the visual improvements to be expected.

60 fps, but not with the same stability for everyone

Ultimately, then, it’s simply on the numbers side, both framerate and render definition, that the new-gen iterations of GTA V find their purpose. Thus, the clarity provided by the native 4K rendering of the “fidelity” display mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X is already something very appreciable, especially in comparison to the “simple” 1080p offered on PS4 and Xbox One (these versions n having never had the honors of an optimization on PS4 Pro or Xbox One X). But it is above all the “performance” modes and their target at 60 fps that arouse interest, not only because of the fluidity they bring to the animation of the game, but above all because they considerably reduce the latency of commands, and thus rid the gameplay of the heaviness of which it had until now been systematically guilty on consoles of previous generations.

However, these 60 fps are not achieved with the same rigor on all consoles. The PS5 version is thus the most agile of the three, hitting its target almost constantly both in “RT performance” mode and in “performance” mode for short (without ray-tracing shadows, therefore). The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, shows some significant failures in “RT performance” mode when the explosions multiply on the screen, with drops of up to 45 fps. Tolerable for the happy owners of a Variable Refresh Rate compatible screen, these falls become however quite painful when they are displayed on a screen with a fixed refresh rate. For this second case, we rather recommend the use of the “performance” mode without ray-tracing, which is significantly more stable.

As for the Xbox Series S, it is, unfortunately very predictably, the least generously endowed. It only offers two display modes, and dispenses with ray-tracing in all circumstances, even in its “fidelity” mode in 1440p at 30 fps. As for the “performance” mode, this time it suffers almost systematic framerate drops during shooting sequences, and can occasionally drop below 40 fps in the most unfavorable circumstances. It is therefore a version of the game that it is much more difficult to recommend than the other two.

A minor update and sold at a low price, but only for the first few months

For their launch, the new-gen versions of GTA V are offered for three months at a promotional price, the discount depending however on the platform that we prefer. While the PlayStation Store displays the game at the very low price of €10, its Xbox equivalent raises the price to €20. These amounts, however, are only valid until June 14, after which the tag will drop on both platforms to €40 – with no discounted upgrade option for owners of an “old-gen” version of the game. The bill is rather salty for these portages after all very lazy, and far from being immaculate. We must still recognize that they are now the best way to discover the title – for the few players on this planet who are still not part of the 160 million followers.

Find our complete technical analysis of Grand Theft Auto 5 on PS5 and Xbox Series X / S at our comrades at Gamekult (reading reserved for subscribers).