Black Myth: Wukong gets a PS5 Pro patch – and the base console code is improved too

Black Myth Wukong was a phenomenon. The UE5-powered action epic sold millions of copies when it was released earlier this year, impressing with its fast gameplay and sophisticated graphics. However, its configuration on PS5 left a lot to be desired, using weird frame rate locks and frame generation with a base frame rate of 30fps. Developer Game Science has addressed at least some of these issues in the latest patch, and the studio has also added PS5 Pro support using PSSR to improve image quality for professional players. So, is the console version finally in reasonable shape? And should we expect any problems with the Pro update?

Let’s start with a quick look at the patched PS5 code. The most obvious superficial change here is that there is now a sharpening slider. Without sharpening applied, the image appears soft but relatively free of rounded edges. If set to five (the default), the image will look fairly typical of current-gen console games at low resolution. Increasing the slider to 10 provides maximum clarity for players who want to make the most of local contrast. Compared to the launch code, a value around seven corresponds to the base PS5 in terms of performance configuration.

Aside from the sharpness adjustment, the most obvious visual change is that the game’s Lumen GI presentation has been slightly altered. Essentially, some parts of the game world have more obvious occlusion. Shadow maps sometimes look a little different. Other modes also have some differences in GI compared to the startup code, although the impact is less obvious for them.

Other visual settings look similar, at least in my tests. This includes a resolution that remains internally at 1080p, with no apparent upscaling to the higher output resolution. Frame generation is unfortunately still a reality here, and performance in my tests is generally similar, usually holding 60fps pretty well. The game’s intro occurs with frame generation disabled and mostly freezes in the 40s and 50s, with occasional dips in other segments as well. I suspect that the game may disable frame generation during particularly abrupt camera position changes, which is likely the source of some of these dips. Whichever way you choose it, a frame generation based performance mode that affects input lag isn’t very suitable for a fast game running at just 60fps, and probably isn’t even needed for 60fps gameplay frames per second. as we demonstrated in tests a few months ago. Rely more on FSR or TSR and a reasonable 60fps will be achievable even on the PS5’s CPU and GPU.

Performance mode is similar, but the other two modes differ more significantly. Quality mode clearly degrades image quality due to less clarity and detail in foliage and fine geometry. This is a significant loss compared to the previous code. A quick pixel count reveals the problem: Quality mode is rendering at 1080p, down from about 1440p on average before. The old quality mode upscaled the resolution to 4K, while the new one is more like 1440p or 1620p. It’s a confusing choice.

However, other visual settings appear to have been changed. Shadows obviously have higher resolution and less aggressive cascades, and foliage draw distances are somewhat improved. Essentially, you’re trading the higher resolution in the launch version for better visual settings in the current version. The frame rate is improved over the base game, at least in some ways. The original quality mode ran with unstable frame rates, often in the low to mid 30s. Quality mode now has a more reasonable cap of 30 frames per second, ensuring smooth frame transitions without dropouts.

However, Balance mode has a very different visual treatment. The new image obviously has more detail, and finer geometric lines are rendered without artifacts. The pixel count shows a setting similar to quality mode: 1080p internal resolution with a subjective output similar to 1440p. In terms of performance, it spends most of its time at or near 45fps, which surprisingly remains the default framerate cap in this mode. This means a jittery sequence of 60Hz frames with frame durations of 16 and 33ms in typical playback.

New to this patch is an alternate version of Balance Mode. Since the PS5 is set to automatically enable 120Hz output, Balance mode now targets a fixed 40fps readout, with each frame essentially tripling to match the 120Hz refresh evenly. In my experience, it’s actually a solid 40fps with relatively few and small dips. In my opinion, this small change makes this mode very useful. Other modes can also run at 120Hz on a compatible display, but they’re still aimed at 60fps and 30fps respectively.

To summarize, Quality mode and Balance mode now look very similar, although Quality mode has higher settings for shadows. However, Quality mode and Balance mode have a very similar Lumen GI presentation, and Performance mode looks a little rougher. There are also expected differences in image quality, with the Performance mode clearly similar to 1080p, while the Quality and Balance modes have greater clarity. Of these modes, I really think the best is the Balance mode at 40fps at 120Hz. It has good input response, stable frame rates, and is quite smooth. Quality mode is fine, although the drop in frame rates is a bit steep, and frame rates in Performance mode are still too high for my liking. However, I might prefer the targeting mode without frame generation at 60fps if it were available.

On PS5 Pro, let’s start with quality mode. The biggest change here is the introduction of PSSR, which typically operates at around 1296p input resolution but produces a 4K-like output image. It’s noticeably sharper, especially when moving, and holds up well on a 4K TV. Some elements that weren’t effectively smoothed out by FSR are cleaner here, such as the noisy hair on the first boss and newly revealed detail in general. If you look closely, you can see a slight characteristic PSSR noise, although at normal viewing distances it is not noticeable.

Even though this is a UE5 game, the lighting is generally stable and consistent with PSSR, without Silent Hill 2– like a flicker. However, with FSR the lighting was already pretty consistent, so perhaps this isn’t that big of an issue for the content in this title. I again noticed some Lumen changes between the PS5 and PS5 Pro code, although they seemed more significant than the changes I noticed between the different versions of the PS5. Performance in my tests matches the base console with 30 frames per second locked, which is normal on a controller with motion blur at its maximum.

Balance mode is very similar to quality mode, with the typical internal resolution of approximately 1296p translated to 4K using PSSR. The most noticeable visual difference here comes down to the shadows, which are higher resolution in Quality mode. In this case, the setup is similar to the PS5 split, with a fairly conservative upgrade for the 30fps targeting mode option. However, there are some Lumen settings that also reflect the quality mode a bit. Frame rates around 45fps are typical with a 60Hz output, and the game delivers a more or less straight 40fps with a 120Hz output. I don’t like how the game looks in this mode on a 60Hz panel, but at 120Hz you get stable frame rates and consistent controller response.

Performance mode hasn’t changed much. It’s still a 60fps targeting mode that uses frame generation, and it still runs at 1080p. In a side-by-side comparison, it is very similar to the old performance mode, except for some discrepancies in lumens. This mode appears to still use FSR 3. It also works very similarly to the base console’s performance mode. Again, we see the same 33ms frame sequence when the camera position changes quickly and non-linearly, suggesting that frame generation may be disabled at these moments.

It’s unfortunate that this mode hasn’t been significantly redesigned because it’s probably the base console mode I miss the most. Between the PS5 Pro’s larger GPU and beefed-up CPU, I’m hoping there will be resources for a decent 60fps mode without frame generation. Perhaps Game Science could look into this in a future update, although we’re still puzzled as to why generating frames based on a base rate of 30fps would even be considered a good idea.

Overall, I’m quite pleased Black Myth: WukongTechnical evolution of the PS5 since launch, as Quality and Balance modes seem like reasonable compromises and can provide stable frame rates. There are still some unusual elements in the mix—like 60fps frame generation and a 45fps framerate target—that mar the game and make it difficult to use certain mode and refresh rate combinations. This isn’t a death sentence for more experienced players, but it will negatively impact the vast majority of players who leave the game on default settings or don’t understand what the mode switches are for.

The Pro upgrade is conservative, but is a clear improvement over the base game. Quality and balance modes switch from 1440p-like image to 4K-like image, and PSSR provides a nice upgrade for Pro users. There are no drastic settings changes or attempts at additional ray tracing, but the image quality in regular gaming looks decidedly better, something we can’t always say about the Pro upgrades. So, Black Myth: Wukong took a few steps in the right direction, although I think some configuration calls remain flawed. Now I can fully recommend the PS5 and Pro versions of the game, but with some reservations.