Kristen and I got a chance to go eyes on (and hands on) with the PlayStation Pro console for the first time, and first impressions are promising. Though we didn’t have to time fully investigate every one of the games at last week’s hands-on event, even a cursory review of the PS5 Pro Enhanced games on display revealed immediate and noticeable benefits compared to the current PS5 console.

It was interesting to see how different studios leveraged PS5 Pro’s advanced hardware. Many PS5 games currently allow players to choose between Fidelity and Performance modes to cater to players’ tastes. Some of the PS5 Pro games we saw seemed to combine the benefits of both high fidelity and high performance, taking the experience to another level.

This “best of both worlds” approach was fully apparent in Horizon Forbidden West‘s Pro Performance mode expected to land on November 7 with the launch of PS5 Pro. Compared to the stock Performance mode on PS5, the extra horsepower afforded by PS5 Pro allows for the same high framerate while massively improving image quality. Visual grittiness in fine environmental details like moss, leaves, and the red stealth bushes is banished, but even some textures and holograms looked noticeably cleaner and crisper. The Pro Performance mode also benefits the game’s volumetric effects; misty sunbeams were free of distracting shimmers and strobing we noticed in the PS5’s stock Performance mode.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth sported an impressive PS5 Pro glow up, sporting a high framerate and pin-sharp presentation in its new Enhanced Mode due out November 7. While exploring the countryside, we observed crystal clear vistas devoid of distracting shimmering and visual noise, particularly in classic trouble spots like far-off trees and structures. Then we visited the Gold Saucer’s high-contrast environments, where the neon lights resolved cleanly against the darker environment surfaces. Perhaps more importantly, the high framerate had tangible benefits for combat and traversal, making this a significant upgrade.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered gave another impressive demonstration of PS5 Pro’s vision of high visual quality married to a high framerate. Blades of grass and leaves resolved cleanly, without any distracting shimmering effects or visual noise. Similarly, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was observed running at both a high frame rate and crisp Fidelity-mode resolution and feature set, including its signature ray-traced reflections. It wove a gorgeous presentation overall, balancing small trade-offs to provide the best-looking Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 experience we’ve seen on PlayStation.

Which brings up another topic: ray tracing has seen a more than 2x performance boost on PS5 Pro. And while not every game leverages this unique technology, we’re seeing some very interesting results in early PS5 Pro testing.

Hogwarts Legacy is taking a unique approach for PS5 Pro by emphasizing ray tracing quality via its new Fidelity ray tracing Mode due out at the console’s launch. Based on what we saw, this new mode provides a big boost to the lighting system by adding raytraced shadows and enhancing raytraced reflections, all while targeting a stable 30 fps. Seeing your character realistically reflected in a suit of armor is a stunning demonstration of ray tracing’s potential, while the upgraded RT shadows bring another visual flourish to an already polished game. Though ray tracing seems to be the main focus for developer Avalanche, the game’s Performance Mode and Fidelity Mode will see quality enhancements too.

GT7 is targeting a November release for a new patch that will add several new PS5 Pro-focused rendering modes, including a Raytrace Priority mode that adds eye-catching new car reflections. F1 24 is upgrading its Quality mode to add new ray tracing effects that shined particularly on rain-soaked courses and made the tracks feel more realistic and immersive.

GT7 will also include an optional and experimental 8K/60fps rendering mode that emphasizes hyper-crisp, hyper-clean visuals (yes, you have to have an 8K display).

Those are just our first impressions. We can’t wait to get more time with PS5 Pro when it launches on November 7.