Performance vs. resolution: Which should you choose in Horizon Forbidden West?

Horizon Forbidden West is one of the premier games for the PlayStation 5 console since it really shows off what the hardware in its newest console can do. For players, they are given the choice to prioritize looks over performance.

For those who own a PlayStation 4, they don’t get a choice in how they experience the game, and their resolution will come down to which version of the PlayStation 4 they own and the limitations of that hardware.

For those with a PlayStation 5, however, there is a choice. Players can choose to favor resolution or performance. The option is a toggle in the settings menu under the Visual tab. Players who favor resolution will encounter better quality at a lower frame rate, while those who favor performance will have a higher frame rate and lower quality.

Polygon went further to define what exactly the vague mode descriptions in the game mean, discovering the Favor Resolution mode runs in 4K resolution and aims for 30 frames per second. The Favor Performance mode is 1800p and aims for 60 frames per second.

On the PS4, a base or slim model will run at 1080p, while the PS4 Pro runs at 1800p, which is identical to the PS5’s Favor Performance mode. PS4 also caps out at 30fps no matter which model players own.

Although those with a PS4 won’t be able to choose between the two options, the game is still beautiful to look at no matter what players have. For those who have been waiting a long time for this game to release, few will find many things to complain about in terms of the game’s appearance.