THE GAMES GLOW UP

PlayStation 4 hits replayed on PS5. This month: Bioshock: The Collection

All these years after Bioshock launched, the underwater city of Rapture remains a hugely compelling setting. Unfortunately, experiencing fear and delight in an art deco complex leagues beneath the sea has proved a bit of a washout on PlayStation – until recently.

The first game was remastered for PS4 as part of Bioshock: The Collection in 2016, and while the ports of later entries fared better, the game that started it all looked a little leaky. Players returning to Rapture reported issues. On a base PS4 you could expect a framerate that fluctuated between 45 and 60fps as well as screen tearing. For a first-person shooter, this was far from ideal. On the base console, you also only got 1080p resolution. If the Big Daddies didn’t do you in, the juddering action definitely would.

We’re pleased to report that on PS5 it’s much smoother sailing. For starters, that questionable framerate now hits 60fps on the new-gen hardware. You also get a 1440p image on PS5, though anyone who’s recently played the game on PS4 Pro will have already experienced that thanks to a patch released last year. That said, even Pro had frame drops.

You still don’t get a locked 60fps on PS5 but it’s more consistent than anything you’d experience on either a base PS4 or Pro. It is a strange the first Bioshock’s framerate isn’t locked, though, as the two other games in the remastered collection – its sequel and Infinite – enjoy a locked 60fps.

Considering these games made their PlayStation debuts on PS3, that’s a big improvement. We’ve enjoyed revisiting both Rapture and Columbia on PS5 – even if some facets of Infinite’s personality do wear a little thin all these years on. PS5 makes it easier to revisit old faves, and we’re looking forward to sampling more gaming classics now their leaks have been plugged by the new-gen hardware.