Tested GTA 5 fidelity mode on PS5, 30fps is genuinely fine

The 30fps talk around GTA 6 finally pushed me to actually try it instead of just going off what everyone says. Loaded up GTA 5 on my PS5 and switched to fidelity mode, which locks it to 30fps with ray tracing. And yeah, it's not nearly as rough as the discourse makes it sound.

Do I still want 60fps? Obviously. But driving at full speed, whipping the camera around, none of it felt broken or unplayable. It leaves you wanting smoother motion for sure, but it doesn't feel like a slideshow at all. On console with sticks it's totally doable. I can see how 30fps on PC would feel way worse because mouse movements are so twitchy, but that's not the situation here.

And before anyone says it, I'm not some Rockstar defender. I'd take 60fps in a heartbeat. But at this point I just want to play the game, not wait around for a PS6 version or a PC port that may or may not show up. I'm more surprised a game this heavy is even running on hardware from 2020.

Anyone else actually booted up GTA 5 fidelity mode recently, or are we all just arguing from memory?

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Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

Did this exact test earlier this year and yeah, agreed! Weirdly the first ten minutes are the roughest part, then your brain adjusts and it's fine. I was cruising up through Vinewood Hills with Radio Mirror Park going and the slower motion honestly felt kind of cinematic? It suits a sunset drive when the right track lands at the right moment.

Where I start missing 60 is the pure chaos moments. Big pileups, cops on your tail, smashing through intersections. That's when it gets choppy for me. But just roaming the map with West Coast Classics on the dial? Totally playable, and GTA is like 40 percent cruising for me anyway.

arguing from memory

This is the real question! Half the loudest 30fps takes I've seen come from people who haven't touched a console version since the PS3 days.

ok so did this same test a while back and yeah, sticks are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. analog input just forgives lower framerates in a way a mouse never will, so the PC crowd yelling about 30fps is basically arguing about a different input method entirely.

one thing I'd add as someone who overanalyzes every frame of official footage, GTA 5 fidelity mode is a 2013 game with ray tracing bolted on after the fact. whatever GTA 6 targets is being built for that target from day one, frame pacing and all. a clean locked 30 designed that way feels way better than a retrofit one. that's the part the discourse keeps skipping.

kind of cinematic

this! cruising the Keys at sundown at 30fps, I'll survive. it's the chaos moments with cops and pileups where I'll actually feel it, same as everyone else.