Resident Evil Village: PS5 Vs PS4 - What's The Difference?

The newest entry in Capcom's long-running survival horror series, "Resident Evil Village," has officially arrived. While there has been a lot of attention paid to features like the game's creepy enemies and burgeoning mod scene, it has also quietly impressed critics, becoming one of the better-received high-profile releases of the year.

The game's solid critical reception makes "Resident Evil Village" one of the best new games available for next-gen consoles. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the release schedules for many of the games anticipated to be launch titles for new consoles like the PlayStation 5, and some of those delays have stretched into 2021. Although the PS5 saw huge sales figures in its historic launch, there still may be some fans waiting for the game that convinces them to commit to the console upgrade.

With that in mind, here's a look at what sets the next-generation version of the game apart from the current generation. These are all the differences gamers can expect when playing "Resident Evil Village" on the PlayStation 5 instead of the PlayStation 4.

One of the easiest performance improvements to identify on the PlayStation 5 comes at the very first loading screen, where "Resident Evil Village" loads almost instantly on the newer piece of technology. On the PlayStation 4, those same load times can take over half a minute.

The short wait time is a result of the high-speed SSD, which is an integral piece of the PlayStation 5. These loading times were noticed as soon as the first demo for the game arrived, when GameSpot's side-by-side comparison of the PS5 and PS4 versions of "Resident Evil Village" showed that the game took just about two seconds to load on the PS5, but around 35 on the PS4 Pro.

That's a massive improvement for the PS5 version of the game, and could significantly alter the overall experience of playing through "Resident Evil Village." In an interview with PlayStation Official Magazine (via Wccftech), game director Morimasa Sato said, "As a game designer, the elimination of loading times is quietly revolutionary." 

The power of the SSD allows gamers to move seamlessly through an environment and interact with the world of "Resident Evil Village" in a fully immersive way.

Ahead of the release of "Resident Evil Village," Capcom put out a console resolution and framerate guide for the different versions of the game. While it is a bit hard to understand without some explanation, it does outline what improvements players can expect to see when playing the game on a PlayStation 5.

Essentially, PlayStation 5 owners will have the opportunity to play the game in a full 4K HDR resolution and can expect the game to run at 60 fps with ray tracing disabled (and 45 fps with it enabled). The best PlayStation 4 owners can hope for is 30 fps when running the game in high-resolution mode, enabling 4K HDR, although the standard setting will only support 1080p and 60fps. 

In addition, ray tracing will only be available on the PlayStation 5. Ray tracing adds realistic lighting effects that can enhance the sinister atmosphere of "Resident Evil Village" and help sell the experience, although it can impact the framerate. That said, Digital Foundry's investigation into the game's visuals noted that "it does actually look quite nice, but it's also relatively subtle." As such, if gamers would prefer that "Resident Evil: Village" run in 4K at a guaranteed 60 fps, they can opt to leave it off.

Gamers who play "Resident Evil Village" on the PlayStation 5 will also have access to unique features through the console's DualSense wireless controller. Two of the most widely discussed elements of the device, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, are fully featured in the game.

Haptic feedback delivers cues about the environment to gamers through tactile sensations from the controller. Adaptive triggers work with haptic feedback to simulate appropriate resistance with different weapons. In an interview with PlayStation Official Magazine shared by Wccftech, director Morimasa Sato explained, "During combat scenes, [players will] feel the responsiveness of their weapons through the adaptive triggers."

While both of those features add a unique component to playing "Resident Evil Village," Sato was most excited about PlayStation 5's new Tempest Engine 3D audio capabilities. He said, "The effectiveness of the 3D audio in creating a convincing audio space has exceeded my expectations. In horror, creating the sense of a presence beyond the visual scene on screen is essential, so I think 3D audio will be indispensable in horror games from now on."

As such, it seems that the PlayStation 5 is capable of delivering an immersive experience much closer to what the developers of "Resident Evil Village" had in mind.