DOOM: The Dark Ages on PlayStation 5 Pro is disappointing: Digital Foundry finds significant performance issues
Despite high expectations, DOOM: The Dark Ages demonstrates performance issues on PlayStation 5 and especially on PS5 Pro. Digital Foundry technical experts found that both Sony consoles suffer from frame rate drops during active scenes, while Xbox Series X provides more stable and smooth gameplay.
Here's What We Know
Before the release of DOOM: The Dark Ages, the sequel to id Software's cult series, Digital Foundry conducted a detailed analysis of the game's performance on all major consoles. The results showed that while the game generally maintains 60 frames per second, PS5 and PS5 Pro often experience drops to 50-55 FPS, especially during intense combat. This is noticeably worse than on the Xbox Series X, which has virtually no such problems and delivers a stable 60 FPS.
Another surprise is that the PS5 Pro, despite its more powerful hardware, does not show significant advantages over the base PS5 model. Although it supports higher resolutions of up to 1800p, the lack of PSSR technology for image upscaling makes the upgrade less impressive. Digital Foundry described the port as "one of the least exciting updates to the PS5 Pro among recent AAA titles".
Analysts suggest that id Software has focused its efforts on optimising the Xbox Series X version, leaving the PlayStation version in the background. This may explain why Sony users are experiencing frequent performance drops and fewer graphical improvements.
Visually, DOOM: The Dark Ages is still a great game: detailed physics of enemy destruction, realistic lighting with RTGI, rich materials, and smooth animations create the atmosphere of medieval hell. However, technical issues on PS5 do not allow you to fully enjoy the game.
DOOM: The Dark Ages will be released on 15 May 2025 on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, including PS5 Pro. The developers are clearly already working on patches to fix the noticeable flaws, but the exact timing of the updates has not yet been announced.
Source: Digital Foundry
