Sony is finally adding the visual technology known as Variable Refresh Rate to PlayStation 5 later this week. This means that all PS5 games will benefit as long as the games are patched to enable the feature and you have a compatible TV. Insomniac is one of the first studios to update their PS5 games to utilise the feature, with excellent results.
Variable Refresh Rate, or VRR, is a feature that enables a dynamic display refresh rate that can can vary seamlessly and continuously, which can make for a smoother picture. Since your console and display will be synced this can produce less screen-tearing and lag, making for a more consistent visual experience.
While PlayStation users will get the visual tech at long last, it's a feature that has been enjoyed by PC and Xbox players for some years. In order to use the function, you'll need a TV or monitor that are HDMI 2.1 VRR-compatible. Not all games might support VRR too as developers will need to patch in the option to use the technology.
Insomniac has been quick off the mark in this regard, and have patched Spider-Man Remastered, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart to make use of VRR from day one. "Because our titles are already built to have very stable framerates, the main effect of the VRR system setting will be to slightly increase dynamic image resolution targets", Insomniac explained, in a blog post.
But that's not all. Insomniac also added the ability to go up to 120 Hz, if you have a 120 Hz display mode-enabled TV, meaning that their titles can use VRR and push framerates beyond the 30fps or 60fps targets by fifty percent or more, according to the developer. All of this means that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart might very soon be looking real smooth as long as you have the display to support it all of course.
Sony published a list of games that will be getting patches to support VRR in the "coming weeks", which you can find here, which also includes instructions on how to enable the function (or to disable it).