
It’s been more than a year since Sony changed the game for consoles and decided to release a half-upgrade to its PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 4 Pro is a more powerful PS4. It plays every standard PS4 game there is, but has added horsepower to enable high-resolution 4K HDR output for high-end TVs—practically, that translates to prettier visual effects and frame rates.
Before we go on, maybe I should answer the biggest question you may have. If you’re wondering whether you should own a PS4 at all, the answer is yes. Out of all the consoles this generation, including the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4 is the one I play most. More people (70+ million) own a PS4 console than any of the others, which means more of your friends likely own it, and there are a ton of fantastic games available, many of them must-play exclusives.
Now that we’ve answered that question, it's important you understand the full Pro proposition.
A Small Step into the FutureThe Pro promises to be a guilt-free upgrade. It has a 1-terabyte hard drive (double what you'd get in the base PS4), plays every standard PS4 game, and is supposed to enhance a lot of them with higher resolutions, prettier colors, and other visual niceties. A year after release, this finally starting to come true. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn look absolutely stunning on the Pro. The world is filled with more detailed textures, better lighting, and more detail all around. The cutscenes and gameplay are so sharp on a 4K TV that they legitimately felt like a next generation title—I easily noticed how much clearer it was. Even the remake of Shadow of the Colossus looks breathtaking on the Pro despite its origins as a PS2 title.
Sony has a list of other enhanced games, though the type of enhancement does vary by title. Some, like Zero Dawn are in 4K resolution (or use techniques that mimic 4K at slightly lower resolutions). Other games look better in standard HD, with smoother textures and more realistic effects—details like dripping water, enhanced lighting and shadows grabbed my attention. And frame rates, Wi-Fi speeds (thanks to greatly improved 5GHz Wi-Fi), and game loading times are improved, though not always noticeably .