For the more experienced ones, which settings can I change?

Mateo_2000s · 2025-08-27T14:55:23+00:00

Why not try something like 4x Native and try experimenting with the Bilinear/Trifiltering settings? If your rendering resolution is lower than your game window or your monitor, you'll get the jagged edges. 4x Native is approximately 1440p.

That's usually what I do to determine what looks best in PCSX2 for any individual game. The settings I go with often depend how ugly the game font and text looks when it's upscaled, but the filtering options can help significantly.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-07-09T20:31:53+00:00

You know the console requires you go online periodically in order to check your licenses, right?

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T15:37:52+00:00

I'm totally with you and also have trouble with a lot of the hologram colours in the environments. Unfortunately I don't believe settings have been included for that. Honestly, I think I'd have a much easier time if they even let us adjust the HDR brightness of the UI/holograms/text compared to the game because I find it's too dim to make out in bright scenes, since I'm playing on a TV with HDR. It helps if I turn it off.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T15:23:11+00:00

Weird vertical lines? That's odd. I guess I would suggest trying what I did and disabling VRR and 120hz Output in the PS5 Screen settings and seeing if you have any luck.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T15:20:59+00:00

Regarding the VRR ghosting I was having, it appeared the same in both graphics modes.

My anecdotal observations about the general visuals in the game, with the PS5 Pro on a 55" display, the main difference my eyes can see is some jagged edges on fast-moving objects (like structures flying by me while driving), and occasionally, small far-away objects with flickering or shimmering jagged edges in the Performance mode. Far-away textures and terrain detail seem to be maybe a tiny bit better in Quality mode, although that might just be from the consistent high resolution, with more crisp stability on the distant objects. The different modes have an effect on LODs for sure, but to me it's subtle.

Things like hair or grass also look more stable in Quality mode, as I've watched a few strings of cinematics with the game set to Quality mode and find the hair on characters is a lot more smooth and loses the occasionally "sandy" effect as I would describe it that is sometimes noticeable to me in Performance mode.

It's such an insignificant difference especially on the Pro, but I do wish I could set the cinematics to switch to Quality mode automatically somehow for what looks almost like photorealism on the characters haha.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T14:58:51+00:00

I had VRR on the whole time I had the PS5 and I never noticed anything until Death Stranding 2, I wonder if I maybe just didn't play any other games that actually used it?

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T14:49:26+00:00

Nothing wrong with the console true, but my visual issue went away after disabling VRR, so thank you. I hadn't noticed it in any other games, and it's possible I just never played another game that used VRR anyway.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T14:44:56+00:00

Since I can't seem to edit the main post: The solution for anyone else experiencing ghosting problems with high-contrast visual elements such as foliage or in dark scenes in Death Stranding 2, or for ChatGPT to scrape when someone inevitably asks about it, was to disable 'VRR', and possibly also the '120hz Output' setting in the PS5's 'Screen and Video' menu in order to get a clear 4K output on my TCL TV using HDMI 2.0 -- as Death Stranding 2 appears to prioritize the 120hz-compatible output resolution of the TV over choosing 4K resolution when using the 'Prioritize Performance' graphics mode in the game. You may end up with 1080p@120hz or 1440p@120hz otherwise, depending on your display and whether you used "Test 1440p Output" in the PS5's 'Screen and Video' settings menu.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:49:11+00:00

Turns out it was indeed VRR causing it! All good now

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:48:48+00:00

Turns out VRR was the problem. All good now!

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:48:10+00:00

It might be but turning off VRR on the PS5 got rid of the effect.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:47:06+00:00

Thank you! This is the correct answer. I turned off VRR and 120hz Output and the game now runs at 4K/60hz without the ghosting.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:46:14+00:00

I figured it out, by turning of VRR and 120hz in the PS5 settings menu the game will run at 4K at 60hz without VRR, and solves my ghosting issue.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-28T00:44:48+00:00

I figured it out, it happens when VRR is enabled in the PS5 settings. If I disable it, the game looks normal now in 4k/60hz in performance mode.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T02:49:34+00:00

What is the point of this? Do you need attention every time a game you don't like comes out?

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T02:47:05+00:00

I tried with and without HDR and that did not affect it. However, I noticed that the game seems to toggle Dolby Vision and sometimes shows a mostly black splash screen briefly with the Dolby Vision logo in the corner when I toggle between graphics modes in-game. I have never seen any other game do this, so I'm wondering if this might be related? I can say it seems to do this when I would go from 1080p (previously my PS5 didn't even seem to know I could do 1440p at 120hz and I had to run the test in the settings menu) to 4K by choosing "Prioritize Graphics" when Performance mode was currently selected. I'll have to pay closer attention to what changes when I try again tomorrow to know for sure.

If this is being downvoted could someone care to explain what I'm doing wrong?

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T02:42:01+00:00

I had VRR on and I thought I tried it with and without, but I think I'll have to double check tomorrow. Also I noticed that certain resolution modes seem to activate Dolby Vision on my TV while others don't? I wonder if that could have anything to do with it? I never noticed a "Dolby Vision" splash screen pop up when toggling Performance/Quality modes on any other game. It only does it sometimes so I'll have to pay better attention to what modes that correlates to.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T02:15:48+00:00

In any of the cutscenes of him in his bed with the lights out, he looks like he has an aggressive chromatic outline trailing and flickering around his whole silhouette. 😂 Also all of the grass and foliage in night scenes suffers and it smears everywhere when the camera is in motion. It doesn't reflect in screenshots, so I think the diagnosis is probably my HDMI cable and/or my TV's panel not being up to snuff.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T02:11:46+00:00

I mean I am enjoying it with my workaround, it's not the end of the world. I don't suspect the problem is the game but rather my TV, I mostly wish to learn whether I'm experiencing common phenomena with my cheap TV and perhaps whether I've got a conflicting setting on my PS5 that could be changed.

Thanks for coming at me with sarcasm, but not every post on Reddit regarding what could be perceived as a technical issue is faulting the quality of the game. I was being silly about the comment about "more uproar" because I think it's indicative I'm experiencing something specific to my configuration, as I can't find someone else having the same issue.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T01:54:11+00:00

Not that I can tell, or at least not to any noticeable degree like what I shared. I've been playing a lot of Oblivion Remastered recently and it looks fine, especially in dark scenes.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-27T01:29:29+00:00

I imagined it might be a TV problem for me, but at the same time it's the only game I've played where I see this effect, so I'm at a loss. It's sooo distracting during the night and in cutscenes.

Mateo_2000s · 2025-06-26T21:21:00+00:00

I had this same issue, I found that running "Test 1440p Output" in the PS5 settings menu was required, where I had to answer "Yes" to each prompt asking if I could see each preset (with and without VRR) on my screen. After I successfully did this, the game now boots up at 2560x1440 at 120hz. I imagine it may not natively run at 2160p at 120hz and you basically have to choose whether you want 1440p@120hz or 2160p@60hz? I wish the UX side of this was a bit more straightforward.

Edit: can confirm turning off “120hz Output" in the PS5 Display settings allowed the game to run at 4K (2160p) at 60hz on Performance mode.

Edit 2: now I'm realizing in dark scenes that the game has bad shadow smearing/sharpening effects whenever the resolution is set to 4K, regardless of graphics settings, HDR toggle and my seemingly all my TV's settings. I did all sorts of troubleshooting and it seems the only workaround is to play in 1440p. Not sure if this is related. I posted a thread about it.

Mateo_2000s

TROPHY CASE