The Outer Worlds' New PS5 Version Has Some Really Disappointing Performance Issues

Jun 25, 2023

Frame rate is a disaster

Officially billed as a 'remaster' of the 2019 sci-fi RPG, The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition is out now on PS5. It's available to buy at a slightly-lower-than-retail price, or you can pay a small upgrade fee if you already own The Outer Worlds and its two expansions on PS4.

Truth be told we were looking forward to checking this one out on Sony's current-gen console. We're fairly big fans of the original release because of its wacky role-playing options and entertaining sense of humour, but this PS5 version sadly leaves much to be desired.

We've already seen similar opinions doing the rounds online, so allow us to add our own experience to the discussion: Spacer's Choice Edition does not run especially well on PS5, for some mad reason. The game certainly looks better than ever, with improved character models and an overhauled lighting system giving the visuals a noticeable boost, but the technical performance is frankly baffling.

Specifically when making use of the game's dedicated performance mode, which is supposed to run at a silky 60 frames-per-second (coupled with a dynamic 4K resolution), the frame rate really loves to dip and dive. Based on what we've seen with our own eyes, the frame rate almost never seems to lock itself at 60, constantly fluctuating somewhere between 30 and 50fps — or thereabouts. It's not good.

These constant dips can even impact gameplay. We've come across instances where our button presses simply haven't registered — seemingly because the game's too busy dropping frames. This can result in a rough stop-start feel, even when you're just casually exploring an environment.

It's a real shame, because some nice DualSense support has been added, and, like we mentioned, the game's updated graphics look great at times. We can only hope that these frame rate issues are patched sooner rather than later.

Have you been playing The Outer Worlds on PS5? Have you ran into any of these frame rate problems? Make your own Spacer's Choice in the comments section below.