Comparison of the graphs before (left) and after (right) the application of the new generation, DLSS5.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is arriving with force (and with a lot of controversy) in the world of video games. This week started with a bombshell from the computing and AI giant, Nvidia.
“We don’t want an AI filter, we want serious graphical improvements”, it reads everywhere. In recent days, more and more criticism has been pointed out by gamers about the new technology DLSS 5which is, above all, raising a discussion: are AI visual generation and reconstruction tools improving games or replacing, in an increasingly visible way, the artistic and technical work originally produced by studios?
A former programmer linked to Red Dead Redemption 2, from Rockstar Games (creator of Grand Theft Auto), came to add more fuel to the fire this Tuesday around the new technology that as “scary”.
The technology seems to go beyond changing lighting and image sharpness. It seems to directly change the appearance of the developers’ work, reinterpreting, in a way, the game. Ultimately, the player may no longer see exactly what the creators designed.
One of the examples highlighted by Mike York in his analysis was a scene used by Nvidia in a demonstration with Resident Evil Requiem, centered on the character Grace Ashcroft. When analyzing the sequence, the former Rockstar employee pointed out differences in elements of the scenario. The AI seems to “redraw” parts of the image repeatedly, not always consistently.
Nvidia’s technical description helps to understand the origin of this discussion. According to the company, DLSS 5 uses an artificial intelligence model trained to understand the complex semantics of scenes, including characters, hair, fabrics and interactions between materials and light. It promises to generate more precise and detailed images, with more realistic effects on elements such as skin, fabrics or hair, trying to preserve the structure of the original scene at the same time.
The new generation of DLSS is no longer focused mainly on increasing FPS and also changes the way the image is rendered, using a real-time neural rendering model. The system takes the color and motion vectors of each frame and applies an AI model to add photorealistic lighting and materials, keeping the result anchored to the original 3D content and consistent from frame to frame. The company also says it runs in real-time up to 4K.
However, interestingly, Nvidia hasn’t shown any rapid movement with DLSS5.
But it is precisely this capacity for reconstruction that is at stake. For critics, if AI is generating a new version of the image based on the original information, then the end result may no longer fully match the creators’ artistic vision. Doubt is no longer just technical and becomes aesthetic and even philosophical. What the player is really seeing: the game made by the developers or an algorithmic interpretation of this game?
A Nvidia rushed to criticize critics of innovation. “They are completely wrong”the CEO told . “DLSS 5 combines control of geometry, textures and everything about the game with generative artificial intelligence”, he said: “it’s not post-processing, it’s generative control at the geometry level”.
Of course, for the casual player, the novelty must initially be appealing. Sharper image, with greater apparent resolution, more detail and a more “photorealistic” appearance are, for this consumer, improvements.
Furthermore, there is an expectation that solutions of this type can help balance visual fidelity and performance, as is already the case with other upscaling technologies, including DLSS 4, FSR or PSSR 2, although Nvidia has not yet fully clarified what concrete impact DLSS 5 could have on frame rate.
So far, the games compatible with the new technology, according to the company, are AION 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Black State, CINDER CITY, Delta Force, Hogwarts Legacy, Justice, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT, NTE: Neverness to Everness, Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem, Sea of Remnants, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Where Winds Meet.
