Silent Hill 2’s latest PS5 Pro update has fixed one visual problem only to introduce another, with players reporting significantly darker image quality when using the game’s Performance Mode.
The issue follows an update intended to address shimmering associated with Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, or PSSR, technology. Bloober Team’s remake had previously struggled with distracting visual artifacts on PS5 Pro, particularly when playing in Quality Mode. The latest patch appears to have improved that situation, but Performance Mode now has its own problem.
Players have reported what is commonly described as “crushed blacks,” where dark portions of an image lose visible detail because shadow levels are rendered too aggressively. That is particularly noticeable in a game such as Silent Hill 2, where dimly lit environments, fog and carefully controlled lighting are central to both its visual presentation and horror atmosphere.
Konami has acknowledged the problem and says it is working with developer Bloober Team on a fix. Based on current reports, the issue appears limited to Performance Mode on PS5 Pro, while Quality Mode is not affected by the newly introduced black-level problem.
For PS5 Pro owners, that creates an awkward choice. Performance modes typically prioritize higher frame rates and responsiveness, while quality settings trade some performance for improved visual fidelity. Players who bought Sony’s upgraded console reasonably expect fewer compromises between the two, particularly in games receiving dedicated PS5 Pro enhancements.
Silent Hill 2 has had a complicated relationship with PS5 Pro since Sony launched the console in November 2024. PSSR was designed as an AI-assisted upscaling system that allows games to render internally at lower resolutions while reconstructing a higher-resolution image. In practice, early implementations across several games exposed some of the challenges associated with reconstruction technology, including shimmering and instability around fine visual details.
That does not necessarily make PSSR itself responsible for every problem. Developers still need to tune their rendering pipelines and game engines around the technology, and patches can introduce unexpected interactions elsewhere. Silent Hill 2 uses Unreal Engine 5, adding another layer to what is already a technically demanding game built around complex lighting, reflections and atmospheric effects.
The remake itself was well received when it launched in October 2024, successfully modernizing Konami’s 2001 survival horror game without abandoning the oppressive visual identity that made the original memorable. That makes image-quality problems more than a minor cosmetic inconvenience here. Losing shadow detail can materially change how environments look and undermine deliberate lighting choices.
Konami has not provided a timetable for the corrective update, leaving Performance Mode users waiting for another patch. For now, Quality Mode appears to be the safer option on PS5 Pro — an ironic reversal considering the update was originally intended to solve visual problems affecting that mode.
