Nvidia DLSS 5 is getting modded into just about every game, often with hilarious results

[Daniel Sims]

A hot potato: Control was the first game to get the DLSS 5 treatment after an unfinished build of Nvidia's controversial technology leaked earlier this week, but modders wasted little time bringing it to dozens of other games. The resulting flood of screenshots and videos has only intensified the debate around DLSS 5, with critics once again deriding its AI-generated visuals as an "AI slop filter."

A new version of the RenoDX modding tool, available through the developer's Discord server, allows users to apply a leaked build of Nvidia's upcoming DLSS 5 to any game that supports high-quality upscaling. The mod's rapid spread effectively amounts to an early release of arguably Nvidia's most ambitious and polarizing software product in recent memory.

When the company unveiled DLSS 5 in March using a handful of games, observers sharply criticized the technology for drastically altering in-game graphics in pursuit of photorealism. Opponents accused Nvidia of paving over developers' original artistic visions with AI-generated graphics that adhere to a generic style reminiscent of AI-generated imagery.

The company defended DLSS 5 by promising that game developers could tweak its impact, stating that more optimization work remained before the technology's planned release this fall. However, earlier this week, an unfinished DLL file containing DLSS 5's training weights appeared in NBA 2K27's installation files, which modders promptly applied to dozens of games.

While the leaked implementation initially supported only RTX 50-series graphics cards, a version quickly appeared for RTX 40-series GPUs.

Screenshots showing shocking results spread from the RenoDX Discord server as various YouTubers posted comparisons and benchmark videos. Depending on how it is applied, DLSS 5 can clash with a game's original art direction while cutting frame rates in half.

In most cases, such as in Control, the technology adds new shadows and deepens existing ones. One of the most controversial effects is its ability to simulate more realistic skin textures, which might not suit certain games with a stylized art direction, such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Still, viewers should note that every screenshot and video released so far represents the work of modders applying the technology to games that were not designed for it. RenoDX's sliders give modders control over DLSS 5's intensity, so while some images garishly pursue photorealism at all costs, others take a lighter touch.

Furthermore, analysis indicates that only one of Nvidia's three planned presets is currently available, so the final release might offer greater flexibility. Ultimately, game developers and artists will determine DLSS 5's fate if they choose to incorporate it into their creative vision.

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Nvidia DLSS 5 is getting modded into just about every game, often with hilarious results

 

[yRaz]

"ThE gAmEs WeReNt DeSiGnEd FoR iT"
It's still an accurate demonstration of what it is designed to do. People did the same thing with DLSS2 and 3 and the results looked like what we got out of the final product

It's AI slop and it looks like AI slop. Forget about enshitification we are now seeing enslopification

 

[Gars]

So, you buy naked game then dress it with dlss.
is that the point?

 

[Skully]

While there are some impressive results with this, all I can think about are publishers pushing out crap graphics and saying "DLSS will take care of it, it's fine, send it".

 

[Theinsanegamer]

"ThE gAmEs WeReNt DeSiGnEd FoR iT"
It's still an accurate demonstration of what it is designed to do. People did the same thing with DLSS2 and 3 and the results looked like what we got out of the final product

It's AI slop and it looks like AI slop. Forget about enshitification we are now seeing enslopification

If the games have no data to support DLSS 5, the model is going to make assumptions, and those assumptions will often be wrong.

If you hate it that much, turn it off.

 

[Kirby1]

While there are some impressive results with this, all I can think about are publishers pushing out crap graphics and saying "DLSS will take care of it, it's fine, send it".

Won't be on consoles.

 

[Alfonso Maruccia]

From yassification to assification, what a revolution in graphics -_-"

 

[Tvvatus]

"ThE gAmEs WeReNt DeSiGnEd FoR iT"
It's still an accurate demonstration of what it is designed to do. People did the same thing with DLSS2 and 3 and the results looked like what we got out of the final product

It's AI slop and it looks like AI slop. Forget about enshitification we are now seeing enslopification

Your comment is slop, and it isn't making games better looking. Nothing sad at all about you breaking out into a shivering sweat when you hear the mention of AI

 

[godrilla]

Won't be on consoles.

Sony and Microsoft have both announced that they are working on Neural network rendering. Nvidia is just cornering the market with its proprietary dlss5; checks price thousan dollar minimum just to try solution. Just like everyone has a decent upscaler today eventually everyone will have a Neural network rendering solution.

While there are some impressive results with this, all I can think about are publishers pushing out crap graphics and saying "DLSS will take care of it, it's fine, send it".

Nvidia will eat their ( publisher's lunch) via remastered graphics, skins textures packs, and premium mods. Nvidia loves these publishers. Nvidia loves the status quo.
Now we wait for Nvidia to tell us they could only run DLSS 5 on Blackwell or greater meanwhile modders got it running on 4000 series cards.

 

[yRaz]

Your comment is slop, and it isn't making games better looking. Nothing sad at all about you breaking out into a shivering sweat when you hear the mention of AI

DLSS5 isn't making them any better looking. I get uncomfortable looking at how OVER realistic is it trying to make them

 

[ScottSoapbox]

This is more an arty photoshoot filter than a beauty filter.

It adds dramatic moody lighting and hair to everyone’s face regardless of the actual lighting.

That’s why it looks more bizarre in some contexts: how much would the character fit a photoshoot.

 

[RudyBob]

Sounds like all the complaints about the horseless carriage.

 

[Hecate91]

Not every game needs to look photo realistic, or more like having an AI instagram filter applied over faces and hair. I'm sure some people love that look though.
Also it's only an option to turn it off until you can't like what has happened with upscaling, and that has become a requirement with many AAA games publishers choose to ship unoptimized. Now publishers can launch games with low quality textures on hair and faces and just tell people to use DLSS5.

 

[Antias]

I'm going to sit on the fence until it actually is released and applied to some of my favourite games (Witcher 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls Online).
It's that last one that interests me the most... I mean, with my setup I can pretty much run the game at maxed out settings at 165hz, but if I can then apply DLSS5 to it and make it even better then I might be on the "sold" side of this discussion. As I was watching some of those videos above, I paid attention to the surrounds, not just the actors, and some of the depth of realism in the foliage etc that the DLSS5 brought to the table was pretty amazing...

 

[Puiu]

If the games have no data to support DLSS 5, the model is going to make assumptions, and those assumptions will often be wrong.

If you hate it that much, turn it off.

No, there won't be any special data from games. The models are already fixed, the devs just pick which one looks less worse from what Nvidia gives them and how hard the filter gets applied.

As for "you can turn it off", it's an already disproven assumption. For a while you could also turn off DLSS upscaling in many games, until the games became such unoptimised slop that you needed DLSS on most PCs sans the high end. C-suits will find a way to "save money" and force this to be enabled. (The same thing with ray-tracing. Now you have games that require it.)

Let's face the reality of what it is: AI slop, a fancy instagram filter.

 

[Puiu]

I'm going to sit on the fence until it actually is released and applied to some of my favourite games (Witcher 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls Online).
It's that last one that interests me the most... I mean, with my setup I can pretty much run the game at maxed out settings at 165hz, but if I can then apply DLSS5 to it and make it even better then I might be on the "sold" side of this discussion. As I was watching some of those videos above, I paid attention to the surrounds, not just the actors, and some of the depth of realism in the foliage etc that the DLSS5 brought to the table was pretty amazing...

You mean the wanky shadows, weird broken lighting and completely changed colors? I don't think that qualifies as realism

 

[daffy duck]

DLSS5 = Digitally Loaded Super Slop.

 

[NumberNine]

The only cost for such improvements is every ounce of artistic integrity and originality.
Too bad DLSS can't make the actual gameplay better or make the publisher less greedy.

 

[Kirby1]

Was looking at some DLSS5 footage and at one point I'm pretty sure the model confused a man with a woman. It was CP2077 so the characters are all dressed in a futuristic way, and the guy had long hard and a shirt that kinda looked like a blouse. Model couldn't decide what to do with the face.

It's definitely interesting. I don't think it's all that impressive to add an Instagram style filter to games, but I won't pretend it doesn't do what it's supposed to do pretty effectively most of the time. But it does look very strange in the same way AI generated photos of people look strange. I think once you get used to seeing it, it quickly starts to feel like it's the same DLSS5/AI look, and even though there is some variability to how it can be used, it still always has that signature AI look to it.

I wonder how people will feel about this 6 months from now. The first time Instagram filters worked well in real time, it was impressive and neat. Now no one particularly likes the look of it.

 

[Kirby1]

As for "you can turn it off", it's an already disproven assumption. For a while you could also turn off DLSS upscaling in many games, until the games became such unoptimised slop that you needed DLSS on most PCs sans the high end.

You will definitely be able to turn it off. Upscaling has become common because it increases performance, but this decreases it. You will be able to turn it off the same way you can turn off other graphically demanding features.

DLSS5 is more like Ray Regen in that sense. You can argue devs could get lazy and rely on DLSS5 to do their work for them, but you'll still be able to turn it off.

 

[GeoffreyA]

In essence, there is a method that takes the scene from source to result. Today's generative ML uses its "white-box" architecture and training process to produce the (largely) black-box method. In traditional rendering, the method is made by hand.

One is a shortcut to reverse engineer a method based on a training target. The other uses wetware learning (the brain) to experiment with changes to the method, leading to a certain result. Thousands of GPUs training vs. Carmack banging at his keyboard, perfecting his stencil algorithm for Doom 3.

In a way, these processes aren't that different except in scale, speed, and aesthetic constraint.

 

[Burty117]

The problem is, they all look the same, they’re literally forcing a realistic art style on all games.

I truly hope this isn’t what the future of rendering ends up being, all games looking like this…

Would love to see what it does to Halo, do the covenant also get eye liner and makeup?

 

[Porkous]

The foliage is looking good. Here the assumption is that if the nature gives the impression you are in a secluded Forest, then the filter is doing fine.

With the characters is a bit more subjective because are more static in their expressions, and that gives them away.

If that Forest can look so good, the open world games will hit the pinnacle of immersion, where the setting itself tells the story, even if is as mundane as walking towards an guided objective

 

[godrilla]

1st 4k hdr stream I can Find to see the impact visually. Crazy part is that some comments are saying they want to upgrade their PCs now. If there was already a shortage this would make the shortage for rtx cards even more scares. Im on the "this was an intentional leak" camp.

 

[MiqWalsh]

Call me old-fashioned, but I want my games to LOOK like games. I don't WANT games to be indistinguishable from real-life......'cos otherwise, I don't see the point.

They're supposed to be a temporary escape from the "real world". I can see gamers starting to suffer from schizophrenia, not knowing which way is up any more....

Hyper-realism appears as if it's the "be-all & the end-all" of the entire genre.

Nah. Not for me, thanks.