Best PS5 settings for Ghost of Yotei: graphics, performance and HDR explained

For most players on a standard PS5 and 60 Hz television, start with Performance mode. It targets 60 frames per second and makes combat, camera movement and riding feel substantially more responsive than the 30-fps modes. Choose Quality for a sharper, higher-resolution image, or Ray Tracing when its lighting changes matter more to you than frame rate. If your display supports 120 Hz, Balanced and Ray Tracing Balanced target 40 fps and improve image quality or lighting without dropping all the way to 30 fps. On PS5 Pro, Ray Tracing Pro is the strongest all-round starting point: it targets 60 fps while adding ray-traced global illumination and using PSSR reconstruction.

HDR has no universal slider number. Calibrate HDR in the PS5 system first, then adjust Ghost of Yotei’s brightness and contrast while checking both dark shadow detail and bright snow, sky and sunlight. Your TV’s tone-mapping mode, firmware and room lighting determine the correct result.

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1		Ghost of Yōtei PS5	$53.99	Buy on Amazon
2		Ghost of Yotei (PS5)	$52.95	Buy on Amazon
3		Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut	$43.80	Buy on Amazon
4		Merge Games Let's Build a Zoo PS5	$18.99	Buy on Amazon

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Recommended starting settings by PS5 and display

Use this table as a starting point, then make the display-specific adjustments described later. Frame-rate and resolution figures are approximate targets from independent testing; dynamic resolution changes with scene complexity and are not fixed output guarantees.

What each graphics mode changes

Performance mode

Performance is the default recommendation for a standard PS5 connected to a 60 Hz display. It targets 60 fps, which reduces perceived input latency and keeps camera pans, sword swings and traversal fluid. The trade-off is a lower dynamic resolution than Quality; an independent mode guide measured it closer to 1080p in demanding scenes rather than at a fixed native 4K.

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Dynamic resolution means the game can lower or raise its internal render resolution to protect frame rate. A busy forest, large battle or effects-heavy view may therefore look softer than a quiet interior. The console still outputs the selected video format, but the image inside that output is reconstructed from a changing internal resolution.

Quality mode

Quality favors detail over responsiveness. On a standard PS5 it targets 30 fps at slightly below 4K in the independent testing, with a higher dynamic resolution than Performance. Fine architecture, distant terrain and foliage can look cleaner when the camera is still, but 30 fps produces more visible motion judder and higher control latency than 60 fps.

Choose Quality when you sit close to a large screen, notice image softness more than motion judder, or spend much of your time examining landscapes and built environments. It is a capped 30-fps choice on a 60 Hz display, so a 120 Hz television is not required to use it.

Ray Tracing mode

Ray Tracing keeps the standard PS5 at a 30-fps target while allocating rendering resources to ray-traced lighting. The independent guide measured roughly 1440p in this mode, although the resolution is dynamic. Reflections and illumination can appear more natural in scenes designed to show the effect, but the mode does not provide the responsiveness of Performance.

Use Ray Tracing when lighting quality is your main priority and you are comfortable with a 30-fps presentation. It is not automatically a sharper mode than Quality: its image can be less detailed at distance because part of the performance budget is spent on ray-traced calculations.

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Balanced mode

Balanced is designed for a 120 Hz display. It targets 40 fps, giving each frame 25 milliseconds of frame time compared with 33.3 milliseconds at 30 fps and 16.7 milliseconds at 60 fps. That makes it visibly smoother than a 30-fps mode while allowing a higher image-quality target than Performance.

A 60 Hz television cannot display the intended 40-fps cadence. If your display reports only 60 Hz, stay with Performance, Quality or Ray Tracing rather than selecting Balanced.

Ray Tracing Balanced

Ray Tracing Balanced applies the same 40-fps, 120 Hz requirement while preserving ray-traced lighting. It is the choice for a 120 Hz owner who wants the lighting treatment but does not want to accept a 30-fps target. Compared with regular Balanced, some of the resolution or other image-quality headroom is used for ray tracing.

PS5 Pro modes

The PS5 Pro adds separate quality levels. The independent mode guide measured approximately 4K/30 for Quality, 1440p/60 for Performance, 1728p/30 for Ray Tracing, and about 1080p internally for Ray Tracing Pro. Those are internal or dynamic estimates, not promises that every scene will hold one resolution.

Ray Tracing Pro is the recommended Pro starting point because it targets 60 fps while adding ray-traced global illumination. PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) reconstructs the final image from the lower internal render and is intended to keep fine architectural edges and foliage more stable in motion. Sucker Punch programming director Adrian Bentley described the game as a native PS5 title built to use newer platform technology, and the studio has explained that Pro ray tracing handles short-range global illumination.

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If you prefer a locked 30-fps cinematic presentation, Pro Quality still offers the highest resolution target. Pro Performance is the simpler 60-fps option when you do not want the additional ray-traced cost. On a 120 Hz VRR display, Ray Tracing Pro can be paired with VRR Uncapped; one 2026 guide reported roughly 70–90 fps in its testing, but the number varies by scene and should not be treated as a guaranteed range.

How to choose between smoothness, sharpness and lighting

There is no mode that maximizes every axis simultaneously. Decide in this order:

1. Set the frame-rate ceiling your display can use. A 60 Hz screen makes 60-fps Performance or 30-fps Quality/Ray Tracing the practical choices. A 120 Hz screen unlocks the 40-fps Balanced options.
2. Choose responsiveness or image detail. Select Performance for fast camera control and combat response; select Quality when a sharper static image matters more.
3. Add ray tracing only when its lighting is worth the cost. Ray Tracing and Ray Tracing Balanced spend performance or resolution on illumination. On PS5 Pro, Ray Tracing Pro is less of a compromise because it targets 60 fps.
4. Enable VRR if you want an uncapped mode. Variable output is only useful when the display can follow it. Without VRR, fluctuations are more obvious and a capped mode is usually preferable.

Set up 120 Hz and VRR correctly

Balanced modes require a 120 Hz-capable display. VRR is not mandatory for a capped 40-fps mode, but it helps smooth small fluctuations and is important for PS5 Pro’s VRR Uncapped option.

1. On the PS5 home screen, open Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output.
2. Set 120 Hz Output to Automatic. Confirm that the information panel reports 120 Hz support when the television is compatible.
3. Set VRR to Automatic. You can also enable Apply to Unsupported Games for broader system-level testing, but use it only if your display behaves correctly.
4. Check the television’s own game mode and VRR setting. Menus differ by manufacturer, but the TV must accept VRR on the HDMI input used by the PS5.
5. Start Ghost of Yotei and select Balanced, Ray Tracing Balanced or, on PS5 Pro, Ray Tracing Pro with VRR Uncapped. If the display loses signal or shows flicker, return to a capped mode and test the TV’s firmware and HDMI settings.

The connection chain matters. A certified Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 cable is sensible when the television port, console connection and any receiver or switch in between all support the required bandwidth. Replacing a cable cannot create 120 Hz or VRR support in a television or receiver that lacks it. If an intermediary device is limited to older HDMI features, connect the PS5 directly to a compatible TV port or use a receiver input that explicitly supports the required signal.

HDR calibration: use the PS5 first, then the game

Ghost of Yotei uses the PS5’s system-level HDR calibration and adds an in-game brightness slider plus two contrast choices. HDR Game Analysis reported that the game outputs highlights close to the system calibration, but also found that raising brightness lifts black levels. The contrast options alter black levels and midtone appearance. Those interactions make a universal value such as “70” unreliable.

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Calibrate the console

1. On PS5, open Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output > Adjust HDR.
2. Follow the three calibration screens in your normal gaming room. Adjust until the symbol is barely visible where the instructions indicate, rather than making it disappear far beyond the reference.
3. Use the TV’s calibrated game picture mode. If your television offers an HGiG tone-mapping path, test it against the manufacturer’s documented behavior; avoid stacking multiple dynamic tone-mapping systems without checking the result.

Adjust Ghost of Yotei

1. Open the game’s display or HDR options and leave the brightness near its calibrated starting point.
2. Look at a dark outdoor or interior scene. If blacks look grey and shadow detail is lifted, reduce the brightness lift in small steps.
3. Check a bright snowfield, sky and sunlit surface. If highlights lose texture or become a flat white mass, reduce the setting or choose the contrast option that preserves highlight separation.
4. Return to a night scene and verify that dark clothing, rocks and foliage still contain detail. Do not judge HDR from a single bright screenshot.
5. Recheck after changing the TV’s tone mapping, picture mode, firmware or room lighting. Those changes alter the correct game setting.

If the image is too dim, raise brightness gradually and inspect both ends of the range after each change. If night scenes look washed out, lower the brightness lift or use the display’s calibrated game/HGiG path. Firmware and game updates can change menus or tone mapping, so treat the visible result—not a copied slider number—as the authority.

Approximate technical targets and what they mean

The figures above come from a 2026 independent mode guide summarizing testing, while Sucker Punch’s official material explains the rendering techniques rather than publishing a complete consumer settings table. Scene density can be substantial: the studio described a scene containing more than one million trees, rocks and bushes, with about 60,000 items ultimately rendered after culling. That workload is why dynamic resolution and scene-dependent performance matter.

Troubleshooting common problems

Balanced is missing or looks wrong

Confirm that the PS5 detects 120 Hz in Video Output and that the TV is on a 120 Hz-capable HDMI input. Disable an incompatible receiver or switch temporarily. If the display is genuinely 60 Hz, use Performance, Quality or Ray Tracing; Balanced cannot deliver its intended cadence on that panel.

VRR Uncapped feels uneven

Uncapped output changes with scene complexity. Make sure VRR is enabled on both the PS5 and TV, then check the direct HDMI path. If fluctuations, flicker or brightness pulsing are distracting, select a capped Ray Tracing Pro or Performance mode instead.

The picture looks soft

Performance and Ray Tracing can render below the internal resolution of Quality, and Pro Ray Tracing uses PSSR from an approximately 1080p internal image. Sit farther from the screen, verify that the TV is not applying excessive smoothing or overscan, or switch to Quality if sharpness is more important than frame rate.

Night scenes look grey

Raising the in-game HDR brightness can raise black levels. Revisit PS5 HDR calibration, lower the game brightness in small increments and test the TV’s calibrated game/HGiG path. Check shadow detail after every change so that blacks do not become crushed.

Highlights look clipped

Inspect snow, clouds and direct sunlight. If bright areas lose texture, reduce the game brightness or try the other contrast option, then verify that the TV is not applying a second aggressive tone-mapping curve.

Quick Recap

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Practical setting checklists

Standard PS5 and 60 Hz television

• Select Performance for the general recommendation.
• Use Quality if you accept 30 fps for a sharper image.
• Use Ray Tracing if ray-traced lighting is more important than both responsiveness and resolution.
• Calibrate HDR on the PS5, then tune brightness and contrast by inspecting shadows and highlights.

Standard PS5 and 120 Hz VRR television

• Use Balanced for the best general compromise.
• Use Ray Tracing Balanced when lighting effects are the priority.
• Confirm 120 Hz Output and VRR under Settings > Screen and Video > Video Output.
• Use a complete HDMI 2.1-capable signal path for VRR and high-refresh output.

PS5 Pro

• Start with Ray Tracing Pro for ray-traced global illumination at a 60-fps target.
• Choose Pro Quality for a 30-fps, approximately 4K presentation.
• Choose Pro Performance for a straightforward approximately 1440p/60 target without the Pro ray-tracing emphasis.
• On a 120 Hz VRR display, test Ray Tracing Pro with VRR Uncapped; return to a capped mode if variable frame pacing is distracting.

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