Burnout Paradise Remastered Performance Review and Graphics Comparison

Original VS Remastered – Graphics Comparison Sliders

When Burnout Paradise Remastered was announced, most PC gamers expected consoles to receive the original PC release at higher resolutions and few other graphical upgrades. Not many of us expected a more detailed re-working of the game. 

Burnout Paradise Remastered presents PC gamers with a variety of performance improvements, which include reworked lighting, higher resolution textures, sharper shadows and re-worked HUD elements, all of which significantly improve the game’s visuals, especially at high resolutions like 1440p or 4K. 

Looking at the game’s map, we can see that Criterion has remade the game’s map to offer sharper edges and more detail, removing the blur seen in the original game map when viewed at high resolutions. 

In the image below we can clearly see that these graphics are from before 2010, with the original game’s billboards featuring an advert for EVGA’s X58 motherboards, which first became available in late 2008. The ads have been updated in Burnout Paradise Remastered, though none of them appears to be for real products.    

  

(Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (Left) VS Burnout Paradise: Remastered (Right))

  
  

In this second set of screenshots, we can also see several other areas where Burnout Paradise’s graphics have improved, with shadow and texture detail seeing a significant uplift. These changes are most visible on the pavement and in and around the buildings in the mid-distance. 

Another area to take note of is an improvement in reflections quality, as we can see a lot more detail from vehicle reflections. Ambient Occlusion QUality is also significantly improved when looking at areas such as car wheels and other occluded edges.

(Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (Left) VS Burnout Paradise: Remastered (Right))

  
  

In this third shot, we see what is perhaps out largest leap in graphical quality so far, with texture details becoming a lot more detailed and shadows become a lot sharper. Even details like brickwork see significant visual improvements, it is clear that Criterion has focused a lot of graphical upgrades in areas that players will frequent, like junkyards and other frequently used areas.   

(Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (Left) VS Burnout Paradise: Remastered (Right))

  
  

Below we can see how everything comes together to create the ideal 4K gaming experience for Burnout Paradise, touching up the game elements that would otherwise look blurry or pixelated at such a high resolution. 

While not all textures have been reworked for this remaster, Criterion has worked to enhance Burnout Paradise’s most commonly used assets to create an improved gameplay experience. While the game remains far from being a modern graphical showcase, the enhancements on offer here are nothing to scoff at.  

(Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box (Left) VS Burnout Paradise: Remastered (Right))