Crysis Remastered PC Performance Review and Optimisation Guide

Ray Tracing On VS Off – Is Ray Tracing Crysis’ new killer feature?  

One of the most significant feature additions to Crysis Remastered is the game’s software-based ray tracing solution, which can operate on graphics cards with and without ray tracing acceleration capabilities. 

Both the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro both support this advanced feature, adding realistic reflections which look better than the screen space reflections that Crysis Remastered utilised without ray tracing. 

Crysis Remastered’s Ray Tracing has been implemented in a performance-friendly form, which means that screen space reflections and other performance-efficient reflection types are used instead of ray-traced reflections whenever possible. It is also worth noting that some items are no reflected with ray tracing is enabled, such as NPC characters and certain light sources. 

Below is how Ray Tracing impacts the deck of the battleship in Crysis’ final level. 

(Ray Tracing On VS Ray Tracing Off)
  

  
Glass reflections are a useful add-on with Crysis’s software raytracing feature, which allows players to see a reflection of Nomad on glass surfaces. Note that no other NPCs are reflected here, despite the fact that there are NPCs behind Nomad in this scene. 

(Ray Tracing On VS Ray Tracing Off)
  

One major benefit of ray-traced reflections is the ability to reflect geometry that’s not present within screen space. This feat counteracts the largest downside of screen-space reflections (SSR) and transforms the look of glossy floors and other polished surfaces within Crysis Remastered.  

(Ray Tracing On VS Ray Tracing Off)
  

On rivers and other bodies of water, ray traced reflections allow the bridge over this river to be reflected on the water’s surface, and allows more of the surrounding vegetation to be reflected on the water’s surface. 

(Ray Tracing On VS Ray Tracing Off)
  

Ray Tracing Settings – How do higher Ray Tracing Settings make Crysis Remastered look better? 
  
With higher ray tracing settings, Crysis Remastered’s reflections are drawn at a higher resolution. With Crysis Remastered’s “Performance” Ray tracing settings, reflections are grainer and display notable artefacts on water. 

Glass reflections allow us to see exactly what causes this change, as high settings make Crysis Remastered’s ray-traced reflections appear sharper and more detailed. Settings beyond high will make these reflections even more detailed. 

(Ray Tracing High VS Ray Tracing Performance)