Introduction

In Chernobylite, support for NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) has been present since early access, and Chernobylite was one of the first games to support AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 (FSR 1.0) through a game update. Developers have greatly supported the game with major updates and DLCs since. In one of the latest major updates, the game received an Enhanced Edition with support for ray traced reflections, ray traced caustics, dynamic diffuse global illumination (DDGI) and tessellation, and the game recently received support for AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 (FSR 2.0). It's important to note that unlike other titles, Chernobylite has completely removed support for FSR 1.0 with the FSR 2.0 patch, similar to what was done in some titles during the transition from NVIDIA DLSS 1.0 to DLSS 2.0. What's also interesting about Chernobylite is that there are subtle differences in the implementation of NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 (FSR 2.0), which we are keen to find out more about.



Below, you will find comparison screenshots at 4K, 1440p, 1080p, and in different FSR 2.0 and DLSS quality modes. For those who want to see how DLSS and FSR 2.0 perform in motion, watch our side-by-side comparison video. The video can help uncover issues like shimmering or temporal instability, which are not visible in the screenshots.

All tests were made using a GeForce RTX 3080 GPU at Ultra graphics settings with ray tracing disabled to minimize CPU bottlenecks for a better idea of what differences to expect performance-wise; motion blur, chromatic aberration and depth of field were also disabled for better image viewing. DLSS was manually updated to version 2.4.6 by swapping the DLL file.

Screenshots

Side-by-Side Comparison Video

Conclusion

In Chernobylite, the in-game TAA solution and FSR 2.0 implementation both use a sharpening filter in the render path without the ability to tweak the sharpening level, and the developers decided to set the sharpening filters in the TAA and FSR 2.0 render path to the highest available value, which results in a heavily oversharpened image even at high resolutions. The DLSS implementation does not use any sharpening filters in the render path, and the developers chose to exclude a customizable sharpening filter slider for DLSS. However, you can still adjust the setting manually in NVIDIA Control Panel. Also, DirectX 12 now has to be enabled in order to utilize FSR 2.0 in Chernobylite.

Speaking of image quality, there are a few important issues of note. In Chernobylite, a lot of vegetation and trees are in motion due to dynamic winds and other weather effects. The in-game TAA solution and DLSS implementations are handling moving trees and vegetation just fine, but the FSR 2.0 implementation is completely different. FSR 2.0 temporal stability completely falls apart when you start moving through the world, which even our screenshots across all resolutions and quality modes reveal. If you take a look at the trees on the left side or bushes on the right side, you will see heavy ghosting artifacts, as if motion blur effects were enabled at the highest value. Thin steel objects are also losing temporal stability at medium and far distances and create noticeable shimmering issues at lower resolutions.

Speaking of overall image quality and the performance of the FSR 2.0 implementation in Chernobylite compared to the native image, FSR 2.0 noticeably compromises image quality in favor of performance in most sequences of the game. However, if the developers manage to fix the heavy temporal instability issues described earlier, FSR 2.0 would improve the level of detail rendered in vegetation and tree leaves; small details in the distance are rendered more correctly and completely, but with the current state of the FSR 2.0 implementation, those improvements in image quality are only visible if standing still without any moving objects on screen. Speaking of performance compared to the native resolution, the FSR 2.0 performance uplift is a great improvement in Chernobylite, and compared to DLSS 2.4 in this game, FSR 2.0 basically works identically to DLSS 2.4 for performance gains across all resolutions.