With the launch of Nvidia’s RTX 50-series GPUs comes a wave of new and current AAA games ready to take advantage of the latest graphical technology. Outside of raw power, these new GPUs offer DLSS 4, the latest in Nvidia’s image enhancement and upscaling technology.
On “Day 0,” 75 games and apps will support DLSS 4, specifically its new DLSS Multi Frame Generation (multiplies performance by generating multiple frames) and enhancements of existing features.
There are only four upcoming games listed on Nvidia’s website, including The Witcher IV, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Dune: Awakening, and Black State. I’m super excited for this new age of gaming, so let’s jump into what Nvidia’s newest RTX 50-series gaming laptops offer for these titles.
The Witcher IV
Oh, I was fanboying so hard when The Witcher IV trailer dropped. If there was a general consensus in the community about what we wanted The Witcher IV to be, it’s exactly this: a Ciri-led adventure. The graphics looked absolutely stunning, and we now know why. The cinematic trailer was pre-rendered in Unreal Engine 5 on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU.
Other than that, Nvidia is pretty tight-lipped about the features present in The Witcher IV. The only claim is that “The Witcher IV will launch with the latest RTX-powered technologies.” Now, that’s likely because The Witcher IV still does not have a set release date, which may imply that it’ll offer RTX features that haven’t even been announced.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
There’s nothing quite as blood-pumping as a DOOM title, and if there’s any game that could use advanced tech to keep up with its intensity, it'd be DOOM: The Dark Ages. This story takes place before DOOM (2016) when the Doom Slayer was a weapon of the gods, equipped to fight devils with a shotgun and shield (yes, you read that right).
Nvidia confirms the three unique features The Dark Ages will take advantage of: Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Ray Reconstruction, and Path Tracing. The first will bump up those frames, which you’ll desperately need to dodge every bullet and blade. Ray Reconstruction increases image quality in scenes with complex lighting, so you won’t see weird shimmering or ghosting on the visuals around you. That might not mean much now, but in a fast-paced environment, you’ll need to capture every detail you can. There’s not a lot of detail around what’s different about the Path Tracing, which simulates realistic lighting, but Nvidia states that it’ll improve the “image quality and immersion in the game’s expansive environments.”
Dune: Awakening
Dune is a fantastic film, so while I still need to watch Dune: Part Two (yeah, I know), Dune: Awakening is quite a pleasant surprise. It’s an open-world survival MMO, which definitely wasn’t on my bingo card, nor was it looking so damn good. I’m shocked by the level of detail in the environment and character models.
What Nvidia is boasting for Dune: Awakening is Multi Frame Generation. Unlike the other titles, however, we have some numbers. In the comparison video Nvidia showcased, we see the player running up the stairs of an interior space at 4K/75 fps, but when DLSS 4 is enabled, the frames jump to 332 fps. Is that even real? I honestly cannot be sure, but if it is, that’s truly impressive. When the player is riding a speeder through a valley, we see it jump from 65 fps to 250 fps. Again, that’s an incredible jump. If these numbers are accurate, I cannot imagine playing Dune: Awakening without an RTX 50-series gaming laptop.
Black State
Now this is an interesting title — Black State is an original IP with AAA quality from Motion Blur, an indie game company based in Turkey. It has strong Metal Gear Solid vibes, so it’s already on my good side. What’s more interesting, however, is how much the title is taking advantage of Nvidia’s DLSS 4 technology, specifically with Multi Frame Generation, Reflex & Ray Tracing.
In the first scene of the video, we see the reflection in floor tiles transition from muted to glossy. The water in the fountain transitions from murky to shiny. In the manor, we see reflections in the presumably marble floor; if you look at the lamps, the light transitions from a diffuse image to a perfect reflection. Then there’s the lights themselves, whether the bulbs transition from translucent to transparent. I’m not sure how I feel about the radical difference in art design, but the technology is, without a doubt, impressive.
Outlook
The new age of RTX 50-series gaming laptops is going to be a fun one to follow. We’ll start seeing RTX 50-series gaming laptops launch in March and April, so if you’re excited for any of these titles, hopefully, you’ve been saving for that upgrade.
And around the time these gaming laptops launch, you’ll see a slew of reviews from us, so keep an eye on our best gaming laptops page for these new devices to fill in the slots.
