There is no doubt that Crysis was ahead of its time. For years after its release, Crysis also looked amazing. But Crysis was not perfect. The game had several graphical issues, and many of them are easy to spot today. However, it seems NVIDIA DLSS 5 can fix almost all of these problems. The result is a game that looks great, even by today’s standards.
YouTube creator Lumin Visual has shared a video that compares the vanilla version of Crysis with a version using the DLSS 5 mod. So, let’s take a look at it.
At first glance, the DLSS 5 mod may not look that impressive. This is because Crytek used some great TODs in certain levels. But things change when you enter a wooden shack/hut or a dark forest area with no direct light. In these scenes, Crysis can look quite rough. This is where DLSS 5 comes in.
DLSS 5 manages to fix all the graphical issues in those scenes. The result is a game that can look amazing, consistently.
Now, for those who have not played Crysis, you can enable and adjust AO via the CVAR files. Back in 2007, it was the first thing I did to improve its graphics. Still, you cannot get the game to look like the DLSS 5 version, no matter how much you tweak it.
But what about Crysis Remastered? To its credit, Crytek improved the lighting. As a result, the wooden shacks do not look as bad as they did in the original game. Still, they cannot match DLSS 5. In the second video, you can find some side-by-side shots. As you can see, DLSS 5 comes out on top in these scenes with ease.
The downside of DLSS 5 is, obviously, its performance hit. From what I can see in the second video, the game drops to 70 FPS (from 120 FPS) on an NVIDIA RTX 5090. So, you will need a high-end GPU to enjoy it, especially if you target high resolutions.
As I’ve said many times, DLSS 5 feels like a tool made for high-end GPUs. In my tests, it worked well on the NVIDIA RTX 5080 and RTX 5090. On the RTX 5080, I had to lower the render scale to keep a good base frame rate. On the RTX 5090, you can use it at the default settings. That is, if you are also willing to use DLSS Performance or Quality Mode with Multi-Frame Generation.
Keep in mind that this is a DLSS 5 mod. NVIDIA is still working to make DLSS 5 run faster on its GPUs. So, a native version could run better. That said, I do not think we will ever see native DLSS 5 support in Crysis or Crysis Remastered. For now, these DLSS 5 mods are the only way to use the tech in these games.
Crysis has a special place in my heart, so I had to share this video with you. I have never seen the original Crysis look this good. The characters get a huge visual boost, and they now look as good as those in many modern games. The environments also look amazing. This could easily pass for one of the best-looking games of 2026. Instead, it is a 2007 game running with DLSS 5.
Enjoy!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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