Even when games are technically supported by Nvidia’s new DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution model, developers often don’t update the DLSS DLL files that ship with the game itself for various compatibility reasons. A few weeks ago, I had a chance to test whether the technology works well in titles that don’t natively support it, and the results were quite compelling.
With the right tools and a few tweaks, it is possible to force the new model to run on virtually any game. Sometimes, the improvements are visually transformative. Occasionally, there are a few quirks, but more often than not, you’re getting noticeably better image quality, reduced artefacts, and a better gaming experience altogether.
DLSS 4.5 is breathtaking, even on unsupported titles
But you won’t feel it until you experience it
Unlike most other AI advancements, DLSS 4.5 does not show up in the benchmark chart, which makes the improvements hard to document yet easy to experience. With Team Green’s new Transformer model, there’s no denying that image stability sees a meaningful uplift. Even if you haven’t fallen into the habit of pixel-peeping, the difference is tangible when the game is in motion.
Since these games don’t natively ship with the updated DLLs required for DLSS 4.5 SR support, I had to manually intervene and swap the newer DLSS files to force the appropriate preset using DLSS Swapper alongside Nvidia Profile Inspector. It’s not an officially advised toggle that most users wouldn’t want to bother with, but once it’s enabled, it makes for a rather neat upgrade.
Death Stranding’s world felt more alive
Its flora-rich visuals receive a noticeable uplift
I tested it on Death Stranding, which not only does not natively support it, but is also old enough to remove novelty bias. The title remains visually demanding in its own not-so-subtle ways. The improvement was immediate in fine details. Grainy elements like distant blades of grass and terrain textures held together far better during movement.
There’s less shimmer, breakup, and better color retention when the camera pans across open landscape. In a game where it’s usual to see vast distances and layered scenery, this added stability adds to the cohesion of the world, its diverse landscapes, and turbulent weather effects.
DLSS 4.5 is expensive, but it’s the best thing to happen to my aging RTX PC
The upside is remarkable, but the cost isn’t equal for all.
Deep Rock Galactic received a late-cycle glow-up
From visual noise to visual harmony
If there’s one title that made the contrast overwhelmingly clear, it was Deep Rock Galactic. With the higher fidelity Preset M enabled, the scenes tightened up dramatically. Environmental text and signage became genuinely legible, and the thin geometry, such as wires, railings, and hazard stripes held shape without stair-stepping or overrunning along the edges. The implementation felt like a masterclass in visual de-noising, and Nvidia evidently does it the best.
It took me a second or perhaps a third glance to realize that the lighting felt more intentional, the neon glows looked like light sources rather than painted headlights and interacted naturally with surrounding surfaces. Reflections gained definition as well, instead of dissolving unceremoniously into color smears. Switching back to the 4.0 preset or native rendering on this game feels like a visual downgrade that greatly hurts the gameplay immersion.
The Callisto Protocol was perfect, but…
The good (somehow) gets better
If The Callisto Protocol had anything left to prove, it’s that Nvidia’s AI upscaler not only rescues weaker implementation, but it also excellently refines visuals that you’d consider were already premium to begin with. Using the Preset M, the visual uplift is subtle but appreciable for the keen eye. Character models gain clarity, and the environment gains depth in a way that makes it almost impossible to argue that it is running on the DLSS Performance preset.
The surface textures tend to hold together more convincingly during traversal, and the game’s advanced lighting (which I would argue, is one of its strongest suits) gains the most thanks to the improved temporal stability, making it feel more grounded when juxtaposed with previous presets. The performance does, in its own way, stand as testimony to how successive DLSS iterations have matured. DLSS 4.5’s updated implementation seems to have bridged many of the long-standing flaws in the Performance preset, which makes it feel like a viable option rather than an emergency fallback for poor optimization.
As the second-generation transformer model is significantly more compute-intensive than the predecessor DLSS 4.0, the improvements in visual fidelity can lead to increased VRAM usage on 20-series and 30-series GPUs as they lack native FP8 processing.
If The Callisto Protocol had anything left to prove, it’s that Nvidia’s AI upscaler not only rescues weaker implementation, but it also excellently refines visuals that you’d consider were already premium to begin with.
Nvidia’s upscaling has come a long way
DLSS Super Resolution has received perhaps one of the most significant upgrades of all time, and it’s made even more meaningful by the fact that every RTX GPU (with a few caveats) can benefit from it. Even more compelling is the fact that many existing titles, despite shipping without updated support, can tap into the improvements it offers with minor tweaks. As support grows across newer (and hopefully) legacy titles, DLSS has the potential to function less as a situational advancement that you reach for, and more as a layer that consistently enhances game experience. For now, it’s hard not to be optimistic about what the future holds for this technology.
