- Nvidia has previewed its DLSS 5 technology
- ‘Real-time neural rendering model’ reworks lighting and adds realism
- But many players are not satisfied with the sometimes questionable results
Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) gaming tools – including DLSS upscaling and its own frame-generation technology – have largely received a cautiously positive response from gamers, despite being occasionally divisive.
While early criticism centered on “false frames” and other AI-related setbacks, this has begun to subside as the technology has advanced and player experiences have improved with it. But with the launch of DLSS 5, Nvidia might have undone some of that hard work, and gamers aren’t happy.
In case you missed the news, Nvidia announced that DLSS 5 brings a “real-time neural rendering model that infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials”. In other words, it uses AI to improve lighting and realism – and that hasn’t gone down well with many players, who have selected examples where the results are questionable at best.
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Here, we’ve rounded up five of the craziest examples of “DLSS 5 off / DLSS 5 on” gone wrong, from blown-up environments to see-through faces sent through the Instagram filter from hell. They show that sometimes DLSS 5 might not be an “AI-powered breakthrough” that will go down well with everyone.
1. “Yassified, look-maxed freaks”
strange that this impressive lighting technology also happens to turn everyone into yassified, look-maxed freaks. it’s like all this technology can’t help but sexualize everything it touches. but preferably through the lens of teenage boys. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zlw…
— @dannyodwyer.bsky.social (@dannyodwyer.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T16:12:23.132Z
While many people have shared examples of DLSS 5 messing with character faces in their own gameplay moments, one of the most egregious examples actually comes from Nvidia itself. In the company’s official DLSS 5 press release, Nvidia pointed to its effect on Grace Ashcroft, the protagonist of Resident Evil Requiem.
However, not everyone was impressed. Writing on Bluesky, for example, documentarian Danny O’Dwyer pointed to this illustration, saying that DLSS 5 “accidentally turns everyone into yassified, looks-maxed freaks. It’s like all this technology can’t help but sexualize everything it touches. But preferably through the lens of teenage boys.” Practice
2. Virgil van who?
Even Van Dijk is not safe from NVIDIA’s DLSS5 filter. from r/LiverpoolFC
When you play a sports series like EA Sports FC, part of the draw is the realistic renderings of all your favorite players. But with DLSS 5 missing character appearances to an unprecedented degree, it’s already at risk.
As user Lynchead pointed out on the Liverpool FC subreddit, Virgil van Dijk – current Liverpool captain and one of the Premier League’s best-known players – has been put through the ringer by DLSS 5, leaving his in-game face completely unrecognizable compared to his real-life counterpart. Considering the level of detail in EA Sports FC games, the transformation is shocking.
3. Aging characters
Everyone is all in on the RE9 Grace one for good reason, but I can’t get over the Hogwarts Legacy one. Not a game I care about, but here we have a less detailed model fit for a 15 year old school kid (the character’s age!), with the DLSS5 model filling them in to look a decade older.
— @apzonerunner.com (@apzonerunner.com.bsky.social) 2026-03-17T16:12:23.094Z
Not only does DLSS 5 run the risk of fumbling over the realistic looks created by game developers, but it may even contradict key story elements conveyed through graphics.
It can be seen in Hogwarts Legacyas an example posted by video game critic Alex Donaldson shows. There, a 15-year-old student’s face has been given a much more detailed look, but the effect has been to increase their apparent age to such an extent that they look like a much older adult when using DLSS 5.
As Donaldson said, DLSS 5 “detail-fills them to look more than a decade older.” This contradiction with the lore of the game can be confusing to anyone who plays the game.
4. Removal of depth and heat from the surroundings
Another horrible aspect of DLSS5 that few people are talking about from r/digitalfoundry
Not all critics had character faces in their sights. Over on Reddit, user Mediocre-Sundom noted what they described as “another terrible aspect” of DLSS 5: environmental lighting.
“The depth, the contrast, the warmth of the lighting – it’s all gone,” they lamented after posting a few samples. And this isn’t just a one-off, in their opinion: “The same can be seen in pretty much every other scene where DLSS 5 environmental impact is demonstrated. It’s far, waaaay worse in every single example,” they said.
5. Overworked HDR is coming to video games
We all know that DLSS 5 is really terrible with faces and this whole shitshow is not without reason. But what is your impression of environmental lightning? from r/digitalfoundry
Another example of DLSS 5’s impact on environmental lighting was demonstrated by Filianore_ on Reddit, who posted screenshots from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. There, DLSS 5 has made the surroundings much brighter compared to the original image, creating a forced, unnatural look.
As pointed out in the comments, the result is reminiscent of overly enthusiastic HDR effects sometimes applied to photographs. The DLSS 5 version looks so over-processed it almost becomes unreal; while the original wasn’t perfect, at least it had a more believable feel.
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