Why gamers are hating Nvidia’s DLSS 5 tech: ‘Instagram filters’, ‘AI slop’ and more

Nvidia unveiled the next generation of its DLSS platform this week. The reception has been mixed with some gamers welcoming the new technology while a few others are calling it a ‘disaster’.

DLSS 5, the latest version of Nvidia’s AI-powered upscaling technology, introduces a “real-time neural rendering model” that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to infuse game visuals with ‘photoreal lighting and materials’. In easier words, the AI is stepping in to essentially repaint what you see in real time converting them into a ‘crisp and natural looking’ render.

What DLSS 5 is actually doing

Previous versions of DLSS worked by rendering a game at a lower resolution and using AI to upscale it, which boosted the performance with minimal visual difference.

DLSS 5 goes much further. According to Nvidia, the AI model analyses each frame and applies its own interpretation of lighting, skin, hair, fabric, and environmental conditions. A general message is that the technology is making its own creative decisions about how a scene or a person should look.

The company says the model is “trained end to end to understand complex scene semantics” and can handle subsurface scattering on skin, the sheen of fabric and how light interacts with elements.

While this sounds impressive on paper, the problem is what it looks like in practice as some gamers feel that by doing this, the game loses it authenticity.For example, a side-by-side image from Resident Evil Requiem showcased by Nvidia attracted backlash as a few gamers believe that the protagonist, Grace Ashcroft, looks like a noticeably different person from what intended by the developers. They argue that her cheekbones appear altered, hair colour is washed out and her lips look different.

The background has also changed in ways that go well beyond improved lighting.

Some gamers are calling it Instagram filters

Several gamers on social media, including YouTube and Reddit threads, have said that games are going from “raytracing to sloptracing”. One person on X (formerly Twitter) called it “Instagram filter”.Moreover, there is one more wrinkle. As mentioned, DLSS has traditionally been left switched on by most gamers because it offers a meaningful performance boost with little downside. This means that turning it off meant lower frame rates.With DLSS 5, gamers fear that turning it off will cost them performance, and keeping it on means accepting AI-altered character faces and visuals. DLSS 5 will arrive this Fall, Nvidia said.