Of all the next-gen advancements we expected to come to Xbox Series X in 2022, we must admit, ray tracing in 2013's GTA5 wasn't one of them. However, with Rockstar's recent release of Grand Theft Auto 5 Next Gen, the team has overhauled this Xbox 360 era title - even adding ray traced reflections months after release.

At the time of their addition we took a quick look at the new RT reflections and came away rather impressed by how much of a difference they make to the overall presentation. Now, the experts over at Digital Foundry have taken a closer look at Rockstar's latest RT update - and they seem pretty impressed overall as well.

Much of DF's deep dive compares multiple modes on Xbox Series X, showcasing just how much better reflections look using ray tracing. Reflective surfaces don't work anywhere near as well in the game's performance mode - we might have to opt for the RT option now after seeing even more evidence of these sweeping changes.

"Fidelity mode offers pin-sharp reflections here, mirroring the game environment. Examined at point blank range, it's a night-and-day change. More diffused surfaces also offer RT reflections, though in somewhat more muted form as you would probably expect.

Ceramics, plastics, frosted glass, semi-gloss paint and puddles all realistically scatter light and seem much more effectively integrated within GTA5's open world.

Plus, rainy conditions create beautifully reflective rain-slicked streets in the fidelity mode. This is perhaps the clearest upgrade over the other graphical modes."

There's another nice bonus with this update as well. In bringing ray traced reflections to GTA5, Rockstar has ever-so-slightly lowered the resolution in this mode, and if anything it actually provides smoother frame rates post-update. Hurrah!

Xbox Series S misses out on any form of ray tracing though, which honestly, we've now come to expect with how things are playing out so far this generation. Still, this looks an impressive update for Series X users, and one we might have to dip back into over the coming weeks.

Are you impressed by these changes to GTA5 next-gen? Let us know down in the comments!

[source youtu.be]