NVIDIA's DLSS 5 launches with NBA 2K27 on September 3, but there's little reason for excitement

It's hard to recall a feature that's been as instantly reviled as NVIDIA's DLSS 5, a new version of its AI upscaling technology that can modify character models and environments to chase the specter of "photorealism." NVIDIA calls it progress, but the initial examples from Resident Evil: Requiem and Starfield were uncanny misfires. Now, NVIDIA is gearing up to finally launch DLSS 5 alongside NBA 2K27 on September 3. And judging from the wildly negative responses to recent leaks of the technology, it's going to face a tough crowd. I had serious doubts about DLSS 5 at first, but after seeing some remote demonstrations of the tech from Gamescom, my hackles have cooled a bit. Sure, it's an AI tool that could be used to obscenely yassify a fragile character suffering from PTSD, like it did for Resident Evil: Requiem's co-lead Grace.