Nvidia’s DLSS 5 could give my favorite old games the glow-up I’ve been waiting for

Published Sep 17, 2026, 7:00 AM EDT Richard is the PC Hardware Lead at XDA and has been covering the technology industry for almost two decades. He's been building PCs since young, and when not creating content, you can often find him inside a chassis somewhere. Have you ever felt nostalgic enough to fire up an old game, or perhaps you're interested in seeing what gaming used to look like back in the day? Either way, if you're using a 4K or even a 1440p screen, there's a good chance the game will look terrible. That's not a knock at retro gaming, but those titles simply weren't designed with modern graphics and screen resolutions in mind. Resolution scaling in popular emulators does help address this, but DLSS 5 could also work some magic in some of my all-time favorite games. DLSS 5 is more interesting than frame boosts It's about how games look more than anything Credit: Nvidia Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) has come a long way since Nvidia first unveiled the technology in 2018. It wasn't great to begin with, but Nvidia spent a lot of time, money, and effort on perfecting its machine learning algorithms to better handle current games with super resolution, frame generation, and later ray reconstruction. DLSS started primarily as a way to reconstruct a higher-resolution image from a lower-resolution render, all while inferring a higher-resolution image that approximates the same level of detail as if the image had been rendered at this higher resolution. Think of it like reducing the workload on the GPU and wider system by rendering the game at less than 4K, but still using AI to draw frames at higher resolutions to match what would have originally been produced. It's seriously clever stuff and has paved the way for more recent Nvidia GPUs to punch way higher than their hardware-related weights. DLSS has improved through its versions, and now we're at DLSS 5, which has some of the most advanced features we've seen from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia. The 3D-guided neural rendering targets visual appearance itself. Nvidia now uses data from rendered frames, as well as colour, motion vectors, surface albedo, lighting, and normals to add richer material and lighting responses. This should make human skin look much more realistic with far better hair texturing and effects. At least, that's all on paper. We've taken DLSS 5 for a spin with more modern games, and it does indeed make substantial changes. Hogwarts Hogwarts is one such game where DLSS 5 can transform the look and feel. But it's not about making each and every frame photorealistic, as that would almost entirely go against what the developer originally intended. It's vital artistic intent is preserved, which is why Nvidia provides a whole range of customization and adjustment for developers. There is a requirement, however, for the game to fully support DLSS 5, the first being a launch title of the feature in NBA 2K27. But it got me thinking ... what could DLSS 5 do for older games? It doesn't need to change the game Minecraft is a fine example If there's ever an example for using DLSS in games that aren't at the cutting edge of graphical fidelity, it would be Minecraft. This is a rather basic block-building game, originally released in Java and has been developed over the decades. The one thing that hasn't really altered is the visuals. The base game still includes content unchanged from the original version. But you can implement ray tracing in Minecraft, which gives it incredibly accurate lighting. Sure, a texture pack can provide high-resolution textures across the board, but you don't need to use one (other than a vanilla-lite solution that simply adds ray tracing support), and that's what's so wild with Minecraftand ray tracing. It's a testament that graphical aging isn't always how many polygons can be crammed into a single rendered image. Original compositions, architecture, textures, and (most importantly) color palettes all contribute to a game looking good. Simply having neural rendering improve the interaction between artwork and lighting can enhance the scene without fundamentally changing it beyond recognition. The same NPCs, buildings, environment, and effects can all be present, but with better shading, interactions with light, reflections, and stronger contract shadows. I've had moments where I've thought, "What would this look like with some DLSS 5 and ray tracing?" This is precisely what I'd be after. Nvidia has already provided some tools to help with this dream, and it comes in the form of RTX Remix. Modders can take RTX Remix and replace assets and implement path tracing. It's remastering the game without actually fundamentally changing the underlying engine. That's way too smart for me to wrap my head around and achieve on my own, but I did wonder how cool it would be to enjoy a remastered version of one of my favorite classics without having to wait for the developer or publisher to release one. Some games I'd love to have remastered With some much-needed Nvidia love Source: Sony Computer Entertainment The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is a masterpiece. It was the second game I purchased on my Xbox console after Halo (which came with the big slab of black plastic). After months of shooting the Flood and Covenant, I finally took myself out of the UNSC and tried my luck at saving some citizens in The Elder Scrolls. Being a teenager at the time, it was the perfect way to lose countless hours in a mysterious world that seemed seemingly endless with things to see, do, and (most importantly) blast with an overpowered DIY spell. Exploring the isles once more puts it into perspective just far ahead Morrowind was at the time, but it could most certainly do with some love. It doesn't need much. Just some better lighting and water effects would go a long way. There is a colossal community-developed project called Skywind, which aims to have the entire game run within the Skyrim engine. It won't make it revolutionary, as Skyrim is showing its age at this point, but it's a step in the right direction. There are countless other classics I'd love to try out with some DLSS 5 to see what happens. The Dark Cloud series. MediEvil, Summoner, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and many more. That’s ultimately what excites me most about DLSS 5. I don’t necessarily want these games rebuilt from the ground up, with entirely new art styles, redesigned characters, or dramatically altered environments. I want to return to the same worlds I remember, only with lighting, shadows, materials, and effects that better match the version preserved in my head.