A much-hyped feature for Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 was the ability to flip between a Fidelity mode and Performance mode. As expected with their names, the Fidelity mode is focused on the highest quality graphics and visuals the game can deliver, while Performance mode aims for a stable 60 frames-per-second. Both have their benefits, but the question remains — which is better?
Both modes have minor drawbacks that are understandable sacrifices in order to obtain their selling point. The easy way out would be to state that your preferred mode will be your personal preference, but an overview of the modes is ultimately the best way to figure out everything you’ll need to know.
Updated by Wyatt Grondin on November 2nd, 2023: Reference has been made to a follow-up on more players noticing graphical hiccups, and whether it can be confirmed this is due to which mode you are playing.
Where To Find The Visual Settings
Above, you’ll see the in-game descriptions of both modes, and you can find these for yourself in the Visuals section of the Options and Accessibility menu. They will be at the top and can be selected as soon as you first open up the game. For later reference, if and when you play around with changing the mode you want to play in, switching between Fidelity and Performance mode while playing will require you to load back to a previous checkpoint.
It’s recommended you try both modes out for yourself and jump back-and-forth, as both modes have a different feeling to them that can be hard to describe even with the clear benefits that can be explained.
Fidelity Mode Advantages & Disadvantages
Simply put, Fidelity Mode is nothing short of gorgeous in every possible angle. There are a lot of little details worked into the game that can only be noticed in Fidelity mode, and a great place to discover this for yourself is as soon as the opening of the game. Sandman’s boss fight will be stunning in Fidelity Mode as the particles of sand sticking to both Spider-Men will be rendered, and the entire city will look perfectly dusty as the fight goes on.
Performance Mode does still look pretty, but Fidelity mode has such a higher emphasis on the graphical detail that so much extra detail is gained and is noticeable even in a few seconds of playtime. As the description will also state, traffic and civilian density is also increased in Fidelity Mode, making New York feel even more alive.
As for downsides; the 30 frames-per-second are not unplayable by any means, but movement and even the camera will feel a tad sluggish compared to what you’ll have in Performance Mode. Spider-Man will also react a bit slower during animations, such as while Gliding or performing Air Tricks. Again, a stable 30 FPS is very playable, but it’s a downgrade you will notice when you switch between the two.
Performance Mode Advantages & Disadvantage
Performance Mode is hard to explain through images; while keen eyes will already be able to note the downgrade in visuals, only in playing it for yourself will you feel how buttery smooth both Peter and Miles play in Performance Mode.
There are moves you can so effortlessly pull off in Performance Mode that frankly don’t feel possible in Fidelity Mode. Your Web Wings will glide you at high speed, your Air Tricks will be far more responsive, and switching between Peter and Miles will feel completely seamless.
In terms of downgrades, it’s not just the graphics you may need to watch out for. Weirdly, in terms of first-hand experience, all the strange graphical hiccups from this specific playthrough only happened in Performance Mode. Miles Morales was stuck through the bars of a rooftop edge, clothes would freak out, and the worst offender was an enemy stuck inside a wall. It should also be noted that these errors have not been recorded by other members of the team, but in following weeks of playing players online have noticed a few glitches for themselves that again were not game-breaking aside from minor crashes.
While it’s hard to confirm Performance Mode is the culprit, first-hand experience had them happen far more often in Performance Mode. Ultimately these are all glitches Insomniac has a history of patching out, and eventually, this should not be a problem for either mode, but it’s worth mentioning as a downside currently.
Is Fidelity Or Performance Mode Better?
As much as the question sounds subjective, there may be an answer that pleases most players. It needs to be kept in mind that Spider-Man 2 is exclusive to the PlayStation 5, meaning that, unlike PC gaming, all copies will be running off the same hardware specs. Should the game be ported to PC, as the last ones did, this question will likely have different answers, but in short, all players will have the same graphics and frame rate when playing in the respective modes.
This means that gamers who deeply care about the prettiest graphics on the market will probably be the happiest playing on Fidelity Mode, and yet even they should consider Performance Mode instead. Performance Mode has a smoother feeling that is consistent across every action you’ll perform as well as even giving smoother motion with the camera. As gorgeous as the game looks in Fidelity Mode, it just plain plays better in Performance Mode, which should likely be your default way of playing Spider-Man 2.