Digital Foundry's Thomas Morgan put Bloodborne through its paces using the ShadPS4 emulator, analyzing its performance and the impact of community-created enhancements.
Morgan's tests utilized ShadPS4 build 0.5.1 by diegolix29, a build based on raphaelthegreat's custom branch. After experimenting with various builds, this version yielded optimal results on his system (AMD Ryzen 7 5700X CPU and GeForce RTX 4080 GPU).
He strongly suggests installing the Vertex Explosion Fix mod to mitigate visual glitches manifesting as distorted or misplaced polygons. While this mod disables pre-game character face customization, it effectively eliminates these graphical bugs. No other mods are necessary; the emulator incorporates a dedicated menu for managing performance enhancements, including 60fps support, resolutions up to 4K, and chromatic aberration toggling.
While occasional stutters were present, Bloodborne maintained a largely consistent 60fps framerate. Experiments with 1440p and 1800p resolutions resulted in improved visuals but compromised performance and increased instability, leading Morgan to recommend 1080p (native PS4 resolution) or 1152p for the best balance.
Morgan concluded that ShadPS4's ability to run Bloodborne is a significant accomplishment. While minor technical hurdles remain, the emulator delivers a largely successful emulation experience.