Trying out the DLSS 5 mod in games that the tech was certainly not meant for has become a nice distraction for me. I recently tested out a bunch of games, from old PS2 classics like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to the original MS-DOS DOOM, using DLSS 5. And despite the mixed results I got, it was still really impressive to see how Nvidia’s neural rendering tech affects these older titles and their lighting engine.
However, despite all that time with the DLSS Swapper mod, nothing could’ve prepared me for the results I would get upon using it in Roblox.
Setting up DLSS 5 in Roblox is easy
But with quite a few limitations
For most of my DLSS 5 experiments, I used the combination of DLSS Swapper and OptiScaler. Even for testing DLSS 5 in PlayStation-exclusive games like Bloodborne and Demon’s Souls, I used OptiScaler to inject DLSS 5 binaries into the game’s repository. However, this method doesn’t work in Roblox. That being said, I did find a custom ReShade program that works perfectly with Roblox and lets you inject DLSS 5, well, a few standard presets of it.
It’s essentially a ReShade program that injects additional post-processing effects into games, including online-only titles like Roblox, Valorant, and even Marvel Rivals.
To install Unishade:
- Head to Unishade by OMouta and download the program.
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Once downloaded, you will get an executable file, which installs the program on your PC.
- If you’re using Windows Defender (Windows Security) as your primary antivirus program, it can flag Unishade as a Trojan, preventing you from installing it. However, you can install the app by temporarily disabling Real-time protection.
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During installation, the installer will give you the options for multiple add-ons. For DLSS 5, you want to select the DLSS5 add-on – RenoDX with clshostfuse and Nvidia.
- Make sure that the RobloxShadeHost presets are also selected as an add-on. This enables the DLSS 5 shaders in-game.
And that’s all you need to do to install Unishade on your PC. Once Unishade is installed, launch Roblox and then go back to your desktop. Next, within Unishade, select Add game and select Roblox. Now, go back into the game and hit Ctrl + Home to pull up the Unishade menu and click on the RenoDX DLSS tab.
Under the DLSS tab, click on DLSS-NR. You can also choose between three different DLSS models. However, in my testing, I didn’t find any major differences between the models, aside from some contrast and color-grading changes.
DLSS 5 completely breaks the rudimentary lighting in Roblox
Although some instances can look quite impressive
Similar to the results I got from adding DLSS 5 to Bloodborne and DOOM, Roblox’s visuals did get a noticeable transformation with the neural rendering tech. However, it’s certainly clear that Roblox, or rather, its “art style,” doesn’t lend itself well to DLSS 5. Apart from environment lighting completely breaking apart in certain mini-games, DLSS 5 adds a very noticeable shimmer to all textures and assets. It looks incredibly jarring, with ghosting artifacts during movement.
There are some shader presets that you can apply over the DLSS 5 render. However, that’s just a band-aid fix, which only works in certain mini-games. I also found that DLSS 5 has a very hard time resolving texture edges, leaving a flickering afterimage.
That said, in certain cases, such as Project Flight or any of the racing mini-games, DLSS 5 can elevate the lighting to near photorealism. While I would temper your expectations, as even with ReShade applied, Roblox isn’t suddenly going to look anything close to the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator or Gran Turismo 7.
However, it can look good in these very specific scenarios, more so in still shots.
An early glimpse at what Roblox Reality could look like
Earlier this year, Roblox developers revealed Roblox Reality, which is essentially a cloud-based tool that players can access within Roblox to “enhance” the visuals. It’s a very ambitious tech that, according to the developers, aims to blend “the capabilities of the Roblox Cloud and Game Engine, with the photorealism of Video World Models.” In layman’s terms, it’s essentially a ReShade tool that players can access without having to, well, install ReShade.
However, instead of using localized textures and lighting data, this tool is completely cloud-based, where assets will be delivered in-game via a content delivery network (CDN).
From the few stills and development clips that Roblox has released, Roblox Reality looks very much like the results I got from injecting DLSS 5 into the game. It’s effectively an attempt to bring photorealism to a game that, frankly, doesn’t lend itself very well to that graphical presentation/art style.
That said, from a technology POV, it’s very intriguing, especially since Roblox has not mentioned the use of “AI” in any of the press releases related to Roblox Reality.