The mod that keeps making Grand Theft Auto V look like Grand Theft Auto VI just got another major upgrade. NaturalVision Enhanced, the ray-tracing graphics overhaul by modder Razed, dropped a big new update on September 17, timed to GTA V's 13th anniversary.
Called the Next-Gen Graphics Update Part 2, the release is a top-to-bottom lighting and shader overhaul for the Enhanced, ray-traced version of the game that's exclusive to the PC save for this now-defunct loophole of a mod. It is the latest in a run of updates that have steadily pushed the 13-year-old game's visuals close to what a modern release looks like, sometimes past it.
What NaturalVision Enhanced's new update adds
Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
Raytraced lighting | More light bounce, raytraced sky lighting, contact shadows |
Water and underwater | More depth, natural waves, rain ripples on the ocean |
Sun and moon system | Real moon phases, moonlight rays, light through foliage |
Retroreflective signs | Road signs and lane markings that react to headlights |
Clouds and HDR | Native volumetric clouds that reflect, heat haze, HDR support |
The headline additions in the September 17 update to NaturalVision Enhanced.
The highlights are the kind of thing that separates a current showcase from a 2013 game. Upgraded ray-traced lighting with more bounce and raytraced sky lighting, reworked water with more depth and rain ripples on the ocean, a proper sun and moon system with real moon phases, retroreflective road signs and lane markings that light up under headlights at night, native volumetric clouds, heat haze and HDR support, as the list of graphical upgrades go on and on.
The modders is using GTA V Enhanced's already impressive ray-tracing hardware to close the gap with GTA 6 for free, if we might add. NaturalVision Enhanced has been the flagship of that effort since its release last May and Razed has kept it on a steady update schedule ever since. The result is a version of GTA V that, on the right PC, holds up next to games a decade newer.
The timing is hard to ignore. As GTA 6 approaches with visuals Digital Foundry called some of the most impressive ever, the community is spending the wait making the old game look as close to it as the hardware allows. It is not a replacement for GTA 6. It is the best-looking way to enjoy Los Santos and Vice City opens its doors.
The update is available now, free on Razed's official site after the usual Patreon early-access window. On a capable PC, it is the closest GTA V has ever looked to its successor, thirteen years after launch.