The creator of NaturalVision, the renowned GTA 5 visual overhaul mod series, reckons the crime sim's Enhanced iteration on PC marks an "amazing opportunity" to further blur the lines between video games and realism.
With NaturalVision Enhanced set to land today, May 15, Razed and his team are pushing GTA 5 further than they've ever been able to—and the results are absolutely stunning.
Despite a flurry of positive reviews more recently, at the time of writing GTA 5 Enhanced boasts Mixed views on Steam overall, however NaturalVision Enhanced almost single-handedly proves there's still life in the old dog yet.
"Oh yeah, even I'm a bit surprised by what we've been able to accomplish," Razed tells me. "I'm lucky to work alongside some incredibly talented people who've come up with things like custom shaders (such as volumetric clouds) and a range of other techniques that have helped shape NaturalVision over the years.
"And now, thanks to Rockstar Games and the release of GTA 5 Enhanced on PC, we have an amazing opportunity to take things even further. It's a really exciting time for us."
There are, of course, scores of visual overhaul projects that sit among the best GTA 5 mods, some of which are still supported today, 10 years since the game first arrived on PC. But there are none that have been as consistently impressive as NaturalVision.
With NaturalVision Enhanced, Razed and his team are bringing everything they've learned forward while capitalising on the base-level additions GTA Enhanced has brought with it.
Razed adds: "NaturalVision Enhanced taps into the new ray tracing tech within GTA 5 Enhanced to bring the world to life with a different sense of realism. Players can expect to see improved lighting, shadows and colors across San Andreas, along with some of the high-quality textures and props from NaturalVision Evolved ported over.
"I'm very happy with the progress so far and think it's the most refined and immersive version of NaturalVision we've ever created. For me, it's all about creating an illusion of a living, breathing world that pulls you in. Funny enough, the very first version of NaturalVision was called 'NaturalVision Photorealistic GTAV' but it was far from being truly photorealistic at the time.
"Although with NaturalVision Enhanced and the power of ray tracing, I think it's safe to say we're closer to that vision than ever before. Huge thanks to Rockstar Games for helping make that possible."
NaturalVision Enhanced will be available to download for free when it lands today.
