The first game to use NVIDIA's controversial DLSS 5 AI upscaling, NBA 2K27, thankfully doesn't go overboard with the technology. After spending a few hours with NBA 2K27's DLSS 5 implementation, I can confirm that it's very subtle. In fact, you could argue it's almost too subtle for most gamers, especially when you account for the framerate drop and increased power demands.

In NBA 2K27, DLSS 5 adds a few more details to player and crowd models. Skin has more texture, and shadows look slightly more realistic. While testing with an RTX 5090 GPU at 4K, DLSS 5 cut my frame rate from 240fps to 150fps. The tech looks best when the camera is close to players; in wider shots, it doesn't add major benefit.

DLSS 5 is power hungry. Without it, my RTX 5090 drew around 400 watts; with it, that jumped to 525 watts. One Hard OCP forum member reported their RTX 5090 drew over 600W, leading to a melted power cable. This risk seems too high for minor visual gains.

DLSS 5 remains far from essential. It's even less noticeable than ray tracing. NVIDIA has announced DLSS 5 will eventually support last-generation RTX 4000 GPUs. Outside of NBA 2K27, there aren't other upcoming games with official support.