The unofficial PC port of Super Smash Bros. Melee, Melee Unlocked, has been updated to version 0.6.61, adding experimental support for NVIDIA DLSS 5 neural rendering. Since its release this month, DLSS 5 neural rendering has been used in various types of games with mixed results; this experiment brings it to this GameCube title.
Neural rendering typically works better in photorealistic games, and users have previously applied it to older titles like Dark Souls III. This time, Melee Unlocked offers in-game options to adjust rendering intensity, surface details, lighting, and color tone.
Developer Hero88go released a demo video. The footage shows that with DLSS 5 enabled, Super Smash Bros. Melee appears darker with reduced vibrancy and some visible noise; the character models and stages demonstrate how this technology performs in non-photorealistic games.
Melee Unlocked is a free native Windows port project that statically recompiles the original PowerPC code into C++ and uses a native D3D12 renderer. In addition to the new experimental features, it supports unlocked frame rates: game logic still runs at the original 60Hz, with intermediate frames generated by the game's own animation and physics data.
The project also provides Slippi-compatible rollback netplay, as well as support for DLSS, DLAA, Frame Generation, Reflex, HD texture packs, and various controllers. Melee Unlocked is available on GitHub but does not include game files; players need to provide their own NTSC 1.02 ISO of Super Smash Bros. Melee to run it.