DuckStation vs PCSX-Redux

DuckStation is a free emulator for Sony PlayStation games, available for Android, Linux, macOS and Windows. Its hardware renderer supports D3D11, D3D12, OpenGL, Vulkan and Metal, with upscaling, texture filtering and 24-bit color among the graphics options. Enhancements include PGXP geometry precision, texture replacement, adaptive downsampling and post-processing shader chains. Play options include save states, rewind, runahead, CPU overclocking and multi-disc support, along with memory-card editing and save importing. DuckStation supports RetroAchievements and Discord Rich Presence. It accepts digital and analog controllers, rumble, and up to eight devices through multitap; GunCon and Justifier lightguns can be simulated with a mouse. Supported formats include bin/cue, MAME CHD, single-track ECM, MDS/MDF, CCD and unencrypted PBP. A PS1 or PS2 BIOS image is required but not supplied, and games are not provided. The maker says users should dump a BIOS from their own console. Desktop requirements include Windows 10/11 and macOS 13.3 or newer.

PCSX-Redux is a free collection of tools, research, hardware design, and libraries for PlayStation 1 development and reverse engineering, centered on a fork of the PCSX emulator. The project aims to replace the plugin system with a monolithic codebase using OpenGL3+ and ImGui. Debugging features include VRAM, MIPS, and SPU debuggers, save states, and a GDB server for controlling program execution from a compatible IDE. Users can also work with a Lua console and editor or connect to Ghidra 10.3 or newer for MIPS debugging and reverse engineering. Graphics options include software and OpenGL GPUs, filtering, true-colour rendering, MSAA, and wireframe or vertex polygon views. It supports Xbox controllers, digital and analog controller emulation, and PlayStation Mouse emulation. OpenBIOS provides a MIPS R3000A BIOS implementation that can boot games without a retail BIOS, although the listed system requirement says a BIOS is required. Downloads are listed for Windows Intel 64-bit, Linux Intel 64-bit AppImage, and macOS Arm. The project describes the codebase as usable but still needing cleanup before a first stable release, with experimental components.