While the PS4 was focused on trying to bring Sony’s home console offering more in line with current hardware, the PlayStation 5 is a bolder leap towards the future of gaming. Power might be a key component of PC gaming, and Sony’s offering is no slouch, but the PS5 prioritizes a unique feature set to highlight why console gaming is still worth investing in.
Immersion is a key buzzword when it comes to the PS5, both in how its controller feels more in-tune with the onscreen action and the proprietary SSD that keeps the focus on the moment-to-moment action. Game Rant has spent the last week with the PS5 to see just what the next-gen console has to offer gamers, and while there are no doubt some limitations, the console presents plenty of reasons to be excited.
It’s no secret that the PS5 is one of the biggest gaming consoles ever. Once gamers dig through the environmentally friendly packaging, they will discover the bulk of the box is dedicated to Sony’s latest console and may have some concerns about finding enough space for it. The PlayStation 5 is large regardless of if it’s standing upright or lying flat.
The design is likely to be a point of contention for some time, with some praising Sony for going bold with its latest console while others were expecting something sleeker and black. Sony has not yet announced if it plans to sell replacement plates for the console that come in different colors, but secondary parties like the now-defunct PlateStation have shown there is interest. It really comes down to personal preference where the console’s profile is concerned, but the actual design of the PS5 seems to be in service of keeping the console as quiet and cool as possible.
Anyone that own a PS4 Pro knows how loud the fans inside the console can get, to the point they can drown out in-game audio. The PS5, on the other hand, remains practically silent regardless of game or playtime. There is still warm air blowing out of the vents (mostly on the back, less so on the top) that line the central console, but it never got “hot.” If keeping the more powerful hardware inside the PlayStation 5 cool was the goal of the design then Sony seems to have succeeded. And with side plates that can likely be customized in the future, the PS5 should eventually be able to give that all-black look.
Whether or not fans will give Sony style points for trying something new with the PS5 design will vary from person to person, but it’s hard to deny that the choices made with the hardware aren’t in service of improving over the next generation. Great thermals and noise normalization are key factors when it comes to PC gaming, and now console gaming is starting to prioritize those qualities as well.
Although some of the design elements might seem out there, the PS5’s DualSense controller feels like a natural progression from the DualShock 4. The controller is a little bulkier in the hands, but the fit is still familiar and comfortable. Gamers that have been in the PlayStation ecosystem for the last decade or more should have no problem picking up the DualSense and feeling right at home. The one key improvement as far as the nuts and bolts of the DualSense is that the face buttons feel a bit squishier and easier to press. Everything else, from the layout to the button choices (options, share, etc.) are more or less the same, with some slight tweaks to sizing or design. It’s nothing that will trip anyone up and it’s all easily accessible and well placed.
Of course, the main innovations on the DualSense are the adaptive triggers and the haptic feedback. Both have the potential to be real game-changers when it comes to gameplay design and immersion. They could also be complete gimmicks that are only truly utilized by first-party developers, but Sony makes a strong case for how these features can benefit the experience.
Some might think that the adaptive triggers simply mean that there is more tension on a pull of R2 or L2, but it’s not really that. The utility varies from moment to moment, but the triggers can essentially mimic actions or surfaces in some very clever ways. In Astro’s Playroom, for example, the triggers can put a high tension point in the middle to simulate grabbing and then pulling on a ledge. The pull is easy at first, then there is almost like a “click” as if the fingers are wrapping themselves around a surface, and then the tension releases the rest of the way through. Another subtler example is the way Spider-Man: Miles Morales gives a little extra tension to web-swinging to simulate that initial grapple before momentum swings the character forward.
It is worth mentioning that although the adaptive triggers offer cool modifiers to gameplay, they eventually become a part of the experience. It never felt like they were hindering the gameplay or making it “harder;” the triggers add to the gameplay in a way that feels organic. Every game will approach it differently, though, and some might favor it more than others. For shooters, we could see this becoming a great way to differentiate between weapon types.
The Haptic Feedback in the DualSense is not as instantly noticeable as a game-changing feature, but it does add so much to the experience of playing games. Where vibrations in most games feel like a binary, on/off response, the Haptic Feedback tries to mimic the on-screen interaction. If the player steps into rushing water, for example, there’s a choppy buzz that doesn’t just feel like the controller is shaking. Or if Spider-Man is typing on a computer, there are deliberate jolts that simulate each key press. Usually, when playing games it’s common to put the controller down or let it rest during a cutscene or cinematic, but the Haptic Feedback commands holding the controller firmly from start to finish. The vibration of the controller can even become as much a part of the storytelling and immersion as the audio and the video, in some cases.
Like the Adaptive Triggers, the use of Haptic Feedback will vary from developer to developer, but it’s hard not to see the myriad of ways that this technology can be used. Even something as simple as differentiating what type of terrain the character is walking on. Or gamers can turn it off if they so choose.
It might seem odd to highlight the controller as one of the biggest selling points of a new console, but the DualSense does so much that it’s hard not to be excited by the potential. Adaptive Triggers can add slight variance to an otherwise repetitive action, and the Haptic Feedback deepens the immersion in subtle yet noticeable ways. But even if you choose to completely ignore those additions, the DualSense is the best feeling and most responsive controller Sony has made thus far.
Much like the console’s design will take some getting used to, the PS5 UI has some changes that might trip up users at first. The behavior of the PS Button or putting the console into Rest Mode is different, but not in a bad way necessarily. Everyone has a part of the UI that they prioritize and Sony tried to make all aspects more easily accessible, and thanks to the SSD, the whole user experience is faster, so that’s already a major improvement over the PS4 era. But Sony has also tried to offer new ways to navigate menus that keep the focus on gaming.
A simple press of the PS button will bring up a quick menu that’s slightly customizable with options for volume control, party management, and more. But there is also a new feature called the Switcher that allows users to quickly swap games without having to navigate back to the main dashboard and cycle through their tiles. Granted, the Switcher only holds the last two games that the user accessed, but for those who like to jump back and forth between games, it’s a very handy feature.
Arguably the biggest UI change is the Game Hub, which cultivates a wealth of information about any game in a player’s library. There is Trophy tracking to see one’s progress on specific tasks and even some hints for trophy hunters. It’s all completely optional but there is an easily accessible wealth of knowledge when it comes to individual games.
Much of the changes that Sony has made to the UI are in service of making the most important things more accessible. It’s much easier to move around the UI – due in large part to the faster CPU and SSD – and key features are more readily accessible. Most importantly, everything just feels snappier than it did last generation, which is a critical improvement. The experience still feels familiar, mind you; it just has a better layout and makes the key features easier to get to.
At time of writing, Sony only had Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales available for review, so evaluations for Demon’s Souls and Sackboy: A Big Adventure will have to wait for their individual reviews. Astro’s Playroom ships with the PS5 console and seems built mostly as a showpiece for the DualSense controller and the power of the hardware. The visuals are vibrant in full 4K60 and the game seamlessly jumps from one level to the next, but truly, Astro’s Playroom really serves to highlight what the DualSense controller will be able to offer a variety of games and a variety of gameplay scenarios.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a little more traditional in its approach, which is to highlight the power of the PS5. As we note in our review of the game on PS5, this is the best looking game that Sony has released thus far. More than that, though, the game’s use of Ray Tracing is stunning, the load times are virtually non-existent, and the pacing of the action is consistently sharp. Whether the game is prioritizing the visuals or the frame rate, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a great showpiece for what the PS5 can offer games.
Even games not designed specifically for the PS5 benefit greatly from the SSD and the better hardware. Games load extremely fast (usually in less than 30 seconds from startup) and the performance is much more consistent. Visuals are sharper and hit 4K or come close to it. And the experience just feels cleaner, where even something as simple as jumping into a menu to spend a skill point is as snappy as it should be.
So much of the discussion around the PS5 has been focused on the SSD and games that take advantage of it see a huge benefit. In an open world game like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, there is no longer the feeling that concessions have been made to fit the broader approach. Combat still looks incredible up close, cutscenes are extremely detailed, and the world has a lot of life to it. The camera can pull in tight and the game looks flawless, or it can pull very wide and New York at Christmastime is bursting with personality. No question, the better GPU and CPU are part of that, but the SSD helps blend it all together. Also, there is something immensely exciting about hitting a fast travel point, having the screen fade to black for just a second, and then be web-swinging immediately.
Almost any PS4 game that we tested, regardless of if it was third party or first party, ran better on the PS5. Games that have been specifically optimized for the next-gen, like God of War and Ghost of Tsushima, kept a consistent 60PFS in their performance mode or hit a more detailed 4K on the graphics mode. But even games that hadn’t been optimized at all were still able to load faster and look better.
Because there are some marquee titles yet to be available for PS5, the full verdict is out on how individual games take advantage of the hardware. Reviewing games has its own embargoes and stipulations, so it’s worth waiting to see how individual titles perform on the PS5 hardware. But even so, it seems a given that there will be a benefit in both the graphics and the frame rate, and that’s without taking into consideration the DualSense.
At a time when a lot of gaming is focused on preserving the status quo, it’s worth highlighting the aspects of the PS5 that do something truly new. Not every change is going to be appreciated by all, but where it matters most the PS5 delivers. Its graphical capabilities are more than powerful enough to craft even immersive worlds that are bursting with detail on a variety of scales. The SSD is truly impressive and will be a game-changer when it comes to eliminating the loading screen. And surprisingly, the DualSense controller, for as much as it deviates from the DualShock, has a lot to offer with its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.
The PS5 generation is only about to begin, but the future is looking very bright for the platform. Whether it’s immersion, ease of use, or just great-looking/running games, Sony looks poised to take gaming to the next level.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 releases November 12, 2020 for $399 (All Digital) or $499 (Disc Drive). Game Rant was provided a review unit for this coverage.
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