Playstation 5 (You Know, the Sequel to PlayStation 4)

[Positronic Brain]

it's like two PS4s taped together! In volume, at least. This thing is huge. Like, pictures don't do it justice. It's a behemoth.

It's also an interesting machine with an interesting set of decisions. I don't know why they changed the way the PS guide button works to be less intuitive, or why there's not a generic trophy option in the menu. Or why there's no way to keep a PS4 disc game from installing when you are only using the disc to unlock the PS5 versionm.

But it has some really nice details. It's ridiculously silent. The setup is a snap! And activities are nice, although I haven't seen the promised time estimates in the one game I've tried, Astro's Playroom.

Which, to be honest, is a really nice surprise! It's been so long since consoles came with a pack-in, and this is a very charming platformer full of references to PlayStation story. It's basically a Dual Sense tech demo, but it's a charming and fun one. And I have the GPU song stuck in my head.

So, how's been your PS5 experience so far?

 

[4-So]

I've heard the fan kick on maybe a handful of times during Demon's Souls and AC: Valhalla but that was after playing for hours, and the fan never stays on for long nor is it loud, which is far more than I can say for the PS4. Yes, the system runs quiet otherwise. Loading times in both of those games are not eliminated but are barely perceptible.

My favorite feature thus far is probably the DualSense. I have a tendency to turn off vibration immediately in any game I play but the haptics in this thing have been so nice, I haven't been tempted to turn them off, especially in Demon's Souls where you can feel the chug-chug of the elevators or the roar of the dragon. In addition to that, the Tempest 3D audio is actually pretty cool. I don't care to play with headphones but I started up Demon's Souls with them on, just to try out the audio, and I was fairly impressed. I don't think it was game changing but it certainly made the world feel fuller, richer. I'll have to give it a go in some other titles to really get a bead on it but it piqued my interest enough to consider seriously looking at a 7.1 surround setup.

I haven't tried any PS4 games on it yet because I suspect some of them will be getting patches for PS5 play but I'm curious about revisiting (and maybe finally finishing) Horizon Zero Dawn on this system. Also curious how Overwatch fares here; some of the loading/rendering in that game is bad even on a PS4 Pro (when compared to a One X and certainly PC.)

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Loading times in both of those games are not eliminated but are barely perceptible.

I used to have a rhythm in Asscreed games, where whenever I fast-traveled or otherwise entered a loading screen, I would whip my phone out to look at a few websites, or get up to get a drink or something in the 30-50 second loading screens. And in Valhalla, you don't even have enough time to put the controller down before you're back in the game. Which is kind of mind breaking. It's even more mind breaking when you return from eagle-vision and the game doesn't have to do any loading to do so (which was always a gigantic bummer using the eagle in previous games). This is the biggest game changer to me. And going back to play a game on Switch and having to sit through load screens again was honestly jarring.

My favorite feature thus far is probably the DualSense.

One thing I've appreciated greatly in the DualSense over the DS4 is just how good the audio sounds coming out of the controller's audio jack. On my launch-DS4s, the audio always sounded compressed and minorly garbled because of whatever compression was happening through the controller's bluetooth connection. The sound would also intermittently disconnect for half a second every couple dozen minutes. Now it sounds significantly better, and the audio connection is rock solid. The DS4's audio port and built-in mic also work as selectable audio devices when you hook it up to a PC. So I've actually been using the DualSense for both with increasing frequency, especially when my current speaker system for my PC is going on the fritz, and the DualSense is working better than those speakers ever have.

Plex app for PS5 is still garbage though. I mean, it works mostly, but it still takes a shit whenever I try to load 4K content through it.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

 

[jpfriction]

Returnal has a dumb name but it’s the first PS5 exclusive that is interesting enough to make me kind of bummed I don’t have one of these impossible to buy machines. Roguelike shooter about a gal who crash-lands on a spooky planet and stumbles across her dead body? Sign me up.

 

[Zef]

I'm finally setting up my PS5 this weekend. If I have an external HDD for my PS4, with most of my game installs on it, can I swap that same HDD back and forth between both consoles? The goal here is if I'm eventually able to travel again, I'd like to take the Slim PS4 with me and play those games, but I don't know if swapping from one console to another would corrupt any libraries, especially as things get patched. Or should I just buy a second HDD and redownload everything to play on the PS5?

 

[Positronic Brain]

You can swap, no problem. Both consoles need to be your primary, I think, though, but I'm not sure.

Saves are not stored in your HDD, though. You need to use Plus or a USB stick for those.

EDIT: Eventually consider using a SSD HD. Fast loading times are one of those things you experience once and can't live without since. Digital Foundry found out a PS4 Pro and a PS5 have similar loading times when using an average SSD with a good USB connector, so you don't need to get the most expensive SSD as long as you don't cheap yourself out with the enclosure. They're more convenient for travel, too.

 

[John]

Whatever PS4 game I'm currently playing, I move to the PS5's onboard storage for the fast load times, and then offload to my slower USB HD for storage/patching.

Zef, if games end up getting a PS4 to PS5 upgrade patch, they become a PS5 native app, and wouldn't be able to be transferred back and forth. The only one of my games that did that was Mortal Kombat 11, and it imported my save data from when I played on PS4, but new progress can't be downgraded.

 

[Zef]

Whatever PS4 game I'm currently playing, I move to the PS5's onboard storage for the fast load times, and then offload to my slower USB HD for storage/patching.

This sounds like an excellent idea for stuff like Ghost of Tsushima or my current run of FFXIV.

Zef, if games end up getting a PS4 to PS5 upgrade patch, they become a PS5 native app, and wouldn't be able to be transferred back and forth. The only one of my games that did that was Mortal Kombat 11, and it imported my save data from when I played on PS4, but new progress can't be downgraded.

Yah, an actual platform upgrade patch would definitely prevent the transfer, and it's highly likely that GoT will download a similar patch. Honestly I was only thinking of stuff like an FFXIV content patch, or PS4-native DLC, etc. Hm. Maybe I should be better off getting an external SSD, though even 1TB ones are expensive ATM. I know I haven't used half of my PS4's external 2TB drive, but I expect to still buy more PS4 games throughout the year, so I'll have to weigh speeds vs fridge space.

(But maybe not too much, since M.2 support is coming in a couple of months?)

 

[4-So]

Returnal has a dumb name but it’s the first PS5 exclusive that is interesting enough to make me kind of bummed I don’t have one of these impossible to buy machines. Roguelike shooter about a gal who crash-lands on a spooky planet and stumbles across her dead body? Sign me up.

Yup. It does have a dumb name but I started watching some YouTube videos and I was kinda hooked. Went ahead and ordered it - I only buy physical if I can help it - so it'll be here on Monday.

 

[4-So]

One word of caution on swapping the USB external storage is that you need to cleanly dismount the drive in the system menu. You can't just yank the USB cord out, which I found out the hard way, with about half of my games becoming corrupted. Not a big deal since the saves are in the cloud but to be avoided if possible. (If you ask why I just yanked the cord out, it's 2021. I just expect things to be hot swappable. EL-OH-EL, no.)

 

[Positronic Brain]

Zef, if games end up getting a PS4 to PS5 upgrade patch, they become a PS5 native app, and wouldn't be able to be transferred back and forth

Uh. I was sure that it didn't become a PS5 app but rather downloaded the PS5 app alongside the PS4 one - if you press Start (or however that button is called) you should be able to see both versions if the PS4 is still installed. At least that's how Borderlands and Yakuza 7 behaved... Maybe it's because they were full games and not patches like MK11? In any case you should be able to re-download it in your PS4 and leave it in your SSD.

 

[YangusKhan]

When I did the upgrade for Nioh 2, both versions of that game were installed on my PS5, and like Positronic Brain just said, you could toggle between them... buuuut I have no idea what means for things like DLC or save data. I suppose for Nioh 2's case, it means you'd have to run the in-game save converter on the PS4 version to go PS4 -> PS5, but afaik there's no way to go the other direction.

 

[jpfriction]

I’ve always had regular PS+ and threw a few bucks to try the top tier for the rest of the year. Not as good as gamepass in terms of getting brand new games the day they come out but there is enough on there to keep you occupied for a good while. Ghosts of Tsushima, Spider-man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Deathloop (in a week), Demon’s Souls. I’d try it for a month and see if you find yourself actually playing a thing.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

If you haven't played many PS4 games, honestly you'll be so busy with a backlog of cheap classics that Plus probably won't get used. That's basically why I don't re-up mine. Or have even bought many PS5 games either - still catching up on my PS4 backlog.

 

[jpfriction]

That said, the cheapest ps plus gives a selection of decent PS4 games that are always available, not just the monthly ones you have to claim.

 

[lincolnic]

That said, the cheapest ps plus gives a selection of decent PS4 games that are always available, not just the monthly ones you have to claim.

Yeah, don't overlook this. If you want to play, I dunno, Bloodborne, God of War, and The Last Guardian, they're all available there.

 

[Positronic Brain]

Nintendo Direct and State of Play on the same day*?

Kratos coming to Smash and Mario in Playstation All-Stars, confirmed!

* offer valid only in Greenwich time and eastward

 

[Aurelia]

Excited for this State of Play simply because I have no idea what to expect.

Kinda hoping maybe for a Bloodborne remaster but that's probably wishing for too much lol

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Nintendo Direct and State of Play on the same day*?

TGS is in the air…

 

[fanboymaster]

Is is extremely weird to have 10 games to show and 2 of them center around the Bakumatsu period. I'm not complaining because hey, Like a Dragon Ishin getting its due and Rise of the Ronin could be neat but a strange serendipity.

 

[Becksworth]

So yeah, after much milling about on whether I even needed a PS5, I ended up getting one this weekend. What pushed me over was a combination of PS Plus being on sale this weekend and my having mostly dropped off of PS4 after the Switch released. Now I got a year to play God of War (2018), Ghost of Tsushima, Returnal, and both Spidermans, after which I got God of War: Ragnarok packed in and the new Ratchet & Clank I bought on sale to play, so I actually got quite a bit to play through.

 

[MCBanjoMike]

Have fun! I've been using my PS5 a lot more lately, it's a pretty nice console. I had a lot of fun with both R&C and Returnal, and God of War packs some serious spectacle.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

So yeah, after much milling about on whether I even needed a PS5, I ended up getting one this weekend. What pushed me over was a combination of PS Plus being on sale this weekend and my having mostly dropped off of PS4 after the Switch released. Now I got a year to play God of War (2018), Ghost of Tsushima, Returnal, and both Spidermans, after which I got God of War: Ragnarok packed in and the new Ratchet & Clank I bought on sale to play, so I actually got quite a bit to play through.

Don't forget FF7R! It looks crazy good on the PS5, and the (lack of) load times are nuts.

PS5 is reportedly getting discord integration in March, so that'll be nice.

 

[Becksworth]

I played it on my Steamdeck already. I'm mainly focused on Sony exclusives, which I'm severely behind on. That said FF7R2 and FF16 sounds like they'll be exclusive for a while before they end up on anything else.

 

[4-So]

Enjoy! I play my PS5 the most of any of my consoles.

Don't sleep on that Ratchet & Clank game, either. Best game on the system, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Becksworth]

Oh yeah, I need to play Dreams too. Do we have a Dream thread already?

Looks like it goes for $20 now with a free trial beforehand, which makes me think they are trying to squeeze some last sales on it before it goes end of life in the next year or two, so it's probably best to just try out what everyone else made over working on anything myself.

 

[lincolnic]

Don't sleep on that Ratchet & Clank game, either. Best game on the system, as far as I'm concerned.

I just played and beat this the other day! I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best game on the system, but I had a solid fun time with it.

 

[Aurelia]

my ps5 is basically a super ps4 pro atm but ff7r2 and ff16 on the horizon mean that i'll at least be using it for that. fwiw, its totally fine as a ps4 machine, as there's a lot of great games in that library that i've yet to even play. id like to pick up ratchet and clank ps5 at some point, but i'd rather wait until its cheaper.

 

[Kirin]

So I haven’t checked around in a while, can you just, like, buy one of these things yet without stalking inventories or whatever?