By Dr Shailin Henry
Next generation consoles are officially here and here are my thoughts in the first week of owning the Playstation 5.
Sony has always appealed to the masses here in South Africa. However, with the release title of Demon’s Souls it has won over my heart. I am a huge fan of the Souls type games, and this was my reason for buying the console.
Games
Straight off the bat, we all know Sony dominates the world of exclusive titles. Demon’s Souls has always been my favourite Sony Exclusive. There are many more exclusive games for the PS5 on launch for this console as opposed to the Xbox Series X. There is also the special feeling of playing a game that others cannot, if they do not own the console.
User Interface
The user interface is beautiful and slick. It has had a major revamp that hits all the right notes. It is minimalistic, smooth and subtle in nature. Gone is the “friends” tab that always felt intrusive and pressurizing. One can start the console and get an “old school” feel of just seeing what you want to play, without seeing what everyone on your friends list is doing. They done better than Microsoft, who unfortunately have not updated much on their user interface.
Performance
Loading screens are now a thing of the past with the new lightning fast SSD. Demon’s Souls loads in about 6 seconds. I never took note of how much game time is lost through loading screens. Demon’s Souls runs at a locked 60 FPS. In my time with the console I have only experienced one system crash.
The PS4 Pro enhanced games run beautifully with no frame rate drops or screen tearing noticed. The only negative is the noisy disc drive.
Sound is good. However, the new “3D sound” is merely an added gimmick. A good headset will suffice, as opposed to the official PS5 headset which has been marketed with 3D sound.
Performance between both the Sony and Xbox Series X is relatively on Par at time of writing, due to the fact that no games are “pushing” the consoles hardware as yet. We should be able to see differences in about a year or two.
Controller
The controller is comfortable, however, I do feel the adaptive triggers can be a problem with immersion in the long term. Hopefully the games have an option for adaptive trigger function to be on or off. I have always preferred the Xbox analogue placements which are more ergonomic, compared to the PS analogues that feel as if you are giving a back massage. The Controller has a whopping 15 hour battery life, as well as super-fast USB C charging port.
Accessories
The PS5 accessories are all just icing on the cake, none are necessary to enjoy the console. I bought the PS Camera to include my own video in my streams.
Streaming support
The Playstation 5 is the console for the amateur streamer. It seamlessly links to Youtube gaming or Twitch. I feel Youtube gaming is a better platform, and more intuitive. Simply hit the broadcast button and the video plays live on Youtube. Once the stream is done, it automatically saves to a Youtube account and awaits editing.
Game recordings also include your parties chat as well as your own. Capturing great moments with friends, something I wish Microsoft always included in their console.
Should you purchase a Playstation 5?
Yes.
The Playstation 5 makes me feel that I am in the Next generation of gaming. Something the Xbox Series X sadly did not. Although the Xbox is more powerful on paper. I was blown away by the care taken in updating the User interface. It is still too early to say which console is superior as mentioned above. But for now, Sony has run off with my heart.
Enjoy Some PS5 Gameplay here.
IOL TECH