We’re getting closer to the beginning of the 9th generation of console hardware and we now have reviews for both machines. Our Xbox Series X review from a few days ago had some harsh words to say about Microsoft’s strategy and its failure to address Xbox One’s biggest failure, its lack of quality exclusives. While we were impressed by some of MS’s package, there was much lacking in many areas. PlayStation 5 shows Xbox that Sony’s strategy when it comes to selling consoles might be old-fashioned but it certainly works.
PS5 meets the new console expectations of exclusive games that show off the hardware as well as offering a feeling of something fresh to play with. This might sound modest but it’s something that Microsoft failed to do with their latest console release. That commitment to giving gamers what they genuinely want is what sets up PlayStation 5 for another generation.
But there is more to it than that – the attention to detail that has gone into PS5 is inspiring. From the hardware itself to its UI to the little surprises, you can tell Sony have done this before.
Eye-Catching Size
Criticism of the PlayStation 5’s size has been echoing through the internet for months now. You all know it’s large. The largest console ever, in fact. At 15 inches tall in its vertical orientation, it towers over Xbox Series X. However, it’s not as awkward as you might think. Being about four inches wide when standing means it can slide in beside your television. That same dimension also makes it fit neatly into spaces left by your retired Blu-ray or DVD players.
We wrote an entire article about this and I suggest you have a little read. But basically I feel the footprint of the device is more important than volume and PS5 is a snug replacement of devices already taking up similar space. The previous monster consoles from Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox One, could only sit horizontally. OG Xbox swelled towards its green logo on top and was a tight fit in most TV units.
Divisive Look
PlayStation 5 has a bold visual design incorporating macro and micro detailing, texture and colour contrasts and abstract lines. As you may expect from something so bold, it will divide opinion. I sincerely felt that Xbox Series X was the more handsome device before I had both in my living room. To me, PS5 looked almost too disjointed, like the clash was too great.
Once the console was alive and in its natural habitat, those apprehensions faded away. Next to a moderately sized TV (43″) it doesn’t look THAT big. At the distance you will be observing your console, those abstract lines make sense. The contrast of textures softens and the two-tone colourway pops. The overarching theme that Sony’s designers based the macro detailing on carries the look.
When the device is on, the LED bars ablaze expose the fine PlayStation icons embossed on the inside of the white fins to those leaning in for a better view. The attention to detail starts on the outside on PS5 and works its way in.
Stand Barely Delivers
The provision of a two-way stand is interesting. It allowed the designers to eschew the conventional right angles used on consoles designed to stand up or lay flat. The stand allows for far greater stability than could be provided if it was intended to be free-standing.
The stand works. It’s easy to install and, thanks to a provided screw, fairly secure in standing mode. However, it’s of surprisingly poor quality. Moving the console between horizontal and vertical just a few times to demonstrate it in photos or to see which I prefer in my living room has broken some of the tabs holding it together. My stand is effectively broken now and held together by that aforementioned screw.
UI Improves in Many Ways…
PS5 comes with a brand-new UI that chucks most of what you have learned over the past generation in favour of a multi-tiered Home screen. There are two tabs up top separating the consoles gaming and media features. In the other top corner are a search bar, settings and user options.
The main bar is customisable and is the one truly familiar interface system. Resembling PS4’s horizontal layout, users get custom or even live wallpapers when highlighting games. On this main row resides our library also.
Below this is a small line of what are effectively advertisements but the kinks haven’t been worked out yet and most of what is suggested for me, I already own. Below this, game cards offer activities, mostly in the form of locked trophies and below this again are trending broadcasts. The bottom line appropriately concerns the bottom line; offering sales of DLC and microtransactions.
Hitting the PS button on the Dual-Sense at any time will bring up a very handy utilities menu. It features social functions, lets you check on your downloads, notifications and a handy ‘Switcher’. Switcher lists the last three games played and lets players open, close or go to that game’s hub.
This utilities menu has sound and mic settings. Both of these were options that PS4’s menu were cumbersome to access in the heat of the action. Now we have near-instant access.
…Disimproves in Others
That being said, elements of the new UI and layout seem to have changed for the sake of it. Pressing and holding the PS button used to bring up limited settings and the handiest power options in the business. Now this same sequence does nothing. While you can power off almost as quickly using the aforementioned utilities menu, there was no need to remove that particular quick menu.
The new system for capturing images or video clips is excellent but there is only one way to access your capture library. It’s always just a capture button away but it takes time get used to. Discarding PS4’s capture library from the menu seems like another unnecessary excision.
The 2nd Smoothest, Most Streamlined Experience
All of the new features and improvements that come with PlayStation 5’s new UI are underpinned by its swiftness. PlayStation 3 and 4’s menus could be slow to navigate. PS4, in particular, suffered when a game was running in the background. The experience of exploring the new menu is so much more enjoyable with its breezy but snappy animations. The frustration of the sticky menus of eighth generation consoles is dead.
Much has been made of the impact that solid-state drives have on the consoles speed. How it’s changed how people play by bringing consoles back to the era of near-instant fun. These grand statements (and those that PC players have made for years) about SSDs are no exaggeration.
But it is worth pointing out that PS5 doesn’t have Quick Resume like Xbox Series X does. It’s not a system-selling feature but it is as close to instant as we can get when it works.
PlayStation 5 features an advantage on paper over Xbox Series X in loading games from scratch off the SSD – it should make up for the lack of Quick Resume. However, early reports suggest that eight-gen. games are loading more quickly on Xbox Series X. Gamespot ran a comparison of ten of the slowest loaders from last generation and found that only one, Red Dead Redemption, loaded less quickly on Microsoft’s demure oblong.
As for games created to harness the SSD throughput, we have two examples. Both show off the speed of the SSD but it’s the magnificent scope of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales that impresses when we furiously hammer X and Manhattan pops up within 20 seconds of loading the game from the PS5 menu.
Boost Mode Enabled
With both Microsoft and Sony bringing backwards compatibility to this generation of consoles, it’s no surprise both companies are trying to outdo each other in terms of delivering the best 8th gen. experience beyond the sheer volume of supported titles. Xbox Series X’s Smart Delivery yields some impressive results on the selection of games it works with.
Sony’s strategy is more straightforward, offering a standardised set of improvements to a limited number of games. There are 100 or so games planned to take full advantage of the higher true resolutions and framerates offered by Boost Mode but for now there are a handful. PushSquare has a short list with more detail on each game’s respective improvements. But all backwards compatible games seem to run at more stable frame-rates.
Putting on a Show
At launch, PlayStation 5 features new and exclusive, or at least brand-exclusive, titles. Something that Xbox Series X sorely lacks. Sony know what people want to see before they throw down their hard cash and with PS5 they provide it. Software that shows off the new hardware’s features and power. Software that fires gamer’s imagination and hopes for the next seven years of play.
PlayStation 5 comes with a small piece of that pre-installed. The provision of Astro’s Playroom out of the box is a genius move and it’s another demonstration of Sony’s attention to detail.
Astro’s Playroom serves as both tech demo and private celebration of PlayStation’s legacy. Sony knows it has pedigree and an illustrious history in the gaming industry and they want you to feel like another chapter is being opened. And it actually does feel that way.
The slick presentation and joyous exploitation of the new controller are what console launch titles are made of. Super Mario 64 was a tutorial for some new-fangled method of playing as much as a brilliant piece of software, Astro’s Playroom functions in the same way.
Parents and the impatient will also love the fact that Astro’s Playroom comes pre-installed. Giving players that chance to taste the potential and appreciate the controller while waiting for whatever other games you are installing. In areas with poor internet connectivity, this will feel especially welcome. There was some worry that AP couldn’t be uninstalled to free up some internal SSD space but that worry is unfounded and players can uninstall the game and reinstall it at will.
Check out our review of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for more on PS5’s next-gen prowess. And check this comparison of Fidelity and Performance modes to get a better understanding of ray-tracing on PS5.
The Feeling of New
Microsoft’s aims of continuity and inclusiveness when it comes to hardware held it back greatly when it came to Xbox Series X. The software, the UI and the controllers are all shared with seven-year-old hardware. Inclusive it may be but ‘exclusive’ sells consoles. The ecosystem that Sony offer is a private club with many benefits and the cost of entry is buying a new console.
Members get a brand new UI, games they cannot play anywhere else and a tangible sense of an upgrade in the Dual-Sense controller. The attention to detail on display with PlayStation 5 is superb. There is a beauty to the experience of starting the console for the first time, playing Astro’s Playroom and feeling what the fuss is all about before lashing on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales to see what all the fuss is about.
There are a few minor kinks. The internal SSD only gives us 667.2GB of storage out of the box and, for now at least, users can’t expand it readily for PS5 game storage, i.e. you can store your PS4 games on your external drives but not PS5. There are expansion drives available to buy but they don’t work yet. PlayStation 5 also doesn’t support 2K resolution so streamers and a growing number of PC gamers who moonlight on console will have pause for thought.
