An Initial Review of the PS5

by Jack Sellers

This past weekend my family got really lucky and got the opportunity to get a Playstation 5. As most people know the Playstation 5 has been selling out and been difficult to get a hold of so it’s very exciting for us to have gotten one. The new gaming console was all the rage when released in November and it continues to be hard to find, so how is the system and does it live up to the hype? I’d say it absolutely does. 

Despite having a fairly lackluster starting lineup of games, the PS5 comes with some incredible features. The only games that I’ve played so far on the PS5, minus one exception, have also been available for the console’s predecessor. The bundle that my family got came with NBA 2K21 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales The Ultimate Launch Edition. I haven’t played NBA, and don’t particularly plan to, but I played Miles Morales on the PS4 when it came out in November, and despite some shinier graphics and incredibly fast load times there isn’t much to see here. The game takes advantage of a few of the PS5’s new systems, but it seems like a lackluster start for the PS5, but the real benefit has come with a Playstation Plus membership. Playstation Plus is a service that allows players to play online with friends and grants access to certain games for free every month. This service costs $59.99 for a year, but on the PS5 it comes with the PS Plus Collection. The PS Plus Collection is a back catalogue of games that are free for all PS Plus members. In my opinion this service and the PS Plus Collection justifies the PS5’s relatively small selection of games exclusive to the console. Along with that if you own a bunch of Playstation 4 games like I do, then almost all of those games can be played on the Playstation 5 and often come along with free updates that provide new features exclusive to the PS5. 

These new features include incredible new graphical updates, faster load times, and some incredible advancements in controller technology. It seems that every new game that comes out has to look more realistic and fancier than the last, and the PS5 has the power to take that to the next level with Ray-Tracing technology. Ray-Tracing essentially allows for games to produce real-time reflections of what is happening in the game on mirrors and windows. This is on full display in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. As players are swinging around the masterfully recreated streets of New York, they can see Ray-Tracing working to show off the reflections. Again in Spider-Man: Miles Morales, we see the improved loading times. It’s incredible the speed in which the PS5 loads the massive open world New York City that players explore in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. These incredible speeds are even more remarkable when you take into account the level of detail that is in this game’s recreation of NYC. 

For the last great step forward I want to talk about with the PS5 is best exemplified by Remedy Games Control. Remedy’s mind bending game is something that I would love to do a review for, but for the service of this review I just want to talk about one of the many spectacular features that is utilized brilliantly in this game. That feature is haptic feedback. This is a feature of the PS5 controller. When using the triggers to aim and shoot weapons in Control haptic feedback in the controller gives the triggers distinct pull weight for the different weapons in the game. The triggers have different reactive settings that can be adjusted for everyone. Along with this the vibration in the controller changes for different situations. When running along the concrete corridors that occupy the majority of Control there’s a distinct vibration that goes through the controller, so when it changes with the environment it is really noticeable and very immersive. This is a great system that can be employed in so many possibly interesting ways. This system really feels like one of the best big advancements in video game technology.

In my short time with the Playstation 5 it has already proven itself to be an incredible piece of technology. Despite its lackluster lineup of starting games, the PS5 makes up for it in a myriad of ways. The PS Plus collection offers PS5 players a chance to catch up on previous generation’s biggest titles that they might have missed. The new technology on display allows for even better and more beautiful games that will be ready to play faster than ever. And lastly, haptic feedback in the controllers creates even more immersive experiences, and allows for even more creative innovations.