PlayStation 5 Review

The PlayStation 5 is the 5th console that Sony has produced (it's the 7th overall, but the 5th non-handheld) and possibly the biggest leap in technology and graphic fidelity for a console launch since the original PlayStation. Let’s start off by talking about the specs of this beefy console shall we? The CPU is based on Ryzen’s Zen 2 with 8 cores and 16 threads at a 3.5GHz frequency which is variable, with power shared with the GPU when one is required more than the other. It is coupled with an AMD RDNA2 GPU that is able to pump out gorgeous visuals and maintain steady FPS whilst doing ray tracing. There’s 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, and an incredible SSD that is able to load you into games in a matter of seconds. The exact speed of the SSD is 9 GBs / sec which is very hard to even find for a PC at the moment without paying at least half of what the console is worth.

Ok so let's talk about one of the things that makes the PlayStation 5 stand out when compared to its Microsoft; the controller. The DualSense controller is different to the DualShock 4. Instead of going down the route that Xbox took, by making all Xbox One controllers compatible; Sony actually made a next-gen controller and damn does it feel good. One of the stand out features that really shows the difference between the DualShock 4 and the DualSense controller is the new haptic triggers. This may sound like a tiny feature whilst reading this review but in fact, it plays a major part in games that take advantage of it. Take Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War for example, whilst on PlayStation 4 you get the standard vibration that you are used to. On the PS5 however, you really feel the bullets coming out of your gun thanks to the haptic feedback, this isn’t just a gimmick though, it actually changes gameplay. As you are firing bullets your gun’s recoil pattern will be felt through the controller. This feature really is hard to explain in writing but it definitely makes the controller feel next level.

Another new feature of the DualSense controller is the haptic feedback. This is very similar to the Nintendo Switch’s controllers, where you can actually feel different things based on the environments you are walking through or the things that you are doing. This is showcased well by Astro’s Playroom, which takes all of the new controller features and showcases them in different levels throughout the game. It is worth noting that Astro’s Playroom is free and is pre-installed on every PlayStation 5 and is definitely worth a try. The rumbles are certainly felt towards the start of the game by showing how even little steps that your character takes can really be felt in the controller. You can also feel the difference between walking on a surface like glass and walking over a giant block of ice for example.

The PlayStation 5 launches with two major games that are worth looking at with other major titles in the works like Horizon Zero Dawn: Forbidden West, God of War: Ragnarok and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. All of these games have had trailers shown and are definitely worth keeping an eye on in the future.

The console does have launch games including titles like Demon’s Souls, Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. With my console I picked up Demon’s Souls and I am enjoying my time with it, (check out our review to read our impressions of that title). So whether you want to play great PlayStation 4 games like Uncharted 4 or Bloodborne through the PlayStation Plus Collection, or enjoy the new games that are coming to the platform like Cyberpunk 2077, this collection of launch titles show that Sony’s latest console can fight off the competition.

The PlayStation 5 is deadly quiet. Throughout my time spent with the console I haven't heard a peep, even when playing games that were very demanding on the PlayStation 4. The Last of Us: Part 2 is a very loud game when running on PlayStation 4. However, when playing on PlayStation 5 through backwards compatibility, I heard nothing. This could be due to Sony making the consoles ventilation better or due to the better hardware meaning the games are less demanding, but either way it is definitely an achievement.