I’ve been playing the PS5 for a year — and it doesn’t feel like a next-gen console

I've been playing the PS5 for a year — and it doesn't experience like a next-gen panel

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Over a year has passed since the PS5 launched. Despite the ongoing global chip shortage, Sony'south electric current-gen system has surpassed all expectations. Every bit of October 2021, PS5 had sold 13.4 1000000 units and is currently the fastest-selling PlayStation console in history.

The PS5's library of first and 3rd-political party titles is extensive, specially when you cistron in backward compatibility with PS4 games. The PS5 DualSense controller is one of the coolest controllers always made. Considerately speaking, the PS5 is an overall solid gaming console, and it'due south easy to see why it'south then hard one during PS5 restocks.

I've endemic a PS5 since launch and am more often than not pleased with it. Being able to play all of my PS4 games is convenient and having near all current-gen titles run at 60 frames per second has made it difficult to return to 30fps gaming. The blazing-fast load times are besides a plus. Operation-wise, the PS5 crushes the PS4.

Though I'm satisfied with Sony's newest console, I can't shake the feeling that it's more than of an upgrade to the PlayStation 4 Pro than a true "next-gen" system. Yes, the console is a technological marvel and is selling well simply information technology doesn't feel similar a true successor to the PS4. Even now, a year afterwards the PS5'southward release, I don't believe that it's a must-own organisation.

Before I move on, I desire to make information technology articulate that I am not trying to disparage the PS5. Nor am I seeking to fuel the perpetual panel war nosotros often encounter on social media. Almost of my complaints with PS5 tin also be lobbied at the Xbox Series X. Even so, I'thousand focusing on the PS5 because it is my chief gaming console. And right now, information technology doesn't quite meet my expectations for a "side by side-generation" system.

Next-gen feels a lot like last-gen

I bought a PS4 Pro when it launched in November 2016. Switching over from the base PS4 was a relatively polish transition thanks to PlayStation Plus' online storage characteristic. I signed into my account, downloaded my previous games and saves and was prepare to go. I also had the option of transferring data betwixt my PS4 and PS4 Pro with a LAN cable or via my Wi-Fi network. I opted for the cloud storage option since it was easier for me.

Information technology's difficult for a console to experience next-gen when most of its new releases are playable on concluding-gen systems.

Why am I bringing up my feel setting up the PS4 Pro? Considering I went through the exact same procedure when making the spring from the PS4 Pro to PS5. This wasn't a trouble in and of itself, but it left me feeling like I had simply upgraded my PS4 Pro, not that I bought a brand-new next-gen system. Friends who also ain PS5s often joke that the console is a PS4 Pro Plus. I can't disagree with that sentiment.

Cantankerous-gen titles (games released on both concluding-gen and current-gen systems) are another reason why I don't feel I've truly stepped into the next generation. Cross-gen releases ensure that everyone, regardless of system, has access to the same titles. This is a mantra Xbox has wholeheartedly embraced. It releases its first-party titles beyond consoles, PCs, mobile devices and streaming platforms. From a business perspective, it would be unwise for game companies to but release titles on systems with relatively small install bases — especially when many tin't become a PS5 or Xbox Serial X due to the ongoing global chip shortage.

Resident Evil Village — (Image credit: Capcom)

I'yard all for more folks having access to games, but if new titles take to also run on eight-year-old systems, nosotros'll continue having terminal-gen experiences on new hardware. Despite their respectable graphics, titles similar Resident Evil Hamlet, Far Cry 6 and Tales of Arise wait like last-gen releases. Why? Because that's exactly what they are due to also being available on PS4 and Xbox One. It'due south hard for a console to feel next-gen when nigh of its new releases are playable on last-gen systems.

I should signal out that cross-gen titles aren't new. For virtually 2 years after their late 2013 launches, most major releases on PS4 and Xbox One were also bachelor on PS3 and Xbox 360. It wasn't until late 2015 that we saw the effective end of cross-gen. Will nosotros have to wait that long this generation? Seeing equally how many upcoming 2022 releases volition continue the cross-gen trend, the respond seems to be a resounding yes.

Enhanced PS4 titles

We've seen a slew of PS4 games go enhanced on PS5. Ghost of Tsushima Manager's Cut, God of War and Final Fantasy Vii Remake Intergrade expect and play beautifully on PS5 — with smoother frame rates and higher resolution textures. If yous've never played these games before, yous're going to have a wonderful experience.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut review — (Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

However, if you're like me, and then yous've no doubt already beaten all or nigh of these titles on PS4. Aside from the Iki Island portion of Ghost of Tsushima Managing director'south Cut, I didn't play more than than 10 or xv minutes of these and other enhanced titles before moving on to something new. I appreciate that the games look and run at their all-time on PS5 but those are novelty upgrades for someone who has already played them. They are yet the aforementioned erstwhile games underneath the shiny new veneer.

PS5 exclusives*

As noted in our PS5 one year later — the skillful, the bad and the ugly slice, the PS5 currently has six exclusives you lot can only play on the system. These include Astro'due south Playroom, Demon'southward Souls, Destruction AllStars, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal. Unfortunately, each ane comes with sure caveats that foreclose them from being true must-own system exclusives.

Demon'due south Souls, arguably one of the best games on PS5, is a remake of a PS3 game from 2009. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade's Episode Intermission DLC (the only portion exclusive to PS5) is five hours long at best. Astro's Playroom, for all its whimsical amuse, is a tech demo that showcases the DualSense controller's haptic and rumble features.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal were congenital from the basis upward to run on PS5. But every bit cracking equally these titles are, neither are exactly mainstream. Platformers similar Ratchet & Clank are no longer en vogue and Returnal'south steep difficulty alienates most players (a problem Demon'south Souls besides shares). I have no hands-on experience with Devastation AllStars but it hasn't connected with the Twitch audition it appears to be intended for.

The PlayStation 5 will receive a number of notable outset-party games in 2022. Horizon Forbidden Due west and God of War Ragnarok will no doubt be organisation sellers and rank among the highest-selling games on the organization. But like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, they will also exist available on PS4. They are not true next-gen experiences. It may exist some fourth dimension before PS5 receives a bonafide must-own blockbuster organization exclusive.

Will PS5 ever feel next-gen?

I've come to accept that we'll likely non run across the same graphical jumps between console generations that were so prevalent in the past. Instead, we'll see incremental improvements over the course of a generation. PS4 games released in 2021 look superior to titles released in 2013. The aforementioned will be true for PS5 games eight years from now. Merely don't look the PS6 to evangelize the same graphical upgrade we saw betwixt the PS1 to PS2 or PS2 to PS3. Those days could be over.

Though the PlayStation v is an impressive video game console, you lot don't need to own 1 to enjoy the latest and greatest games. Yes, it has some PS5 system exclusives, but you tin debate that any are truly must-ain titles. If yous settle on a PS4 or PS4 Pro, either by pick or because you can't observe a PS5, you won't miss out on much.

I'll continue playing my PS5 and bask information technology for what it offers. But I'll also look forward to the day when it will finally feel like a true adjacent-generation console.

Tony is a computing writer at Tom'southward Guide roofing laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much time on Twitter. His not-nerdy pursuits involve attending Hard Stone/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such as Laptop Magazine, PC Mag, and various contained gaming sites.