Review: The PlayStation 5 is a Solid Next-gen Console

 

The PlayStation 5 has one of the most innovative controllers we’ve ever seen. While the PS5’s design may be a matter of taste, at least Sony succeeded in delivering must-have games that actually take advantage of its hardware.

The PlayStation 5 console is so large that it will dwarf every other console you’ll ever own. The PS5 measures 390 x 260 x 104mm, and it weighs a hefty 4.6kg with its required stand. But the PS5’s extreme scale mostly comes down to its unique design: The center of the console houses all of its internals.

Check out the unboxing video below:

Sony’s new DualSense controller is your gateway to the PS5. The DualSense is larger than the DualShock 4, with thicker grips that make it much more comfortable to hold for extended periods. Its basic layout is the same, except now the buttons look like transparent jewels and there’s a button for muting the built-in microphone.

What’s most impressive about the DualSense is what’s inside. Chiefly, some of the most advanced haptic controls you’ll ever feel. Its analog triggers can be manipulated on the fly, to recreate the sensation of pulling an arrow back in a bow, or running out of ammo in your gun. The DualSense’s vibration is so finely tuned that you can feel a distinct difference when walking over sand, wood and metal surfaces (in Astro’s Playroom).

While few of the launch games are really going to give the new hardware a run for its money, you can already see the potential in Sony’s upgraded hardware. Load times in Marvel’s Spider-Man, for example, have gone from 15-20 seconds on the PS4 to less than a second on the PS5, while Astro’s Playroom locked into 60 frames per second at a 4K resolution.

In the future, some titles will be able to run at 4K resolution at 120 frames per second, and there’s the potential that some less graphically intensive games could reach up to 8K/60fps. For now, don’t expect many games to hit that ambitious target, but there’s a chance some titles will be able to achieve that coveted 4K/120fps output down the line.

Price

Digital Edition: S$599
Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive: S$729

Rating: 4.5/5

Verdict

The PlayStation 5 is a killer machine that looks and feels next-gen in a way that few consoles in recent memory have. There is serious potential in its DualSense controller and powerful hardware.

Technical Specifications

CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
GPU architecture: Custom RDNA 2
Memory interface: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit
Memory bandwidth: 448GB/s
Internal storage: Custom 825GB SSD
Usable storage: 667.2GB
IO throughput: 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot
External storage: USB HDD support (PS4 games only)
Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive