PlayStation 5 MSRP $500.00 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “Sony's PlayStation 5 is the next-gen console to buy this generation.” Pros Cons The expectations for Sony as it went into the current console cycle were preposterously high. The PlayStation 4 was a rousing success, and gamers are anticipating the company will open new, previously unimagined possibilities with its next-generation system.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales loads in seconds — and once you’re in the game, you’ll never experience a load screen of any sort, even when you take the subway. Want hints and tips for the game that usually populate loading screens? You’ll have to find them somewhere else. Microsoft’s Xbox Series X is a smaller, squatter console that isn’t quite as imposing, but its boxlike shape will still mean trouble for the average A/V cabinet. Gamers with limited space for a console may instead consider the Xbox Series S, which is much smaller than the PlayStation 5 or Series X and has a more traditional slate-like shape.
You can also hook up an external HDD or SSD, but you won’t see the speed advantages of the system on any games stored there. And any PS5 games stored there won’t be playable until you transfer them to the internal drive, making external drives useful only for older games. So far, the special features have been hit and miss. Some games are a little too overeager to play with the adaptive triggers, making them physically difficult to play. But the handful of games that really take advantage of the controller show just how special it is. Returnal, for instance, uses haptic feedback incredibly well, letting you feel every drop of rain or simulating a parasite squirming in your hands. Moments like that make the PS5’s experiences unlike anything on the market today.
Games and software: The star of the show Microsoft found itself in the awkward spot of having to debut a new console without a first-party launch title, but Sony was in an enviable position initially. The long term The PS5 is still the system to beat in this console generation, but while previous cycles had a clear path forward, this one is much cloudier. Specifically, cloud gaming is a delivery method that’s gaining traction among publishers, just as digital delivery did in the early 2010s.