PS5 Builds In-Game Help Right Into The Interface--For PS Plus Members

With less than a month to go before launch, Sony has shown off the user interface for PlayStation 5. A detailed video walks through the basic interface and its new features, but one of the most eye-catching is what Sony refers to as Official Game Help. The feature will be an exclusive perk for PlayStation Plus users, and optional for developers.

As the video explains, a game help video can be tied to any point in a game through the new Activity card system. The Activity cards let you jump to different points in a game quickly, and if you're struggling with a particular objective you can activate the game help. That will give you tips or show a video of the part you're struggling with, and Sony boasts that you won't need to wade through YouTube videos or read guides that may include spoilers.

Conveniently, the video can be shown in picture-in-picture mode, letting you view the objective as you complete it. The example shown in the video is simply finding a costume piece in Sackboy: A Big Adventure, but it's easy to see how this could be applied to tougher, more involved puzzle segments.

It's unclear how widespread the feature will be, since it's up to developers to implement. The video used Sackboy as the general example for all of the new UI features, so as a Sony first-party game it will likely be a showpiece.

PlayStation 5 launches on November 12. The console has been hard to find, but keep an eye on our PS5 preorder guide to grab it once it becomes available again.