PS5 Owners Thread - What has your experience been like so far?

I've had the PS5 for a couple days now.

Initial reaction when I took it out of the box was that it was huge haha, but I liked the design. I definitely think they wanted people to place this vertically, but I don't have that kind of space, and so I have horizontal, and it still looks great to me. There is a little awkwardness when you take discs out from the horizontal position. The case sticks out over the disc tray, but it's not a big deal.

Set up was pretty easy. I like that you can transfer your PS4 data (saves and games) over without having to use cables. Both systems just have to be connected to the same wifi. I do find that when it copies data over, it can be pretty loud. One thing I noticed is that they don't really explain how the new UI works very well. I find myself having to figure it out through trial and error. It's simple enough, but some things are different than PS4, so it can be a little confusing. Overall, UI is pretty clean and easy to navigate once you figure out the buttons lol.

Games - Astro's Playroom is a free game that comes pre-installed. From what I gather, it's a short game (a few hours long), but it does a great job of showing off the PS5 controller and what it can do. And overall, it's an enjoyable game.

If you have PS+, you also get Bugsnax for free. Haven't played it yet, but reviews have been good. It's great that we get another game to play right off the bat. You also get the PS+ Collection, which I think is great. About 20 free games you can play. I actually owned almost all of them, but this is great for someone who didn't play them or who didn't own a PS4 last gen. As far as enhancements go, I tested Days Gone, Bloodborne, and Nier Automata. I already knew Days Gone got a performance update, but this was great to see. Looked very good and I noticed the framerate improvement. Looked like 60 fps to me. Unfortunately I did not see a performance boost on Bloodborne, but at the time, didn't use performance mode. It's not clear how the performance mode works. When I look at the menu, it says it only works if the game offers it. So not sure how it would work on a regular PS4 game. Same goes with Nier Automata, don't think I saw a boost.

As for PS5 games, I have Demon's Souls and COD Cold War. Demon's Souls looks amazing. I'm not playing it on performance mode, and it plays great. Looks beautiful. The controller adds to the experience in a substantial way through sound and haptic feedback. I also tried out the 3D headset. Now, I never use headphones, so I can't compare, but the 3D audio aspect was really cool. And at times kind of scary haha. Hearing the flying dragon fly over you spooked me a bit a couple times. Hearing things from all kinds of directions also got me on edge lmao. I can imagine this being really good when the next Resident Evil comes out.

Call of Duty wasn't very next gen to me. For $70, I expected more. This looks and plays like the PS4 version. I tried to do the 120fps mode, and it looked like the PS5 couldn't handle it. Came out very choppy. Tried ray tracing and that affected performance as well. The one thing I did enjoy was the adaptive triggers. You can feel your gun recoiling realistically, which is great. It also made it harder for me to shoot lol but I like that tho. I noticed the triggers take a little longer to pull down. Still getting used to that.

As far as anything else, the PS5 is pretty quiet for the most part. Only time I noticed substantial noise was when copying data. And while it is huge, and will definitely stand out on your furniture, I like it. If I had room tho, I'd probably try the vertical to see if set up looked better. As far as controller battery life, I'm still testing it, but I went about 5 hours before one bar went down.

So that's been my experience so far. How about you, PS5 owners? What are your impressions, reactions, feedback, so far?

I am afraid only a few folks have the system.☹

I love it. playing demon souls and astro bot has been fun. The haptic feedback actually feels really nice. The UI is kind of bland though. Just waiting to to get the 3D head set to try those, but otherwise, just a nice taste of next gen. Not COMPLETELY blown away yet. (don't pay scalpers!!!! the experience will underwhelm you if you pay those premium.

You probably were playing the PS4 version if you downloaded it. Double check you are running the PS5 version.

It's been a smooth experience. PS4 games have been working well also. GOW seems super sharp for some reason. They must have patched it. Miles Morales is a beautiful game and I'm still having a blast playing it. Picking up Demon's Souls later today. I hear the 3D audio is superb in that game so lets see.

I heard about that. I have the disc version and it was showing PS5 🤷‍♂️ Any tips on getting the 120fps to perform well? Am I supposed to lower the resolution? 🤔

Yea man, definitely try out the 3D audio. I'm not sure if I'm just super sensitive, but it spooks me lol.

It's not doing it for me. I guess I have one of those ears lol!

@SolidGame_basic: Are you using regular headphones or did you get the new Pulse headset?

@SolidGame_basic: Select that 3 dot icon next to 'Play' and select the PS5 version.

I'm using the new Pulse 3D headset. I had the same initial reaction too. I was like, what am I supposed to notice lol? But then I as I was going through Demon's Souls, I'd hear different sounds coming from different directions. The flying dragon was the most noticeable for me. Being under it and hearing it swoop over and scream. It spooked the hell out of me a couple times because it's so sudden. I don't normally use headsets when playing, so I can't say if it would be different or not. But hearing the sound from different directions, and the intensity of it, to me that's what the 3D audio is.

Argh I shouldn't read these, but here I am. 😕

First 48 hours overview: Incredible

- Setup was easy.

- After hours of use, the system is quiet unless loading data from a disc initially. Still pretty quiet when doing that.

- Controller battery life is pretty good. As does the 3D Pulse headset's battery life.

- Headset is comfortable. Has more base than I'm used too. Sometimes sounds like characters talking in Destiny 2 were a bit muffled while everything else was crisp and clear, including chat with friends. Might just be the game. No connectivity issues.

- Transferred nearly 10GB of PS4 save files onto the PS5 in about an hour with the PS4 on wifi.

- UI tends to hide things. Will take some getting used too.

- Downloads are incredibly fast. Downloaded Crash Trilogy for the kids and it took less than 5 minutes for a "Ready to Play" notification to hit my phone's app.

- App integration is well done. When setting up the PS5, I was able to use the app to scan a QR code to auto sign in. Very easy.

- PS5 to PS4 remote play works well. Still not sure how to do PS4 to PS5 remote play.

- Astro's Playroom is awesome. A great platformer but also a great way to start the new gen given the nostalgia hit of unlocking collectibles in the Playstation legacy like systems, accessories and media.

- AC Valhalla will be delved into more tonight but with the 30 minutes played, it looked great and seems more interesting than the last two.

- Cross gen play is seamless. Played some Dead by Daylight with the new PS5 upgrade with friends on PS4 and PC. Played Destiny 2 last night with my brother who was using the first model PS4. Worked great.

- I had no issues when playing Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion last night. It's still the PS4 version as the PS5 update doesn't release until Dec 8th.

YET TO TRY:

- External HDD integration

- PSVR compatibility (I have the camera adapter already)

- PS4 and Move controller connectivity

- PS4 to PS5 remote play

- PS5 to smart phone remote play

- Share play

- DVD/Blu-Ray/4K movies (probably won't bother as I have a stand alone 4K player)

What you are describing has been available for ages. I still don't understand what Sony is pushing with the 3D audio that hasn't already been done.

I think the difference is that Sony games will be developed to take advantage of the tech and that the headset is designed specifically for PS5

Just would like to ask anyone that has a PS5, how is the battery life on the controller? I'm a mainly a Xbox player and curious to know about the PS5? Planning on buying one sometime in the next year. Thanks.

After about 5 hours, it went down one bar. I'll try to keep tabs on it, but it looks like in the 10-15 hour range if I had to guess. I was using it with the features on, and Demon's Souls takes full advantage of those features.

I was super impressed by the controller, especially in astros play room. Its not my typical game but the coolness of the controller changed my mind on it, and i plan to play through the entire game. I played COD and it looks great. Great graphics, nice and crisp, we can tell that consoles have finally caught up to the PC for hd gaming. You're right about the controls, its actually harder to shoot with the triggers, theres a wierd feeling to it. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but there is some feedback like you mentioned.

It works with any headphones though. Also, It is funny how you didn't take advantage of headphones before, but now find yourself using them because Sony has included 3D audio as part of their marketing.

Soon we are going to start referring to cows as sheep too. Just blindly following without asking questions. LOL

@BassMan: sounds like you're jealous that Sony is popularizing features and pushing gaming forward. That's ok, keep playing Minecraft in 8k 260 FPS with your 3090 :)

My initial reaction wasn't a bad one but more simply a "this feels very similar". It wasn't until I realized that for whatever reason everything defaults to the lowest settings that I went in and had to manually change everything to a next gen experience. After a couple hours tinkering around with the settings though I am more than a little impressed to say the least. They need to have an update VERY SOON that auto detects the best settings, because initial reactions are all that a lot of people will care about. There is a lot on offer and they need to be more transparent and better explain how to use next gen features.

A couple example of what I am talking about: 1. Assassins Creed Valhalla: I played this game for about 3 days total, 2 on my PS4 Pro and another on the PS5 before realizing that the PS5 was running the EXACT same settings as the PS4. You have to manually go in and change the game version, and 90% of all the next gen features... which makes little to no sense to me. Once they are all on and running it's an amazing next gen experience and 3D audio is awesome.

One BIG thing that I really don't like is that I unlocked a couple trophies on the game on my PS4 and the PS5 version of the game has it's own trophies.. which means the trophies don't copy over and if I want to get all of them (which I'm not usually a trophy whore but still pisses me off) I have to replay the portion of the game I played early on PS4 over again on the PS5. Luckily this won't be a problem moving forward and this will be the only game I ever have to worry about this problem on now that I have a PS5.

2, Call of Duty Cold War: The game was running in 1080p at 60fps until I learned the hard way that my sound bar didn't support HDMI 2.1 which forced my wife to go to Best Buy and get me $40 Rocketfish HDMI 2.1 cable that was long enough to reach my TV (8 ft. cord) since the cord that comes with the PS5 is much shorter and isn't compatible with the soundbar that SONY suggested getting with their new TV in a "PS5 ready bundle", the problem is... the soundbar is not only NOT PS5 ready, it never will be... That said I connected the HDMI 2.1 cord directly to my TV and instantly the UHD and many features on the game kicked in. Now there is a small but noticeable sound lag and will have to get a HDMI 2.1 compatible soundbar in the near future. That isn't so bad though since I can put the current one in my bedroom, but is still a pain in the ass and the soundbar/sub combo was nearly $1,000 without being on sale.

Then of course I wanted to be able to play the game at 120fps so you literally have to go into the settings which are hidden and difficult to find to set the PS5 in Performance mode and out of Fidelity mode which the game defaults to and you can't just change directly on the game for whatever reason. Once getting the setting changed and changing to 120fps with ray tracing off and 4k UHD with a headset capable of showcasing the 3D audio and tying it all together with the haptic triggers with tension and the game has been an amazing experience so far. This said AFTER not really liking the beta on the PS4. Everything on the PS5 really ties everything together and brings you into games like never before. The biggest problem is that in order to use everything as intended you will definitely have to play around with settings and change things around for a couple hours.

Initial impression 7/10 and my impression now 10/10. I can't wait to see more and see where they take things. I can look past the jumping through obstacles to get the whole experience but how many people aren't? They REALLY need to iron these things out and FAST. I hear that MS isn't having nearly as many issues and have a lot of things working as planned. These are all things that should be done on an automatic basis and SONY needs to address sooner rather than later.

I knew there would be some bumps in the road, but the cost of entry (regardless of what some say) wasn't cheap (since I had to get a new TV especially) and needing to be a tech wizard to set everything up is ridiculous in 2020 (not trying to sound like some old hipster and also hate saying things like this.. but it's true).

I am very excited for both consoles moving forward and I must say that after all that was said and done and the dust settled a bit I FINALLY have that wow factor again that I have been looking for since seeing the SNES hooked up in Sears with a playable version of Super Mario World. There is a LOT on offer and it finally feels as though the vision is starting to meet the final product much more closely. We are getting close on the couch sit and play experience (if we aren't there now already) so maybe there is hope for VR in the future after all.

I would say that those downplaying this gen need to give one of the new consoles a chance. I think your mind can be blown just like mine was and still is if you are willing to be a beta tester.

My PS5 became self aware when I suspended Bugnuts when it was only half installed and then lightning struck the house, then my PS5 murdered my wife and kids and stole my car and drove to the Canadian border where it was granted a temporary asylum visa... needless to say, I want a refund, and I will be taking my business elsewhere.

Pretty sure God of War is still limited by the PS4 pro settings, it's probably just hitting the max on either setting (resolution or performance)

I shall let you know once Walmart gives me my delayed pre order lol.

Yeah performance looks too blurry for me.

I will get a PS5 for exclusives, but it is nothing special. Stop buying into and cheering on corporate bullshit. Sony doesn't give a fuk about you. They just want your money. They are milking you cows and laughing all the way to the bank.

It might be your TV, I haven't had any problems at all and the 120fps is running great. My kids also have the game for their PS4 and the comparison between the two is pretty substantial. I have noticed very little to no lag at all in the vast majority of games I have played and I'm about level 35 in multiplayer.

Did you change the default sound level? You can go into the PS5 settings and choose between 5 levels of height. 3 is set to default but 4 sounded the best to me so I changed it to that. It says in the settings that everyone is different and will hear ground level at a different height.

Wait this isn't PS Nation?

I tried it again last night, and I think my eyes just needed to get used to it lol. I noticed it the most when I was aiming and shooting. It looked faster.

No, thanks for the tip! I will check it out.

I am pleased with the visuals on a 1440p screen. It doesn't look blurry when you send a 4k signal into a 1440p screen.