The PS5 is one year old: the games of seduction, or how we ended up coaxing her and me

A year ago, the PlayStation 5 was pointing the tip of its nose in France. A year of start-up in Diesel mode with exclusives that were long overdue, but sales figures that make you dizzy despite the shortage and the difficulty in finding the newcomer. A year of expecting mountains and wonders. And the results are not so bad after all.

The PlayStation 5 // Source: Frandroid / Arnaud GELINEAU

Happy birthday, PS5! A year ago, the Sony console was launched in France in turn (a week after the United States), slightly outstripped in France by the Xbox Series S and Series X. The battle for the new generation of the video game was finally launched.

A year later, the figures largely argue in favor of the PlayStation 5 which has sold more than 12.8 million units sold according to figures announced by Ampere Analysis in mid-November. This is almost twice as much as the Xbox Series X⎢S (6.7 million cumulative). And to think that it remains impossible to find for many because of the problems of shortages... But for us, it's also time to take stock of a year of more or less tumultuous relations.

A design that we end up not caring about

The latest console from Sony caused debate when it was released on its design. Too massive, too white, too ugly for some and very noisy for others who are badly off… it has had its share of superlatives of all kinds, not always positive ones. But all tastes are in nature. It's been more than a year since she arrived at Frandroid so that we can then offer you a written and video test. Many days in his company testing games, playing and even offering you lives on our Twitch channel.

I confess that it was not love at first sight. For those who remember, opening the box and unpacking it was already gaguesque as it impressed in terms of size, with a highly questionable design whose hospitable whiteness was not especially to delight me...

But an observation after a year: it took place next to my television and I no longer pay attention to its size. I'm not going to tell you that I don't find it too big, but I ended up forgetting this point and it blended into the background. Because its interest is elsewhere for me: when I turn it on.

Demon's Souls, a PS5 exclusive

Like everyone else, I railed about the list of games and the so-called exclusives that were coming. It was a bit like buying a car without gas for me, even if you had the option of siphoning off your old tank. Spider-Man: Miles Morales was cool, but I could have continued playing it on PS4. For its part, Demon's Souls Remake was a new look rehash of a PS3 game, with the shortcomings of its old age (bug, let me go where I want in the decor!).

The other games were coming to all platforms, old and new. I must admit that I had a real pleasure on Astro's Playroom, the first true PS5 exclusive. It was smart, fun, not always as easy as you think and extremely pleasant to get to know the DualSense controller, the very good surprise with its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. In terms of sensations, welcome to a new, more immersive era! But not enough either to justify the investment at that time.

Patience, patience...

On technique and performance, there was nothing to say about this PS5. It was announced as powerful, with technology promising smoother, more beautiful gaming up to 4K HDR / 120 fps and offering more possibilities, as well as quality 3D audio immersion. Mission accomplished on the first “compatible” titles and on the old ones which – thanks to backward compatibility – could also run on the console and improve somewhat.

The PlayStation 5 offers a top-flight gaming experience in this, with download times even on older titles which are significantly improved (x5 sometimes), instant replay like the Xbox Series Quick Resume which is a real treat. On Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, the passage from one dimension to another, from one point to another of the screen without seeing the console sticking out its tongue or blocking, what happiness! But, what we wanted was more games to fully enjoy.

Unlike Xbox, which relies on its multiple partners and its Game Pass to offer a varied gaming experience, on multiple media, Sony wants to convince players to join its camp with exclusives. For one, it's “come as you are to play wherever you want”. For the other, “come to us, the games are better than elsewhere”.

Everyone has their own strategy and it defends itself, even if the American is starting to play the exclusivity card also with its multiple studios and the Japanese is eyeing the PC to offer more outlets for its exclusive titles and in turn is increasing studio takeovers. (probably also so that they avoid going to the competition). All of this ultimately only brings happiness to one person: the player. We.

A library of exclusives that ends up opening up

Patience is the mother of all virtues, they say. And that was really justified at the catalog level. If technically, the PS5 did not disappoint, in terms of games either finally. With a bit of a wait. Certainly, if you are a PS+ subscriber, you have been able to enjoy the best titles of the previous generation thanks to the PS+ Collection and its twenty flagship games which have thus made the transfer to the new generation. I happily replayed Detroit: Become Human and finally finished Uncharted 4 (yes, I sadly still had the ending to do after all these years). I repatouilled other games that I had liked without needing to find the discs or other, and with my backups available. A small “+” not insignificant.

To go further PS5 Digital Edition test: do you have to leave everything to live dematerialized?

But over the months, the PS5 library has also been well stocked with exclusives: the excellent Returnal and its repeated deaths to tear your hair out, Deathloop and its somewhat barred concept of death in a time loop (decidedly), the poetic and unmissable Kena: Bridge of spirits (even if it was also released on PC and PS4, it is much more beautiful on PS5), without counting on the titles more general public, but very pleasant: Sackboy: a Big Adventure, Soulstorm OddWorld now available everywhere, and so many more.

The ergonomics of the DualSense controller, the good idea of ​​the PS5 // Source: Frandroid / Arnaud GELINEAU

Obviously, Sony also went there with rebooted and improved versions of previous hit titles. And they were perfectly served by the technical prowess of the console. We are thinking in particular of two games that relied heavily on their visual performance, Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut and Death Stranding Director's Cut, which have made their comeback in enriched versions (and not always free…), as well as improvements thanks also to the addition of haptic feedback from the DualSense controller. Guilty pleasures for already endless games.

On a personal note, one of my favorites was an unassuming game I spent hours on, Maquette, a title from Annapurna Interactive for the PS5 that has no doubt gone under the radar of many and that's a shame. A real multi-dimensional puzzle game in which you pass the elements of the model of your environment to real life (beware of size changes) to progress.

I cannot recommend its discovery enough for its history, its poetry and above all – as always with this publisher – an excellent soundtrack. But prepare your nerves too and sharpen your brain to decipher certain sequences!

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For its first anniversary, Sony has unveiled the list of the most played titles in millions of hours, among “the more than 360 games produced on PS5”. A list as interesting as it is paradoxical. The first PS5 exclusive game only comes in 9th position (Demon's Souls), ahead of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

"In total, PS5 players have played more than 4.6 billion hours on the console and they have streamed more than 26 million hours of content," said Sony Interactive boss Jim Ryan in a statement. . So many hours to see in number one… Fortnite! A free game, absolutely playable on many media and for a long time, which is ahead of the regulars: Call of Duty, FIFA and NBA 2 K. Generations pass, habits remain.

The most played games on PS5

Data collected between November 12, 2020 and September 30, 2021

Make next-gen games!

So after a year with the PS5, where are we both? Our relationship is in good shape. I must also tell you that it has its Xbox Series X rival on the other side of the TV (I was more of an Xbox One X player) and I alternate between the two, depending on the games I want to play. One does not have the (same rare) exclusives as the other, which still lacks an offer equivalent to the Xbox Game Pass for the simple pleasure of snooping around in search of an improbable indie game to discover. But it's with my PS5 that I've also taken on excellent titles from third-party publishers (It Takes Two, Tales of Arise, Watch Dogs Legion, NBA 2K21, etc.).

Watch Dogs Legion // Source: Ubisoft

You can talk to me technically all you want, I buy a console above all to play and play well. If I have any criticisms to make, or expectations still unfulfilled, after a year of intensive relationship with the PS5, it is to see more games arrive to take advantage of the full potential of the console, whether they are Sony or elsewhere.

Yes, some have fallen behind, and the latest PlayStation Showcases — of uneven quality — nonetheless held out a lot of hope, not just around Horizon Forbidden West, but other titles announced as PS5 exclusives “during 2022” in better. We can't wait to see Ghostwire: Tokyo and its teeming environment that could take advantage of the power of the console. But we know that we will wait a little longer for God of War Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7, the typical game that the PS5 needs to make an impression.

The aspect of the PS5 wanting to turn into an entertainment center by multiplying partnerships with Apple (Music and TV+ are available), the addition of Disney+ and many others interest me much less, although I can understand that for some, the console is at the heart of everything. Xbox has tried in the past with its console to want to do too much, it is often to the detriment of the essence of its mission.

And then the interface sports some good ideas (game cards, help if you are a PS+ subscriber), but it is still sometimes not very intuitive and you have to navigate in the menu as on the home page to find your game if it is a little old or that you haven't recharged it. But hey, since the storage is a bit light and you have to go through the addition of SSD for that... (yellow card on that for eternity in my opinion!).

But our wishes for year 2 of the PS5 also and above all concern the DualSense. Without controller, no game and it was at the heart of the proposal. It promises so many possibilities that we are still left unsatisfied to simply better adjust the speed of a shot or the choice of a weapon by pressing the trigger more or less hard, by feeling a surface crossed by the hero thanks to the haptic feedback. We don't necessarily want it to come in all colors, to add a dimension to VR or something else. We want her to serve. And do something for his autonomy too!

So certainly, the PS5 is still desired for many and as long as it does not become more widespread, it will be difficult to encourage developers to put aside their minds a PS4 sold in more than 100 million copies. But it is also in this that the video game will make a real leap in the future to progress even more in substance and form.

We want beautiful stories, well written and well directed. Fluid and creative games in their gameplay to show that they are evolving. No more umpteenth variations, remakes, remastered and tutti quanti of games that we have already experienced, and that we have to pay for again! The shortage of components holds the future of the PS5 in its hands, but it should not also be its best excuse to move forward small. Or else it will end up being seen when she has everything to sail towards a radiant future...

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