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Congratulations! Somebody in your life either pre-ordered early, paid a scalper, or broke through the bots with Twitter notifications on in order to get you a PlayStation 5. Maybe you got lucky and just happened to be at the right store at the right time, but regardless of whether you went retail, or met someone in a back alley, you are now the proud owner of one of the most coveted and hard to get presents of 2020. Now what?
In your hot pursuit of this console, you never stopped and thought what you’d do once you got it. Well, you’re in luck, we’ve got you covered with this guide to getting started with your PS5.
Storage space
Right off the bat, the internal storage space of the PlayStation 5 is 825 GB. That’s sliced down to 667.2 GB because your PS5 has system files that need to run the console and play video games. With modern games fastly approaching 100+ GB file sizes, you’ve got to start considering your options for optional storage space. While the PS5 uses super-fast internal NVMe drives to deliver lightning-quick load times, unfortunately there currently isn’t an option to upgrade those drives. As of this writing, Sony is still working on a firmware update that will allow you to upgrade the internal hard drive space.
Once that firmware is available, the PS5 will allow you to purchase NVMe drives from any manufacturer. A downside is that that type of storage is relatively expensive. A 1 TB upgrade will come in around $230 dollars, which is actually 10 dollars more expensive than the $220 1 TB expansion for the Xbox Series X|S.
For now, the only expansion of your memory you can do is either an external HDD or an external SSD. These can have storage from 500 GB to 12 TB and cost from $50 to $300 depending on the brand, size, or particulars about whether they are solid-state or hard disk drives. All of that being said, these can be used to store and play PS4 games. PS5 games cannot be moved currently from the internal drive to an external drive, but these issues will be patched out in a later version of the firmware. The external drive, for now, is a great place to put PS4 games that you aren’t frequently playing, but want to catch-up on because you missed them in the previous generation.
Controller
The PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller is easily one of the best new things about the new console. If you want to get in on some co-op games with one of your friends, you’re going to need a second controller. That’ll run you $69.99. That bump in price over the last generation gives you a state-of-the-art controller with haptic feedback, dynamic adaptive triggers, a built-in microphone, and a brand new design. The new controller has USB-C charging, and if you want to reduce cords, then purchasing the DualSense charging station at $30 is a must. One catch to that is that the charging station, while not as hard to find as the PS5 itself, is still sold out at most retailers.
PULSE 3D Wireless Headset
If you want to play games with friends or want to play games quietly alone without disturbing loved ones, then the PULSE 3D wireless headset may be the headphones for you. These headphones are Sony’s official offering for the PlayStation 5, and they feature 3D audio. In addition, they have two hidden microphones and control buttons located on the sides of the cups. They also have a built-in battery, can charge using USB-C, and have an optional 3.5 mm audio output in case you want to use these earphones with something that requires a wire. The headphones come with a dongle that provides wireless play, lower latency, and their battery lasts 12 hours, according to Sony.
PlayStation Plus
PlayStation Plus is Sony’s online multiplayer offering. It’s necessary to play any game that has multiplayer that isn’t free-to-play, meaning you don’t need PlayStation Plus for Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Call of Duty: Warzone. You will need a PlayStation Plus subscription for Call of Duty multiplayer or Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate. Typically, PlayStation Plus comes with a few free games per month that are available as long as you are still subscribed to the service, along with discounts on other games. PlayStation Plus will run you $9.99 a month, but can often be found for cheaper when purchased in 12-month increments, or as a part of one-month trials.
In addition to PlayStation Plus, Sony has an offering called PlayStation Now, which is best described as the Netflix of Playstation. There are 800+ games from the PS4, PS3, and PS2 back catalogs that can be streamed to the PS5 or Windows PC. Your games are all saved to the cloud, so the service can be played across multiple platforms. In addition, 300+ PS4 titles can be downloaded directly to the PS5. The cost is $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
Interestingly enough, games aren’t such an important thing to buy straight off the bat with the PlayStation 5. Bundled with the console itself is Astro’s Playroom, a game that is one part tech demo, one part PlayStation historical lesson. There are also free-to-play games such as Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: WarZone that you can download and play for free. Sony is bundling PlayStation Plus Collection Games on the PlayStation 5. These are some of the greatest hits of the PS4 generation, including Batman: Arkham Knight, Call of Duty Black Ops III Zombies Chronicles, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Detroit: Become Human, Fallout 4, God of War, The Last of Us Remastered, Mortal Kombat X, Persona 5, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and Until Dawn, and more!
That’s a lot of added value from the get-go, but the PlayStation 5 has far more exclusive titles that make purchasing the console appealing. Here are a few to check out.
PlayStation 5
Image via Sony
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
If you liked the amazing animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, here’s another chance to learn more about Miles Morales. This game allows you to be Spider-Man swinging through New York. In addition to the purchase of the Ultimate version, it comes with a remastered version of the PS4 classic Marvel's Spider-Man game.
Image via Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Ubisoft helped define open-world gaming with the Assassin’s Creed series. There are currently eleven main games, seventeen spin-offs, and a movie starring Michael Fassbender. This one has Vikings! If you like open-world gaming and loose Norse mythology, this is the game for you.
Image via 2K Games
NBA 2K21
If you’ve played a sports game in the last 20 years, then you know what to expect with each installment: Minor gameplay improvements, micro-transactions, updated rosters, locations, animations, and music. Give the gameplay trailers a look; there is a huge graphic upgrade over previous generations, that may be enticing to many.
Image via Sony
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
If you’ve been a big fan of the Little Big Planet series, Sackboy: A Big Adventure may be your cup of tea. The gameplay switches from the typical 2D platforming seen in most of the Little Big Planet series to the semi-isometric gameplay seen in Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U. It looks like a fun multiplayer platformer that leans closer to the fun side on the fun-to-challenging scale.
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Demon’s Souls
If you are familiar with FromSoftware Games then you are aware of their crushing difficulty. Demon's Souls, which was originally developed for the PS3, and is no exception to that rule. If you are into crazy difficult games, this is for you. If you tend to lose your temper while playing games, you may want to steer clear, or your $70 dollar may be spiked out of frustration.
Image via Activision
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
This has all the markings of a Call of Duty game with a fun and action-packed single-player mode that doesn’t overstay its welcome at about five-to-eight hours. The meat of this game, though, is in its multiplayer modes, zombie modes, and warzone. You always know what you’re getting with a Call of Duty, it’s the comfort food of the FPS genre.
PlayStation 4 games you may have missed
Sony has done a great job of making almost the entire back catalog of PS4 games available to play for the PS5. If you missed out on the previous generation of gaming, then playing through some classic PS4 games may be a great place to start.
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The Last of Us: Remastered
It is not an exaggeration to say that The Last of Us is one of the finest games I’ve ever played. To be honest, this game was so good that it redefined the scale of what makes a game good. The gameplay is solid and suspenseful, the character development is amazing, and this game is a master class in storytelling. A zombie-story of survival in a world that has long been ravaged by clickers (the game’s version of zombies). If you haven’t played this game, you need to play this game.
Image via Sony
Persona 5 originally came out on the Playstation 3, was later updated to the PS4, and then given an extended edition called Persona 5 Royal. This is easily one of the most distinct and stylish RPGs I have ever played in my life. The art direction is on point throughout. Transitions from screen to screen are elegant and make you want to look at the details of every single frame. The story follows several teenagers in high school trying to rid the world of people in power that take advantage of others. Royal also comes with extra characters, dialogue, story, and more, with gameplay clocking in at about 130 hours. Even if you don’t consider yourself an RPG person, or haven’t picked up an RPG since Final Fantasy 7 for the original PlayStation, I still recommend giving this game the time of day. The original Persona 5 is available via PlayStation Plus Collection on the PS5, so if you’re still on the fence, just give that version a try.
Image via CD Projekt RED
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher is the predecessor to Cyberpunk 2077. Part of the reason Cyberpunk 2077 was hyped beyond belief is due to The Witcher 3 being one of the best games of the PS4 generation. If you like a Game of Thrones-esque open world, action-adventure,and RPG elements, this may be a game for you.
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Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection / Uncharted 4
Uncharted is an extremely cinematic game. It's like watching and playing an Indiana Jones film. Each game in the series gets exponentially better, all concluding with the epic Uncharted 4. If you like adventure, exploration, and great characters you’ll follow through four games, I suggest giving these a try before the film, which stars Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg and is set to (hopefully) hit theaters in 2021.
There is plenty to do as soon as you get your PlayStation 5, with a huge backlog of games to play as well as some stand out exclusives and third-party cross-platform games. That being said, the biggest plus for the PS5 is its biggest curse: There may be too many games and not enough storage. Be conservative with your storage space—hopefully, the storage issues will be fixed and allow true variety with your game selection.