Topic: Top 5 PS5 games

@Th3solution Its an entirely new version of the game.

When you insert the PS4 disc into the PS5, it will bring up the screen where you can choose to copy from disc to load it to the console, but it also has a circle with three dots next to it. If you click on that, it takes you to the game's page, and you can choose to download the PS5 version for free instead. Its only 17 gigs, as opposed to the 40somerthing the PS4 edition is on the older console.

On the base PS4, the graphics weren't much of an upgrade from the PS3, IMO. The game ran faster and they added mods and all of the DLC, but the actual gameplay itself wasn't really fundamentally different. But the PS5 version is a huge graphical upgrade. The lighting is magnificent, and suddenly dungeons and other interiors aren't nearly pitch black any longer. The graphics for characters and many other things are smoother and better looking, and it now basically looks like a decent PS4 game.

Plus everything is SO MUCH quicker. Loading times are negligible, and everything handles extremely smoothly and crisply. If you liked the game and have free time, I highly recommend checking it out.

@Unlucky13 I’ve been playing the Skyrim PS5 version too, it’s gloriously beautiful. I only have a couple of graphics mods installed like Obsidian Weathers and it doesn’t look 10 years old in the slightest.

1. Returnal (one of my fav games ever not just ps5)
2. Gaurdians of the galaxy (laugh out loud funny dialog is insanely good)
3. Horizon 2 (Probably best graphics I've ever seen on console)
4. Sackboy (I'd put astro here but sackboy and astro have there similarities but just so much more content on sackboy.
5. Hood (This one of the ps5 plus games and honestly put 150+ on its online the pve is awful but I find the PvP really well balanced)

@Ssimsim Returnal for the win! I can't wait for more people to experience this via PS+ Extra.

Such a phenomenal game, it got under my skin like nothing else...

@Ssimsim Interesting inclusion of Hood. I’ve been looking for a live-service game to try out and nothing has been very attractive to me. The aesthetic of Hood looks really good and so you’ve got my attention. I’ve not seen much chatter about the game. Is the game fairly approachable for newcomers or is it overwhelming and/or difficult to catch up coming in this late?

While I’m here, I should probably drop a list, as I don’t know if I’ve made one yet. Looking over my games played, I’m surprised how few I’ve played that are actual PS5 builds. For example, I loved TLoU part 2 on PS5 at 60 fps, but that’s just a PS4 game with a PS5 patch. So as far as actual native PS5 games, so far will be —

1. Returnal - I was obsessed with this game for a while. It’s probably the best ‘feeling’ game I’ve ever played, strictly gameplay wise.
2. Control Ultimate Edition - this game isn’t far removed from the top spot and I’d say the overall package is close. Has a great combination of cool setting, satisfying gameplay, and interesting storyline.
3. Demon’s Souls Remake - could be the most beautiful game on PS5 so far (I’ve still yet to play HFW), and the gameplay has held up surprisingly well.
4. Spider-Man: Miles Morales - another one in the ‘fun and addictive gameplay’ section. I’m starting to see a pattern here.
5. Astrobot’s Playroom - a fun romp and it’s clever DualSense use puts it over Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for the final spot on the list. Both games a excellent action 3D platformers though.

Just barely missing the cut — Kena: Bridge of Spirits, A Plague Tale Innocence, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.

@Th3solution You may struggle at first being a newcomer, I played when it first released on ps plus obviously alot of newcomers but I will say skill gap is nowhere near as bad as other online games and it may take a while to understand the characters, at times when I tried a new character I was getting destroyed and instantly dismissing that character but you're learn there's a way to counter every character no matter who you are, you also unlock perks for characters which are will help you no end.

I'm not one for brutally difficult games, or ones with extremely dark settings - either literally or metaphorically. So I'm not going to ever touch the Souls series or Returnal, no matter how well received they are.

But is Control that way also? I keep hearing great things, but I can't actually get a great idea of what the game really is. I claimed it on PS+ a while back and was waiting until I had a PS5 to check it out.

@Unlucky13 You could just try the game? You might surprise your myself and end up enjoying the games you think you don't like.

As for Control, no I would not class it in the same league as the Souls games. Sure there are some difficult bosses and sections, but no more so than in most other games out there.

@Unlucky13 Control isn’t difficult but the gun play isn’t the best and that’s what you rely on mostly until you unlock more special moves. Most of the criticism of the game was around its performance when it first came out but it had no problems when I played it on PS5.

The setting is a little dark but more in a supernatural than horror setting. It’s more a feeling of not knowing what’s going on than dread and certainly no jump scares.

I really bought into the setting and story, and thought it was a great game.

@Unlucky13 I’m a pretty passionate fan of Control, so indulge me a little advocating here… 😅

As for difficulty, some people have said that Control was easy and they hardly died, but I died a fair bit. But I found it just the right amount of challenge. If you die, the respawn points are close so it’s not like you are forced to replay huge sections typically. I’m pretty sure even boss fights have respawning right outside the encounter. Although there is a slight cost of some of the in-game currency with each death, so you can’t really run around needlessly dying. It’s not egregious though and I think I was over halfway through the game until I realized I was losing a small percentage of the XP currency each death.

There’s difficult encounters, but not a Soulslike reliance on them. I struggled heavily with about 2-3 bosses total during a 40-50 hour gameplay. And one of those was a DLC boss. I think one or two bosses pushed me to look up online some strategies to try against them and I was able to beat them with a little change in approach.

So from a difficulty standpoint, it’s maybe a shade above Horizon Zero Dawn on normal. The combat is pretty quick and kinetic, lots of motion, which is actually not my strong suit. I usually like to be more tactical and camp out under cover and pick off enemies, and in Control you can’t really do that all the time. Sometimes you can use environmental cover, but a lot of encounters are about multiple enemies coming at you.

But unlike a Souls game, you can usually brute force your way through tougher encounters by spamming your favorite attacks and get lucky from time to time with how a battle will play out.

As far as setting, it’s like an X-Files type of backdrop, if you’re familiar with that TV show. It’s not breakneck storytelling and a lot of the plot is weird and convoluted, but there is a good engaging protagonist (Jesse) who goes through a developmental journey to uncover mysteries surrounding herself and her brother, and it all revolves around supernatural phenomena. The environment is almost exclusively in “The Oldest House” which is a government office building. But some of areas have a slight outdoor type of feel and many are still fairly open. There is some platforming, simple environmental puzzles, and light collectibles with exploration components to the game between combat. Probably the biggest gripe is the house can be a little difficult to find your way around at first as the map is pretty confusing, but I got used to looking at environmental clues to find the next objective (like signs within the building that point to the different departments). It plays a bit like a 3D Metroidvania, with new areas of the house/building opening up as you get new abilities (maybe a bit like Arkham Asylum in that regard) so there’s some backtracking through a few hubs back and forth. There are quick travel points though to jump around that you can unlock.

I know from previous conversations that you’re mostly a fan of open world huge games that you can sink tons of hours into exploration, and this isn’t necessary that. There’s tons of content and exploration, but it’s not like you can wander off and check out a bunch of side quests for 30 hours before you come back to the main quest line. There’s definitely side quests, but you’ll spend most of your time going through the campaign because new abilities and weapons are gradually unlocked for combat and traversal that way.

The PS5 version looks and plays great. I opted for the ray tracing 30fps mode because I loved all the reflections off the glass and flooring, etc. The frame rate held solid at the 30 fps so it didn’t bother me, but I’m becoming more and more spoiled at 60fps. Which you can choose performance instead but you give up the ray tracing. The DualSense support is pretty good too, with good haptics (feeling the clicking of Jesse’s shoes on the tile floors as you walk, etc) and adaptive triggers which make each gun feel a little different, both in heft and in kickback.

If you do decide to try it, I’ll be curious if it gels with you. I’m not sure it will, but see if that all sounds good to you.

@Th3solution Loving the exuberant passion you have for Control!

@Th3solution At first I didn't like Control too much, and I think it was because I ran into a spot that I really struggled with. I forget how long it was, but after however long, I decided to give it a second chance and I ended up loving it. I don't recall having any really frustrating issues with the difficulty then, so I guess I was just doing it wrong.

It may or may not sneak into my Top 5 for the last generation, but that's more because last gen was so stacked and not because Control isn't deserving. It may be the game I find most replayable from that gen though, as I played it twice and I still want to play it again with the PS5 version. At this point, I'm not sure if I would do the Performance Mode or not as I was perfectly fine with the 30 FPS when tried out the PS5 version for about an hour after it was released, but that was a while ago and I like 60 FPS more now as long as I don't have to sacrifice a lot of resolution in the process.

@Unlucky13 another 👍 for Control… probably the biggest surprise of last gen for me. The difficulty is very mid (if not slightly under). The setting is pretty dark and weird, which was pretty much as far up my street as a game could be. From the type of games you generally seem to go for, it wouldn’t necessarily be a fit for you… but might be a much needed change of pace.

@Thrillho @Th3solution @colonelkilgore @JohnnyShoulder Thanks guys, I'll check it out at some point. Generally speaking, games that rely on me to react very quickly spell my doom. We'll see how it goes.

I'm currently dying all the freaking time in HFW. I've said that HZD was the hardest game I've ever loved, and this one is pushing that envelope about twice as far. Its absolutely brutal.

Ghost of Tsushima was similar after the first act. It really pushed my limits.

@Unlucky13 Have you considered dropping the difficulty? Not knocking your struggles or anything as I've dropped the difficulty in some games if I was getting too frustrated to enjoy it. I dropped the difficulty down to Easy in Kena for the boss fights and then back up to Normal after each boss fight. My second playthrough of Horizon Zero Dawn at the beginning of the year to get ready for Forbidden West was on Easy as parts of that game really frustrated me back in the day too. I wanted to just enjoy the gameplay and brush up on the story again. I didn't care about a challenge, and I definitely enjoyed it even more this time around.

@KilloWertz I've been forced to scale down from normal mode to easy mode for boss fights in some games before too, sadly. On The Witcher 3, even on my second playthrough at maximum level, I couldn't do it. Felt pretty shameful.

Normally, my tactic is to just overlevel and over prepare. Take it slowly and methodically, and make sure that I'm strong enough to move on. Its been my way since the NES days. But some games just tend to through things at you very fast and over and over sometimes these days, and my character ends up getting their butt kicked.

@Unlucky13 I used to always want to finish games on Normal, and I still do more often than not, because there used to be difficulty trophies for a lot of games. So I figured I'd get two trophies for Easy and Normal instead of replaying the game again in order to get both. Nowadays that's pretty rare to have difficulty trophies. Still, there's no shame in dropping the difficulty down or doing things in the game in order to try to enjoy the game better. Playing games is supposed to be about having fun, which I know you already know that, but I still said it.

I didn't used to drop the difficulty down in any games, so that did cause me to not finish some games like I would now. I've never been what I would consider to be a good gamer, but I manage to make it through most games on Normal. I beat Forbidden West on Normal without getting too frustrated, unlike with Zero Dawn that parts of nearly broke me. Maybe it helped that I had recently replayed Zero Dawn, I dunno.

@Unlucky13 Nothing wrong with changing the difficulty in a game. I also change the difficulty to easy if I get stuck otherwise, I game for fun mostly and when I keep banging my head against a wall it doesn't feel like fun anymore. So for some bosses in some games I go down to easy when they are tough. And just like @KilloWertz is saying there aren't many difficulty trophies anymore. You can get the platinum for Hfw with doing everything on the easiest setting.

Control doesn't have a slider though but it has assist mode. You can basically set a few different options like how much damage you take from bullets and such, so when it's to difficult you can always turn that on and play around with the settings until you feel comfortable.