Topic: Help a PS5 newbie

Hey all. Long time lurker over at NintendoLife here. Looking for some advice from the Push Square community.

Today I ordered a PS5 disc edition. I've been seeing so much about the great exclusives, and it was a bit of a spontaneous purchase. I'm really looking for some tips on what to play.

I'm not new to PS. I had a PS2 in my teens and have played some games through friends. Even got half way through the first Spider Man when a family member with a PS4 was staying with us.

My question is about the big exclusive franchises - God of War, Horizon, Spider-Man, Ratchet and Clank.

Should I start with the most recent installments that were designed with PS5 in mind, or go back to the start of the franchises and go from there?

Any thoughts would be appreciated...

@FyreFlies
If you want to be wowed by the next gen spectacle of your new machine you should go for the newer ones, if it's more important you fully understand the plot and characters you should go back and play the full series. The newer Ratchet & Spider-Man games are pretty short experiences but both highly enjoyable. I've not forgotten around to Ragnorok or HFW I I can't speak for them but think they are much bigger in scope.

Whatever you decide upon you should make time to play the Astrobot game first, it is fantastic.

Oh and welcome to the forums. 👍

I would highly recommend Horizon Forgotten West it shows off the PS5 graphics and you will love how the new controller works when you are playing especially the triggers, its a huge game and will take you many hours to complete it i have seen people say anything between 30 and 80 hours, also there are plenty used ones for sale so you dont need to spend much to own a copy.

I wouldn't worry about playing Horizon Forgotten West first but if you have plenty of time on your hands you could play Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4 version) first, i would just dive straight in with the HFW and get the wow factor.

This is from the gaming thread in the PS5 forum -

MaulTsir wrote:
@Max_Headroom I've managed a few more sessions on HFW and I've got to say the more I play the more I enjoy it, they story is really picking up as well now and the combat is really good which was something that surprised me in the First game. How are you finding it?

Max Headroom wrote:
Loving every minute, i dont really have time to spend as many hours a day as i would like to (i wish i had) so it'll take me a while to finish it, i am like a big kid every time the characters talk to each other and you can see every line and freckle even their teeth look real, i am glad i started playing this as it really does show what the PS5 can do.

@FyreFlies Congrats on your purchase. Especially to someone who hasn't been in the PlayStation ecosystem for a while, I'm pretty sure you'll never ever regret that decision. I'm jealous of all the great experiences that lie ahead of you.
And nice meeting you, as a Switch/PS5 owner, I'm rather the opposite, as I'm active here, but lurk on NintendoLife!

Many PS4 games got great PS5 upgrades, and I believe many of PS4's best games, still hold up because of great art direction. Here's my list with 10 games I would suggest to new PS5 owners, who didn't have a PS4:

The Last of Us Part 1
God of War 2018
Horizon Zero Dawn
Days Gone
Ratchet & Clank 2016
Control
Spider-Man Remastered
Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
Returnal
A Yakuza game (0, Kiwami or Like a Dragon)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I think all of them have had great PS5 support added to them, so they look amazing, even though some are years old now. The updates show what the PS5 is capable of and, importantly, all of them are classics.

@FyreFlies I echo what Dan said. If you're interested in the stories then start the games from the first entry in their respective series. If you're just after the current-gen stuff then focus on that.

I'd maybe recommend subscribing to PS+ Extra if you don't have a lot of games purchased yet. You'll have access to a few current-gen PS5 games there, including Demon's Souls and Returnal.

Enjoy your gaming whichever way you choose to play — and welcome to the forums too!

@FyreFlies Welcome aboard, and congrats on your new purchase!

My opinion is to start with the first game in the series if it’s narratively driven. And like @Kidfried says, most of the PS4 ports have either a native PS5 version now (such as The Last of Us Part 1, Spider-Man Remastered Collection, Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, Death Stranding DIrector’s Cut, Uncharted Legacy of Thieves, Final Fantasy 7 Intergrade, etc) or at least a PS5 patch that bumps the frame rate and boosts performance (GoW 2018, HZD, Days Gone, Ratchet & Clank 2016, etc)

Notable exceptions exist, the most famous of which is Bloodborne, which hasn’t received any upgrade to the base PS4 game, although the PS5 will load it a little quicker, but that’s it. Other 3rd party games also haven’t had any PS5 upgrades like Red Dead Redemption 2, etc.

If note, The Nathan Drake Collection (which is Uncharted 1-3) has been updated to PS4 quality only but still runs great and is at 60 fps even on base PS4, and so it you have interest in The Legacy of Thieves (UC 4 and UC Lost Legacy) I’d recommend going back and playing the first three games for context, personally.

But yes, subscribing to Extra will give you access to about 75% of these mentioned games. As well as standalone gems like Returnal and Shadow of the Colossus.

You have a treasure trove of games to play! Many more that we haven’t even named yet. What are your preferred genres and favorite games?

Thanks everyone, some great tips and it's clear there's a cool little community on here.

I'm not really into first person shooters. I guess I perform action/adventure and platformers. I'm mainly a Nintendo guy, so Zelda and Mario feature on most entries on my favourite game list.

I guess there's positives to both starting at the beginning or just on with the PS5 entry. I'm a little OCD, so whichever approach I choose for one game, I'll do for all of them.

Thanks all!

@FyreFlies Sounds like you will have fun with God of War PS4 and Ratchet & Clank PS4 as starting point!

And there are so many Nintendo gamers here (me included), you'll fit right in.

@FyreFlies I’m excited for you! I’d be curious to hear how you get along with your early PS5 experiences.

And like was said previously, if you enjoy platformers, Astrobot’s Playroom is an absolute must-play. In fact, it should probably be the first game you play. 😄

If it was up to me it would be a must play, probably as part of the initial set up - make everyone complete it before it even lets you get to the home screen.

Okay, so Astrobot first thing on Friday it is.... and then I'll go from there. Will keep you all posted!

@FyreFlies Astrobot is probably the most Nintendo like game on PS5, so imagine you will like it. Happy gaming,

@FyreFlies So there aren’t that many PS5 first party exclusives. The other games are mostly cross-gen.
It’s just Demon’s Souls, Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart & the upcoming Spider-Man 2. The most high profile Third party console exclusives are Final Fantasy XVI & Baldur’s Gate 3 (for now).

I do understand where you’re coming from, but I’d go for a standalone experience like FFXVI to put the console through its paces- rather than jumping mid-way into a story.

I’d recommend PS+ Extra as it’s great value, especially for someone that’s been out of the PS ecosystem for a while, but the price just went up.

Thanks for the tips all. It arrived yesterday and I finally got it set up today. Not had too much time on it, but finished the SSD levels of Astro and the opening of Miles Morales. I love it so far. Controller is incredible. I got the 3D Audio headset too and the sound is so freaking good. Feel like a kid again haha

@FyreFlies Wonderful to hear you’re enjoying it. It is indeed an incredible console, despite being a bit of any eyesore 😅. Actually the weird design grows on you over time and I consider my PS4 rather boring looking now.

The DualSense is one of the standout features of the console and I really love it too, even though I think the DualShock 4 is more comfortable to hold. But the haptics and triggers make the DSe well worthwhile.

I will say that no other game has quite tapped into the wonderful features of the DualSense quite like Astrobot. It’s still the pinnacle of the controller, but other games utilize it well too like Returnal, Rift Apart, and GT7. The third party games tend to not really use its features quite as robustly, but some put a nice effort like Control Ultimate Edition and Dirt 5.

I really like my 3D audio headset too, and it really helps the immersion for 3D games and it make them easier knowing which direction an enemy is coming from.

@FyreFlies. If you like action I can in addition to Spiderman also recommend that you check out the Resident Evil games. I think there is a couple of fans of that franchise here on the forum.