Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

@Elfuggingjefe I can only think he wants it for fortnite. He doesn't play much else. My nieces and nephews are a lost cause when it comes to gaming. I tried introducing them to quality games on PS, Xbox & Switch but the Fortnites and Roblox type games came out on top ☹️

@Elfuggingjefe I've jumped in a few times as well but just to speak with my nephews as they played. But you're right and I've made peace with it. My sisters with the kids didn't play games growing up. They weren't interested, so I can blame them for not knowing 🤣

On my 2025 PlayStation Wrap Up, I ended up with just 441 hours played and 13 games. 54% of my game time for the year was spent on Baldur’s Gate 3. 😄

So if I’m mathing correctly, that’s 8 hours gaming per week. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get more played this year. Most years I can get around 20 games played and I think I’m usually over 500 hours at least.

What I did find interesting was the breakdown of how much time I spent on console vs on the Portal, with about 90 of those 440 hours being on the Portal. I actually thought it would be a little more than that, seems I spend more than 20% of my game time on the portable. With cloud streaming having only come out recently, I bet that 2026 numbers will show a heavier split toward the Portal, like maybe 30-40% I suspect.

Also interesting to see which DualSense controller I use most, albeit meaningless information, truly. I use whichever one is charged! 😂

Were you surprised by your end of year data?

i've played shockingly little this year - just six games. The playtime isn't even accurate because it counts when games are paused, and didn't include games played on another PS5 system (but still signed in as me), such as Split Fiction, or Vita games.

According to the summary, my most played game is Alan Wake 2, which I'm still slowly playing, followed by Metal Gear Solid Delta. The true mark of just how little I've played is that the number five game was Man of Medan at 3 hours, followed by one hour of Need For Speed Rivals.

The overwhelming majority of my gaming time this year has been spent on the Switch/Switch 2 and DS. I also played Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on the Xbox. I'm not really surprised by how little I've played on my PS5, as I find it extremely difficult to focus and get very distracted.

Hours played: 702
Games played: 52
Trophies: 373 including 2 Platinums
Controller: Cosmic Red

Top Games:
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 78h
2. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach - 60h
3. Metaphor: ReFantazio - 53h (carried over from last year, I’ve put well over 100h into this)
4. Goat Simulator 3 - 47h
5. Cronos: The New Dawn - 46h
(Ghost of Yotei and Kingdom Come Deliverance II will overtake many of these and are like 1 hour away from this list)

855 hours played, 41 games played, 496 trophies, 5 platinums. Fave controller is the Midnight Black.

1. Battlefield 6 - 111 hours and still playing
2. Lords of the Fallen - 111 hours
3. Lies of P - 79 hours
4. Metaphor: ReFantazio - 74 hours (I played a bunch last year too)
5. Cult of the Lamb - 53 hours and still playing

I purposefully held off doing my PS Wrap-Up in the hopes that it would count my past week's progress, but it seems Sony stopped tracking my stats ten days ago. Looking at my PS5's profile page, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered should have been in third place, with 54 hours played (and a good dozen trophies added to this year's haul, too). Oh well. It's just a bit of fun, right?

Numbers are up from last year, some by a little, others by a lot. Which is weird because it feels like I barely played anything all summer, but hey. Guess I'm making up for lost time!

802 hours (across 581 sessions)
64 games (34 PS5, 30 PS4)
1,215 trophies (21 platinum, 140 gold, 300 silver, 754 bronze)

1) Dragon Age: The Veilguard (77 hrs.)
2) Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered (77 hrs.)
3) Ghost of Yōtei (52 hrs.)
4) Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (46 hrs.)
5) Jurassic World: Evolution (44 hrs.)

Not sure how they worked out putting Dragon Age ahead of Tomb Raider, especially since I got way more trophies from the latter, but Lara "won" my Wrap-Up last year, so I suppose it's only fair.

Oh, and my favourite controller (?!) was my DualSense Chroma Indigo. Thanks for that...?

@Werehog did you ever write a Veilguard review or impressions somewhere? Still interested in that game.

@Herculean Alas, no. My long-form days are behind me. However, I did drop a paragraph of expanded thoughts over in the Non-2025 Game of the Year topic, and I'd be happy to answer any questions / chat along as you play through someday. Bottom line is, if you're already interested, then I'd recommend it!

@Werehog Just read your post over there. That's a strong recommendation, wow. The game is a bit of a weird one for me, some people I really trust hate it, while other people I trust love it. How can this game be so divisive.

I'll probably have to play it to understand. Maybe after Indy!

@Herculean As with all of my opinions, that paragraph was (and is) an incredibly personal take, but hey, at least I'm not totally alone in singing the game's praises! It's always going cheap nowadays, so if you're ever tempted to try it for yourself, it shouldn't be a costly risk.

There are a handful of rational and valid perspectives on The Veilguard which do put forward a few fair criticisms. Even if I don't agree with them myself, I can stand back and recognise that they're different from the endless white noise of prejudice which spitefully attacks any mere mention of the game. When you get to the fourth instalment of a rich, detailed, and deeply personal series, you're never gonna be able to please everybody. Best you can realistically hope for is that you like more of it than you don't.

And it sounds like you can safely say that about Indiana Jones for now, which is awesome!

@Werehog The more I progress in Indiana Jones, the more I find enjoyment, by the way. It's different from other games, but based on your gaming preferences, you might really like it.

My partner and me play it together. It's a nice game even when you're not playing, because it's mostly about finding things and solving small puzzles, than it is about combat.

@Herculean Oh yay, thanks for the report! Especially since it's a positive one. I'm real glad you've been able to share the experience with your partner, too. Even with the focus on puzzles, I'd also imagine it must be a fun adventure to watch regardless, much like the movies.

Here's hoping it continues its upward trend, and that it sticks the landing for you both!

I'm actually quite tempted by those new HyperPop controllers and console covers. I don't know if I'll actually get any of them, but I think they look cool. I don't know if the covers come without the disk drive.

Maybe I just like the idea of them more than actually liking them. I don't know.

That was my reaction to 'em, too! At least as far as the cover plates go. Took a real good look, smiled, thought they were great, and then instinctively knew that I would never apply them to my own console.

If some of the controllers are still available come the day I need a new one, I might be tempted. I used to be totally against anything other than standard / default controller colours, but now both my DualSenses are what I call "fancy" editions and I actually kinda like it.

@Werehog Yeah, I'm a little OCD when it comes to it. I like my console and my controller(s) to be the same colour. 😅

@Kairuuu Yep, same!

Although I actually have CDO. It's like OCD, but the letters are in alphabetical order, as they should be.

@MaulTsir Hey, buddy! So great to see you post again! I’ve been wondering how you’re getting along.

And the update of your recent games played is so interesting! Mainly because several of the titles you’ve played are either in my backlog, or ones that I’ve been thinking and/or talking about lately.

@Tjuz and I were just discussing the Final Fantasy series recently and I’m trying to convert TJ into a FF fan. I said that I think although FFX is a good jumping in point, I was concerned that it hasn’t stood the test of time since it was such an early attempt at the modern open world. I’m glad to hear that I’ve underestimated its longevity.

Also interesting to read about the disappointment for Rebirth. Some of what you mentioned about it sounds familiar with other criticisms I’ve seen. I plan to hopefully get to it this year. I enjoyed Remake, although it sounds as though I liked it less than you did. I do hope Rebirth clicks with me, as I’ve been looking forward to it.

A couple other notable games on that list are on my ‘To Play’ list for 2026 — Clair Obscur and Witcher 3. Both earning 10/10’s on the Maul scale is really making me excited to get them. I’m reading The Witcher books now to get myself accustomed to the world and characters because the first time I tried W3 it didn’t really gel with me and I think I didn’t understand the character Geralt at the time.

Death Stranding is an all-time favorite of mine, so I hope it’s been enjoyable for you. I want to try to get to the sequel this year as well.

If I get through Rebirth, Witcher 3, CO: E33, and DS2 by end of year than I’ll be quite happy.

@Th3solution hey mate, its good to post again. It's nice to be back! Hope everything's good with you!

Story wise for FF X it's brilliant, like I say when I first ever played it, I didn't Gel but maybe age was a factor. I couldn't say as an entry point which FF is best, I guess it depends on the individuals taste and gameplay style but I did feel X held up really well. It does have a very FF feel but at the same time feels completely different to 7, 8 and 9 If that makes sense. I think FF fans and JRPG fans in general would appreciate a playthrough of X though.

Yeah I feel like I should of loved Rebirth, but I don't know, it just didn't hit me the same as remake. The story is fine, I'm actually happy with this version, I feel like I get what their trying to do. And the combat is brilliant, improved on Remake and switching party members was a genius stroke, even though I still near enough always had Cloud in my party because it feels more right lol but the game felt "childish" for want of a better word. I still enjoyed it and would recommend anyone who's played remake to play it but yeah overall disappointed, left alot to be desired and I now worry for the 3rd installment.

Expedition 33 is truly something special. I won't go on to much about it as I'd like not to spoil anything for you but I absolutely loved it. There's been few games that have earned multiple playthroughs from me, Mass Effect series, Red Dead Redemption 1, God of War 2018, Bloodbourne, Ghost of Tsushima, Last of Us 1&2 and The Witcher 3. E33 will certainly join this list, that's how highly I regard it

Speaking of The Witcher 3 I very similar to you tried multiple times to get into it when it first came out. Then I read a few of the books and loved the game, but I couldn't do the DLC's at the time. I'm so glad I did, honestly Blood and Wine is basically another game in it self, unbelievable the amount of content on that DLC. Hopefully you get to enjoy them as I did this time.