We are only a few months away from the launch of the PS5 and its competitor, the Xbox Series X. The start of a new generation, for me, would normally be a time of heady fanfare and anticipation. The piggy bank would break, the launch title wish lists would be drawn up, and the calendar would be marked and the days would be counted. But as the sun goes down in today’s gaming generation, I’m not that worried. I’m in no rush to update.
Why? The PlayStation 4 is still as good, and its latest series of games like Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us 2 are even better.
11 hour masterpieces
It is not unusual for games released later in a generation to excel. Developers have had years to hone their crafts on then-familiar hardware, pushing the console’s specifications to their limits. We saw it with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 5, for example, released in late 2013, a game so amazing that it was lived in its remade form throughout the lifecycle of PS4 and Xbox One.
And we’re looking at it again now with Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2, two games that are so amazing in scope and visual detail that they make me question what exactly the PlayStation 5 brings to the table that It may tempt me to part with my cash.
As I said in my review, Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most impressive titles of this generation, a powerful epic in the fields, mountains and battlefields of feudal Japan. It is a huge game, with dozens and dozens of hours of gameplay to enjoy. It sticks too far to open-world gaming conventions, but paired with such a beautiful eye that it’s easy to get lost.
About the last of us. I haven’t had a chance to play the Naughty Dog sequel yet, it’s my next title, but you just have to read my friend Vic Hood’s review of The Last of Us: Part 2 of 5 stars to see that it’s something special. She comes to call it “the generation game,” a sentiment echoed by many who have played it.
Then I look at the line of PS5 launch games and, frankly, I’m still a bit disappointed. There are a couple of titles that I like: Little Devil Inside and Deathloop come to mind (and the game Spider-Man: Miles Morales would have been, too, if it weren’t essentially a remake plus an extended DLC pack). But that is all. And, without experiencing the supposed hardware upgrades for me, like DualSense haptic feedback control pads and SSD charging enhancements, so far I haven’t seen anything (Horizon: Forbidden West perhaps the exception) that couldn’t possibly exist. on the PS4. In fact, some of the great third-party titles like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Hitman 3, and the annual EA Sports titles are meant to be cross-gen (it’s causing its own set of headaches)
Mid-cycle discomfort
Is that a failure of the buzz prior to the release of the PS5, or the success of the late-cycle greatness of the PlayStation 4? Maybe it’s a bit of both: launch lineups are rarely packed with must-have games as developers get acquainted with new tools and specs. But, perhaps as important as first-rate games, have been the decisions of console manufacturers to introduce mid-generation machines.
My favorite console is a PS4 Pro. With its added power, 4K imaging, and HDR display options, it’s ticking many of the boxes for which many are specifically upgrading to a PS5. The jump, therefore, may be more significant for those still using the first wave of PS4 hardware. But if we can assume that it’s Sony’s hottest fans who have dipped twice for a PS4 Pro (or joined the generation with its launch), they may be less inclined to be among the first to adopt the PS5. We’ve had mid-generation hardware recycles before, but they were primarily aesthetic redesigns, slimming or refining exteriors, rather than offering a palpable performance upgrade like the PS4 Pro does.
Add to that the perhaps unintended side effect of how generous PS Plus has been over the years. I now have a catalog of games totaling hundreds in my PS4 library, many of which have not been touched, despite being very attractive to me. In the unlikely event that I limit myself exclusively to games I already have access to on PS4, I could easily have several more years of free time spent on games that Sony has apparently given away for free with its subscription offer.
And so, for the first time in a long time, I’m thinking of staying out of the launch window for the launch of this generation of consoles. Maybe my mind will change between now and Christmas, when the first practical impressions of PS5 from Xbox X-Series reviews begin to arrive. But for now I’m still waiting for a reason to give my PS4 Pro a cold shoulder.
