Whether you were Luckily enough to get your hands on Sony’s new PlayStation 5 on release day, fast enough to grab one when stocks popped up again, or you scored one for Christmas, most importantly you have one. Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of next-gen console gaming! We’ve collected a few tips and not-so-obvious features that will help you get the most from your new console.
Are you looking for accessories to equip your new system? Check out our Best Gaming Headsets, Best Wireless Gaming Headsets, and Best Gifts for PlayStation Lovers guides for our top picks. If you just want to learn more about the PS5, this is exactly what’s new.
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1. Learn how to turn off the PS5
You may deride this first tip. How hard can it be to turn off your console? I certainly didn’t spend 10 minutes looking for the option, if that’s what you’re suggesting! Turns out you have to press the PlayStation button in the center of the controller once; Don’t hold it down like you would on the PS4. After you tap that button, a menu will appear at the bottom of the screen and you will see the power icon on the far right. The menu wraps around so it’s faster to move left.
You can also press the physical power button on the hardware itself, which is at the bottom if you have it vertically or all the way to the left if your PS5 is horizontally on your media console.
2. Transfer files and games from your PS4
If you’re upgrading from a PS4, you may want to transfer games, settings, and other files to your new console. You will be prompted to do this during the installation, but if you skipped it, you can go back and do it later. Before you start, it’s a good idea to plug both consoles in side by side and power them on with an ethernet cable to connect them (you can use Wi-Fi, but it will take longer).
When you’re done, go to Settings on the PS5, then System> System Software. Select Data transfer, Continue and choose your PS4. When Prepare for data transfer appears, press and hold the power button on the PS4 for a few seconds until it beeps. Choose what you want to move and choose Start the transfer.
3. Check how long you have played a game
Now it’s easier than ever to see how many hours you’ve spent playing PlayStation games. Choose your avatar at the top right of the PS5 home screen and select Profile, Then the Spell tab. You can see the total playing time next to each game with the trophy progress on the right.
4. Make sure you are playing the PS5 version of a game
While it’s great that you can play PS4 games on the PS5, it can sometimes cause some confusion. Certain older titles have been improved for the newer console, so make sure to play the updated version for the best experience. Take a closer look at the title of the game on the home screen. Any PS4 version will say PS4 next to it. You can also scroll right and choose Game Libraryand then tap it Sorting and filtering icon on the left and filter your games Platform.
5. Adjust your controller settings
The PS5’s DualSense controller is excellent and represents a real step forward over the DualShock 4. The feel of the triggers and range of vibrations contribute to the immersion, and it changes dynamically in response to the on-screen action. The default settings suit me, but if you want to reduce the vibration intensity or trigger effects, go to Settings> Accessories> Controllers. Since you can use your old DualShock 4 controllers to play PS4 games on the PS5, there is also an option here to reduce the brightness of their indicators.
6. Get more immersive sound with 3D audio
A main feature in the PS5 is 3D audio, which allows game developers to link sound effects to everything around you to enhance the illusion that you are in the environment, but you must use headphones or earbuds to take advantage. 3D Audio is enabled by default, so plug headphones into your controller and you should hear the difference immediately, but you’ll want to calibrate it for your ears via Settings> Sound> Audio output. Under the option to Enable 3D audio, Select Adjust the 3D audio profile and choose the one that suits you best from the five available levels.
7. Play Astro’s playroom, Then delete it
Every PS5 comes with Astro’s playroom installed and worth checking out. This fun 3D platformer is packed with PlayStation credentials that will give you a dose of warm and faint nostalgia, but it also shows what the new DualSense controller is capable of. Once done, you can free up nearly 11 gigabytes of storage space by searching and deleting it in Settings> Storage> Console storage> Games and apps. Don’t worry, you can always redownload it from PlayStation Store for free.
8. Get more storage space
One of the ways the PS5 improves upon the PS4 is with a lightning-fast solid-state drive (SSD) for storage. Game segmentation and a reduction in the need for duplicate data also means game downloads should be smaller, but you can still fill the available 667 gigs pretty quickly if you’re playing a lot of different games. Sony has promised to activate the internal slot that will allow you to add an approved SSD card in the near future. For now, you can connect an external SSD or HDD that supports USB 3.0 or higher to a USB port on your PS5. The catch is that you can only play PS4 games saved on that external drive.
9. Choose your game presets
You can save some time configuring games according to your preferences by going to Settings> Saved Data> Game / App Settings> Game Presets. You can select the difficulty of your favorite game, choose between performance or graphics quality, and adjust the camera movement for first and third person, including the option to set reverse controls by default.