When the PlayStation 5 was released in November 2020, it brought several improvements over the PlayStation 4. The console is capable of higher resolutions and framerates, allowing for games to look and feel better than ever before. With Tempest 3D audio, soundscapes are made more immersive, letting gamers truly escape into a new world. Of course, the console's SSD cannot be forgotten either, as it decimates loading times and tears down previous level design limitations.
The most notable addition the PS5 introduces is the DualSense controller. Although the DualShock range of controllers has served Sony well for many years, the DualSense takes things to a new level by incorporating features that excite the senses and add a new layer to games. Features such as advanced haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and a built-in microphone can be used by developers to innovate the way games feel and respond to players. Despite the potential of the controller, there have been very few games that fully take advantage of it.
Over a Year Later, Astro’s Playroom Still Makes the Best Use of the Dualsense
One of the best PS5 games available is one that every PS5 owner has right out of the box – Astro’s Playroom. The game features Astro Bot, a cute robot with some cool dance moves. Astro Bot takes an adventure through four worlds themed after the internal components of the PS5. It is an absolute must-play, and it offers a nostalgic trip down PlayStation’s long and illustrious history. The game has a catchy soundtrack and visuals that are an explosion of color. However, the best part of the game is how it makes full use of all the DualSense controller’s unique features. This is to be expected, as the game does, in part, serve to introduce new PS5 owners to the DualSense. However, it does so by taking players through an addictive platformer that is fun yet still accessible for even the most novice gamers.
The first DualSense feature players will likely feel is the haptic feedback. As Astro Bot ventures over different terrain, the controller will use haptic feedback to produce a similar tactile sensation for players. In Cooling Springs, for example, Astro Bot finds itself on a sunny beach and with each step that the robot takes on the golden sands, the roughness can be felt in the hands of players. Haptic feedback produces an entirely different sensation when Astro Bot must wade through viscous sludge in Memory Meadows. Weather effects are also effectively simulated, and the pitter-patter of rain on Astro Bot's umbrella can be heard, seen, and felt.
Little Astro Bot has access to a bow and arrow that it can use to shoot at its opponents. When players use the adaptive triggers to pull the bowstring back, the tension of the string is felt in the triggers. Astro Bot can also wield a nifty machine gun device that shoots balls, and with each projectile fired, the adaptive triggers give feedback to players. Although subtle, the use of the adaptive triggers here demonstrates how they can be used to help players feel the actions they are performing onscreen.
Features that have carried over from the DualShock 4 such as the touchpad, motion-sensing, and gyroscopic aim also show up in Astro’s Playroom. Scaling a mountainside in a monkey costume is done using motion controls which, although it can hurt one’s wrist when done too much, is a bunch of fun. The touchpad is used ingeniously when Astro Bot turns into a ball and players must use the touchpad to help the cute robot navigate. Gyroscopic aiming is a criminally underused feature in most games, but fortunately, Astro's Playroom makes use of it when Astro Bot is carrying a bow and arrow.
A Little Bit, But Never Enough
Although Astro’s Playroom gives a sterling example of how the DualSense controller can be used to enhance gameplay and increase immersion, there has yet to be any other game that makes use of the controller nearly as effectively. Control, developed by Remedy Entertainment, suffers from this issue. The game makes use of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, and each form Jesse’s service weapon takes will feel different when fired. However, its implementation is weak and if one is not paying attention, it is easy to forget that the adaptive triggers are being used at all.
Similar issues affect A Plague Tale: Innocence, which is a PS4 game that received a free PS5 upgrade. The implementation of haptic feedback is fantastically done and the tickling feeling of crawling through grass can be felt in one’s hands. Furthermore, the adaptive triggers are used quite creatively, and Amicia's footsteps can be felt when R2 is pressed down to make her run. However, the inclusion of gyroscopic aiming would have helped greatly. A Plague Tale: Innocence is not alone with this issue, and several games on PS5, for some odd reason, neglect gyroscopic aiming even though it makes aiming so much smoother when using a controller.
The same problem is found with the "director's cut" games that were released in 2021. Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut, for example, implements most DualSense features satisfyingly. Haptic feedback highlights the impact of every sword strike, and the adaptive triggers can be felt when Jin pulls back on his bow. Unfortunately, once again, gyroscopic aiming is conspicuously absent. Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding: Director’s Cut does feature some of the best DualSense use currently available. Haptic feedback effectively emulates the feeling of rough grass when Sam is creeping, and the adaptive triggers will give greater resistance depending on how much cargo Sam is handling. However, once again, gyroscopic aiming is missing, which is a pity considering the wide range of new weapons that are introduced with the director's cut.
A strong lineup of games awaits the PS5 in 2022. This includes Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, and the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. These games have the opportunity to succeed where other games have failed. Hopefully, as developers grow more familiar with the PS5 and the DualSense controller, Astro's Playroom will become a roadmap for future games rather than a bar set too high for others to reach.
