Of course, it's still early on in this new generation and so there's room for improvement. Sony recently
released new beta firmware that made additional important changes to the interface. There are still many anticipated features that have yet to be introduced, including support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) displays (which the Xbox Series consoles already do) and 8K support (since it is advertised on the box).
But aside from whether or not these features are actually useful, a fundamental issue is that of discoverability. Sure, most reading this article will be aware of the PS5's quirks and hidden features. But will a novice? Asking some of my family members who are casual gamers what they thought of all the PS5's features, they couldn't recall most of them even existing. My sister, who just started Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, had no idea she could get hints from the cards menu when she got stuck (which as a novice, she did a lot). So who exactly are these features for?
Sony could go a long way to make a lot of the new features more easily discoverable. Many of them are hidden under confusing icons that no one wants to press. There should be more visual cues, like notifications to educate users on features. It is a balancing act - too many popups and players will feel overwhelmed and annoyed. But the current model doesn't work.
Finally, Sony needs to make a lot of these features more useful. I should be able to pin custom cards that act as a shortcut to a particular part of the game, and do that without having to open the game first. The Explore tab should be opened up to other media publications to make it a central hub for gaming news. Most importantly for those of us in Blighty, we need BBC iPlayer as soon as possible.
