TGO Daily | November 9, 2020 | PlayStation 5 Reviews
Welcome back! It’s been a pretty big weekend of news, so we’ve got lots to talk about today :)
The biggest thing is that Mass Effect is going to be re-entering our collective consciousness. People have been asking for proper content ever since the disappointment of Andromeda, so hopefully this will turn things around for BioWare (along with Anthem 2.0).
Until tomorrow,
Adrian
In The News
Playstation 5 Reviews
On Friday we talked about the official reviews of the Xbox Series X|S — today, we’ll cover the PlayStation 5. With help from this summary article from gamesindustry.biz, here’s what the critics are saying.
If nothing else, the release of the PS5 has shown the stark differences that Microsoft and Sony have taken. Where the Xbox has taken an iterative approach to pretty much every aspect of its console, the PlayStation 5 has introduced something new.
The biggest compliments have gone to the new DualSense controller. It features haptic feedback which allows you to feel different things based on what’s happening in the game. Rather than a generic rumble, you’ll feel the pattering of rain — even walking on different surfaces in-game will change what you feel. VG247 even said “I honestly think the new PS5 controller will radically make people rethink their multiplatform buying decisions.”
The user interface (UI) was also praised for having a number of innovations (where Xbox is a carbon copy). GamesRadar talked about a new feature called “Activities”:
“These little Activities cards pop up like colourful tourism board signs, pointing you to your next trophy, or your recent screenshots, or offering up more info on the mission you're currently tackling. It'll even let you jump to another in-game activity entirely if you so wish... It really is amazing tech, skipping you past loading screens and menus at a blink.”
The biggest negative presented against the console, which was pretty much present in every review, was its size. The console is huge, and it didn’t sit well with many people. Comedically, the Daily Telegraph said this about it:
“Sony’s new box is no looker…In fact, some will consider it positively ugly: a bulky black brick wrapped in an unappealingly asymmetrical white metal folder…The PS5’s size is both the elephant in the room and an elephant in the room.”
That being said, if you are someone who is interested in having the true “next-gen experience”, you’re probably better off with the PS5. Xbox is doing tremendously well with the Game Pass and making it easy to play their games, but the PS5 technology and exclusives will be hard for many people to ignore.
Mass Effect
BioWare has officially announced the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. This is a remastered edition of the original trilogy, which will include all single-player content released for those three games. It is being optimized for 4K.
For many months now, our team at BioWare has been hard at work updating the textures, shaders, models, effects, and technical features of three enormous games. Our goal was not to remake or reimagine the original games, but to modernize the experience so that fans and new players can experience the original work in its best possible form.
— Casey Hudson, VP & Studio GM of BioWare
Legendary Edition is slated for a Spring 2021 release on current-gen consoles and PC, with “targeted enhancements” on next-gen consoles.
They also announced that they are working on the next iteration of the franchise, with little else shared. Hopefully will have a more stable development cycle than Andromeda did.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Spider-Man: Miles Morales is releasing on November 12th, and the review embargo has now lifted!
Overall, critics responded to the game similarly to it’s predecessor: with overwhelming positivity. Perhaps as expected for a standalone spin-off, Miles Morales inherits many of the characteristics of the first game.
Everything that was great in Marvel’s Spider-Man is great in Miles Morales, from web-swinging around Manhattan…to the more walking simulator–style interludes. It’s a smaller game, to be sure, but not a slight one, and the amount of new ideas and refinements put it on par with any full sequel in my book.
Many people are pointing out that it feels like the proper “next-generation” game that people have been looking for — improved graphics, instantaneous loading screens, and the controller’s haptic feedback showcase the true power of the PS5.
Also In The News
Some of these stories may be expanded in tomorrow’s newsletter, depending on how slow it is.
Say Hello!
That’s all for today :) If you want to get in touch, you can always reply to this email. You can also DM me on Twitter, or come join the community on Discord (it’s awesome)!
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