PS5 Gameplay Shows the Console’s SSD in Action

The next generation of consoles will feature the upgrades we always expect, such as better graphics and audio, but Sony and Microsoft have both made a huge deal about the custom solid state drives that are shipping in the PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S. Their biggest benefit seems to be super fast load times, and we’re starting to see that more as we approach the November launch for the three consoles.

At a recent PS5 event, the Japanese games press was able to go hands-on with the console and play a variety of games. Famed publication Famitsu uploaded a clip of some gameplay from Astro’s Playroom and Godfall, and the load times are as fast as described.

The video doesn’t show a lot of gameplay for either game, but it does illustrate how fast gamers will get back into the action after a death. Respawns in both games only take a second or two, which is a massive improvement over the average PS4 or Xbox One title. This functionality was also shown off in the gameplay debut trailer for Demon’s Souls, which shows fast travel between different areas of the map. A YouTube comparison clocked an area transition at three seconds in BluePoint’s PS5 remake, while the same action in the PS3 version took over 10 seconds.

At the same hands-on event, several writers also discussed the PS5’s fan noise and mentioned that it was significantly quieter than the cooling solution found in the base PS4 or PS4 Pro.