Were you fortunate sufficient to get a PS5 for Christmas the other day? No? Then do not read this post as you might simply get jealous. But if you were, I wish to provide you some recommendations as someone who has owned a PS5 considering that launch, and there are a few things regarding settings and purchases I wish I had done from the start.
Here are some things to be knowledgeable about when you go to use your PS5 prior to you get lost in the bunny holes of Spider-Man or Cyberpunk.
Mute Your Mic By Default
Your PS5 now has an embedded mic in the controller that is active by default. This is scary, but also frustrating for other players in a lobby if you do not understand what you’re transmitting. The method to change this is to go to Settings > > Noise > Microphone > > Microphone Status When Visited > > Mute. You will have to unmute by hand by striking a button on your controller when you do wish to use a mic going forward, but a minimum of it will not be constantly on. Nevertheless, the mute light now forever appears on your controller which is frustrating.
De-Clutter Your Homescreen From Irrelevant Games
PS5 has this brand-new “Discover” screen when you visit that essentially shows you a fullscreen advertisement for something when you log in. While you can’t erase the page entirely (some regions do not have it, for whatever reason), you can “unfollow” video games you don’t wish to see. Usually, it will pull from games in your library or that connect with your Sony account, even if they’re not downloaded. With each story, you can go to the tile, click on the 3 dots and strike “Unfollow this video game.” Or you can go to your library, go to the shop page for each video game and do the exact same thing to unfollow from there. At least with this method, you can curate the screen a bit so you’re not seeing every brand-new Fortnite skin bundle that releases when you downloaded the game for two days a year ago.
Always Default To Efficiency Mode
PS5 has a brand-new system where you can select what games default to without them even asking. Lots of games will now split between efficiency mode for higher framerates or visual fidelity for more results like ray-tracing. I would advise doing efficiency mode due to it having a more visible effect on the video games. To do this, you go to Settings > > Conserved Game Data and Game/App Settings > > Game Presets > > Performance Mode or Resolution Mode > > Performance Mode. You can also pick default trouble settings too here.
Save Controller Charge Life
This is another set I just recently found. While Xbox turns your controller off by default after a while, PS5 does not, and leave it on indefinitely, draining your battery and making you charge it regularly. This is under Settings > > System > > Power Saving > > Set Time Up Until Controllers Turn Off > > Whatever you want. I did thirty minutes.
Do Not Purchase Godfall
Yeah all right we are entering subjective territory here, but I understand that some people are going to be paying $70 for Godfall, one of the only PS5 console exclusives out today besides Miles Morales and Devil’s Souls. But the video game is not even on the very same plane of presence as those 2, and it is one of the worst AAA games I have played in a long time, so much so I offered it a 5/10 in my review. I just can not suggest it for anywhere close to complete cost. If you can find it for $20 then maybe I’d go all out, but this nearly appears like one to await until it appears on PS Plus totally free. Seriously, prevent it.