When the PS5 Pro was announced, I was sceptical. But deep down, I knew I was already going to buy it.
Should I have bought it? Gaming is a big past time and I doubt that is going to change anytime soon. So when Sony dropped the massive £699 price tag, I instantly knew it would put off many Brits who don’t enjoy gaming as much as a past time as myself.
But after spending a week with the device and testing different games with the console, I can say that if you can afford the PS5 Pro, you’ll want to grab it or start saving up for it, especially as it seems retailers are already trying to lower the price.
After pre-ordering the console, I finally managed to get it in my home after multiple failed delivery attempts (thanks DPD) and started to set it up. Luckily, I thought ahead and also bought a disc drive which was extremely easy to slot into the console as well as replaced my SSD from my original PS5 into my new PS5 Pro.
One great thing about the PS5 Pro is that they have retained the SSD drive so you can still upgrade the storage if you want. When I installed my SSD drive in the old PS5, the process was extremely frustrating because of one reason: a cheap screw. This cheap screw was so cheap and small – everything I tried to unscrew it, it would strip so I couldn’t turn it, resulting me in having to find a replacement.
Sony must have heard these complaints because the screw and the process was far easier this time. But putting annoying screws on the backburner, the unboxing process of the PS5 Pro is very… boring. When you’re buying a console this expensive, it’s super plain. I’ve had better unboxing experiences from pieces of £30 clothing, let alone a £700 gaming console.
Nevertheless, Sony has managed to make to process swapping from PS5 to PS5 Pro easy thanks to data transfer. I plugged in both consoles and waited for my new Pro console to get all my data back where it belonged which took around an hour.
But I hear you saying: “What about the games and is it worth it?” Well for 90 per cent of you out there, no. It isn’t. It’s extremely hard to capture just how good the console looks on some games compared to the original PS5 – but Digital Foundry have some great comparisons that you can find here.
But for those hardcore gamers like myself who care about framerates, resolution and making your games look better, it is definitely worth it.
One game I wanted to try out was Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. A game that honestly looked absolutely awful when I first played it. It had a really weird blur that made me feel like my glasses weren’t strong enough.
The PS5 Pro has completely changed how this game looks. Instead of a slick blur in the distance, there’s now an option that allows you to output an upscaled 4K resolution with 60fps whereas the standard console allowed on 4K 30 or a lower resolution at 60fps.
PS5 eliminates that and the game looks fantastic. Background textures and imagery look gorgeous – but Final Fantasy isn’t the only game that looks great.
Horizon Forbidden West got some great upgrades. Compared to the inconsistent FPS drops I got with the original PS5, FPS drops are now non-existent and the image quality ‘pops’ far more compared to the old console. It feels much closer to games on my high-end PC rather than playing older console – one of my biggest gripes with the original PS5.
Other games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 put consoles and even PCs to its knees – but the PS5 Pro seems to have alleviated many of the problems. So all-in-all, I’m very happy with the PS5 Pro but also looking forward to how other games will be adjusted as developers roll around to releasing enhanced patches for older games.
But the big question: should you drop close to £700 on the PS5 Pro? Well, I believe 80 per cent of people still probably don’t need the console.
Do you really value the best possible looking games and framerates when you play your PS5? And do you play on it enough to make the time investment worth it? If the answer is yes to both of these, I would consider buying the PS5 Pro.
If you’re a pretty casual gamer who plays a few hours a week or month, stay far away from it until some good deals come around. It’s a tough sell to most people but if you already own a PS5, think about trading in your console to cut the price down.
I recently traded mine in for £300 and Very offers you the chance to trade in your console right here – or you can get a cheaper console here from Currys with a surprise price discount. If you’re on the look for a new gaming console but don’t this the PS5 Pro will suit you then there are other options, including the PS portal and Nintendo Switch consoles which we’ve rounded up below.