Hands On: Why Use PS5 Remote Play More

Ah well Remote reading, the oft-forgotten PlayStation 4 feature that’s perfect when you are in a pinch. In the heady days of the Nintendo Wii U’s off-screen controller, Sony made a lot of noise about the PlayStation 4’s ability to stream to a PS Vita. The handheld has passed its expiration date these days, of course, even though it continues to receive new software releases until 2021, but the technology has been preserved for PlayStation 5. And honestly, it’s better than ever. State.

First, a few qualifiers: we have been testing remote reading for two weeks with Wi-Fi in the same house. We streamed our PS5 from the living room to an upstairs bedroom, using a Microsoft Surface laptop. You can also stream to a PS4 or smartphone if you want, but this time there’s no PS Vita support. We haven’t tested the technology outside of our local network, so your mileage will almost certainly vary once you leave your home.

Still, we’re getting much better results with Remote Play with our PS5 than ever with our PS4. Sony updated the Windows client, allowing streams to be HDR compatible and down to 1080p. Obviously, the higher resolution you select will tax your connection more, but other than a few occasional stuttering and macro freezes, we were generally able to use remote playback at 1080p without any hindrance.

So the bigger question is: how do the games feel? Good enough. There is a marginal input lag which makes some titles more difficult to play than others; We tested NBA 2K21, for example, and found that we had to completely rethink the timing of our shots to hit the outside triplets. Likewise, jerk shooters like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War can be played, but you’re never going to dominate online multiplayer leaderboards because you’re instantly at a disadvantage.

However, these are the worst case scenarios. We also played Planet Coaster: Console Edition with Remote Play, and the experience was almost perfect. Without relying on a quick response from the controller, we found that we could build and run our theme park exactly how we wanted, despite being in a different part of the house than our PS5. We also got similar results with the slower paced strategy and role playing; everything is working really well.

In fact, we tested FIFA 21 and while we wouldn’t be playing the main Ultimate Team games online through Remote Play, we found the game to be fully playable on our laptop. We use a DualShock 4 connected to our computer for controls, so it’s not the most portable solution, but you get exactly the same inputs as a DualSense, so you’re not at a disadvantage, like you have to. wrong with the rear touchpad. on the PS Vita.

There are even some really nice quality of life improvements that you can enjoy specifically when using remote reading. For example, when messaging friends, your computer keyboard will be used for typing by default, meaning you won’t have to struggle with the PlayStation’s onscreen keyboard. It’s a really nice touch and it shows that Sony has gone to great lengths to make the experience the best it can be.

Our only major criticism is that the client is heating up our laptop, and this is the only software we use that does. Since you’re just streaming a video stream, we have no idea why it is consuming so much resources, but hopefully this is something Sony can optimize in the future. Otherwise, if you want to use your PS5 but don’t have direct access to the TV your console is connected to, this provides a pretty good alternate experience. Try it if you haven’t already.

You can learn How to use the PS5 remotely