PlayStation 5 - Astro's Playroom and DualSense Controller experience review

PlayStation 5 - Astro's Playroom and Controller experience review

It's now just a matter of weeks until the PlayStation 5 makes its long-awaited arrival on the gaming scene.

And thanks to PlayStation New Zealand, time has been given on the machine in a demo of Astro's Playroom.

Specifically, access was given to allow use of the new controller, the DualSense, and the haptic feedback that has been made so much of.

While the PlayStation's UI and finer points of the console itself (such as the back etc) are still being kept massively under wraps for users, the controller is really where the feeling of the next generation starts to come to life.

It feels chunkier than the current PlayStation 4 controller, and more meaty in the hands. 

But that's not to say it's unwieldy in any shape or form - the controller itself has grips and sits comfortably in the hands which will be good for long gaming sessions. Equally, its sleek and simple design gives it a kind of pristine sheen and ice white feel that will be hard to beat in any new colour iterations PlayStation puts out.

Initially, it doesn't feel much different to a DualShock in many ways - the touch pad is there, the controller sticks are where they should be and the buttons and D-pad all work like they do in the current gen.

Yet, it's the much vaunted haptic feedback in the adaptive controllers that gives the DualSense the promise of a next gen piece of kit.

The R1 and R2 buttons adapt to their environments, and the grips on them change. In the Astro's Playroom demo, it becomes obvious the scope there is for the haptic feedback to shape the nature of any game and the immersiveness of it. (Though, admittedly, there are only a certain limited number of feelings for any developers to use the tech, so it'll be interesting to see where they go with it.)

Sequences where your Bot suits up to become a springy toy see the controller's back buttons become tighter like coils, and others where you fire a gun of balls at other bots or using a bow, you can feel the controller kicking back with the recoil. It's game-changing stuff - much like the touch pad was for Little Big Planet or in the inFamous series on the PlayStation 4.

But as is cautioned, developers will need to run with it for it to morph into something more than a launch gimmick. 

In Astro's Playroom, the Astrobot experience is extended out from the Astro Bot Rescue Mission - and the game comes installed in the PS5 for launch day.

In the one section that was allowed to be played, the game's clearly meant to get you in touch with what the controller does, and the speed and reactiveness of the next gen hardware.

It's undeniably cute and Sackboy is in danger of being usurped, as you hurtle around areas picking up PlayStation-labelled coins (for reasons as yet unknown) and tracking down pieces of a jigsaw that form a mural. Using the triggers and a combination of buttons to push and pull parts of the PlayStation Labo area in the game trigger different things - and demonstrate what the controller can do.

Much of Astro's PlayRoom has a nostalgia theme to it, a love-letter to previous generations, thanks to artifacts that can be found (and which are based on previous software) and the design of a central area. It's a sweet little game, but one that shows off the console's potential.

And it's potential that matters here.

With the launch in New Zealand happening on November 12, it seems like Sony has some interesting ideas up their sleeve for the kind of use the controller can have in the games they're dropping near launch.

Imagine using the controller during the wacky gadgets of Ratchet and Clank's next outing, or for Sackboy's return. Long term prospects like the Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and a potential Spider-Man sequel will ensure the gaming is brought to your fingertips.

It's enticing, intriguing and a sign that the next generation of consoles has something to offer - and a world of possibilities for developers to embrace.

Sony PlayStation 5, the DualSense controller, and the demo of Astro's Playroom were given access to as part of a promotional campaign for the launch of the PlayStation 5 by PlayStation New Zealand.