Making the Most of the PS5
November 12, 2020 is an important day for many gamers, with Sony launching the PS5 to an anxiously awaiting community. Inventory has been terribly scarce, but the company has made promises of future availability.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
I was blessed by the RNG gods and landed a PS5 on launch day. While it may be enticing to just hop right into the latest titles like Godfall, there are definitely some things you should do as soon as you get your new console.
1. Choose Your Orientation
The PS5 can either be placed lying flat on its wide side like a surfboard or you can stand it up tall, like a skyscraper. I think it looks cooler standing up, but it’ll really come down to personal preference.
Included in the box is a base for orienting the console to your liking. This is especially useful for people who want the PS5 to stand vertically since it brings some additional stability to the console.
The base is straightforward to set up, requiring users to easily rotate the frame and attach to the console.
2. Customize Your Controllers
Sony’s PS5 offers a high level of customization, and you should take advantage of the options to personalize your controller. You’ll probably want to save custom button assignments for later, but I recommend at least adjusting the vibration and trigger effect intensity from the beginning.
It’s nice that the vibration intensity defaults to ‘Weak’ when using the microphone on your controller, but some people may want to have the vibrations set to weak all the time. From playing Godfall, I can attest to how viciously the controller can vibrate during intense in-game moments!
If you’re sensitive to controller movements, you’ll definitely want to tone down the intensity options here.
3. Increase Your Security
With how frequently accounts get hacked these days, players should take the cautious route in protecting their information. Turn on 2-step verification in the security section to require a code each time you sign in. It’s a quick process which you’ll be thankful for later.
On PS5, you have the option to receive a text message or using the authenticator app. Using the latter option gives you the flexibility of immediately seeing a code, but, either way, the extra layer of security is a welcomed feature.
4. Set Your Privacy Levels
We all know trolls love to terrorize the interwebz, and that’s especially true when it comes to online gaming. Do yourself a favor and limit your online footprint by reducing the pool of people who can see your activity.
At minimum, you should restrict the amount of people who can see your real name. There’s a few different levels of privacy for each setting, so choose the ones that you’re most comfortable with.
5. Link with Other Services
The PS5 makes it simple to access your favorite music, share your greatest gaming accomplishments, and even stream your gameplay! Easily connect with Spotify, Twitch, Twitter, and/or Youtube by granting access to the relevant services.
If you need any tips on streaming, check out our streamer spotlight where iNakumah shares what he’s learned from his streaming journey so far!
6. Auto Login
You’ll make things much easier on yourself by turning on the “Log In to PS5 Automatically” button under login settings. For anyone sharing a console under the same roof, this will only work with the last person to turn on the setting, but it’s definitely worth it so you can skip the log in step when you power on.
7. Mute Your Mic
It’s great that the PS5 controller has a built-in mic. In a world where many of us are at home all day, you should make sure that your mic is muted when you first log in. This will prevent any embarrassing conversations from being overheard by incoming party members!
8. Turn Down the Lights
While the general consensus is that the PS5 controllers will have a better battery life than their predecessors, it’s better to be safe than sorry here. The lights on the DUALSHOCK 4 definitely drain the battery when left on bright, and I anticipate the same effect will apply on the PS5.
Take the controller indicators down to a “Dim” state unless you’re playing a game that explicitly calls for the “Bright” setting.
9. Adjust Game Difficulty
There are some people out there who enjoy playing every game on the toughest possible difficulty. Others prefer to focus more on the store while in easy mode vs worrying about the in-game mechanics. Either way, many games on the PS5 will accept a preset difficulty from the Game Settings screen that enable gamers to set their preferences!
10. Extend Your Gameplay Video Clips
The PS5 defaults to capturing the last 30 seconds of your gameplay. This is probably fine for titles that have short bursts of action, but many games have 10-20 minute matches that you’d like to capture.
You can extend the duration to up to an hour, but the 15- or 30-minute option should be fine for most gamers.
BONUS: Pick Up a PlayStation Plus Membership
I know the title of the article says 10 things to do, so I’m offering this tip for free: if you haven’t already done so, get into the PS+ ecosystem!
Playstation Plus gives you access to free monthly games and is required to play most online multiplayer titles. Monthly free games range from AAA titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered to incredible indie games like Overcooked.
With Sony’s recent introduction of The PS Plus Collection, players now get access to some of the greatest PS4 games of all time included with your PS+ membership! This alone makes the subscription worth it and can easily provide hundreds of hours of gaming before you even touch a PS5 exclusive.
I highly recommend not buying PS Plus at retail price ($60 for a year) as retailers often discount them to below $30 for annual subscriptions. At that price, it’s tough to avoid swiping your credit card given all the games that you’ll have access to!
Setting up for the Optimal PS5 Experience
Taking care of these 10 steps will take you less than 10 minutes, and I’m sure this will set you up for a great time with the PS5!
There are plenty of other settings to play around with so feel free to explore all the other options. Let me know if there are any other PS5 setup tricks to share in the comments section, below!
