over the past 12 months the playstation
5 has stomped its way onto the top step
of the playstation podium becoming
sony's fastest selling games console
ever even though they're still
incredibly hard to find on store shelves
here's what we said about it at launch
with a launch lineup dominated by games
that are also available on ps4 and on
the back of a generation already
punctuated with incrementally more
powerful hardware revisions like the ps4
pro the ps5 doesn't quite land as a
knockout punch yet but it's definitely
got the power and speed to be a real
contender although the jury's out on the
stamina of that tiny 667 gigabyte ssd
however while the ps5's well-considered
ui and blisteringly quick loading times
for ps5 games make it a pleasure to use
it's the dual sense controller that's
proven to be the surprise haymaker i
never saw coming it truly leaves other
controllers feeling primitive in
comparison but what's changed since then
not a ton but there have been a few
meaningful updates that addressed some
of the main points of criticism let's
take a look at how the ps5 and its
ecosystem have evolved in the past year
certainly the most noteworthy
improvement to the ps5 in the year since
its launch is the ability to add
additional internal ssd storage which is
a big deal because the 667 gigabytes of
usable space that comes included feels
even smaller now than it did at launch
the compartment to add an ssd has been
inside the ps5 from the beginning but
until the september 2021 update putting
a drive in there would simply give you
an error message now we can install our
own m2 ssd drives which currently range
from 250 gigabytes to 4 terabyte
monsters that can cost more than two ps5
alone the fact that it uses off the
shelf m2 drives gives the ps5 more
flexibility than the xbox series x and
its expansion cards which only come in
three sizes up to two terabytes at the
same time the install process is
certainly more involved than the xbox's
proprietary plug and play expansion
cards but once you get over the anxiety
of opening up your ps5 it's not
prohibitively so after popping off the
top shell the only tool you'll need is a
phillips head screwdriver inserting the
ssd is straightforward enough and then
you're done really it's the purchase of
the ssd itself that's the key hurdle
make sure you pick one that's been
tested to work with the ps5
if you're lucky enough to find a new ps5
for sale it's likely not exactly the
same as the launch model on the inside
in august 2021 sony made a revision to
the heatsink that's made the follow-up
wave of ps5 consoles a couple of hundred
grams lighter but performance is
unchanged sony has also altered the
screw that comes with the base which is
reportedly easier to screw in by hand
although we never had a problem with
that on the launch model of course that
screw is only relevant if you're
positioning your ps5 vertically if
you're storing it horizontally the stand
is designed to simply loosely pinch the
back of the ps5 and let the magic of
gravity hold it in place over the past
year the stand has proven it's really
not up to the task nudging a horizontal
ps5 even slightly to plug in peripherals
and usb devices is generally enough for
it to slide out of position become
crooked or simply slip off the stand
entirely it's not an annoyance you'll
run into every day but it's a problem
that only exists because the ps5's
absurd warped shape prevents it from
sitting flat like a normal piece of
electronic equipment
on the software side game highlights
have been in steady supply since launch
and 12 months in there's already a wide
range of top quality stuff to play on
ps5 launch games like spider-man miles
morales demon's souls and assassin's
creed valhalla were followed this year
by january's fantastic but slightly
forgotten hitman 3 control ultimate
edition in february and yakuza like a
dragon and it takes two in march sony's
own third-person shooter roguelike
returnal made a splash in april and the
highly anticipated resident evil village
shambled out in may june marked the
debut of sony's visually stunning ps5
showcase ratchet and clank rift apart
and july saw the high speed thrills of
f1 2021 ign's game of the year for 2020
hades hit ps5 in august which was
followed by bethesda's time bending
supernatural shooter death loop in
september which scored a 10 out of 10
from ign the ps5 library of high quality
games has grown impressively over its
first year and with big name exclusives
like horizon forbidden west god of war
ragnarok spider-man 2 and gran turismo 7
on the calendar for 2022 it doesn't look
like it'll slow down any time soon sony
may not have an answer for microsoft's
all-you-can-eat game pass subscription
yet but games like those are hard to
turn your nose up at that said i still
think the pre-installed astros playroom
remains the best use of the ps5 great
dual sense controller recent games
haven't done too much with it but i
remain a firm believer in the potential
of the dual sense overall even though
frustratingly the left stick on my
included dual sense began to drift up
and down a few months ago thankfully the
second controller i purchased not long
after launch last year remains
unafflicted by drift to date it actually
came as quite a rude surprise i own
between two and six controllers for
every playstation dating back to the
original and not one has ever broken on
me in 25 years until now
the main improvement to the playstation
5 since our review a year ago is that
sony has enabled support for expanded
internal storage which for a price can
sidestep the hurdle of having only 667
gigabytes of usable internal storage
space out of the box which is good
because there's been a lot to install
including several highly rated ps5 games
like ratchet and clank rift apart and
death loop unfortunately the biggest
problem with the ps5 for now is that
they remain as rare as rocking horse
crap and shortages are expected to
continue for some time but if you can
get one it's a great console to own or
more on the playstation 5 check out our
guide to installing your own ssd and if
you have a ps5 but haven't played death
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