Just under a month ahead of the PlayStation 5's highly-anticipated launch, Sony has finally given gamers a look at the console's user interface. Up to now, the company has held this information close, previously focusing on showing off the PS5's hardware and gameplay experiences. This update gives fans a taste of what it will be like to start up and play on a PlayStation 5, adding the the existing next-gen hype.
In an 11-minute long video, Sony unveils a UI that's drastically different from what you'll find on the PlayStation 4. The PS5's interface focuses on providing gamers with a seamless, integrated experience that minimizes the time spent on loading screens and menus and maximizing playtime. The presentation also provided a look at how social features like voice chat and multiplayer will work, with the UI also making these easier to access and personalize.
PS5's Control Center
After logging into the console from Rest Mode, players can quickly get right back in the game where they left off. They will be greeted with the Control Center, which you can access by pressing the PlayStation button. There's a menu bar at the bottom of the screen that provides more general options, like seeing which of your friends are currently online and managing your controller.
There are also several boxes on the lower half of the screen called Cards. These include news updates related to your games, more information on the game you are playing, and a quick way to access recent screenshots. Cards can be pinned, providing quicker access to specific ones when opening up the Control Center.
The most interesting of these are Activities, which are meant to help players get more out of their games. They function almost like a quest log, showing you activities that are in progress (such as levels) and letting you know approximately how far you are from completing it and how long it might take. Some will even let you move to that point in the game.
By opening up an Activity, you can also see additional objectives you have not completed. For certain titles, such as Sackboy: A Big Adventure, PlayStation Plus subscribers can access official game help. This brings up a guide with tips and, in some cases, a video that shows you how to get that item or objective you may have otherwise missed. If you need a closer look, you can make this menu larger, or you can put it in picture-in-picture mode or side-by-side view.
Social Features
The PS5 makes it easy to quickly start or join a voice chat with friends. When a friend starts a voice chat with you or a pre-made group, you'll get a notification that allows you to view who is currently in the chat and join in yourself. Chats can be started from the PlayStation 5 mobile app, the PlayStation 4 or the PlayStation 5.
There's also the option to share your screen so your friends can watch you play. When you do this, your friends will get a notification, which they can choose to open. Doing so will create another card that can be enlarged, pinned to the side or viewed picture-in picture. This feature in particular looks like it could be useful for multiplayer games, giving you a better idea of where other members or your party are, or for remotely helping a friend who is struggling to get through a certain area of a game.
Cards also make it quick and easy to join a friend who has already started up a round in a multiplayer game. Selecting "Join" on a card will start up the new game, allowing you to jump in once it loads. We also got to see the Create button in action, which allows users to capture high-quality screenshots and videos to review and share. Sharing these is also easy, as you can quickly pull up a recently created screenshot in the Control Center, make any edits and share it on social media or with one of your Parties. You can also attach a message to these, which is easy to write out thanks to the DualSense controller's voice dictation functionality.
The Home Menu
Interestingly, one of the last things we got a look at in the presentation was the Home Menu, emphasizing Sony's goal of keeping players in their games. This is where you'll start when booting up to PS5 from a powered off state, and it's also what you'll use when selecting an entirely new game to play or download.
This shares some visual similarities to the PS4's home menu, though the icons are smaller to place more focus on individual game's hubs. Scrolling down in one of these provides similar information to doing the same on PS4, providing information on trophies and information on the game, such as available DLC. However, Cards also appear here, and it seems you'll be able to jump right into in-game activities from them. Backwards compatible titles will also use some of these features, though to what extent is unclear.
There's also the Explore icon, which will provide easy access to news and updates from Sony and game you are following, as well as "trending media from the community." Sony says it will start out by testing this feature in the United States, meaning this feature won't be available worldwide at launch.
Finally, the PlayStation Store has received a major overhaul for the PS5. Rather than being a separate app to boot up, it is integrated into the system. While the presentation didn't show more than what you'll see by scrolling over the icon, it appears to work similarly to the game hubs, with boxes featuring "Must see" games at the top. Sony did not reveal what it will actually look like to search for or purchase new games, but it did say it will be "easier" and "more personalized" than it is on the PS4.