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The Astro Bot Limited Edition Game Drive made me squeal with joy the moment I first stumbled upon images of its adorable design. It was a reaction I never thought I'd have with a PS5 external hard drive, especially as they're essentially just rectangular blocks that you plug into one of the USB ports of the console to give it more space for all your PlayStation Plus and digital game downloads - nothing too exciting, but it really is too cute.
I'm still not particularly a fan of external hard drives when the best SSDs for PS5 will actually run your favorite PS5 games, aswell as store them. That being said, the limited edition drive gave my PS5 an injection of overwhelming cuteness and a place for me to store all my PS4 games to free up more of my internal SSD without the extortionate costs that could come with a 5TB internal alternative. In the short week I've had it set up, I'm still not an external HD convert, but my PS5 is still better (and cuter) for it.
This Astro Bot version of the Seagate Game Drive contains 5TB worth of space, which has been plenty for all my PS5 and PS4 games in the short week I've had hooked up to my Sony console. But there are a few things you need to know first before you run out and grab one of your own.
Firstly, this bad boy can only store PS5 games, and not run them like your onboard storage or any internal M.2 drive you might have installed. If you're purely in need of a storage boost for your digital PS5 game library, you're better off grabbing an alternative like the WD SN850X, which is designed with the console in mind. This will, however, be monumentally more expensive than this $159.99 option, with the 2TB version currently $279.99 at Amazon at least, which is partially what makes this Astro Bot drive a lot more appealing besides its cute exterior.
Secondly, when hooking up the Seagate Game Drive, you'll need to ensure you're using one of the SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps ports. I have the chonky old launch model, so these are located on the back of the console. The shortness of the cable provided by Seagate made this a bit awkward as it cannot stretch that far. As a result, the drive is currently sitting on top of my PS5, as that's the only place I store it and still be able to see its cute design and blue strip of LED lighting. It's not the worst place for it, but it's not ideal.
Once I had set up and formatted the drive, it at least worked like a charm, and I can't wait to take it for a spin for a proper review in the new year. The PS5 automatically set it up so that any PS4 games I downloaded would automatically save to the Astro Bot Drive, whereas PS5 games would continue to install to my internal M.2 drive. I have the option to change this, but in the short week I've had it setup it's allowed me to offload any PS4 titles from my internal SSD and free up more of its 4TB worth of space. Better yet, this thing can run PS4 games, so it's nice to keep them all in one place, especially as I have an itch to play older games like Prey right now.
Most importantly, the limited edition Game Drive is one of the cutest I've laid my eyes on, and my living room console arrangement looks better for it. You don't get to see internal M.2 drives once you pop them in your PS5, so I'm really appreciating seeing the Astro Bot HD with its glowing blue light and its cute eyes that peek from out the edge of the device. It also came with a free set of Astro Bot stickers, which I'm ready to plaster all over my bare, white console covers until Sony and TeamASOBI decide to make some of their own.
I still have a few weeks to go to test the drive and see if its speeds are up to bar with my gaming needs, but it's been a nice addition to my PS5 setup. If you happen to be a big Astro Bot fan and happen to need some extra storage, it's a nice cheaper alternative to grabbing a 5TB internal drive. Plus, its the perfect PS5 accessory to match up with either Astro Bot DualSense controller if you have one.
- View all PS5 external hard drives at Amazon
- View all PS5 SSDs and storage at Amazon
- 2TB Seagate External HDD Game Drive | $79.99 at PS Direct
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