Five years later, PS5 is in the best place it's ever been, but after 8 years covering PlayStation, I've never seen a console generation like it

PS5 is five years old. It feels wrong, but no matter how many times I crunch the numbers the fact remains: the PlayStation 5 is celebrating its 5th anniversary. It seems like only yesterday I was cracking open the box to ogle its HDMI cables on camera, and experiencing the haptic feedback of the DualSense through Astro's Playroom for the first time.

All this time later, the PS5 is easily my most used console, but – as a straightforward replacement for the PS4 – it's not felt like an earth-shattering generational shift. Even so, with the likes of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, and Ghost of Yotei this year – PS5 and PlayStation as a games publisher, has never felt in a better place. Anyone like me who's been playing since the '90s knows that console generations in general feel like less substantial upgrades than they used to, but it's something I've only started to reckon with now as long-running franchises finally drop PS4 support and, somehow, conversation around PS6 is already happening.

The generation game

Both of PS5's defining 2025 releases are sequels to PS4 titles that were released last generation, and later received enhanced native PS5 editions with Death Stranding: Director's Cut and Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut. Though PS5 has always had some genuine exclusives from early in its life cycle – Demon's Souls and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart were early standouts for me – much of PS5's life cycle has made this particular round of consoles feel like the generation of enhancements.

To be clear, that's no bad thing. I think the lack of PS5 exclusive titles over the years has been overstated. Just because players have had the option to stick with PS4 releases doesn't mean it's been the best way to play them. I really felt the performance of Horizon Forbidden West on PS4 at launch was a pretty non-ideal way to experience that game compared to the luscious PS5 version. Having vastly superior experiences on the new console is a compelling reason to play on its own.

Still, there's the sense that having to juggle multiple versions on different hardware has held back what's possible. Some of the upcoming PS5 games I'm mostly looking forward to playing in 2026 come from developers who are only just now dropping past console support to go all-in on the new generation like Resident Evil Requiem, and 007: First Light (both Resident Evil 4 remake and Hitman 3 launched across both PS4 and PS5). With so much tech shared between the consoles, not to mention a huge player base locked to older hardware, there's been less reason to drop support altogether.

In our Ghost of Yotei review, we called it "one of the first PS5 games to feel truly boundary-pushing". It definitely feels like the case, with its slick action and truly impressive huge open world of possibilities – but even then it's an evolution of the principles from Ghost of Tsushima. Blockbuster gaming is so well defined that these days even the best of the bunch feel like marginal evolutions rather than radically innovative.

Compared to previous console generations, PS5 truly feels like a continuation of the PS4 era. Especially with ballooning development budgets making development timelines much, much longer than ever on PS3, meaning entries in new series now have no choice but to straddle hardware generations. On PS3 we got the whole Uncharted trilogy, plus The Last of Us from Naughty Dog. On PS4 we got Uncharted 4, a smaller scaled spin-off with Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and The Last of Us Part 2. On PS5, we've only had remasters of those, and are still awaiting Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. God of War is in a similar boat. It's no wonder these more recent console generations feel less distinct.

Of course, there's some rose-tinted glasses coming into play. We tend to better remember the successes of console generations past, and the longer that passes the more each console's releases clump together. Compare early PS2 games even within the same franchises to the end of that console generation and the leap is huge: Grand Theft Auto 3 to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas; Final Fantasy 10 to Final Fantasy 12. Developers are always able to get better results from hardware the more familiar they get with its tools.

Regardless, there have been some major blunders that have colored the PS5 generation that are hard to move away from. The ghost of hero shooter Concord's failure to launch still looms large, as do extraction shooter Marathon's constant delays and a slate of cancelled online live service products from PlayStation – after a big commitment to launching several. During the PS4 and Xbox One generations it felt like there was a gear shift in online play, with massive live service successes like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Even some other successes have come and gone over the period. This console generation has been wobbly when it comes to evolving on that trend and especially introducing new products into the market – if PlayStation can't crack some of these genres as a platform holder, what hope do the rest have?

With that said, plenty is working well for PS5 at the moment. Surprise, surprise, most of that seems to come from PlayStation sticking to what it does best: delivering blockbuster, highly polished single-player experiences. As Helldivers 2 continues to shine with frequent updates, with Gran Turismo 7 in the mix as well, it's not like PlayStation have had zero wins online – though it's very much up to heister Fairgames and Marathon to pave the way forward.

Until then, PS5 being the home for luxurious single-player adventures feels like the right space for PlayStation, especially for 2026 and the years ahead. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a new sci-fi turn for Naughty Dog. Marvel's Wolverine takes the legacy of Insomniac Games' Spider-Man titles in a new direction. Saros tweaks what worked well in roguelike shooter Returnal while bolting on alternate powers. It's no big shift – it's what the publisher has gradually become known for, especially across PS3 and PS4. But, after all, this is the generation of enhancements – if PS5 and PS6 just continue to evolve on what's working, then maybe that's all they need to do.

Check out our best PS5 games ranking for what to play next!