PlayStation Portal review: “I wish I could take this one trick pony outside”

I’m not exaggerating when I say the PlayStation Portal is probably the most frustrating handheld I’ve ever tested. That’s not down to the way it performs as a PS5 'Remote Player,' as it pretty much nails its primary task. If anything, I’m frustrated that Sony decided to skip on everything else that’d make it the next big disruptor since the Steam Deck, forcing it instead to function like a Wii U controller with less features.

Yet, in spite of all that, the PlayStation Portal is probably still the best gaming handheld for PS Remote Play specifically. After all, Sony already had all the ingredients to make an awesome portable experience to hand, as this device is imbued with everything that makes the DualSense a great controller. However, if you strip that and the player’s decent 1080p display away, all you’re really left with is some bog standard guts and proprietary audio tech that nobody asked for. 

As disappointed as I am in the PlayStation Portal, I’m not ignorant to the fact there is a target audience for this handheld. I mean, for $199 / £199, I completely get why some people would want to play PS5 games on a device like this, especially if you share a living room TV or, like me, tend to crawl into bed as soon as the sun goes down like a goblin. When all is said and done, I just wanted better for the first PlayStation handheld to emerge on the scene since the fall of the mighty PS Vita. 

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Specs

Armed with a 1080p 60Hz LCD touchscreen, the PlayStation Portal certainly has a nice display on it. However, when it comes to other specs, it feels like Sony is holding back in revealing the handheld’s true nature. What we do know is that the Remote Player is using a very heavily modified version of Android and a mid-range CPU, potentially a Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, under the hood. Naturally, the latter’s inability to handle much else other than streaming could be why the console giant is staying mum about innards, but it’s actually some of its publicly available traits I’m more irked about.

For starters, the PlayStation Portal features Wi-Fi 5 support, which I find ludicrous considering its sole purpose is to hook up to an at-home network. Whether opting for the newer Wi-Fi 6 instead would have improved performance is another matter entirely, but as well go on to discuss, the handheld’s connectivity capabilities are far from flawless. 

I’ve already mentioned my other big gripe, and yep, it’s the lack of Bluetooth support. I would have honestly respected this handheld more if it decided to ditch wireless audio altogether, but Sony is using it as an excuse to get you in on its new proprietary PS Link ecosystem. Sure, there’s a 3.5mm jack if you really don’t fancy paying for something like the Pulse Elite Wireless headset. But you should be able to easily avoid using wired audio in 2023 if you desire. 

On a lighter, rumbly note, the rest of the Portal’s internals are occupied by Sony’s wonderful DualSense tech, including dynamic adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. That’s sure to delight anyone who prefers fully fledged gamepads over tiny nubs and sticks included in many handhelds throughout the years, and there’s virtually no difference between the Portal’s controls and the PlayStation 5’s beloved gamepad.

Design 

In a way, the PlayStation Portal sort of looks like someone turned a Teletubby into a DualSense controller, as that 8-inch screen in the centre dominates its design. That’s not to say I dislike its aesthetics, as retaining each side of the controller’s original design helps this handheld boast ergonomic prowess. It may feel a bit more like holding a small dinner tray than a gamepad, but everything will feel super familiar once you adjust to the extra width. 

The Portal is clad with the same black and white plastic armour at the back, bridging the two halves of the Dualsense where their textured grips end. At the top, you’ll find power on and a PS Link button to the left, volume up and down to the right, and nothing but a subtle Sony logo in the middle where I would have put the USB-C charging port. Instead, you’ll find it under the bottom lip with the 3.5mm jack, meaning if you want to charge and play, you’ll have to deal with it snaking under you to an outlet or the PS5 itself. Spoiler: doing the latter doesn’t provide additional functionality, and I’ll soon touch on why that stinks. 

Features

Alright, let’s rip the bandage off and talk about the PlayStation Portal's feature. That’s right, I made that a singular, as it really is just a remote play device. Upon turning on the handheld, you’ll be greeted with that white PlayStation logo we’ve all seen before, followed by a brief wizard that will ask you to select a network connection and sign into your PSN account. Some system updates later and you’ll finally be able to select your console on screen, and things are pretty single tracked from here on out.

Once set up, you’ll be presented with an admittedly pretty Doctor Who-esque connection screen with a portal front and centre. Upon pressing ‘X’, the handheld will connect to the PS5, briefly showing you a glimpse of whatever your console is displaying as a fancy effect. This is more or less just a clever way of masking any potential loading screens, and I can’t say I inherently hate it. What I’m not here for, however, is the fact that aside from a few basic settings options, which hilariously include an airplane mode, this is where the PlayStation Portal’s integrated functionality ends. Every aspect of the virtual experience here on out is provided by the PS5 from this point, meaning the device is effectively just a terminal. 

This might not have annoyed me so much if I wasn’t used to using various PlayStation Portal alternatives. If you’ve been following my handheld shenanigans at GamesRadar, you’ll know I’ve already experimented with turning streaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud into makeshift remote players, and while I’m not even the biggest fan of that cloud console, it can do infinitely more than the Portal. It even beats Sony at its own game in a sense, as if you download the PS5 app from the Play Store, you can select games from your library and fire them up via remote play without using the PS5 itself, which feels like the bare minimum I was looking for.

Of course, this leads me onto the other big Portal pitfall - the fact it’ll only work on the same network as your PS5. Unlike the G Cloud or even the Razer Edge, you won’t get any sort of cloud streaming functionality with this device, which is maybe a given since Android and its apps are firmly under lock and key. Perhaps that makes sense given that’d mean you could, in theory, use it to cheekily play Xbox Game Pass games, but it still feels like PlayStation Plus Premium players are getting the short end of the stick here. 

Even when focusing on the at-home experience at hand, the PlayStation Portal leaves me pining for little extras. Remember when I said plugging it into the PS5 will merely provide power? Well, I was honestly holding out for some sort of secondary DualSense gamepad functionality, as, let’s face it, there’s nothing stopping it being an additional control. But alas, the only way you can really do that is by using remote play with your TV still switched on, and I found that led to some annoying quirks like a ‘remote play enabled’ badge dwelling on screen. (As a side-note, this will also happen if you use a phone and mobile controller for split-screen.) 

To round off my features wishlist, I was sort of hoping the PlayStation Portal’s touchscreen would serve as more than just a substitute for the DualSense touch pad. Aside from letting you navigate the very sparse setting menu and acting like the OG controller’s central button, you won’t be able to do much else with it. I was hoping I could actually navigate the PS5’s menu using touch rather than controls, but that’s firmly not on the menu.

Performance

Okay, we’re finally onto performance, and this is where the PlayStation Portal starts to win me back over. Simply put, the remote player was able to, for the most part, link up to my PS5, provide 1080p 60Hz visuals, and avoid any glitchy nonsense in the process. That may sound like the bare minimum, but I’ve used enough broadband-reliant devices to know that network woes are sometimes unavoidable. Yet, the Portal (almost) managed to completely dodge feeling like it’s connected to the internet at all, which is exactly what I envision for the future of game streaming. 

I’m on a bit of a PS1 kick at the moment, so I decided to revisit the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy using the PS Portal. I was actually sort of dreading this decision, as the thought of missing the edge of pits by a pixel due to any added latency horrified my soul. However, I’m pleased to report that any Bandicoot injuries that did occur were down to my own stupidity, as everything felt the same as it would were I using my TV. I also decided to give Returnal a proper playthrough, and zipping around Atropos using Selene’s jetpack was so zippy and fun that it distracted me from the game’s gruelling roguelike difficulty. 

Visually, the Portal also holds up surprisingly well considering it’s just a standard LCD. That may sound like I’m knocking traditional screens, but I’ve also been testing the Razer Edge for an upcoming review, and I thought Sony’s display would look comparatively much worse compared to an AMOLED. While there’s undeniably a gap in terms of contrast, I was pretty happy with the sharpness and clarity provided by the Portal’s 8-inch panel, and colours managed to steer clear of being wishy washy too.

As for battery life, I was able to squeeze around 5 hours out of the PS Portal with brightness up full. It's worth noting you can't reduce resolution on this handheld or make any tweaks to consume less power, so dialling back brightness is your only option if you want to reach that upper 7 hours the portable should be capable of.

Sadly, I do have one complaint in regards to the PlayStation Portal’s performance, and it ties back to a weird issue that occurs when downloading PS5 games. For reasons unknown to me, installing something onto the console while connected via Remote Play disrupts the handheld’s connection, inevitably leading to you being disconnected altogether. It almost feels like trying to use a slower network with little bandwidth to spare, even though I’m using Gigabit. Perhaps this is something that will be fixed in the future, but it does make trying to swap out games away from the living room an absolute pain.  

Should you buy the PlayStation Portal? 

If you’ve got $200 to spare, and you’re looking for a straight talking PS5 remote play device, the PlayStation Portal will serve your needs. Everyone else with even slightly bigger gaming ambitions, however, may want to explore other avenues, as there are plenty of alternatives out there that can scratch the same streaming itch. 

No, that doesn’t mean I want you to go and spend $100 more on a Logitech G Cloud, and I know not everyone will be into turning the smartphone into a PlayStation Portal substitute using a Backbone One. That said, there are so many options out there that can provide almost the same experience while also offering up more functionality, and it’s hard not to question the Portal’s worth as a handheld with that in mind. 

Is the PlayStation Portal a great remote player? Yes, absolutely. Does it remotely hold up against other handhelds? Well, if it weren’t for the fact it dual-wields two halves of a DualSense pad, I’d find it hard recommending this device to anyone. In truth, it’s the gamepad and slightly bigger-than-average screen that comes in clutch for Sony here, and keeping things niche is what will keep this device from universal greatness. 

You’d be forgiven for reading this review and thinking I hate the PlayStation Portal, but it’s actually not the case. Ultimately, it’s that frustration I mentioned in my opening that keeps me from loving this handheld as much as I want to, and I just wish I could take this one trick pony outside. 

How I tested the PlayStation Portal

For around two weeks, I used the PlayStation Portal to play PS5 games instead of my living room TV. During that time, I sank a few hours into Crash Bandicoot 2 remastered alongside Returnal, and I also cleared off some side quests in  Final Fantasy 16. As a point of comparison, I also used remote play on the Logitech G Cloud and Razer Edge using the same games and levels to check for differences in performance.

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