As we’ve already seen, PS5 is putting in some damn good work on PS4 exclusives, effectively giving players free remasters of some of the top games from the last generation. But not all games are treated equally, and if you’ve got a PS5 and some exclusives in your library, maybe you’ll be tempted to download them all in the hope of getting some of that sweet free remaster treatment. Or maybe you just want to revisit some golden oldies.
Not all games hold up, unfortunately, and some games that were once showpieces for Sony’s PS4 are best left in the past. Save your precious hard drive space and avoid downloading these games on PS5.
Driveclub
Evolution studios’ racer stumbled at the start of its life and never really recovered from its shambled launch. It did get something of a following, mind you, but with the closure of Evolution and the eventual shutting down of the game’s online services, Driveclub was on life support for a long time. It was a decent racer at the time, but now? Ouch. Try booting this one up on PS5 and you’ll see what I mean.
30FPS really doesn’t cut the mustard anymore and the game feels really slow and choppy compared to other games like Forza Horizon 4 and DIRT 5, which some Driveclub developers actually worked on. DriveClub VR is the best way to remember Driveclub, then. You’ll just need a PSVR headset and a free camera adapter from Sony.
Infamous Second Son/First Light
The early days of the PS4 brought some decent exclusives, but as we all know, time is nobody’s friend, and looking back at these games through time’s cruel, wicked lens reveals just how dated they really are. The gameplay is still decent, if you’re into the inFamous games, but on the technical side, things are looking a little sadder. Draw distances are impressively poor by today’s standards and Seattle just doesn’t look that great from any kind of distance.
One plus is that on PS5 you can brute force the games to 60fps, which is a nice touch and makes them a bit more playable. Honestly, though, these are best left on PS4 and remembered as the good games they were for their time. Fingers crossed Sucker Punch revists the series soon for PS5.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
This one didn’t even hold up for the life-cycle of the PS3, nevermind PS4, even with the remaster effort. Granted, it’s more playable in its remastered form, but it’s still clunky (those jumping animations…) and a far cry from what would come in Uncharted 2 and 3. But it’s still part of the Uncharted legacy, so it will have its defenders. Not me, though. I hated it the first time I played it on PS3, I hated it again on PS4, and I recently got to hate it once more when I tried it on PS5. Golden Abyss was better. Fight me.
Uncharted 2 and 3 are still really good games, mind you, so definitely give them a go if you’ve got the space to spare; just don’t expect any extras.
Tearaway Unfolded
C’mon, time to put the cards on the table and admit what we all know to be true: this was only good on the Vita because it actually Vita players something to play that wasn’t a 2D indie game, no offence to 2D indie game makers.
Using the PS Vita’s numerous inputs was kind of fun for a while and it tricked us into thinking that Sony actually gave a damn about the console by putting out a first-party exclusive. The problem is that is didn’t make nearly enough money, so it got ported to the PS4 and lost a lot of what made it a tempting game in the first place. This was a rare misstep by Media Molecule, the studio behind the brilliant LittleBigPlanet series. Best played on Vita, then, if you still have one.
The Order: 1886
This was a hard entry to include because personally I’m quite a fan of The Order: 1886, and I’m truly gutted we most probably won’t get to see a sequel. The reason? It’s actually quite a boring game, and a recent play on PS5 reminded me that I’ve got 65 inches of lovely screen and I don’t need a third of it covered by cinematic black bars. It was impressive for its time, but again, time is a cruel mistress and her tricks are all played out. These days, The Order: 1886 is painfully slow to watch and to play. 30fps? That’s, like, so last gen. Gimme 60 or get in the bin. Also, give me all of my screen or get in the bin.
