With PlayStation 5 models enjoying significant price reductions during the Black Friday 2025 sales, many British gamers are questioning whether Sony's current-generation console remains worth purchasing as its successor likely approaches within a few years.
The Console Sequel Conundrum
According to a reader feature published by GameCentral on November 23, 2025, the PlayStation 5 represents both the pinnacle and disappointment of modern gaming consoles. The author compares the PS5's position to film franchises where fifth instalments rarely become the best, noting that most suffer from excessive nostalgia, repetitive ideas, and failed attempts at innovation.
The PlayStation 5 isn't nearly that bad, the reader suggests, comparing it more to a mid-tier James Bond film where the familiar formula remains enjoyable despite lacking genuine ambition. However, consoles differ significantly from movies, and even when underperforming relative to expectations, the PS5 stands as an impressive piece of hardware.
Where The PS5 Excels
The reader describes the PlayStation 5 as the best console I've ever owned primarily due to its superior power compared to the PlayStation 4 and excellent backwards compatibility. The console boasts numerous great games from Sony and third-party developers, while the DualSense controller represents one of the system's few genuine innovations.
Despite widespread complaints about the console's substantial physical size, the PS5 operates remarkably quietly - a welcome contrast to the notoriously loud PlayStation 4, which the reader compares to a jumbo jet taking off. Additional strengths include robust online features, a rapid SSD that dramatically reduces loading times, and numerous free patches that enhance PlayStation 4 game performance on the newer hardware.
While acknowledging the PS5 could be considered a modest upgrade, the reader concedes it remains Sony's most advanced console to date in terms of graphics, gimmicks, and features.
The Disappointing Reality
The fundamental issue, according to the analysis, lies in the relatively minor improvements that make the upgrade difficult to get excited about. This incremental progress raises concerns about what the PlayStation 6 might deliver if the improvement trajectory continues to flatten.
Most gamers want access to the best available graphics, but when enhancements prove this subtle, questions arise about both the financial investment and Sony's development efforts. Compounding this problem, even these modest improvements remain scarcely visible in most games.
Ghost Of Yōtei and a few others look great but they're rare according to the feature, with no titles so far justifying a PS5 purchase specifically to play them. The console only becomes marginally worthwhile when considering its entire library - a conclusion the reader couldn't have reached a couple of years earlier when fewer games were available.
The fact that it took five years to reach this point speaks volumes about the console's underwhelming performance and underutilised potential across nearly every aspect.
The Unavoidable Verdict
With Xbox effectively out of the high-end console competition, the PlayStation 5 remains the only dedicated hardware option for premium graphics, alongside PC gaming. Many exclusive titles remain unavailable elsewhere.
When asked whether they would recommend the PlayStation 5, the reader provides a conflicted response: Yes, there's almost no other choice. But do I think the PlayStation 5 has been a major letdown? Yes, that too.
The reader's feature concludes by noting that these views don't necessarily represent those of GameCentral or Metro, while inviting other gamers to submit their own 500-600 word features for potential publication.
