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[Matt_Fox]

March 2020, and the PS5 reveal centres around the SSD.

"PS5 load times were eliminated" says Games Radar

"The drive will be so fast that load times will be non existent" says The Verge

"PS5 blindingly fast, SSD enables instantaneous load times" says Push Square

Sources: PS5 load times were eliminated to "give the game designer freedom" to make whatever they want | GamesRadar+
PS5 'Blindingly Fast' SSD Enables 'Instantaneous' Load Times - Push Square
Sony says the PlayStation 5’s SSD will completely change next-gen level design - The Verge

And there are many more statements from the gaming press like those above.

So, now you've had some time with the PS5 how do do you feel about what was reported and what we actually got?

 

[Umbral]

The only PS5 game I’ve played is Demon’s Souls, but yeah, they pretty much don’t exist. It’s great.

 

[Bryank75]

Any of the main PS5 games I've played, I hardly notice load times. At best they are non-existent at worst they are painless.

 

[Captain Toad]

Absolutely. Zipping around Demon's Souls when looking for crafting upgrade stuff felt so good.

The way it all fits together is great. The visual particle effect when entering an area, the haptic feedback of the new rumble, the subtle sound effects coming through the controller and the near-instant loading all come together in a very satisfying way.

Also, the way cards work in games like Astro's Playroom really emphasize the loading. Being able to click on a goal from the PS screen's card and the game automatically skipping over any pointless steps (warping from your current level to base, warping from base to new level, warping to subsection in that level, etc) and immediately throwing you into exactly where you want to be really keeps the flow of the game.

As much as love my Switch, going from PS5 back to Switch or PS4 really makes it difficult to tolerate long loads.

 

[ne1butu]

Spider-Man and demon souls and the 2 games I’ve played which are truly fast loading.

Watch dogs legion loads pretty quick too I’ve noticed (enjoying this game a lot)

 

[BlueXImpulse]

Have you loaded up Spider-Man Remastered or Miles Morales? Blink and you might miss it.

 

[Vick]

So far the only game i've played which properly takes advantage of PS5 architecture is Spider-Man Remastered, and load times are indeed non-existent.

Oh, and Astro's Playroom.

 

[bitbydeath]

It’s really quite incredible, even some BC games like Days Gone aren’t a pain to sit through anymore.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Definitely. Demon's Souls really benefits from the fast loading, the world feels more coherent, the game is more fluid and the deaths are less frustrating. Jumping in from a card takes between 3-5 seconds. It's that fast. Even old games such as Final Fantasy XV and No Man's Sky, who had notoriously long load times, are now a breeze to play.

 

[A Most Virtuous Cat]

Resume Astrobot, Demon's Souls and SPMM from the activity card and you will see that the Hype was beyond real, and this is just the beginning.

 

[Aceofspades]

Yes, notice how Sony 1st party utilize that. Its basically non-existent in DS, Astro and MM.

Fantastic

 

[Cockles & Whelks]

Fortnite PS5 version is about 70% faster to boot up over my PC also with a SSD. Hard to say without games especially designed for PS5.

 

[elenapska]

after using an Xbox One for 6 years(the ugly fat version) Ps5 feels like an extreme evolution in loading speed and graphics. I am impressed. This is my first hdr, 4k, 60fps experience

 

[Sethbacca]

The 3rd party cross gen games are less optimized than I would like, but even then we're down to seconds from minutes so that's an absolute win in my book. Spiderman, MM, and Astrobot etc are all pretty much no loading.

 

[CaptainConlock]

Assassin's Creed Valhalla and other Ubisoft games still seem to take a while to load, but it's still significantly faster compared to the old 5400rpm drives the seven-year old dinosaurs still use.

 

[Grinchy]

It was actually weird loading up Ghost of Tsushima for the first time after over a month with PS5 games and seeing a "long" initial loading screen again.

 

[IntentionalPun]

You barely notice them in Spiderman Remastered.

Unfortunately Sony then forces you to watch every stupid cut scene... so fucking aggravating lol

 

[Lister]

For a lot games, my PC is still faster at loading (nvme SSD). But are there even games that take full advantage of the PS5's I/O bus yet? And of course Direct storage and RTX I/O are coming to PC too.

From what I've seen so far it's a day and night difference from the old consoles, but not from what PC has had for the last half a decade. that might change as game start taking full advantage of that improved I/O on the consoles.

 

[elenapska]

Fortnite PS5 version is about 70% faster to boot up over my PC also with a SSD. Hard to say without games especially designed for PS5.

It's funny, Fortnite loads extremely fast that I'm always the first to arrive at the "lobby".

 

[TheDude108]

Cross platform games (currently) and BC, not so much. Improved, but not in the "instant" class.

First party game definitely. Astros Playroom and Spider-Man are ridiculous. Still get a smile everytime.

 

[ethomaz]

First party games has little to no loading times.

So yes, we got exactly what was told.

 

[jose4gg]

For spiderman MM jumping from the activity to the game, the hype is real.

 

[SilentUser]

Oops! Sorry, double post.

 

[SilentUser]

There are some very impressive uses of the SSD already, so yeah. Still, curious to see how it will be later this gen.

 

[waquzy]

Fortnite PS5 version is about 70% faster to boot up over my PC also with a SSD. Hard to say without games especially designed for PS5.

Stopped reading at Fortnite...

 

[Tmack]

Dieing in Demons Souls never felt so good.

 

[HoofHearted]

Yes.. it’s finally nice to see this console generation finally able to return to the glory days of cartridge loading times of old...

 

[Portugeezer]

Cross platform games (currently) and BC, not so much. Improved, but not in the "instant" class.

First party game definitely. Astros Playroom and Spider-Man are ridiculous. Still get a smile everytime.

I was kind of shocked how it loaded an Astros Playroom activity from PS5 main screen, felt instantaneous.

 

[Radical_3d]

Dirt 5 is my only PS5 game and is blazing fast but I don't think its better than the XSX version. I think the difference will be more in real time features than in load times compared with the competition. Compared with previous generation the hype was real in both machines and is all that I wanted from this generation and more (in 2018 I was dreaming with 64GB of SATA 3 SSD cache, but then again I expected 399 machines).

 

[Black_Stride]

I dont think weve even begun to truly scratch the surface of the uses of a blazing fast SSD.
I always said the loading times being low/nonexistant was going to be the least impressive thing fast SSDs were going to bring to the table.

Give Devs time to really understand the power they have been handed and we are bound to see wonders as the generations keeps going.

I dont think Sony would have invested so much time/effort into making this thing as fast as it is if they didnt think it was going to pay dividends as the generation went on.

I think right now most devs are still stuck in their old style of developing games and thinking about uses of storage I/O.

 

[Tickle My Tendies]

Spider-Man: Remastered loads my saves in less than 2 seconds. Averages at around 1.8 seconds from what I tested.

So, you tell me. That's pretty fucking fast.

crappy vid I just uploaded (HDR was on so it looks washed out)



Insane load times.

 

[MoneySings]

As a PC user who uses fast NVMes.... Yes the PS5 load times are pretty much almost the same as old cartridge games.
I have Immortals: Fenyx Rising installed to my Samsung 970 Pro and also have it on PS5. It loads faster on PS5 by quite a nice margin.

My only worry is.... NVMe / SSD have a lifespan - they decrease in size as clusters fail. So without the ability to change the internal storage, how long will a PS5 / Xbox Series X last before the drive is unusable. I think my Samsung has a 10 year warranty (or 5 years?). 1200TB written before it does... yeah ok - just Googled it - 1200TB write life is HUGE so not really a concern lol

 

[SkylineRKR]

Yeah they're gone.

The first game I played was Astro Playroom and while not instantly it loaded up different worlds within 2 or 3 seconds. Then I played Days Gone and was disappointed, it took quite a long time to boot. But apparently its much worse on PS4. This is however not a native PS5 game.

I was already spoilt by the XSS, which boots up about instantly from stand by (when I flick HDMI channel on, i'm on the dashboard.. I can't keep up lol). And had pretty much non existent load times in Yakuza which usually took its time on PS4. PS5 doesn't feel faster than that system, bottomline is they're all fast. Then I bought DMCV and DeS on PS5. DMCV immediately catched my eye as I played it tons on PS4. It loads between 1 or 2 seconds. It still has the login screens, sadly, but levels and customize screen pretty much pop up instantly. DeS has no load times either (I mean you warp out, and you warp in.. there is no load screen and it takes like 2 or 3 secs), which is a huge, huge leap over the PS3 version as you might know.

Then I got a T7 drive in the mail. And put all PS4 stuff on that. Its just as fast as internal. Tony Hawk for example, loads up levels in approx 5 seconds on both (while clocking about 10 on PS4 Pro).

 

[bitbydeath]

It's funny, Fortnite loads extremely fast that I'm always the first to arrive at the "lobby".

Yep, that never used to happen for me.
Also general loading from start screen to game mode to game have all been greatly reduced.

I still want cards to pick between Save the World and BR mode though.

 

[prinz_valium]

So far not, but lets wait and see in the middle of the generation.

 

[ethomaz]

Dirt 5 is my only PS5 game and is blazing fast but I don't think its better than the XSX version. I think the difference will be more in real time features than in load times compared with the competition. Compared with previous generation the hype was real in both machines and is all that I wanted from this generation and more (in 2018 I was dreaming with 64GB of SATA 3 SSD cache, but then again I expected 399 machines).

I guess Dirt 5 has slow loading times... to be fair anything with 2 digits is already not matching the original claims... I don’t have the game so I can confirm that.

Loadtimes should be lower than 5-6s this gen... and that the top end... 2-3 seconds is preferable.

 

[Cyborg]

The only PS5 game I’ve played is Demon’s Souls, but yeah, they pretty much don’t exist. It’s great.

Yup, cant go back anymore! And also with MM, Sackboy and Astrobot loadtimes are thing of the past.

 

[hemo memo]

Astro’s Playroom, Bugsnax, MM, Sackboy, Cyberpunk (even though a PS4 game) and loading is very fast. I am used to checking my phone between loadings which is the habit of PS3 and PS4 slow starting a game and loading screens but not anymore.

People who are saying no should go back to their previous last gen console(s) and check again. It is night and day difference.

 

[skit_data]

The load times were never the most interesting part. The ability to stream huge amounts of assets is what will set it apart and we will probably have to wait until Sonys first party developers really start to get to grips with it and UE5 becomes the go-to for developers.

That said, it really made Demons Souls slightly less infuriating than the last time around. Spider Man MM also looks to be a much smoother experience than the PS4 game.

 

[Omega Supreme Holopsicon]

For a lot games, my PC is still faster at loading (nvme SSD). But are there even games that take full advantage of the PS5's I/O bus yet? And of course Direct storage and RTX I/O are coming to PC too.

From what I've seen so far it's a day and night difference from the old consoles, but not from what PC has had for the last half a decade. that might change as game start taking full advantage of that improved I/O on the consoles.

Several ps5 games load in 1-3 seconds there's nothing on pc like that.

 

[On Demand]

SSD is not just about load times.

Real potential of SSD’s won’t been seen until games like Rachet and Clank. That combine fast loading with the benefits of new ways to design games.

 

[Zeeed]

The fast "loading" is there, no question about that. Seems that is all youtube video is testing and comparing, is how fast a game/console loads a save file or fast travel. And as a person with a fast SSD on my PC, I am used to fast "loading" of a game.

What I am more interested in (and will be harder to test and compare I think) is all those constant loading of game assets in-game using the custom flash controller that Cerny was talking about in The Road to PS5.

 

[regawdless]

What we've seen in Sony first party games is pretty impressive regarding load times. But it'll take time and some later games to see the real benefits.

 

[ethomaz]

For a lot games, my PC is still faster at loading (nvme SSD). But are there even games that take full advantage of the PS5's I/O bus yet? And of course Direct storage and RTX I/O are coming to PC too.

From what I've seen so far it's a day and night difference from the old consoles, but not from what PC has had for the last half a decade. that might change as game start taking full advantage of that improved I/O on the consoles.

What game on PC loads at 1-2 seconds? Freecell? Solitaire?

 

[Amiga]

just playing the PS4 backlog, not much difference with a PS4 with an SSD.

but PS5 native games are super-fast pickup and play. while using my PS5 I can't go take a quick leak because my kids would be already be in the middle of an Astros Playroom level by the time I'm back.

 

[Lister]

What game on PC loads at 1-2 seconds? Freecell? Solitaire?

Lol a lot? Sounds like you haven't pc game in a long time or ever.

Cyberpunk loads in a few seconds. Same for borderlands 2. Both are faster than next gen consoles on my pc.

Just looked up the native load times on ps5 for borderlands 3 and yeah my pc is faster by like 5 seconds.

 

[MiguelItUp]

The only PS5 game I’ve played is Demon’s Souls, but yeah, they pretty much don’t exist. It’s great.

Same experience here as well. Have Spider-Man and Miles Morales, but haven't seen how they are yet.

 

[ethomaz]

Lol a lot? Sounds like you haven't pc game in a long time or ever.

Cyberpunk loads in a few seconds. Same for borderlands 2. Both are faster than next gen consoles on my pc.

Neither is your examples have load times in 2 seconds... it is not even close to that.
Keep trying to find.

 

[Redlancet]

one of the best things of the series x and ps5,id been a ssd pc player and games doesnt load that quickly

 

[MoneySings]

Neither is your examples have load times in 2 seconds... it is not even close to that.
Keep trying to find.

Got to agree - there is zero way CP2077 on PC loads in a couple of seconds.... not possible. The intro load up... the press blah to then load the menu... the select Continue... the press key to start...