The PS5’s SSD is so much more than a quality of life feature. Its ability to process information faster than ever before could eventually change the way that developers approach the art of game design.
In the short term, though, the biggest benefit of an SSD that most gamers will notice is the reduced load times it offers. That absolutely means that next-gen games will load faster than ever before, but it also means that backward compatible PS4 games will no longer need to suffer from the sometimes awful load times that plagued the HDD era.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at 6 PlayStation 4 games that’s long load times will (hopefully) be fixed by the PS5 SSD.
Fallout 4
Honestly, Fallout 4‘s load times were significantly better than the ones that plagued Fallout 3, New Vegas, and even Skyrim. In fact, you almost never encountered loading while you were just walking around the game’s massive world.
The problem was that Fallout 4‘s load times were reserved for when you entered certain areas and fast traveled. As the game wore on and both those actions became much more common, you started to have to sit through more and more loading screens just to accomplish simple tasks.
The PS5’s SSD should (hopefully) reduce those load times enough to ensure that Fallout 4‘s world feels a little more cohesive and that its end game activities aren’t quite as cumbersome.
Just Cause 3
In many modern games, load times are typically little more than an inconvenience that we have to sit through patiently. However, Just Cause 3‘s load times are a cruel reminder of a time that’s (mostly) gone by.
Just Cause 3‘s frantic gameplay and its beautiful world were compromised by long load times that ruined your ability to experience any of the best things the game had to offer. Even after developer Avalanche Studios Group released several patches designed to address load times (and other issues), players reported having to sit through abnormally long and unusually frequent load times.
Hopefully, the PS5 SSD will trim those load times enough to ensure we get a chance to revisit one of the more enjoyable open-world games of this generation.
The Outer Worlds
Again, The Outer Worlds‘ load times aren’t nearly as bad as they were in previous Obsidian games, but they were bad enough to eventually get on your nerves after an extended playthrough.
Actually, the biggest benefit the PS5 will offer in this instance isn’t just quicker load screens but a reduction in how often you sit through load screens at all. Early Xbox Series X tests show that that console’s SSD can virtually eliminate shorter load screens altogether which should help players navigating between this game’s various environments.
Most open-world games will benefit from an SSD, but The Outer Worlds‘ unique “staging” structure makes it a notable beneficiary of the hardware upgrade.
Monster Hunter: World
One of the interesting things about the transition to standardized SSDs in next-gen consoles is that the performance gap between console titles and PC ports will be smaller than ever.
For instance, PS4 load times in Monster Hunter: World can last over one minute. Those same load times in the PC version of the game only last about seven seconds (assuming you’ve installed the game on an SSD).
That’s a huge benefit for both series fans and those who are hoping to dive into the game but could be put off by the title’s unusually slow load times.
Death Stranding
Much like Fallout 4, Death Stranding‘s loading “problem” has less to do with long or frequent load screens and more to do with how those loading screens are implemented.
So much of Death Stranding is designed to allow you to seamlessly navigate its world. When you do encounter a loading screen, it both takes you out of the moment and somewhat detracts from the narrative spirit of the game.
While the PS5 SSD won’t completely eliminate Death Stranding‘s load times (that would only possible in a version of the game developed especially for the next-gen console) but those strange times when the game takes an unusually long time to load should occur significantly less on the PS5.
Bloodborne
Maybe it’s because I love the game so much, but I sometimes forget how bad Bloodborne‘s load times can be.
Even after From Software released a patch designed to address load times, HDD PS4 players can expect to endure anywhere from 11 to 40 second load times. You tend to encounter them a little less than you do in larger open-world games but they’re annoying enough to spoil one of the best games of the generation.
Based on existing tests, the PS5 SSD should reduce Bloodborne‘s load times to 10 seconds or less. However, that’s going to depend on how well the game is optimized for next-gen consoles.
