PS5's No Loading Screens Has a Downside

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One of Sony's talking points about the PS5 is its fancy Solid State Drive, which will lead to zero loading screens, or at least loading screens that aren't perceivable. And this is a big feature. Not only have loading times been plaguing video games for years, but they've gotten really bad this generation with the increase in big and seamless open-world games. However, these long loading screens should be a thing of a past, or at least that's part of the pitch of the PS5. That said, there's at least one downside to no more loading screens you probably didn't think about.

Ever since games moved away from cartridges especially, developers have been dealing with loading screens, ways to hide them, and ways to make them more bearable. In the process, some have put loading screens to good use. For example, some games give players hints, bits of lore, and more during loading screens. And now, this will be a thing of the past, and some players may miss it, or at least that's what Ryan Shah of Kitatus and Friends suggested while speaking to Wccftech.



"It also does come with caveats," said Shah, speaking about the PS5's no loading screens. "Where in things like in Fallout 4 and even the Soulsborne games a lot of important hints towards the story and stuff that's hold during the loading screens, and tips on how to play because they're very much in the design of 'Here's the game, just go and play.' However, if you start any loading, here's some background, here's some lore or here's a tip for how to not suck. Whereas now they won't have that blanket. They're gonna have to think of another way of presenting that information in, which is interesting and not something people are really thinking about at the moment.

Of course, this is more a problem for developers than players, and this may lead to the return of robust tutorials. That said, it's not the only downside to no more loading screens. Many players also use loading screens as a time to check their phones or just grab a breather from a tough boss fight or a difficult encounter.

Ultimately, no loading screens is a good thing, but it will be interesting to see not only players adapt to the change, but developers.



Posted:
Related Forum: PlayStation Forum

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/ps5-playstation-5-loading-screens/

Comments

"PS5's No Loading Screens Has a Downside" :: Login/Create an Account :: 10 comments

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OccasivePosted:

Stop the cap, an SSD isn't gonna eliminate loading screens at all. SSD been around for years already on pc. All it does it reduces loading screen and not even by a lot.

Cessna172Posted:

Loadiong times have never been an issue for me tbh

MushroomElmPosted:

ifconfig
Daniel Who cares wether there are loading screens anyway, Loading screens are good for me cos i can do things while the game is loading in like make a coffee or do some washing etc lmao.


Washing whilst on a loading screen? That is a first ha!


Yeah, I know games can have long load times but not enough for me to go and start laundry. They have the pause button for that..

ifconfigPosted:

Daniel Who cares wether there are loading screens anyway, Loading screens are good for me cos i can do things while the game is loading in like make a coffee or do some washing etc lmao.


Washing whilst on a loading screen? That is a first ha!

Baz_AccentsPosted:

Some games that have loading screens says press any button to continue,

They could do that loading screen with a hint and if you do not want to read it instantly hit a button and play or take a few seconds to read it, devs could also put a option in for no loading screens or 10 second loading screens sovyou get to see the artwork and hints

tO0tPosted:

For the most part loading screens haven't bugged me on games for years. Unless we're talking about my deathmarch play through of the Witcher 3... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed I had to wait like 5 mins every time I got one tapped by something.

AnimePosted:

Loading screens are not always bad.

Mario350Posted:

hate loading screens always have, an ssd boosts loading times, nothing wont ever have loading screens, but my god theres reasons for them ie hardware limitation which a console has so it wont have no loading screens because the console would struggle keeping 60fps let alone what they claim 120fps at 4k which would lead to lock 30 since everything is loaded in.

thats the reason why i hate loading screens on pc but dont mind them on console

DanielPosted:

Who cares wether there are loading screens anyway, Loading screens are good for me cos i can do things while the game is loading in like make a coffee or do some washing etc lmao.

OPUSPosted:

I don't mind loading screens too much to be honest, like the article says, you can check your phone, make a drink etc. The hints is also a good thing about loading screens to help your progress. But having the game run continually will make it a more movie like experience, where you can just keep going and you can lose yourself in the moment and not be interrupted by a loading screen.