Playstation 5 Mini-Review, 4+ years of testing later: Is It Worth it?

Disclaimer: This product was NOT given to the reviewer for free, and was bought with the blog’s own money. This review is NOT sponsored by any entity and is completely impartial and objective.

By Fayeque Mir, May 4, 2025

Whether you’re into gaming or not, You’ve probably heard of the Playstation 5. The home gaming machine has sold millions of units worldwide, and it comes from Japanese tech giant Sony. With tariffs, inflation, and the cost of living coming up, many aspiring gamers are questioning if they should spend hundreds of hard earned dollars on the PS5 and/or similar machines. Based on 4+ years of testing, Life Advice can confidently help you answer this pressing question. In this review, we’ll break down whether Sony’s console’s price is justified, how much years of quality gaming you can get out of the PS5 and its controller, the strength of the game library. Read on to find out if the PS5 is right choice for you.

Price: is it justified?

Money makes the world go round. The high price of the PS5 puts off many potential buyers. Currently the PS5 is USD499.99 for a physical edition (What I got) and USD449.99 for a digital edition. This is undeniably a hefty price, but when comparing it to high end gaming PC’s, which can go into the thousands of dollars, the PS5 looks like a relatively cheaper investment if you’re into gaming. Plus, taking into account that a gaming PC with similar specs to the PS5 will be much more expensive, the PS5 starts to make more economic sense. Now, one could argue that the Xbox Series X could be an alternative, but Microsoft’s console is priced higher than the PS5 while having similar specs, and no exclusives, so that doesn’t make much sense either. Overall, the PS5 sems to have a pretty reasonable price in our modern world of inflation and price hikes.

Game Library

A console is only as good as its games, and the PS5 has pretty nice games. Sony continues to release first-party games such as Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, God of War Ragnarok and expects to release the highly anticipated Ghost of Yotei later this year. It’s worth noting though, that these huge blockbuster titles take years to make, and at best, you’ll probably only get one such first-party exclusives per year, what this means is that if you’re the kind of console gamer that loves first party games, and wants to buy multiple each year, you’re better off with Nintendo. Plus, Sony has started to release almost all first party Playstation games onto PC within 2 years. Besides these points, the PS5 game library is strong, receiving indie support (although not as much as the nintendo switch) and getting games like GTA 6 before even PC’s do. Personally, I think the PS5’s game library, and expecially its exclusive games, are one of the top selling points for the console.

longevity

How has the console held up over time? In terms of hardware, my PS5 is still running smoothly. I've had no major issues with overheating or any other malfunctions. When I got it 4 years ago, it crashed a few times, but the console is working beautifully and hasn’t crashed in at least a year. The DualSense controller is another story though. Stick drift has been a major problem for me, rendering Dualsense controllers useless after 2+ years. Though Sony does offer a warranty on controllers for 1 year, and I tested out this service by giving them a controller with drift and having it fixed for a shipping fee, it is a real pain to have to get your controller fixed. Granted, both Nintendo and Xbox have the same problem, as do controllers used on PC’s that don’t have specific technology to fight drift, and, you could buy a PS5 compatible controller that has such technologies in place to fight stick drift, but the problem is still there. Software-wise, Sony has continued to update the PS5's operating system, adding features and improving performance. Sony has stated they intend to support the PS5 for a long time, similar to the PS4. This means that I can get several more years of solid use out of it, even as newer hardware emerges, further improving the longevity of the PS5. Overall, the PS5 has good longevity, but its controller does not.

Worth it?

Overall, my PS5 experience has been positive. It's a powerful console with a strong library of games, and it has held up well over the years. While the Dualsense stick drift is insanely annoying, the PS5 has provided me with countless hours of entertainment. If you're looking for a solid gaming experience with access to top-tier exclusives and a growing library, the PS5 is still a great choice.