PlayStation 5 fans have been withoutStarfieldfor a long time, with Xbox users enjoying the various updates that have helped improve the game since launch. However, with Microsoft shifting its release strategy and putting games that were previously Xbox exclusives onto the PS5, including the likes ofHi-Fi Rush,Sea of Thieves, andGrounded, PlayStation fans have gotten their hopes up that Bethesda’s epic space adventure may drop its exclusivity status soon. Fortunately, if that is the case, thenStarfieldon the PS5 would be a far better experience than on the Series X/S, at least in one crucial way.
While details around the exactrelease date ofStarfieldon PS5remain scarce, to say the least, fans can dream about driving the new REV-8 vehicle across the game’s many planets or engaging in its plethora of great side quests. They can also look forward to utilizing the PS5’s incredible technology, some of which will significantly heighten the overallStarfieldexperience. Despite being just a pipe dream for now,PlayStation fans have a lot to look forward to ifStarfieldmakes the leap.
Starfield Will Greatly Benefit From Adaptive Triggers On PS5
Blasting Pirates Will Feel Far More Impactful
Starfield’scombat already felt leagues ahead of Bethesda’s previous FPS efforts, offering impactful and weighty gunplay that feels great as the player boosts around on their jetpack. The vast range of guns coupled with the enhanced shooting mechanics madeStarfield’scombat a highlight of the overall experience and still one of the best parts of it to this day. Blasting Crimson Fleet pirates as they scramble about to fight back never gets old, andit would be an experience made even better with a PS5 DualSense controller.
This is thanks tothe adaptive triggers, which dramatically increase the force and tension of each trigger whenever the player is firing a gun or pulling back on a bowstring. This was used to great effect in first-party games likeHorizon Forbidden West,but has also been utilized well in FPS titles likeCyberpunk 2077andCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It makes pulling the PS5’s trigger feel more akin to pulling the trigger of an actual gun, making for far more responsive and weighty combat that feels more immersive.
Your “Skyrim In Space” Starfield Expectations Were 1 Year Too Early
Director Todd Howard once compared Starfield to “Skyrim in space,” but it didn’t live up to those expectations at launch. Now it finally has a chance.
Andthere’s a good chanceStarfieldcould be coming to PS5 fairly soon, too. Speaking to Destin Legarie in a recent interview, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer couldn’t confirm thatStarfieldwould remain an Xbox exclusive. Even when asked directly, Spencer refused to clarify thatStarfieldwould be “staying put.” It certainly sounds like Microsoft is considering puttingStarfieldon other platforms, and it’s hard to imagine it running on the Switch, so Spencer can only be speculating about a PS5 port here.
That would go along with Microsoft’s ongoing move away from console exclusivity, too. Many recent Xbox games have stuck to timed exclusivity, releasing on PS5 a few months after their initial release. One of Xbox’s biggest releases of 2024,Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, is coming to PS5sometime in early 2025. For the first time in the series' lifespan, aForzagame is leaving exclusivity behind, withHorizon 5out on PS5 this spring. Add it all together, and it’s easy to see howStarfieldon PS5 could become a reality later this year.
With all thenew content coming in theShattered SpaceDLCgreatly expanding upon the overall experience, including adding new weapons,fans would be able to immerse themselves into all of it to a much greater degree thanks to the PS5’s adaptive triggers. Unfortunately, the Xbox Series X/S controller lacks this key feature, which puts its version at a disadvantage shouldStarfieldever be ported to the PS5. That’s not to say that combat feels bad in the Series X/S version, but that it would feel infinitely better when using a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.
Haptic Feedback Will Make Driving And Flying More Responsive
Boosting With The Jetpack Will Feel Better
Another feature of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller that will greatly heighten theStarfieldexperience is haptic feedback, a revolutionary technology for the PS5 that the Series X/S controllers have, but not to such an impressive degree. This gives players a far greater sense of feedback for doing most actions, such as driving, flying, firing guns, and so much more, and was best utilized in thewonderfully reviewedAstro Bot. It uses dual actuators, which replace the old-school rumble motors that simply shake the controller a bit, to offer dynamic vibrations.
This allows the majority of tasks in games to feel more responsive and immersive, withthe rumble of a car motor or the boost of a jetpack vibrating through very specific parts of the controller. If someone charges up a weapon in a game, the haptic feedback will generate the vibrations felt while charging it and send it through the controller, making it feel as if the weapon is truly in the hands of the player. It’s a neat trick and one that has endless applications inStarfield, especially thanks to the inclusion of the REV-8 and all thechanges added sinceStarfield’s launch.
It’s worth noting that while there are manyPS5 games that use haptic feedback, not every game that is ported makes the most of them or implements them completely. WhileStarfieldmay come to the PS5, it’s not guaranteed that it will use the PS5’s haptic feedback technology to its fullest, although it’s clearly worth the effort.
The sensitivity of the PS5’s haptics would even allow for even more immersive effects as players explore the many alien planets that make upStarfield’s open world. Haptics were used ingeniously for greater immersion inDeath Stranding; if the player character is weighed down more on one side than the other, for example, their footsteps on that side will land more heavily with a more intense vibration. Apply that same effect to landings on small, low-gravity planets versus massive, high-gravity worlds, andplayers would actually be able to feel the environment’s effects on their characters in real time.
Drifting through space or racing across the dunes of a distant planet will feel incredible with the PS5’s DualSense controllerand make the entire experience feel much more immersive. This is really what will give a PS5 version ofStarfieldan edge over the Xbox Series X/S versions, especially as, while the Series X/S controller has haptic feedback, it is nowhere near as impressive as the DualSense. While it may not seem like a big deal to many, considering immersion is such a key part of Bethesda’s games, it feels necessary to play with these features.
Starfield Will Be A Great Experience On Any Platform
PS5 Version Will Only Have A Slight Advantage
While it’s easy to get excited about howStarfieldwill implement the PS5’s DualSense controller, it’s important to remember thatStarfieldwill still be just as enjoyable on Xbox. Whilethe haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are amazing technology that greatly enhance games on the PlayStation 5, they won’t fix any game or significantly alter the entire experience. Fans ofStarfieldwho’ve been enjoying it on Xbox Series X/S since launch or thereafter can rest assured that their version of the game will remain just as compelling.
Of course, it’ll lack the bells and whistles the PS5 provides, but that’s not worth buying a whole new console for. Additionally, those who never likedStarfieldin the first place can also rest assured that adaptive triggers and haptic feedback won’t fix their issues with it. Regardless, it’s clear that for players who are completely new toStarfieldand are wondering what platform to pick it up on, if it is ever to come to PS5, that will be the best place to play it, just by virtue of how immersive the DualSense controller is.
