Should I buy the PS5 Pro? Six weeks into ownership, here’s my honest opinion

On December 25, 2024By Littum

The PS5 Pro is sure to be on the slightly optimistic Christmas lists of all sorts of people, young and old, this year. The inevitably high price that Sony has slapped on the most powerful console it’s ever made means that someone else buying it for you would really make life a lot easier.

Of course, that price also means that only the most generous (and financially liquid) married people would consider giving one away, so most will instead try to figure out if they can justify a purchase on their own. As someone who sold his PS5 and spent a few hundred quid to get one already, I have thoughts that you might find enlightening.

It is slimmer than I thought it would be

PS5 Pro review image (T3)

(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

This is something you might already know given how many direct comparisons are out there, but when I unboxed the PS5 Pro and then sat it next to my launch PS5 ready for a (slow) data transfer, its size striking. Unlike the PS4 Pro, this time the Pro console is a good deal smaller and lighter.

This claim is complicated by the different versions of the base PS5 on the market. The newer slim models are obviously the smallest and lightest available, and Sony also managed to make the original PS5 much lighter with an internal revision some time after it launched. However, I had the original model, which is a hefty device, and the PS5 Pro surprised me by being much easier to pick up and move around.

2025 could be the year of the PS5 Pro…

Ghost of Yotei

(Image credit: Sucker Punch)

I’ve said before that I think a PS5 Pro purchase will really start to feel justified next year when a series of big releases let it actually flex its muscles. Immediately, in January, I am convinced that games like Monster Hunter: Wilds and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II will launch with slightly sketchy performance on the base PS5 and much more stability on the PS5 Pro.

Later in the year, Ghost of Yotei should definitely sing on the latest hardware, and even something like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows should benefit from the increased graphic headroom. Behemoth that is Grand Theft Auto VI also coming later in the year. These will hopefully help build a much larger catalog of games that will really be noticeably boosted by the PS5 Pro.

…but 2024’s gameplay doesn’t feel upgraded much

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

The other side of that coin, which I can readily admit, is that since the PS5 Pro arrived, I haven’t necessarily had that “wow” moment of noticing an improvement. I played it all Dragon Age: Veilguard on it, and I’m willing to believe it would have dropped more frames on the standard PS5, but without tediously swapping back and forth, I simply can’t say I felt a boost.

Similarly, the games I play most regularly don’t feel that different – it’s not clear to me whether Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has actually had a meaningful PS5 Pro patch, and Rocket League hasn’t changed graphically in years, much to my chagrin.

A welcome counterpoint to what it has been The finalswhich I have delved back into. It’s a beautiful game with plenty of destruction to get your console going, and I think it feels smoother and a bit more responsive than I remember it being on PS5 launch, which is nice.

The disk drive is an expensive must-buy

PS5 Pro review image (T3)

(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

Part of what makes the price of the PS5 Pro even more shocking is its all-digital construction, which makes the PlayStation 5 Disc Drive a necessary purchase if you have some games on the disc that you want to play. I actually do, and I still think it’s rude of PlayStation.

The disk drive itself feels expensive, especially outside the US. While the latest numbers make it clear that digital game sales are now truly dwarfing physical ones, it’s still disappointing to see the price level raised in this way.

At least there are some offers

PS5 Pro review image (T3)

(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

To be clear – I’m not saying that disk drive will get offers. Unfortunately, there has been no sign of this, and the warehouse has been very difficult to get hold of.

However, the PS5 Pro itself has already been subject to some modest reductions. Black Friday saw single-digit percentages off the price, and there’s every reason to hope this year’s Boxing Day sales will oblige with similar deals. That doesn’t mean the console will suddenly seem like a no-brainer, but if you’ve decided to buy it regardless, it’ll be a nice bonus.