I spent two weeks with PlayStation Portal. This is a great gadget that makes the PS5 a portable console

PlayStation Portal review

Don’t let the appearance of this equipment fool you – PlayStation Portal it is not a portable console. Besides, if it were, it would look at least strange with those halves of the DualSense controller on both sides of the screen. The most important thing, however, is that it does not have to be so that you can play PlayStation 5 games on it without having to turn on the TV. In fact, it’s actually a good thing that Sony didn’t create its third portable console instead of Portal, because there probably wouldn’t be anything to play on it again.

Why do I think so? First of all, PS Vita and its touching history as a handheld that doesn’t produce any interesting games. Secondly, at this point the Japanese couldn’t afford to create a portable console with the power of PS5 that would be able to handle all these great games like God of War Ragnarok or Spider-Man 2. And here it turns out that thanks to the clever use of technology image streaming, we get equipment that – of course, in the right conditions – is a handheld with the power of PS5. Not very handy, but still!

How does it work that it works?

In order for PS Portal to become the dream “portable console with the power of PlayStation 5”, first of all you need to have… a PlayStation 5 console. This is definitely the most basic condition for being able to take all these so-called titles with you anywhere. a new generation, which for a long time has not been a new generation, but the current generation. Moreover, when playing on Portal, the larger console must be turned on all the time, because it is responsible for generating the image that is then streamed to the smaller screen. I guess it’s clear, right?

The second condition is that in order to be able to play PlayStation 5 games on the Portal outside the home (at home too), both devices must have a stable Internet connection. Otherwise, achieving this specific symbiosis is not possible for technical reasons. Two-week tests showed me that, fortunately, you do not need to have optical fiber for this purpose. Even LTE (provided you don’t have coverage problems) will be up to the task here.

How does it play?

You already know that you can’t do without PlayStation 5 and your home network. As you can read on the Internet, this effectively discouraged some people from purchasing Portal, because “it is not a real portable console.” However, I recommend these people to consider whether what they really care about most is playing all these big PS5 games, e.g. while waiting in line to see the doctor or in a shaking tram.

Or maybe, as it works in my case, it is definitely the most enjoyable to play them in the comfort of your home, on a comfortable sofa, with appropriate lighting, no noise, and so on. Not to mention how the Portal was designed. After all, you can see with the naked eye that this is not equipment that was created to be taken with you every time you leave the house. Those protruding controllers really don’t help with that.

And who needs it?

On the occasion of the premiere of Portal, the Internet went into a frenzy. The argument quickly surfaced that there was no point in going out with something like that. On the other hand, when you’re at home, you can play PS5 games on your TV. Well, it seems to me that Portal is the perfect solution, especially for people who don’t always want to turn on the TV and ritually sit in front of it. Just.

For example, there are also players who prefer to play lying down, or in any other position, even with their eyes facing the ceiling. The great popularity of Nintendo Switch has shown that for many people the ability to quickly launch games on specially designed equipment that is always available at hand is important.

On another note, the Portal is a salvation for those who have to share this TV, which has so far been essential for all PS5 owners, with other household members. And in their case, such a gadget costing about PLN 1,000 means that a large screen is no longer necessary for playing at home as it used to be. This is also its unquestionable advantage.

This is for me!

It is all these unique features, and not the need to forcefully look for flaws, that constitute the brilliant potential of this very well-made and at the same time relatively inexpensive gadget. For me, PlayStation Portal is fantastic. Something that completely changed my home gaming experience on PlayStation 5 for the better. Will it be the same for you? Well, there is nothing overly complicated in all this, the matter is rather very simple: either it is equipment tailored to your needs, or it is not. And that’s it.