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.
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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.
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