We finally got our hands on the next gen version of the most famous bandicoot ever. Find out what’s new in the PS5 version with us in our Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time review
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is finally available for PlayStation 5. The fourth installment of the series, which takes up the story of the good old Crash and Coco , is thought of as a natural continuation of Crash Bandicoot: Warped , despite the many new features. Everything good we saw and analyzed in the PlayStation 4 review of the game is taken to a new level in this version for next gen. So let’s go into the details of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time for PS5, with our review!
A walk in time
Let’s start by specifying that this review will be linked more to the technical details of the title, than to its actual contents. The game, fresh a few months on PlayStation 4, has not undergone any particular changes or changes but has simply been adapted to fully exploit the potential of the new Sony home console. Some problems remained while some were very well solved, but the game has remained practically unchanged . To know in depth the details of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, therefore, we invite you to consult the review of the game for PS4 . That said, let’s dive into this analysis of the Crash Bandicoot 4 PS5 version review together.
Not Too Much to Improve – Crash Bandicoot 4 Review: It’s About Time for PS5
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time for PlayStation 4 turned out to be a very good title , despite being imperfect. The production of Toys for Bob was excellent, fully respecting expectations and sometimes making us forget about the absence of Naughty Dog. Precisely for this reason, the PlayStation 5 port of the game is nothing more than an update of it with filings and corrections where they needed to be made. The first thing that catches the eye, starting the game, is the native 4K: although the graphic style of the game was already very satisfying on PS4, here it has a completely different flavor. Furthermore, the game on PS5 runs at a fixed 60 FPS thus bypassing the frame rate cap of the now old gen console.
Another important novelty, the integration of 3D audio that is talked about so much every time the PlayStation 5 topic comes up. In Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time an excellent job of adapting to 3D audio has been done, despite a detail: to exploit it, you must have Sony’s PULSE 3D headphones . Nothing transcendental, but there remains a bit of a bitterness in the mouth for the exclusivity of the feature.
DualSense – Crash Bandicoot 4 Review: It’s About Time for PS5
The second point to analyze, natural continuation of the analysis of graphics and audio, concerns the new pad of PlayStation 5. The Dualsense stands out among the novelties of the current generation of Sony, and Crash is no exception in using the features of the controller. Let’s face it, the simplicity of the game leads it to very little exploit its potential, but in any case the difference with the DualShock 4 is evident . Using Crash and Coco the differences are limited to the integration of audio and haptic feedback, especially in the sections with masks. Playing as Tawna Bandicoot , Dingodile or Neo Cortex instead , adaptive triggers shyly do their thing (not that much more is needed).
Even Faster – Crash Bandicoot 4 Review: It’s About Time for PS5
One of the “biggest” problems affecting the PS4 version of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, concerns the long loading times of the game. The amount of elements on screen (and not) and the quality of the details had forced the game to load slightly tedious. Thanks to the PlayStation 5 SSD, the loading time issue has been completely resolved for a much smoother experience.
In addition to that, to make the experience smoother, we can enjoy the implementation of Activity Cards for trophies. Thanks to the Activity Cards, in fact, it is possible to keep track of one’s progress and what is missing to complete the game at the coveted 106% . Which brings us directly and without too many frills to the last point of our review.
An Unresolved Issue – Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time for PS5 Review
The biggest problem with Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, a neo (Cortex) impossible to ignore as much as it is a dot in a sea of good things, lies in the completion of the game . The off-screen placement of some crates and gems within the levels doesn’t make any sense. This makes it virtually impossible to complete the game without guidance or the help of someone who has already completed it. We understand the intentions of the developers to raise the level of challenge and increase the replayability of the title, but in this way platinum the game is unnecessarily frustrating despite the presence of the Activity Cards to help us in the enterprise.
A pleasant confirmation
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a great platformer , regardless of the platform. Thanks to the variety of playable characters, the introduction of masks and the variety of game worlds, this fourth chapter is to be considered the best of the series . Additionally, the PS5 version of the game takes it to the next level, further enhancing a near-perfect title. Too bad only for the congenital issue of the positioning of the collectibles, which prevents the game from getting 10 in the report card. For those who are still wondering whether to buy it or not, we conclude with a warm advice: do not wait a second longer, regardless of the console.
