Games Inbox: Is the PS5 Pro console still worth getting?

The Thursday letters page wonders how a game as bad as Code Violet can come to be, as one reader muses on the surprisingly short glory years of Halo and Gears Of War.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email [email protected]

No regerts
At the start of last year, I was intending to get a Switch 2 but I got cold feet in the end, half because of the game prices but also because there didn’t seem to be as much buzz around it as I was expecting. That means I’ve still got a fair amount of money put away for a new console and I haven’t upgraded to a PlayStation 5 yet.

I could, and probably should, get one but there’s also the option of a PS5 Pro. I wasn’t really clear what it did better when it first came out and I don’t feel that question has really been answered properly even now. It just seems to be a little better at everything, but nothing in particular.

I do like the idea of 60fps as standard but I’m curious to hear from any readers that would recommend it and especially anyone that bought it and didn’t regret it.
Goldie

15 minutes of fame
The reader yesterday was right when they said Forza Horizon 6 is Xbox’s biggest franchise now. That seems so strange, giving all those years of pushing Halo and Gears Of War, but in the end they didn’t really last that long. Less than a decade at the top and then they quickly fell away.

I remember when Halo was the biggest thing ever but that was really only for about eight years, between Halo 1 and 3. I feel the series was already losing steam by the time of ODST and Reach, and then when Bungie left and we got 4 that was it really.

It’s not really much when you have multiple franchises, like Zelda and Resident Evil, celebrating their 40th and 30th anniversaries this year. I suppose technically Halo will last that long but I don’t see it ever being as big as it used to be again, especially as the people that were around in its heyday get older.
Coaster

The old guard
I’m one of those people that have stopped playing Battlefield 6. I was super hyped for it before it came out but I fell off after about a month and moved over to Arc Raiders instead. I think, finally, people are starting to look for something new and, good as it is, that’s not something you’re going to get from Battlefield 6.

Personally, I don’t see Call Of Duty ever recovering from last year. I think these games just seem too old-fashioned today and online shooter fans are looking for something more innovative. Both franchises are over two decades old now and I don’t think there’s anywhere for them to go anymore. I will take a Battlefront 3 though, even if that probably won’t happen.

Of course, other companies won’t accept that Arc Raiders was big because it was new, they’ll think that means they have to make extraction shooters too, until everyone gets sick of that as well.
Franky

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Proof of life
I’m beginning to get worried about Sega’s plans to reboot all its classic arcade and Mega Drive franchises. It’s years since we first heard about it and all we’ve had is Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance, which reviewed well but didn’t seem to sell well.

I’d still say that was at least a half successful start but since then we haven’t heard a peep out of Sega. There’s a science to deciding when to announce a game, compared to when it comes out, and well in advance can work a lot of times but only, I think, when it’s fairly locked down as to what it’s going to be.

If they just had a vague idea of what games they wanted to update, which is the impression I get, then they should’ve held off a few years before saying anything. If they did have a good idea what they wanted though then they’re idiots for not saying and showing more, because at the moment it seems like the whole idea is basically cancelled.
Sloane Raider

Surprise purchase
Love the review of Code Violet, which I admit doesn’t look that bad from the trailer but, as you say, you can smell the jank just from looking at it. Half of me admires the people that had the skill to put it together and then the other half remembers that they’re charging close to full price for it, which obviously seems ridiculous.

But then again, who is it out there that is buying games like that, for that amount, without reading reviews or presumably having any idea what the game is like? I wish I had the money to waste on impulse purchases that expensive or to laugh at the game so I can say it’s so bad it’s good. If they bought it and then were surprised it was bad though, I’m not sure I’ve got much sympathy.
Focus

Not to blame
So, I’ve just gone through GC’s review of Code Violet and I have to say that I am positively stunned at the 1/10 score. I knew the game was awful but that is a score beyond anything I expected. I genuinely am puzzled after the middling reception of Quantum Error, why would Sony even consider bankrolling a title, that is somehow even worse and looks to become a catastrophic failure?

Even worse is that I can genuinely say with the numerous reviews I’ve read and scores I’ve seen, for many gaming titles, I cannot fathom the last time I’ve seen GC score a game that low. This is quintessentially on the level of Big Rigs Racing, Superman 64, and Ride To Hell: Retribution. E.T. for Atari as well.

You know you’ve messed up when a title like MindsEye is scored higher. You have genuinely messed up. So, I’m sure many would agree when I say Code Violet is the worst PlayStation exclusive ever made. Do you agree GC? Is this slop the worst Sony offering in history?
Shahzaib Sadiq

GC: The game has nothing to do with Sony. The fact that it’s only on PlayStation 5 is purely the developer’s decision.

Normal people
Not surprised to see Meta slowly giving up on VR gaming, but it is a shame. I’m sure they didn’t make much money from it all but then I don’t know what they expected. That everyone would rush out and by expensive headsets to shut themselves off from the world and look like a weirdo?

I’ve played Asgard’s Wrath 2 and it’s great but it’s just not something that most ordinary gamers, let alone normal people, are ever going to want to play, let alone pay hundreds of pounds to be able to play it. Oh well, at least they didn’t shut down the dev that made the Batman game, because that was great.
Horton

Silent reply
After buying a Switch 2 and starting Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom again I’ve noticed something I hadn’t before. Like most, I took Link as being mute but he clearly isn’t. Now it’s been a long time since I played any other Zelda game but in Tears Of The Kingdom, other characters will ask him something and then he clearly gives a complex answer judging by the next dialogue screen, much more than a simple gesture could portray.

Which leads me to think maybe he will be voiced in the new Zelda movie, which in all honesty I think would be better than having him not speak, or using sign language (imagine) or something. I do hate it in other games where the main character will have a dialogue tree to pick from and then after reading that, and choosing an option, I then have to listen to them say it aloud. So maybe nowadays it’s just a design choice by Nintendo not to repeat unnecessary dialogue.

After, all we are supposed to be taking on the role of the character in a game and listening to them waffle on usually breaks my immersion.
Phil

GC: Yes, that’s exactly it. Link does talk to people, it’s just up to you as the player to imagine what he said, because Link is you (we still hate that you can’t change Link’s name in the new games) and Nintendo doesn’t want to put words in your mouth. Plus, as you say, they also don’t want to waste time on too much dialogue. It’s fundamentally different to Samus Aran in Metroid Prime 4, where, for no stated reason, she refuses to speak but nobody reacts to that fact.

Inbox also-rans
I still can’t believe that Xbox said it couldn’t afford to a year in review for 2025. Microsoft is worth $4 trillion. Trillion! The more I hear about how they approach gaming the less I understand.
POG

I have an important question about whatever the next Zelda ends up being: will it see the return of Tingle? Just as importantly, will he be in the movie and who will play him?
Gauntlett

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The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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