PlayStation 5 SSD destroys loading screens in new Ratchet & Clank game

The PS5's custom 12-channel PCIe 4.0 SSD has been hyped up to no end, and now we finally see proof of how the new storage tech will revolutionize console gaming.

Sony's PS5 SSD is the kind of storage The Flash would be proud of. It rockets data at 5.5GB/sec speeds, and can hit 9GB/sec compressed data rates and up to 20GB/sec with deeply compressed assets. This kind of speed can shoot data, assets, and content through the system to be processed and rendered on-screen. The practical use-case enables instantaneous, interruption-free gaming. And the new Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart game showcases what the SSD can do.

The latest PS5 event showed off lots of games that the system's new tricks, from the ray-traced visuals in Gran Turismo 7 to the elimination of loading screens in Ratchet and Clank. Thanks to the SSD's efficient pipeline, blazing fast speed, and the PS5's architecture, gamers will seamlessly transition between worlds within less than a second.

"Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart is a full-length inter-dimensional adventure built from the ground up for PlayStation 5," said Insomniac Games creative director Marcus Smith.

"We're doing things we've never been able to do before, like use dimensional rifts to be able to leap from planet to planet nearly instantly, or put ray-traced reflections on Clank. All of our alien worlds are filled with density and life previously unseen."

The PlayStation Blog also chimed in and said this about the new game:

"Players will seamlessly travel through different dimensions in mid-gameplay, thanks to PS5's ultra-high speed SSD."

Sadly we don't know when the new Ratchet and Clank will be ready, and it may not release with the PlayStation 5 at launch in Holiday 2020.