PlayStation 5 makes you pay to get in-game hints and tips

The PS5 has a built-in hint and tutorial system that shows you tips as you play, but there's a big catch.

2

Sony is adding lots of value to PS Plus. First there's the PS Plus Collection on PS5, and now subscribers get access to a new in-game help system that effectively shows you how to beat certain segments of the game with real-time videos, screenshots, and tips. It's called Game Help, and it's a big part of the PS5's new Activities section.

The new Game Help feature is exclusive to PlayStation Plus subscribers so that means you have to pay to used it. The idea is simple: Gamers can access an on-screen menu and get real-time hints on how to beat certain areas of a game. It's a move that could wipe out walkthrough websites and videos in one swoop.

"Game Help is included as a benefit for active PlayStation Plus members in some PS5 games. In this case, I can open up that objective to get some hints without resorting to a web search, or digging through long videos or artciles that might contain spoilers," PlayStation's Sid Shuman said in the UI reveal video

Not every game will support Game Help, and those that do can support it differently. Sackboy's Adventure, for example, can show a picture-in-picture video that shows you what to do as you play. It's a lot like the Xbox One's scrapped Snap Mode. This kind of expanded, fluid, and quick functionality is made possible by the PlayStation 5's ultra-fast SSD, which is capable of hitting 5.5GB/sec uncompressed data speeds over PCIe 4.0.

The new PS5 UI features will go live when the system releases on November 12, 2020. The digital-only version is $399, and the disc-based model is $499.