I did the unthinkable and bought a PlayStation Portal earlier this year. After ignoring the issues with connectivity and all of the other hubbub that I had heard, it’s settled itself in nicely with my collection of consoles. With more updates, it’s become a valuable piece of kit in my arsenal. It would be a shame if I would play anything besides Final Fantasy XIV on it, though.
This Thing Was Supposed To Help With My Backlog, Not Add More to It
I took a gamble when I purchased the PlayStation Portal. Countless horror stories of players experiencing near-unplayable levels of lag, pixelation from the remote play quality, and so much more. I normally pay plenty of attention to things like this, but I gave in to the FOMO. I waited until they came into stock at my local Best Buy and snagged one up.
Once home, I booted it up and tried it. It was awful. So, I did some research and discovered it was likely because I was on an old Google Wi-Fi mesh system. After upgrading to a new Wi-Fi 6 router, I tried it once again. And things were better. Much better. Almost 1 to 1 from the TV screen. I tried playing Destiny 2 and was able to keep up. Things were good. Until I resubscribed to Final Fantasy XIV once again, and my PlayStation Portal has become the greatest tool in my inventory.
The ability to take a fully fledged MMO with me anywhere in the house is impressive. Final Fantasy XIV plays incredibly well on controller, especially if you’re playing as a DPS class or a Tank. I can’t speak for healing, because I have yet to actually try that class. It terrifies me, to be honest. But playing primarily Ninja and Reaper, I’ve been able to participate in Raids and Dungeons without breaking a sweat or seeing a significant drop in quality. It’s very impressive, honestly.
So, You’re Saying I Should Buy a Playstation Portal for ‘Final Fantasy XIV’?
No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that it’s a very valuable tool, especially for those who don’t want to be confined and locked into a specific spot in the house. As long as my Wi-Fi is working well enough, I can play FF14 while my wife does crafts or watches a TV show in the living room. She can use the TV, and I can grind through the Heavensward MSQ. It’s genuinely made a normally inaccessible genre that much more accessible to me, but I’m just one person.
The PlayStation Portal is an expensive piece of tech that doesn’t have much use for those who don’t primarily play on PlayStation. Honestly, I normally choose to play on my Xbox Series X over my PS5 if I have the option to do so. But, seeing as I have a backlog a mile long on my PlayStation 5, I figured this may help. All it did, however, is make something as easy to obsess over as Final Fantasy XIV all the more accessible to me.
Now that Sony is starting to add Cloud Gaming features, it’s becoming a better purchase for those with a PS+ account. But, even then, I would only suggest one of these to someone who is either obsessed with the PlayStation ecosystem, or someone who just wants an easier way to play their favorite games. Otherwise? Something like a Backbone controller will work the same. I just like having the bigger screen so I can do raids and play Infinity Nikki wherever I want to. As long as there is a Wi-Fi connection, that is.
The post My PlayStation Portal Has Become a Dedicated ‘Final Fantasy XIV’ Machine, and I’m Fine With That appeared first on VICE.
