How to enjoy your PS5 games on a PS4

The PlayStation 5 is now available in France. But there are many who still own their PS4 or have friends who still have theirs and would be delighted to be able to discover the future of video games. For this, Sony has provided a turnkey solution to take advantage of it.

The PS5 has been officially launched in France since November 19. After having taken you through it during our test, the time has come to give you some tips to make the most of it.

If Sony has not made backward compatibility its strong point, the Japanese firm knows how to play remote screens and in particular remote reading, its asset for many years, if it works correctly, which is not not always the case. But the proposition is still worth a try.

Because now, Sony Xperia smartphones are no longer the only ones to be able to take advantage of the functionality. Tablets, smartphones, PCs or even Macs can load the dedicated PS Remote application and bring up the environment of their PlayStation console without being nearby.

And Sony is even doing its best to support its new generation of console: it is now possible to run your PlayStation 5… on the PS4!

How to properly configure the two consoles?

On your PlayStation 4:

Make sure you have the remote reading app PS5 Remote Play that appears on your home screen. This requires a PS4 system update to do if you don’t see it.

Your game session must also be under the same PSN ID as the PS5.

On your PlayStation 5:

Activate remote play from Settings> System> Remote play> Activate, but also the mode putting your console to sleep so that it can be activated remotely.

For the first connection, you must also have associated the device and note its number to enter it into the PS4. For that, go to Settings> System> Remote play> Pair device.

Start remote playback

On the PS5, you don’t have to do anything. On the PS4, you have to click on the app PS5 Remote Play to be able to play remotely.

• If more than one console is linked to your account, select the one you want to play on. You may need to add the PS5’s device number the first time (see above) to pair it. This necessarily requires having someone near the PS5 or that it is not too far from you. Subsequently, launching remote playback will wake the PS5 from standby and connect everything automatically.
• Up to four players can join a game via Remote Play.

• You now have the PlayStation 5 interface displayed and you can walk around, launch games or make adjustments using your DualShock 4 controller. But you will not be able to play with the DualSense which is not. for the moment not compatible with the PS4.

You can then start from your PS4 any game stored on your PS5 and that of the disc inserted in the console. So Spider-Man : Miles Morales, Astro’s Playroom or Demon’s Souls in the PS5 version are playable with the PS4 controller, obviously without taking advantage of the innovations of the DualSense controller. And you can, for example for Spider-Man, choose the settings 4K / 60 frames per second or 30 frames per second with ray-tracing enabled to play on your TV.

Photo or video screenshots can be done using the Share button. You can even take advantage of formatting and sharing tools. However, the captures are saved on the PS5.

By pressing the PS button on the DualShock 4, a different menu appears that allows you to access the PS5 control center (this displays the Console Activities cards), return to home, turn on or off the microphone from a connected headset, disconnect remote playback or return to the PS4 home.

Some recommendations for playing in good conditions:

• Use a lower video resolution for remote playback if you feel the image freeze often.
• Connect your PS4 to the internet via a LAN cable. It is better for remote play that your PS5 is too. This will allow a more stable experience.

Tip: PS + Collection games on PS4

If you have a PlayStation + subscription, you get free access to the PlayStation + Collection on the PS5, a selection of 20 backward compatible PS4 games, without first owning them. And you can also add them to your PS4 if you have downloaded them to PS5. If your old console is still logged in under the same PSN ID, they will appear in your library of available games. You will just have to download them on PS4.