I feel like a stuck record at this point because I always go on about how much I travel…. because I do travel, a lot! With the amount of time I spend in airport lounges and hotel rooms, I’m always looking for the next best way to have my games with me. When the PlayStation Portal first got announced, before I’d read the bits about what it could do I got hella excited. I believed this would be the replacement to my trusty Nintendo Switch and I’d be able to stop saving for an ASUS ROG Ally or Steamdeck… Turns out, I was wrong. Here’s my thoughts on the PlayStation Portal.
Because the internet has changed drastically, most of my reviews or gadget features are done in short form video content. However, I know some people are still googling, so I figured I’d include those videos here on the blog so you can find them easily and have access to them! When the PlayStation Portal first released I posted this TikTok and you can tell by the comments, it got a lot of people talking:
@techgirlza Honest South African review on the Playstation Portal. The cost of data and regular loadshedding means this aint worth the price. Sorry. #playstationportal #gamingontiktok #techgirlza #Playstation #techreview ♬ original sound – Sam “Tech Girl” Wright
I still stand by the points I made in the video regarding the PlayStation Portal. It can’t do anything without being linked to the PlayStation which is a major headache. Your PlayStation needs to be turned on and everything is reliant on that console. Great if you’re jamming games at home and near it, not so great when you’re on the other side of the world (and it really freaking struggles at this point, if you can even get it to connect). Since I made the initial video with my thoughts the Portal has been updated, so things like connecting to public WiFi are now possible but it doesn’t change the fact that it is severely lacking in comparison to standard hand held consoles.
For me, it’s just a gloriously big PS5 controller with its own screen. I doubt it so much I refuse to take it overseas because I can’t imagine being stuck in a hotel without access to games.
Honestly, if you have the cash to spend, rather just go buy this PS5 controller. 100% a better spend.
