PlayStation 5 users will now be able to take advantage of a brand new trial feature, although there is a specific catch that many players are finding maddening.
Reported on by Eurogamer, the new feature was released for only two PS5 games, Death Stranding Director’s Cut and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The way the trial works is by allowing players to experience the two games for an allotted amount of game time. The hours allowed are not universal, with Death Stranding offering six hours compared to the five given by Sackboy: A Big Adventure. While that might sound great for many, there is a catch: the timer begins from the moment players commence the download.
Once players select “download trial” on console, or “add to library” on the PlayStation Store, the trial is considered to be in effect. What this decision seems to overlook is the simple fact that the games require a certain amount of download time before becoming playable. As such, despite the supposed six hour trial time, many players can expect to lose a few hours of that during the download process. This can be even worse for users who find themselves with low bandwidth, who could lose out on the trial entirely as a result.
The way in which the trials differ to something like a demo is due to the content available. While a demo essentially allows players to experience a singular moment in the game, often one level, the trial is as much content as the player can clear from the beginning during that allotted time. The trial does not support the inclusion of any DLC however. Players who download any DLC during the trial will have to purchase the full experience to use any of that additional content.
Other notable aspects of the trial include them being limited to the PlayStation 5 versions of the chosen games. Additionally, the trials will only be available until 11:59pm on Oct. 28, according to the fine print. The small print also informers users that they can only access one trial per account per game.
While no other games have been announced by Sony to provide similar trials, it’s a feature many fans would appreciate. However, as the backlash suggests, an overhaul to the trial countdown timer would be desirable. If the feature extends to other games, factors such as the game’s size could severely hinder access to trials, with bigger games being too large to download within the provided time.
Source: Eurogamer
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