Looking for a new console or upgrading from your old one? We've ranked the best consoles, from the most value for money to the finest handheld. Or if you already own a PS5, you may be interested in the best PS5 accessories.
I've loved video games for as long as I can remember — from playing Pokémon FireRed on my cousins' Nintendo GameBoy Advance every time we visited them during summer vacation to playing a demo of Tomb Raider on my dad's computer over and over again.
Gaming tech has, of course, come a long way since the good old days. I still remember struggling with horrible frame rates while playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on our battered family PC. Today, this issue is something I rarely encounter when I'm playing games on my PS5 Slim — and believe me when I say I use my console a lot, practically whenever I have free time on my hands and I'm not spending that time with my partner.
But just having one of the best consoles isn't always enough, and you need a few accessories to elevate your gaming experience. Well, as an avid gamer and someone who reviews gaming peripherals for a living (yes, that's literally my job), I'm here to take you through the PS5-compatible gadgets I can't live without — from the best gaming headsets to the best projectors.
Headset: Razer BlackShark V3 Pro
Video games can mean a lot of different things to different people. For me, gaming provides an escape from reality, allowing me to feel completely detached from the real world and immersed in a fictional world. When it comes to immersion, I can't overstate the importance of a good gaming headset. This is why the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro is a permanent part of my setup.
Only one of two headsets I've ever given a 5-star rating to (the other being the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5), the BlackShark V3 Pro makes me feel like I'm playing games at the movie theater. It features highly effective active noise cancelation (ANC) that blocks out most external sounds, enabling you to give 100% of your attention to the game, plus virtual surround sound that makes PS5 games sound crazy good. With this headset, games sound and feel outstanding.
The BlackShark V3 Pro has been designed with professional eSports gamers in mind, so Razer has dropped its wireless latency to just 10ms (industry-leading at the time of writing), meaning audio is relayed instantly, giving you a competitive edge. Oh, and the headset is ridiculously comfortable too, while 48-hour battery life (70 hours on PC) means you can keep playing for hours on end.
Hall Effect controller: Turtle Beach Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded
The first-party DualSense is one of my favorite controllers because of its haptic feedback and adaptive triggers but I've always wished its battery life was better. The Turtle Beach Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded solves that issue with its 20-hour battery, and the Hall Effect triggers and thumbsticks offer responsive gameplay while negating the possibility of stick drift.
While the Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded doesn't feature haptics (rare in third-party controllers), it makes up for it with its 11 interchangeable components, letting me fine-tune the gamepad according to the game I'm playing. With the included screwdriver, I can unscrew the face buttons and sticks whenever I want and replace them with, say, the included fightpad module.
It didn't take long for the Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded to become my second controller. I've found its Hall Effect sensors highly effective in racing games like F1 22, and the five-stop triggers handy in games that utilize L2 and R2 a lot, so I can turn them into short clicky presses to keep my fingers from feeling fatigued.
Handheld gaming: Backbone Pro
For a while now, I've wanted to get a PlayStation Portal so that I could play my favorite PS5 games remotely. But I'm aware that it may not be the most user-friendly experience. So when my partner wants to watch her a TV sci-fi drama and I want to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, I resort to using my Backbone Pro — and so far, I have zero complaints.
To use the Backbone Pro to play PS5 games, all I need is an iPhone with the PS Remote Play app installed and a steady, fast Wi-Fi connection. Then it's just a matter of popping the phone into the controller and I'm good to go.
I love the Backbone Pro's Hall Effect triggers which feel responsive in nearly every game, and the full-sized thumbsticks which are extremely comfortable and spacious. The Backbone Pro features two customizable back buttons too, which make shifting gears in racing titles more intuitive and immersive.
Projector: Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold
While I don't use the Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold Portable Projector on the daily, I keep it on my bedside table whenever I want to spend a Saturday playing my PS5 games in bed. This has been a fantastic and invaluable addition to my gaming ecosystem. All I need to do is plug the included CastPlay HDMI dongle into the back of my PS5 and et voilà! I can project my PS5 onto my bedroom wall.
For its size, the ZIP Tri-Fold is bright enough, rated at 100 ANSI lumens, and since I like playing games in a dark room, this works in my favor. The CastPlay's latency clocks in at 50-60ms and the projector has a 60Hz refresh rate — again, both are decent for casual gaming.
Having used the ZIP Tri-Fold for a few months now, I've never noticed any latency issues or lag. In a game like Cyberpunk 2077 which is riddled with neon lighting and signs, colors appear bright and accurate.
Sure, in a dark game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or Assassin's Creed Shadows, it's a little difficult seeing details in the environment but I really can't complain much given that this is considered a budget projector.
Soundbar: Sony HT-S2000
While this has more to do with my TV setup than my PS5 ecosystem per se, the Sony HT-S2000 really enhances the games I play. When I don't want to use my Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and am not keen on using my TV's built-in speakers, I turn to the HT-S2000. It's one of the best soundbars I've ever used, and it fills my living room with beautiful soundscapes.
The PS5 features Dolby Atmos which works with compatible soundbars, the HT-S2000 being one of them. The soundbar's five speakers and built-in subwoofer, then, create well-balanced soundscapes. Also, the HT-S2000 is equipped with S-Force Pro Front Surround which creates a virtual ‘wraparound’ sound, so it sounds like different sounds are coming from different parts of the room — a truly immersive experience, like you're actually the main character in a game.
I usually play RPGs (as you can tell by the games I've mentioned throughout this article), and most of these games have fantastic soundtracks. The HT-S2000 has always made background soundtracks sound powerful but never once overpowered in-game dialogue, which sounds crisp and detailed.
And there you have it. These are the five gadgets and accessories that have enhanced my gaming experience: the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro, the Turtle Beach Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded, the Backbone Pro, the Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold Portable Projector, and the Sony HT-S2000.
Are there any gaming accessories that you can't live without? Let me know in the comments below!
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