Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
Well, friends. It’s been a good run. We’ve put together guides for years here at Shacknews, ranging from the absolutely silly and simple to the most baffling and intricate. But it looks like our time in the spotlight as one of your premium guide sources is coming to an end. Why the eulogy? That would be because today, Sony showed off the new UI for the PlayStation 5, which included a look at its Activities system and guided help for some PS5 games that will keep you from having to do filthy web searches outside of your console to figure out what to do next.
Sony went out of its way to stab guide writers in the heart and drain their tips and tricks-heavy lifeblood with the PlayStation 5 UI video on the PlayStation YouTube channel on October 15, 2020. Activities sounds innocent enough at first. This feature is located in the new extended Cards menu above normal functions of the PS5’s UI. Activities are unique to various PS5 games and provide a look at how far you are through a level or section, what kind of objectives there are to complete there, and even how long it will take to complete them.
Where Activities really goes out of its way to steal food from our guide team’s mouths is in the Game Help feature of activities, available to PlayStation Plus subscribers in some PS5 games. See, for some Activities, you can enter a sub menu that shares videos and hints at how to achieve and complete your goals. We’ll let PlayStation explain it themselves.
“Some in-game Activities offer official Game Help,” the video boasts. “[You] can open up an objective to get some hints without resorting to a web search or digging through long videos or articles that might contain spoilers.”
Gasp, and double gasp.
So, as you can see, our days of being one of your favorite sources for guides might be numbered. Sony has no love for us and our helpful ways, even making it possible to access these Activities and Game Help functions while barely leaving the UI of a game. Don’t weep for us in this trying time, friends. We’ll do our best to carry on.
After all, Sony mentioned that Activities and Game Help will be featured in only some PS5 games, and Game Help seems to be specifically for PlayStation Plus members. If for some reason you aren’t, we won’t leave you out in the cold. PS Plus members? We respect the ease and accessibility of PS5’s fresh-looking new systems such as Game Help and its improved voice chat.
That said, if you want in-depth guides on games that aren’t supported by PS5 Activities or on games featured on platforms other than the PS5…? Well, you know where to find us. DISCLAIMER: It's all in good fun. We hope you get the info you need to beat your games whether it's through us or Sony's pretty sweet-looking in-system Activities and Game Help features.