Recently, I got my hands on the PlayStation Portal — and I’ve been having a great time with it so far. With a PS Plus Premium subscription, I’m able to stream a whole host of top-tier modern and retro titles, and I’ve even enjoyed using it as a remote play companion if I want to use my TV for watching sports or a movie in the background.
And recently, I decided it was finally time to replay what might just be my favorite game of all time: Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. This demon-filled title from Atlus combines incredible yet crushing turn-based combat, brilliantly fuses mythology and deep philosophical writing, and whips up an unmatched atmosphere — I really couldn’t wait to dive back in.
So, I fired up my Portal, connected it up to my PS5 for remote play, and got stuck right in. After countless hours of playing on Sony’s handheld device, I have quite a few thoughts about it — mostly positive, though there are a few negatives worth noting. I’m here, then, to share the three things I’ve loved about using the PS Portal so far, as well as three areas in which it could be improved.
The good stuff
1. General performance and display
Although I’d read some highly positive impressions of the PS Portal, Sony‘s handheld was honestly so much better than I expected, performance-wise.
Using my home network — which isn’t particularly rapid — Shin Megami Tensei III ran absolutely flawlessly at 1080p, with almost no frame drops whatsoever. Even in busier areas or with more chaotic battle animations, the Portal held its own, making for a seamless transition from the TV screen down to a handheld.
Something else that impressed me about the Portal was its display. Sure, it’s no OLED, but the 8-inch LCD display offered punchy colors and good contrast. And even if Nocturne isn’t the most demanding game ever, I still admired the Portal’s display when streaming other games over the cloud.
2. Ease and portability
Perhaps the main appeal of the PS Portal is how it opens up a more flexible way to play your favorite PlayStation titles.
Whenever I wanted to watch something on TV while playing Nocturne, I could easily connect the Portal to my PS5 and pick up where I’d left off — similar to how you can swiftly switch between docked and handheld on Nintendo Switch 2.
I could even use my PS Portal at work — I just had to connect up to my corporate Wi-Fi and connect to my PS5 from a distance. Not all games require a connection to your PS5, too, and you can directly stream them from PlayStation’s servers on the go — and the quality of the streaming catalogue is genuinely high.
3. Surprisingly solid battery life (especially compared to Switch 2)
One more thing I loved about playing Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne on my PS Portal was that I could play fairly long sessions without interruption. That’s right, I was getting four hours of playtime per charge at the very least, which is nothing to be sniffed at.
If I’d been playing the Switch version of Nocturne on my Nintendo Switch 2, however, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see my system die in less than three hours. That’s right, Nintendo’s latest system is no star in the battery life department, and it was refreshing to play without constantly keeping my device on charge.
The fact that you can play some games for more than six hours on the Portal is a major pro.
What could be better
1. A serious lack of audio options
Right, this is without question my biggest problem with the PS Portal in my short time with it so far.
The audio options are incredibly limited, and unless you’re blasting from the system’s speakers, you’ll have to go down one of two paths: either use the 3.5mm headphone port or devices using PlayStation Link tech (like the Pulse Explore earbuds).
This means you can’t connect standard Bluetooth headphones — including Sony’s own products, like the Sony WH-1000XM6 or WF-1000XM6! Oh, and there’s no USB-C audio passthrough, meaning that some modern wired earbuds, like the Sennheiser CX 80U or Apple Earpods USB-C, will be of no use.
For a game like Shin Megami Tensei III, where so much of its unsettling atmosphere is created through sound, being unable to throw on my over-ear headphones was a bit of a shame. Luckily, though, there are plenty of strong options with a 3.5mm connector, most of which you can find in our guide to the best wired earbuds.
2. It’s a little unwieldy for longer play sessions
This is a pretty minor one, as I actually found the PS Portal to be comfortable on the whole, especially given its wide build.
However, I’ve been absolutely glued to Nocturne, meaning I’ve indulged in a few (OK, a lot) of long play sessions as of late. And whenever I was playing for upwards of four hours, I could find that the Portal was a little on the unwieldy side of things.
Yes, although the Portal has the ergonomics of the excellent Dualsense controller, the screen in the middle carries a bit of extra weight, meaning that my wrists could feel a little strained during extended sessions. Again, I largely appreciated the Portal’s ergonomics, so whenever I sensed some strain, I took it as a cue to go take a break and touch some grass.
3. Some on-the-go instability
When out and about, I experienced the odd bit of instability while gaming on my PS Portal. When tethering to my mobile’s 5G network or connecting to some routers, I encountered a few frame drops and performance hiccups, which could break the immersion.
While this is less of a problem with the device itself, the Portal’s reliance on a stable network is definitely something worth bearing in mind. With my Nintendo Switch or Switch 2, I can download a game and enjoy it at the peak of its powers no matter where I am. While using the Portal, I need a stable connection — it’s a streaming device and remote player, not a system in its own right.
Again, this is no major issue for me. I’m predominantly using the Portal at home, when the TV is otherwise in use…or if I want to game in bed. But for my on-the-go gaming needs, I’ll likely stick with the versatility of my Nintendo Switch 2.
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harry.padoan@futurenet.com (Harry Padoan)
