Ok, my initial 1st impressions. So far, I've tested out Spider-Man Remastered, SF V, and Soul Calibur VI. All on the internal SSD.
Console
The console is certainly BIG and BOLD in design. It's not meant to be discreet or to blend into your entertainment center.
However, so far, it is QUIET!! Hopefully the jet-engine days of the PS4 are gone. It only gets noisy when you are installing data from the disc and when you initially fire up the disc to start the game.
UI
Overall, I like the new UI. It is similar to the PS4 UI, with elements of the PS3 UI. But, it is different and it's own thing. Simple and elegant, it seems less "cluttered" (so far). Though, adding Folders in the future would be nice.
But, so far, I'm finding it fairly easy to navigate around. And I like how they separate the Games and Media content into separate tabs.
Also, it seems like HDR is always on? Even for games where I don't remember HDR being enabled on the PS4. And the UI is in HDR, too.
Dualsense
I'm really liking this new controller! As someone who likes the Xbox One controller, I feel like the Dualsense is a perfect marriage between the X1 and Dualshock controller. The bigger size feels more comfortable in my hands. Yet, it still is surprisingly lightweight, without feeling too light like the Dualshock did.
And the haptic feedback or resistance triggers are......something. I got to experience it a bit swinging around as Spidey. You can feel the tension in the trigger, almost as if the controller is "fighting" you so to speak. It certainly is a new and unique experience (to me) and will take some time to get used to. But, I can definitely see its potential.
Also, really liking the D-pad on this! As someone who likes fighting games, the D-pad is super important to me, and can make-or-break a controller. The Dualsense D-pad feels buttery smooth and I had no problems pulling off fireballs and uppercut motions in SF V. I think I'm going to enjoy playing fighting games on the PS5 with this controller!
SSD Speed
I'll have to do comparisons later on with loading times on the PS4 (and on an external hdd). But, so far, games seem to load fast. It seems to take about 12-15 seconds from the time you select the game to the time you start seeing the publisher logos and then the title screen.
With SF V and Soul Calibur VI, the loading times between matches also seem pretty fast. Around 15-17 seconds. I know with SC VI especially, the loading times between matches seemed to take forever, but here it seems faster. Also, with SC VI, I remember navigating through the menus and bringing up things like the Moves List had a slight lag (it was worse on the Xbox). But here, everything is quick and responsive.
Again, I will have to test out SF V and SC VI on my PS4 Pro, and also test playing them on my PS5 through an external drive. But so far, it seems fast and smooth.
So, overall, my initial impressions are good. I can't say that I am AMAZINGLY BLOWN AWAY by my experience so far, both from a visual or speed perspective. But I haven't really played a true next-gen game yet (like Demon's Souls) and I'm sure I will have a better impression once I compare the speed/loading times to my PS4 Pro.
But so far a positive start to my next-gen journey. It's feeling more like an "evolution" of the PS4 experience. Similar in many ways, yet unique and different in its own right.
I just hope Sony can address the storage issue ASAP. That's probably my biggest negative so far. This is 2020, not 2013. We should be able to offload our PS5 games to an external drive to save the precious space on our internal ssd. We also should NOT have to buy an expensive internal expansion ssd merely to increase storage space for our PS5 games.
Tomorrow, I will try out AC Valhalla and Demon's Souls as well as a few more PS4 games. I will also time the loading speeds on my PS4 PRO to compare.
