It’s been a good few months for PS5 fans.
Not only have PlayStation announced that console shortages are over – meaning that anybody who wants a PS5 can finally get one – but a slew of excellent new games are coming down the pipeline too.
From Horizon: Forbidden West to God of War: Ragnarok, PlayStation games are better, more sophisticated and more immersive than ever before, which means that if you want to experience them fully, it only makes sense that you also have some of the best accessories to hand, to enrich the game-playing experience.
There’s a lot of choice out there. PlayStation has recently launched its much-vaunted VR2 headsets (complete with custom games such as Horizon: Call of the Mountain, to play on it); they’re also working on improving their cutting-edge controllers too. In fact, their customisable DualSense Edge has also just landed on shelves around the world.
But it’s not just a case of improving your gameplay experience; PS5 accessories like external hard drives and SSD cards can also really boost the quality of play simply by giving you the space to download all your favourite games and updates without sweating about what you’ll need to delete to make space for them.
Best PS5 accessories at a glance
- Best for good quality sound: Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, £84.99, Currys
- Best for external hard drives: Crucial X8 1TB Portable SSD, £79.98, Amazon
- Best for all-round performance: PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller, £79.50, Amazon
- Best for customisation options: PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller, £209, Amazon
- Best for streaming aficionados: PlayStation 5 HD Camera, £44.99, Amazon
- Best for competitive gamers: Victrix Pro BFG Wireless Controller, £179.99, Game
- Best for quick charging for multiple controllers: Sony PlayStation 5 DualSense Charging Station, £22.95, Amazon
- Best for VR fans: PS5 VR2 headset, £529.99, PlayStation
- Best for integrated memory space: CORSAIR MP600 PRO LPX SSD, £99.98, Amazon
Here’s what to buy to get the most out of your fancy kit.
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Pulse 3D Wireless Headset
Best for: good quality sound
The Pulse 3D is one of the best PS5 headsets on the market, and it’s easy to see why.
The audio is crisp, there’s surround sound to die for and even the introduction of 3D Tempest AudioTech – essentially special software that simulates sounds coming from several different areas at once.
Put simply, if you walk through a city on-screen, it’s going to sound like you’re walking through a city in real life. Added to which, there’s also a decent mic, where it’s possible to individually set the levels for chat and game audio: perfect, in other words, for gaming with friends.
Buy now £84.99, Currys
Crucial X8 1TB Portable SSD
Best for: external hard drives
Sometimes a download proves so big and unwieldy that you end up deleting already-stored games from your console just to make room for it. Well, no longer: the Crucial X8 has a whopping 1-4TB of memory, and at just under £80, it’s also one of the more affordable options out there, especially considering its decent download speeds.
Even better, the hard drive’s rubber-capped ends means that it’s surprisingly shock proof (in case of dropping or falling) and given that it weighs about as much as a computer mouse, it’s easy to transport around too. Plug it in and game away.
Buy now £79.98, Amazon
PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller
Best for: all-round performance
Why improve on perfection? Sony’s PS5 controller is such a massive step up from previous PlayStation controllers that they almost feel like they’ve been made by different companies. It actually sits comfortably in your hands, the battery life is decent and – of course – the haptic feedback is out of this world.
Using precise vibrations to simulate the feeling of everything from raindrops to slamming your enemies with an axe, it truly feels like a next-gen controller and immerses the player that little bit deeper in whichever game they’re playing.
Buy now £79.50, Amazon
PlayStation 5 DualSense Edge Wireless Controller
Best for: customisation options
If the DualSense doesn’t quite cut it for you, then how about trying out the upgraded version, the DualSense Edge?
In terms of battery life, appearance and even haptic feedback, it’s just as good as its predecessor – but there are a few extra perks too, including textured thumb sticks, customisable buttons and rear paddles that can be added, swapped around or taken off to suit your gameplay style.
The only downside? With controllers starting from £150 upwards, they’re not cheap.
Buy now £209.00, Amazon
PlayStation 5 HD Camera
Best for: streaming aficionados
If Twitch is your lifeblood, then you need a good-quality camera to film you while you game.
Well, the PS5 HD camera is it. Though it looks like a next-gen webcam, the graphic quality is superb (it has a recording resolution of 1080p, compared to the PS4 camera’s 800p), it’s easy to hook into the PS5 console’s outlet port and will perch on top of your TV with relative ease.
There are also two wide-angle lens incorporated into the device, a microphone, and plug-and-play capabilities: essentially, there’s no set-up involved. All you need to do is plug this in and it should start working automatically. Easy!
Buy now £44.99, PlayStation
Victrix Pro BFG Wireless Controller
Best for: competitive gamers
For serious gamers, one of the best non Sony-made options on the market has to be the Victrix Pro. Though it lacks the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, it makes up for this by creating a highly customisable, modular controller where whole sections of the control pad can be swapped out to suit your playstyle – as well as spare paddles, varying stick lengths, and even a fightpad that can be inserted into the controller body. The battery life is good (a single charge can last a whopping 20 hours); basically, what’s not to like?
Buy now £179.99, Game
Sony PlayStation 5 DualSense Charging Station
Best for: quick charging for multiple controllers
Households with multiple gamers need multiple power-points to charge their controllers, right? Not anymore: this docking station is designed to charge two separate DualSense controllers at the same time.
Designed and sold by Sony, it looks sleek, is easy to use (once a controller is plugged in, a light will flash orange until it’s fully charged) and only takes around three hours to charge two controllers simultaneously.
Not half bad – and for less than £25, you can’t go far wrong.
Buy now £22.95, Amazon
PS5 VR2 headset
Best for: VR fans
PlayStation has been trying to develop virtual reality tech of its own for a good few years now, and this year it finally delivered, debuting a VR2 headset that will eventually (it hopes) become the default way to game.
And in all fairness, it’s an impressive bit of kit: the graphics are crystal clear, it comes with its own built-in game (Horizon: Call of the Mountain) and it’s not that bulky.
Even better, when paired with the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback, it truly feels immersive in a way few other VR options do. If you’re looking to splash out, this is how.
Buy now £529.99, PlayStation
CORSAIR MP600 PRO LPX SSD
Best for: integrated memory space
This nifty little plug-in is the perfect size for space-conscious gamers. Boasting up to 4TB of memory (though 1TB and 2TB models are also available), the Corsair SSD can be inserted directly into the PS5 motherboard to add memory space.
It has decent download and operating speeds, and a heatsink which improves its performance still further (though this can be detached if your motherboard already has cooling capabilities).
There’s hardware encryption, and the SSD is advanced enough to launch games quickly and easily – as it should, considered it’s pretty much been designed to integrate best with the PS5.
Buy now £99.98, Amazon
Verdict
If we had to choose two products that adds the most value to the PS5 gaming experience, it would have to be the Pulse 3D Wireless Headset and the CrucialX8. The Pulse headset adds an extra level of immersion in any PS5 game: it’s a quality bit of kit with crystal-clear sound, a great microphone and the ability to make gaming with friends both easy and fun.
The CrucialX8, meanwhile, is a must if you want a quick and straightforward way to add memory to your PS5 without compromising its performance. With 1-2TB of memory at your fingertips, all you have to do to install it is plug it in, and you can game for hours without having to face the dreaded task of deleting old games to make space for new ones.
