PS4 Remote Play

PS4 Remote Play allows you to play all of your favorite PS4 games on your mobile device, PC, or Apple. While the Nintendo Switch has blurred the line between a traditional gaming console and a handheld gaming device, Sony actually managed to do something more robust years before. The Remote Play app essentially serves as a hub for your Playstation 4, streaming content over the internet so that you can play on an Xperia phone or a dedicated PC. While it's naturally limited by the power and reliability of your internet connection, it's a bold move on Sony's part and one that ensures you don't have to be sitting in front of your TV to play popular games like God of War or Assassin's Creed.

The line between a console and a traditional PC is becoming increasingly more slim, and that's readily apparent in how easy it is to set up PS4 Remote Play. All you have to do is make sure that your Playstation 4 and the device you want to use are connected to the same WiFi network or connected to the same router, and there shouldn't be any hitches along the way. Since the PS4 Dualshock controller uses a simple USB cord as its connector, it's compatible with most modern hardware as well. Plugging this controller in should signal the software to open. The interface for Remote Play is largely indistinguishable from the traditional PS4 user interface, so anyone who's played on a console should be able to jump right in pretty easily. The blade structure of the UI is both intuitive and clean, and it works as well on traditional computers as it does on the Playstation 4.

Just keep in mind that even with the best internet connection, the experience likely won't be quite the same as what you'll get if you're running your Playstation 4 locally. The technology just isn't quite there yet, but most games should play in a serviceable manner. PS4 Remote Play supports the standard frame rate by default, but if your internet connection is strong enough, you should be able to handle 60 frames per second reliably.

While it might not work perfectly all the time, anyone with a strong internet connection should be able to get an experience largely similar to playing on the big screen through their computer rig. That means you don't have to be tethered to the TV, and you don't have to pass on playing games just because your family is watching movies in the living room. But even if you can't keep the frame rate you'd expect from playing a game on the big screen, it should work just fine with less twitch-based titles like puzzlers and roleplaying game.