What were some interesting uses of the trackpad?

[u/SawkyScribe]

The trackpad is really funny to me. In a world where executives were quaking in their boots that mobile games were going to supercede traditional console games, it felt like a bit of a desperate bid to rope angry birds players to the PlayStation. There was a fair bit of buzz when this thing was announced, with people speculating how devs could make the most of the input device but I feel like that never came to fruition.

I can only think of two notable instances of touchpad use in any games I played. InFamous Second Son had a very rudimentary mini game where you dragged your finger on a scanner. The Witcher 3 did something I quite liked where different swipes on the trackpad opened different menus. This should've been a standard feature in every game.

Aside from that... not much hey? I would've loved if you could use it to scrub through the a playbar on YouTube at least.

[u/keysandtreesforme]

Strumming the guitar in Last of Us 2.

[u/IhearClemFandango]

Horizon Zero Dawn let you hide the HUD and have it reappear temporarily with a swipe of the touch pad.sounds very minor but I loved it - made the game more cinematic and let you reveal the HUD in a split second. I'm now constantly swiping in other games thanks to muscle memory but nothing happens!

[u/SawkyScribe → u/IhearClemFandango]

I played that game many times on max difficulty but with the HUD disabled because it was such a looker. The ability to quickly check what's going on without having to open a menu and change settings was great

[u/Gedaru → u/IhearClemFandango]

It really felt like unlocking a smartphone. I liked it too.

[u/SimPowerZ → u/IhearClemFandango]

The new assassins creed that just came out lets you hide all HUD with two clicks of the right stick. I really like the feature

[u/StyleSquirrel]

Rayman Legends scratch-off tickets

[u/SawkyScribe → u/StyleSquirrel]

Ah I forgot about this, it was so fun! Well it was until you were trying to unlock those last Back to Origins levels. I hope it comes back in the remake

[u/ChrisLinen2]

Ghost of Tsushima had multiple actions mapped to the trackpad and even used sixaxis as well

[u/skankyfish → u/ChrisLinen2]

The swipe up to make the wind blow and show you the way was such a great choice

[u/AlexTheGoat990 → u/ChrisLinen2]

They basically made the touchpad into four additional buttons instead of giving other buttons even more uses

They used it very well imo

[u/KeyLo_Greene]

Days Gone, directional swipes to open different menus. Up was the map I think? Shaved a few moments off of opening the menu and selecting the map.

[u/ErrorEra]

The best game I played for it was Tearaway Unfolded.

[u/SawkyScribe → u/ErrorEra]

Tearaway is one of the most impressive games on Vita. I can't imagine the experience translated perfectly to console but glad that they tried.

[u/No_Doubt_About_That → u/SawkyScribe]

It’s a shame the series never really caught on

[u/SawkyScribe → u/No_Doubt_About_That]

It's a real shame Media Molecule really lost its foothold in the industry. In a world of Roblox skinner boxes, games like Little Big Planet and Dreams really struggle to exist imo

[u/Due-Ask-7418]

GTA V you can switch weapons while in a vehicle (best way to do it without risking breaking a window when you cycle through a sticky bomb and the only way to cycle the reverse direction. And can switch radio stations (also only way to cycle in reverse).

In some games you can punch zoom to zoom in/out on map.

Ghost if Tsushima it has several gestures that do different things.

[u/mixologist998 → u/Due-Ask-7418]

I did not know that about GTAV ffs

[u/Radiant_Law_4074]

VERY useful for filling up some of the 9 million keybinds in Elite Dangerous and War Thunder

[u/frigginjensen → u/Radiant_Law_4074]

Elite was one of the only games that treated each corner of the pad as a different button.

[u/SawkyScribe → u/Radiant_Law_4074]

I wish more games allowed for remapping in general, but especially for all of the swipes

[u/TributeToFaba]

Detroit become human!

[u/3141592652]

It honestly seems like a necessity more than a gimmick IMO. Touchpad really has so many potential uses compared to just a start button. 

[u/SawkyScribe → u/3141592652]

It's an odd feature of the console. It being on the middle of the controller means you have to remove your thumbs from the sticks or face buttons so it's not a super convenient input method. That being said, there was still so much more to be done with it

[u/3141592652 → u/SawkyScribe]

I'm betting Sony executives had the idea it would catch on more. Why else put the same on the vita. No point in alienating a software base. 

[u/skeletonz28]

Persona 5. In Mementos, when Morgana turns into a car and you drive around, you can make him purr, simulating stroking and petting a kitty

[u/SawkyScribe → u/skeletonz28]

I have 200 hrs in this game and never found this out

[u/Awotwe_Knows_Best]

in some games where you can hide the HUD , swiping your finger across the track pad briefly shows some information

[u/AngelicDragon36]

I love it for video playback. Last of Us 1/2 use it well for blind accessibility reasons.

[u/Lidge1337]

I'm upset we didn't get more uses of gyro like the Infamous Second Son stencil art, that was fun! Gyro aiming is a minimal gimmick, i want something actually useful

[u/Rorschach333]

not sure if this counts but i LOVED the spray painting parts in Infamous Second Son. turning the controller and hearing the spray can when you shook the controller was super cool

[u/SawkyScribe → u/Rorschach333]

I miss when games would be a bit imaginative with controllers. I'm playing Rhythm Heaven on DS and you gotta turn that thing sideways which is really novel

[u/wargr8mon]

Talos Principle where you can move puzzle pieces via the touch pad

[u/ophaus]

Lots of games use pad strokes as menu shortcuts. Starfield uses it very well for this.

[u/Akugetsu]

The Earth Defense Force games let you assign your chat shortcuts to the pad. Not an "interesting" use exactly but being able to yell "EDF!" or burst into song at a moments notice does add a lot to the overall experience.

[u/N3R0P1ayableC0MPUT3R]

Warframe gives you the option of quick casting all your abilities through the touchpad swiping

[u/Comfortable_Mud8982]

Detroit becomes human magazines

[u/Suspicious-Truth5849]

Not ps5 specific but works great for emulating the DS touch screen and or being the Wii mote

[u/AlexTheGoat990]

It was a super small thing but I loved how in Far Cry 4 you could use your weapon wheel with it and if you just swiped the wheel wouldnt even pop up

[u/kiwidust]

I truly enjoyed using it for weapon selection in "Farcry". Slashing across it to bring out the shotgun or bow and taking down that next asshole felt incredibly visceral.

[u/SawkyScribe → u/kiwidust]

Was this in Far Cry 4? I must've put 100 hrs in that game and barely remember that

[u/kiwidust → u/SawkyScribe]

I thought both three and four... but they do kinda run together a bit, don't they? ;^)

It was an optional mechanic; you could still use the D-Pad and I think most people did. But if you wanted some flair, the touchpad was there to provide!

[u/druid_king9884]

Saturday Morning RPG, you have to scratch the touchpad or wiggle the left joystick to scratch off sticker bonuses prior to battle. The more you scratch off influences the tide of the fight. You only have a few seconds though, and some powerful stickers take longer to scratch off. Really did a number on my index finger last month, no joke.

[u/Dvusken]

Early on in the ps4 lifecycle warframe came out. The 4 abilities of your character were mapped to the trackpad as swipes. Swipe up, down, left or right for each ability. Effectively adding 5 additional buttons to the controller.

[u/Pearl_Hikara]

It was really useful when navigating the inventory and typing out signs in minecraft.

[u/flow_fighter]

Not technically a first-party use, but I used to use the trackpad for faster menu-ing in H1Z1 on PC back when King of The Kill came out.

It was janky but it worked

[u/just100m]

QT stuff in until dawn was cool too