PlayStation is confirming that it’s PlayStation 5 Accolades feature is getting the axe later this year. This day-one feature of the console is being removed in the Fall due to the “level of usage.”
If you aren’t aware of what the PlayStation 5 Accolades system entails, we don’t blame you. It’s largely been an under-the-radar feature for many. Amongst other unique PlayStation 5 features like Activity Cards, Accolades were brand new to the console. This system allows players to award badges and give feedback to other players online.
Accolades are split into three tiers and tie into the User Profile. Accolades available are Helpful, Welcoming, and Good Sport. If perhaps you ran across another player who carried the team in Call of Duty: Warzone, you could award them a Helpful badge. Alternatively, someone who helped you get accustomed to a co-op game may be deserving of a Welcoming badge.
It was a novel incentive to see the PlayStation community interact with eachother in a positive way. However, like many console features, some stand out more than others. In this case, Accolades didn’t have the stickiness PlayStation was hoping to see.
Now, Accolades join a growing list of discontinued PlayStation apps, features, and services. On the landing page, PlayStation confirms “In fall of 2022, the Accolades feature on PlayStation 5 will no longer be supported.”
While Accolades won’t be available for much longer, PlayStation does encourage the community to maintain some general positivity online. “We encourage the community to continue to send positive messages to one another.”
Although PlayStation will be laying its Accolades to rest, it did recently bring 1440p support to PlayStation 5. Console beta testers are now able to take advantage of this feature via the new software update when using a compatible display.
Source: PlayStation Via: @Nibellion
That’s not to say that this removes all challenge from the game, though. For example, I often wasn’t entirely sure where I needed to parkour jump to next, especially when tasked with more open-ended goals. Should I climb up to the window to reach that florescent sign? Maybe I could crawl up a nearby pipe to get just a little bit more height? There’s still a level of strategy to Stray‘s beautiful but still canned animations, yet I can’t help but still wish I had direct control over the cat during these sequences.
On the positive side of things, if you’re fond of exploration-focused titles, there’s a lot to like about Stray. Without giving too much away, throughout the roughly four to five-hour game, you’ll meet the post-apocalyptic city’s humanoid robot inhabitants and encounter strange bug-like robots called Zurks that seem to only exist to relentlessly chase you around. Eventually, you’ll get your hands on a backpack that houses your drone friend B-12, which lends you a helping 
Sequences like this are by far the best and most interesting part of Stray. The number of ways you can passively interact with the environment around you precisely how a real cat would is impressive. There’s the aforementioned scratching and knocking objects over, but you can also drink from puddles (everyone knows water tastes better from dirty puddles) and cuddle up against the various robots populating the city.
