While the PlayStation 3 had undeniable jewels such asDemon’s Souls, Infamous,andDark Souls, it’s hard to compare the console to its older sibling, the masterful PlayStation 2. The PS2 was home to a library of classics we still can’t seem to stop remastering or porting, and while the PS3 certainly delivered later in its life, it wasn’t until the PlayStation 4 that we saw a more consistent life cycle of irrefutable classics.
The PS4 marked the return of the PlayStation in full force and, with it, one of the best video game catalogs in the history of Sony’s systems. If you’re a little late to the party, or just want to make sure you’ve hit the highlights, I’ve got a list rolling covering some of the best PS4 games you should play.
10. Horizon Zero Dawn
I remember audibly gasping when I read thatHorizon:Zero Dawnwas coming out in the same week that Nintendo releasedThe Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. I thought there was no way in hell that Guerrilla’s new IP stood a chance against Nintendo’s Zelda-driven behemoth. I was very wrong and on more than one front.
Horizon: Zero Dawnbecame PlayStation’s — not just the PS4’s — highest-selling first-party title ever. It currently sits at over24 million units sold, just seven million shy ofBOTW’snumbers. Not bad for a new IP. Even more importantly, it more than turned out to deserve the hype as it expertly mixes tight combat mechanics, exploration, movement, and astonishing visuals.
9. Ghost Of Tsushima
I imagine the pitch forGhost Of Tsushimawas just someone saying, “50% of the team voted for Samurai, and 50% voted for Ninja, so let’s just do both.”, as that alone would’ve had me sold. This game is a miracle. Making aGTA-scale game about the path of the Samurai must be quite the undertaking already, so making one that also included satisfying, fluid inspirations from Ninja seems impossible.
Luckily,Ghost Of Tsushimaended up the closest we’ll likely ever get toRed Dead Redemption 2with blades, bows, and Ninja secrecy. It’s a masterful game that lets players approach all sorts of scenarios in whichever way they choose, and the only guarantee is that they will never forget their experience.
7. Spider-Man
It was back in ’04 thatSpider-Man 2, the game about the movie, would inexplicably rock my world. It was the first to implement “realistic” web-slinging and swinging mechanics. No longer being able to stick your webs to clouds made a world of difference for me, and I’m not alone in remembering it fondly.
Lightning only struck again nearly 15 years later, whenMarvel’s Spider-Manoutdid my favorite superhero game of all time. The newSpider-Manessentially learned all the lessons from the classic, built upon them, and even added a bunch of new stuff to create one of the best superhero games ever made.
*If you, like me, aren’t too keen on the weird infatuation Peter Parker has with the police in this game, then consider just playingMiles MoralesorSpider-Man 2on the PS5 — or the originalSpider-Man 2on the PS2.
5. God Of War
After a stellar trilogy and a few possibly canonical games that also ruled, the Norse Mythology-inspiredGod Of Warsequel had some dangerously big shoes to fill.GOWwas a mix of many things. There was the more personal father-and-kid dynamic fromThe Last Of Us, theDark Souls-inspired combat, and the over-the-shoulder perspective fromResident Evil 4, but it pulled them all off like a total pro.
Though not original in itself, it’s a unique mix of many elements that just work, and that naturally resulted in one of the most solid games of its era.
6. Death Stranding
I’ll be the first to admit thatDeath Strandinglet me down big time when I first played it. The plot varies from overcomplicated to nonsensical, and a lot of the actors feel like they’re just there because Kojima really likes their beautiful Hollywood faces, There’s also the more action-oriented gameplay mechanics feeling almost forced in to appease anyone longing for gunplay.
Outside of that, however, Death Stranding has the guts to ask players to become errand kids and actually pulls it off by making the movement fun, the challenges dreadfully comical, and providing a vast, open world for introspection and mystery.
Death Strandingis a game like no other, the rare experience where you see that someone’s authorial vision, wacky as it might be, take center stage. Though I maintain thatDeath Strandingwent overboard on many aspects, I believe it’s better to have high-budget games taking similar risks than not.
5. Persona 5
Sadly, the PS4 felt a bit lacking in terms of Japanese RPGs, butPersona 5is so good that it nearly filled that void by itself. Don’t get me wrong. We also gotFFVII Remake, which masterfully played with its formula, butP5was a marvelous trifecta of old, new,andgreat.
Though it features a combat style similar to what we’d previously seen in many times before in many other RPGs,Persona 5never fails to tinker with the classic formulas to come up with top results, even for this already usually stellar series. The cast of characters and soundtrack are also legendary, but that should come as no surprise.
4. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
I consideredUncharted 4for this spot, but, back in its day, this was the true next-genUnchartedexperience.Uncharted 4looked better than anything before it, but it was, essentially, just anotherUnchartedgame — one filled with unnecessary changes to its established canon, even.
Lost Legacygave us a fresh new start with two beloved characters in a now wide-open world for players to explore. Though I’ll never stop loving the other entries in the franchise, it’ll be hard to go back afterLost Legacy.
3. P.T.
P.T.isn’t a retail release, but it’s only version of the project, so the demo counts. Even if it weren’t, I’d probably still attempt to come up with a reason to put it on this list, as it’s simply one of the best horror experiences of all time—not limited to just the PS4. It was also one of the most bizarre, surprising reveals in the video games industry, with its 2014 Gamescom reveal sending everyone into a detective frenzy to uncover the who or what was behind the demo.
Though it features arguably simple gameplay mechanics,P.T.offers players first-person horror like no other game. It is also, or was, completely free. We might never get anything of the sort again, as Konami pulled the demo from the store years ago after the project was canceled. So, either cherish your PS4 that still has it installed or never let others forget that it was once a thing—like I’m doing right now!
2. Dreams
And ifGhost Of Tsushimaallows you to be both a Ninja and a Samurai,Dreamsallows you to be anything.Dreamsis the game version of that very Reddit-like “I’m a gamer, I don’t have a life, I have many”meme.It invites players to play a wide range of games made inDreamsand, if they are daring enough, or not satisfied with what was on the catalog, to make their games via the very user-friendlyDreamstoolkit.
Dreamswasn’t just a game but both a collection and a factory of great games. Sadly, Media Molecule has sincestopped support forDreams, though its communityremains as strong as ever.
1. Bloodborne
This was my placement forBloodborneas soon as I finished it, and it only got more cemented as time went on. What FromSoftware started withDark Souls, it has perfected here.Bloodborneis the perfect mix of challenging gameplay with action fun. It has the best world ever devised by FromSoft, and one of the best, darkest, and most engrossing stories I’ve ever seen in a game. I’d recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach because of all the gore, yes, but also because of the choppy framerate.
I love it so much that I’d be totally down for a sequel, but I’d be perfectly happy even with a remaster that adds nothing other than a better framerate.
