The Best PS5 Games

This Top 25 PS5 Games list was most recently updated on September 25, 2026.

So, you’re thinking about buying a PS5 for GTA 6? Well, it turns out there are plenty of other great games to play on Sony’s latest console once you tear yourself away from the streets of Leonida. From sprawling RPGs to terrifying survival horror, there’s just as strong a variety of fantastic experiences today as there was when we first visited Vice City back on the PlayStation 2.

Gaming has changed a lot since the days of memory cards and CRT, though, and we’re in an era of cross-generational updates and remasters. So when we began our search for the very best PlayStation 5 games, we set ourselves one important rule: they had to be genuine PS5 games. The first time these games arrived on a Sony console, it had to be the PS5. No remasters, ports, backwards compatibility, or upgrades here. Remakes created for this generation, of course, are welcome.

So, what are those games? Well, let me tell you. These are the 25 best PS5 games.

Ghost of Yotei may not have felt as fresh as its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima, when it arrived in 2025, but it’s still one of the most exciting adventures to be found on the PS5. Taking full advantage of the console’s power, you’ll struggle to find many open worlds that look as beautiful as Sucker Punch’s 17th-century Japan, even when blood is splattered across it. With satisfying swordplay that builds on an already slick-feeling formula, Atsu’s revenge-fuelled journey is as fun to play as it is poignant. With a clear reverence for the time and place it's set in, Ghost of Yotei is a PS5 exclusive worthy of a place in your library.

You’ll struggle to find a PS5 game with a more striking art style than Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls. A Sony console exclusive, the latest fighting game from Guilty Gear developer ArcSystem Works is a tag team battler starring Earth’s mightiest heroes and villains that has the substance to match that style. Its 3v3 action may look overwhelming at first, given all of the chaos occurring on screen, but is surprisingly approachable in its design, letting you focus on mastering just one character if you wish. With a great story mode available for more casual, comic-book-loving fans, paired with an innovative competitive side, it quickly became one of the best fighting games on the PlayStation 5.

A new Uncharted game has yet to grace the PS5 generation, but developer IO Interactive thankfully decided to fill that void for us. A James Bond origin story full of blockbuster action and the top-tier level design you’d expect from the studio behind the Hitman games, 007 First Light hit the spot beautifully. Stealthily charming your way through the chateau surroundings of a European chess championship blends with moments of pure cinematic spectacle and explosive action to deliver the best translation of a Bond movie into a video game to date. Yes, even better than GoldenEye. It’s the sort of single-player action-adventure that has long made its home on Sony consoles over the past decade or so, but done so in an intelligent manner with a clear love of its source material.

Depending on when The Witcher 4 eventually launches, it’s also plausible we’ll go a whole console generation without a new story in that world. What we do have, though, is a complex, smartly written, and fascinatingly designed RPG from some of the minds behind The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The Blood of Dawnwalker challenges you to spend your time wisely in its vampire-infested world, with each decision impacting its twisting story. As the half-human, half-vampire Coen, you must make the right decisions over the course of 30 days and nights in order to rescue your family from their grisly fate of becoming sacrificial blood bags. With supercharged abilities at your disposal to navigate its branching questlines, it's one of the most innovative RPGs to hit the PS5.

Helldivers 2 was a bona fide smash hit when it first arrived in early 2024, but don’t let its fading from the headlines make you think it’s no longer a fantastic game to play today. Arrowhead’s long-gestating follow-up to its original top-down alien murder simulator flipped the perspective and delivered one of the most fun – and definitely most explosive – co-operative shooters on the PS5. There’s a wonderful sense of tactility running through every aspect of it, from the semi-complex button combos required in order to use its most deadly weapons, to the way you feel the impact of each bullet rip through a bug’s flesh. With new updates landing regularly, it's still a fantastic time to jump into the world of Helldivers and save democracy from alien scum.

If time travel is more your thing, then it's hard to find a game that roots you into its historic world quite like Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Warhorse’s medieval RPG follow-up sends you on a journey of rebellion, as you look to overthrow the king of 15th-century Bohemia, and does so in a remarkably detailed manner. KCD 2 takes role-playing to the next level, effectively letting you live in its world as you wish, whether that be as a blacksmith, spy, soldier, or a number of other age-old professions. It’s somewhat of a miracle that, whichever path you take or how fateful each of your actions in its world may feel, it all keeps ticking along and reacting to your chosen playstyle. If you’re looking for a PS5 game to truly get lost in, you can do far worse than spend your days here.

​Like Slay the Spire before it, Balatro is the kind of game you might dismiss – a game of cards with simple graphics perhaps isn’t what you spent all that money on a PS5 for. But when Balatro gets its hooks in, and you start to wrap your head around how its many joker cards interact and synergize, this deck-building roguelite might never let go. The fact that it uses what initially appears to be a standard deck of playing cards means that it’s a fairly easy game to understand the basics of if you know anything about poker. However, from those simple beginnings, it takes you down rabbit hole after rabbit hole as you figure out how to maximize your score multiplier and specialize your deck in pursuit of certain types of high-payout hands. Its pixelated 2D graphics set it apart from everything else on this list, but you could very well spend more hours playing it than even the biggest, most expansive triple-A blockbusters.

A soulslike where you play as a vengeful Pinocchio sounds like the start of a joke, but it turns out Lies of P is perhaps the most accomplished game of its genre not made by FromSoftware. Taking the fuel that fires its looming inspirations, developer Neowiz built its own intertwining world which clicks together and shifts like the mechanical wheels and cogs that make up some of its deadliest automaton enemies. Couple that intriguing world design full of wonderfully crafted creations with a tight combat system that echoes PlayStation’s beloved exclusive, Bloodborne, and you’ve got pretty much the next best thing.

An amazing sequel in a spectacular series, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a showcase for the PlayStation 5. Its story of two Spider-Men – both of which are playable and can be freely switched between – is a Spidey fan’s dream to play through, as comic book tussles with Venom and Kraven the Hunter are brought to life, elegantly walking the tightrope between light humour and heavier themes. Meanwhile, Insomniac refines a successful formula of combat and web-swinging, keeping them comfy and familiar while adding just enough new tweaks and abilities to elevate them to fun new heights.

It also makes use of the power of the PS5 like very few other games, providing blockbuster action moments that are a spectacle to behold, near-instant load times, and a best-in-class pinpoint fast travel system. It’s another thrilling Spider-Man adventure that delivers Insomniac's best tale yet, and a consistently fun superhero power trip.

​​Returnal is a trailblazer of sorts. Roguelikes have long been one of the most popular genres on the indie scene, with games like Spelunky, Dead Cells, Enter the Gungeon, and The Binding of Isaac leading the charge, but we’ve never really seen anything quite like Returnal. It combines developer Housemarque’s expertise in intense, arcadey bullet hell shoot-em-ups with deep roguelite mechanics and a dense, chilling atmosphere, resulting in an unforgettable sci-fi experience. Arguably the only thing holding it back from true greatness on release was the inability to suspend its lengthy runs and save your progress, but that issue has since been patched, and it’s now hard to find flaws in this incredibly bold and ambitious take on the action roguelite.

We’ve had no shortage of action games trying their hand at swordplay over the course of the PS5 generation, but arguably nothing has quite nailed the sweetest of sensations that a swing and stab of a blade can bring like Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Capcom’s revival of a long-dormant series comes packed with some of the finest boss battles you’ll ever have the pleasure of playing, and it's in these encounters that its suite of parries, reversals, and special abilities all sing in harmony. Its semi-open world Kyoto may leave a little to be desired, but that fault is more than made up for by the pure joy of these high-stakes duels and a bonkers story that never fails to embrace how silly this tale of samurai versus demons is.

Turns out that remaking one of the PS2’s seminal games results in one of the best you can play on a PS5. One of survival horror’s most enduring stories, Silent Hill 2 takes James Sunderland to the titular foggy town where nightmares lurk deep in its hospitals, hotels, and hovels. It’s difficult to say that this descent into darkness is “fun” in the classic sense of the word, but its classic mix of chilling exploration and fraught combat proves just as compelling as it did three generations ago. A glossy reimagining of the Konami classic from Bloober Team, Silent Hill 2 manages to maintain the eeriness that permeates through the original as it brings it into the modern age. If you're looking to get scared, there are few better places to visit.

Much like the second Star Wars movie, Respawn's sophomore Star Wars Jedi game vaulted over the original. Survivor trusts us with control of a Cal Kestis who's now a full-fledged Jedi Knight rather than a fledgling Padawan, so it gets off to a running start and never slows down. Over the course of this adventure, he grows into a master of superhuman mobility who can thrive in fantastic, challenging combat using multiple lightsaber styles.

With a new set of larger, more diverse, and densely packed worlds to explore, and a memorable cast of new and returning characters, Survivor tells a grand story in the Star Wars tradition, so much so that fans may well find it a little predictable. But make no mistake, classic Star Wars proves it can still be fun here, and there are even moments of well-judged emotion to help elevate Kestis’ well-worn arc. Launch performance issues aside, it’s a sequel that does virtually everything better than the original – which was already an exceptional Star Wars game.

​​Alan Wake 2 is a standout single-player adventure that seamlessly shifts from slow-burn psychological terror to frantic survival-horror action; from gorgeously rendered game worlds to masterfully directed full-motion video sequences; and from morbid murder investigations to show-stopping musical surprises. It features uniformly immaculate art direction and audio design, and reinvigorates the series’ signature light-based shooting as though it’s been locked and loaded with a fresh pack of Energizers. It’s bloody, it's bonkers, and for the most part it's utterly brilliant.

Alan Wake 2 is a superb survival-horror sequel that makes the cult-classic original seem like little more than a rough first draft by comparison, and it’s genuinely unlike any other adventure currently available on the PlayStation 5.

Before his recent unceremonious and very public divorce from Sony, Hideo Kojima created one of the PS5’s very best games in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. A fantastic marriage of the otherworldly foundations of the original and somewhat of a return to the stealth-action that powered his iconic Metal Gear Solid series, this is a sequel that delivered on Death Stranding’s original creative promises.

Taking Sam Porter Bridges to the other side of the Earth as he navigates a disconnected Australia, you battle against the volatility of its geography and the battle-ready forces dotted across it. Thanks to an extensive toolset bolstered by some outlandish contraptions (such as homing missile robot dogs and coffin hoverboards), it is never afraid to pepper its very human story with the utterly absurd. Following the dropping of Physint, we may never get another Kojima game on PlayStation. Thankfully, we’ll always have Death Stranding.

To call Metaphor: ReFantazio "fantasy Persona" is to sell it short. It's a culmination of developer Atlus' RPGs, refining a tried-and-true framework that blends social simulation and dungeon-crawling RPG combat. But here, Atlus wields that as the foundation for a brand-new fantasy world, upon which it tells a mature story with deep parallels to the political realities we face. It's whimsical and harrowing in equal measure, and just as it shows the ugliness of humanity, it also inspires us to work towards a brighter future.

That story and context help you connect with the cast of characters you’ll meet across its imaginative, painterly world, building up a strong party with the new Job-like Archetype system that offers a level of depth we haven't seen in a previous Atlus RPG. There are some tough battles to be fought with its turn-based combat system, and the tactical considerations required show that this genre can keep growing.

​As a middle chapter of a trilogy that retells one of gaming’s most beloved stories, threading the needle of standing on its own while being a continuation of an ongoing tale was a delicate task for Square Enix. Rising to the occasion, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth evolves the principles established in 2020’s FF7 Remake. There's still a grand sense of adventure within a beautiful recreation of the original game’s world; each character is given the chance to grow meaningfully over the course of a 70- to 80-hour journey and become greater versions of their beloved originals. It hits hard, even if you never touched the 1997 classic.

The way Rebirth adds tactical layers on top of the action-RPG formula that Remake began is nothing short of amazing. It retains traces of the original’s turn-based battle format even in its real-time combat, but having characters like Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Red XIII added to the mix opens up new possibilities. That’s especially true when you take advantage of the new Synergy abilities and unique partner attacks – pairing up your favorite party members offers satisfying ways to stagger enemies before hitting them with a Limit Break. When you establish a flow, there’s nothing like overcoming the toughest bosses with your favorite characters while the nostalgic boss themes inspire victory.

It was always going to be a challenge for developer Team Cherry to live up to the hype, but, somehow, Hollow Knight: Silksong managed to do it. At times a devilishly tricky action-platformer, at others a serene journey through a beautifully illustrated insect kingdom, this long-awaited sequel to a beloved cult classic switched the nimble, defensive Knight out for the skilled, front-foot-natured Hornet. While the fundamentals of its cavern-crawling mixture of tense combat and pixel-perfect platforming remain, this switch in protagonist signals a change in approach that makes Silksong feel distinct from its predecessor. Aggression is advised, with survival swapped out for speedy slashes and stabs, making it one of the most challenging games you can play on a PS5. But don’t let that put you off – the rewards are huge for any who venture into its world of hidden depths.

​Simultaneously one of the newest and oldest games on this list, the 2023 remake of 2005’s Resident Evil 4 takes everything that made the original a standout action-horror classic and modernizes it to thrill present-day gamers just as much as the original had thrilled PS2 and GameCube owners two decades prior. Rebuilt from the ground up, it builds tension by way of high-intensity combat against a ferocious cast of creatures. Perhaps the most revered corner of Resident Evil’s world is brought to life with rich detail as the story rapidly guides you through a series of unwaveringly impressive action sequences. There’ve been many games that have attempted to evoke RE4’s style over the years, but none that nailed it quite as well as this.

For decades, Mario reigned unchallenged as the king of the 3D platformer. Few, if any, games came close to Nintendo’s level of creativity and polish in this extremely popular genre. Astro Bot, however, changes things: this adorable robotic mascot can easily go toe-to-toe with games like Super Mario Odyssey, proven in its multitude of hyper-colorful and lively worlds, all overflowing with both imaginative level design ideas and countless loving references to PlayStation history. Each new world gives you a fantastic and surprising new ability to play with that sets its puzzles and challenges apart from everything that came before it, and few other games make such excellent use of the unique capabilities of the PS5’s haptic-equipped DualSense controllers.

The original Hades defined what a modern action roguelite could be, and the sequel miraculously managed to be even better. Hades 2 follows the same formula that made its predecessor so beloved… until it doesn’t. Supergiant Games’ masterstroke here is offering you two wholly separate paths to venture through at the outset of Melinoë’s runs, rather than a singular route to victory. Will you journey down through the depths of the underworld to take on the Titan of Time, Chronos? Or will you tackle what waits for you at the peak of Mount Olympus? The thunderous action is supported by a rich script full of comedic and flirtatious lines, delivered by a voice cast whose talents are near-unparalleled elsewhere in video games. Whether you fell in love with the original or this is your first taste of Supergiant’s version of Greek mythology, it more than deserves a place in your PS5 library.

​God of War Ragnarok is hands down one of the easiest games to recommend to anyone asking what they should play first on their PS5. Kratos’ most recent adventure is an immensely satisfying combination of combat, puzzle solving, and exploration, bound together by a heartwarming story of family, adolescence, and letting go. The combat rewards experimentation and precision, but is also versatile enough that even using a fraction of the moves at your disposal feels effective and rewarding.

Its many, many components – this is a deeply generous game – culminate masterfully to live up to the lofty expectations endured by PlayStation’s flagship games. Some may take issue with the pacing, at least in certain quieter parts of the game – but the latest chapter in Kratos and Atreus's saga is filled with enough heart, charm, and humor that such flaws barely register. By making smart improvements to the foundational design of God of War (2018) in order to further progress down the path developer Santa Monica Studio carved out for itself among other action-adventure games, Ragnarok remains the benchmark for PlayStation exclusives on the PS5.

There was a time, way back at the start of the century, when PlayStation was considered the home of the JRPG. It’s clear from playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that French developer Sandfall Interactive looks upon this era with great fondness. An ode to Final Fantasy of the past, Expedition 33 takes the essence of what made those stories so special and injects it with a new lease of life, provided in no short supply by its inventive take on turn-based battling. Adding real-time dodges, parries, and button combos into each encounter tests your skill at every turn, with each new foe providing a fresh challenge to master. But for as fun as it is to play, it’s in its touching, memorable story of a world where only the young survive that Clair Obscur’s true glory is to be found. There’s a reason it swept us off our feet, as well as every award going, in 2025.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s massive role-playing adventure is both enormously ambitious in its scope and yet endearingly old-school in its style. Its storytelling is epic, stocked with memorable characters rendered in impressive detail, and a multitude of meaningful, fate-dictating choices to make along with them. Its tactical combat is loyal to its Dungeons & Dragons roots to the point where it can be quite intimidating to get into, but when you do, you’re in for over 100 hours of all-thriller, no-filler questing.

There simply aren’t any other RPGs out there that can match the scope and scale of BG3 3 when it comes to complex, well-written characters that will challenge you with choices that make you sweat because you’ve learned the hard way that your choices matter, much less presenting so many of them in such an elaborate level of cinematic detail. Yes, RPGs like this have traditionally been best enjoyed with a keyboard and mouse on PC, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is so special that even when holding a controller, it’s one of the best times you can have on a PS5.

​​​Whether you're a longtime fan of FromSoftware's notoriously challenging games or intrigued by the constant buzz, Elden Ring is a fantastic starting point for seeing what the “Souls” genre is all about. Its streamlined introduction, versatility in accommodating your choice of playstyle, and open-world design all work to alleviate the “brick wall” dilemma of getting stuck on a difficult boss in Dark Souls games. It's that elasticity that makes this FromSoftware adventure a (slightly) friendlier one, while still being full of godlike bosses looking to snuff out your life, threateningly large maps, and intriguing NPCs rife with charm, mystery, and tragedy.

It’s since been kicked up a notch thanks to the outstanding Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, which serves as something of a condensed version of the main game’s experience that’s absolutely jam-packed with secrets, valuable treasures, ultra-challenging boss battles, and horrific monstrosities to face off against at every turn. When you stack that on top of the main game, it’s an incredible quantity of high-quality tests of your soulslike mettle.

Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social .