30 of the Best Games to Play on PS5

Since its worldwide launch on November 12, 2020, Sony’s PlayStation 5 has established itself as a worthy successor to the best-selling PlayStation 4. Some initial supply issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic initially made it challenging to obtain a PS5, but it’s now easier than ever to get one, complete with a game library that continually receives new and exciting additions practically every week. There are hundreds of incredible games available on the PS5 that run the gamut of genres, and these are some of the best ones that players can experience based on both their critical review scores and commercial success.

• Release Date — February 5, 2021
• Developer — Team Ninja
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike, Compilation
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)

Team Ninja’s Nioh games are two of the greatest games in the growing “Soulslike” genre, directly influenced by the likes of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls but unique enough to stand out as their own thing. The remastered versions of both Nioh and Nioh 2 for PlayStation 5 were compiled into a single package and released both physically and digitally, making it one of the absolute best “bang for your buck” compilations to pick up if you enjoy challenging games with incredible combat.

• Release Date — August 20, 2021
• Developer — Sucker Punch Productions
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)

When Ghost of Tsushima originally released on PS4 in 2020, it arrived just ahead of the launch of the PS5. Of course, a PS5 version was practically a given with how critically and commercially successful Sucker Punch’s open-world samurai action game was, and sure enough, Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut arrived on PS5 just a year later. This expanded edition is the definitive way to experience one of the best open-world action games of all time, and it’s still one of the best-looking games on the PS5 all these years later.

• Release Date — April 17, 2025
• Developer — MachineGames
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Genre — Action, Stealth, Immersive Sim
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)

One of the more surprising developments of the last year has been Microsoft’s pivot to a multi-platform strategy, bringing several of its formerly console-exclusive titles over to the PS5. This April welcomed two great Xbox games over to the PS5 library, Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, with the latter one of the best action games on the console. MachineGames’ expertise at crafting engaging first-person experiences translates perfectly to a game featuring Indiana Jones, and The Great Circle features the character’s best story since The Last Crusade.

• Release Date — June 11, 2021
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)

The Ratchet & Clank series has been synonymous with the PlayStation brand since the PS2, so of course, it wouldn’t take long for the PS5 to get a new entry in the franchise. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is still one of the best platforming games on the console despite its arrival so early in the PS5’s life span, and it also happens to be a strong contender for one of the best games in the legendary Ratchet & Clank series.

• Release Date — February 28, 2025
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)

The latest entry in Capcom’s long-running Monster Hunter series is a strong contender for being its best yet, taking the excellent changes introduced in Monster Hunter World and translating them into a fully open world for the first time in the franchise’s history. Monster Hunter Wilds continues to be a big hit on PS5, especially as a great game for co-op, where the hunts against the game’s most challenging and dangerous monsters are at their most frantic and exciting.

• Release Date — September 2, 2022
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

When Sony and Naughty Dog announced The Last of Us Part I, the overwhelming response was “Really? Another Last of Us remake?”. And sure, The Last of Us Part I doesn’t do anything significant to the gameplay side of things, but what Naughty Dog was able to accomplish with the game’s visuals and performance manages to make the already great story and gameplay of the original shine that much brighter on PS5. Make no mistake — this is the definitive version of one of the greatest games ever made.

• Release Date — November 12, 2020
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Action, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

Just a year after originally launching on 8th-gen hardware, Devil May Cry 5 would make its way to PS5 in the Special Edition release of the game, bringing a substantial boost to its already impressive visuals and performance in tow. Somehow, all these years later, Devil May Cry 5 is still the strongest contender for the best character action/hack and slash game on the console and perhaps even the pinnacle of the Devil May Cry series.

• Release Date — October 27, 2023
• Developer — Remedy Entertainment
• Publisher — Epic Games Publishing
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

When thinking of games that are truly “impressive” — in their visuals, writing, scope, gameplay, and just about every other element — Remedy’s Alan Wake 2 is one of the first that comes to mind. It’s obvious from the moment it starts until the credits roll that this game was a true labor of love and passion from a talented studio, cementing Alan Wake 2 as one of the most essential games in the PS5 library.

• Release Date — January 27, 2023
• Developer — Motive Studio
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

This generation has been host to plenty of remakes of beloved classics (including several that are on this list), and Motive Studio’s remake of Dead Space is one of the most impressive of the bunch. The original Dead Space still holds up as an incredible survival horror game, so for the remake, Motive took a smart approach by just greatly improving the visuals and performance while leaving the gameplay almost entirely intact. Dead Space‘s remake is now every bit the survival horror classic that the original is.

• Release Date — June 26, 2025
• Developer — Kojima Productions
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)

2025 has been a banner year for gaming, with plenty of the best games on PS5 releasing at some point over just the last few months. One of the newest games in the PS5 library that is both an exclusive to the console and one of its greatest games is Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Death Stranding 2 improves upon the original in just about every way, streamlining its pace and smoothing out the rough edges of its gameplay elements to deliver a thrilling open-world trek through post-apocalyptic Australia.

• Release Date — May 25, 2021
• Developer — Square Enix Creative Studio III
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — MMORPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)

While the general rule of thumb about MMORPGs is that they’re typically games best reserved for playing on a PC, the PS5 version of Final Fantasy XIV proves that you can absolutely enjoy one of the best games in the genre using a controller. Final Fantasy XIV remains one of the most exciting and content-rich MMORPGs on the market, and that it features one of the most compelling narratives in the entire Final Fantasy series is the icing on the cake.

• Release Date — January 26, 2024
• Developer — Bandai Namco, Arika
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)

Since the original PlayStation, Tekken has been synonymous with Sony’s hardware. So it makes perfect sense to see that the latest iteration of the franchise, Tekken 8, also happens to be one of the PS5’s greatest fighting games. Tekken 8 is the most accessible and polished the series has been in years, and it’s a blast to play whether you’re a casual fighting game fan or a hardcore competitive genre enthusiast.

• Release Date — January 19, 2024
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)

The PS5-enhanced version of The Last of Us Part II takes an already technically impressive showpiece for Sony’s hardware and makes it even better. Along with The Last of Us Part I, it’s an essential experience for any PlayStation owner that features one of the medium’s best stories and some fantastic (and visceral) stealth-action gameplay.

• Release Date — October 20, 2023
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)

What’s better than getting to play as one Spider-Man? Why, getting to play as two Spider-Men, of course. Spider-Man 2 builds on the formula of both Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales to deliver Insomniac’s best superhero game yet, upping the ante in terms of the narrative stakes and the gameplay and featuring one show-stopping spectacle after another. Were it not for the somewhat awkward segments of the game that break up its pacing, it would be a contender for the best comic book game ever, and even then, it’s already pretty close.

• Release Date — March 6, 2025
• Developer — Hazelight Studios
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Genre — Action-Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)

Hazelight Studios was able to outdo itself with Split Fiction. Following up It Takes Two with yet another co-op-focused adventure was practically a given with the studio’s track record, but no one could have expected the level of imagination and ingenuity that would be on display in just about every single second of Split Fiction‘s gameplay.

• Release Date — October 21, 2022
• Developer — P-Studio, Atlus
• Publisher — Sega
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)

It says a lot about how special Persona 5 is that, 6 years after the game’s original launch, its expanded “definitive” edition on PS5 would immediately become one of the console’s best JRPGs. Truthfully, Persona 5 is about as close to a “perfect” JRPG as the genre has been able to produce in the modern era, and even though it’s an incredibly long game, it never loses steam throughout its more than 100-hour runtime.

• Release Date — April 29, 2025
• Developer — Playground Games, Panic Button
• Publisher — Xbox Game Studios
• Genre — Driving/Racing
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)

When Xbox decided to start bringing some of its exclusives over to the PS5, it initially started small (Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment) before blowing the doors off this year with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Forza Horizon 5, and even Gears of War Reloaded this fall. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the Xbox’s best exclusives, and it’s surprisingly overtaken the PlayStation-exclusive Gran Turismo 7 as the best racing game on the console. Like the other games in the Horizon sub-series, Forza Horizon 5 is breathtakingly beautiful and, most importantly, a ton of fun to play.

• Release Date — June 2, 2023
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)

The latest iteration of Capcom’s most important and enduring franchise is the best that Street Fighter has been in years, bringing the franchise back to the glory days of Street Fighter IV after the slight misstep that was Street Fighter V. Not only is the standard competitive multiplayer mode a huge draw, but the new open-world story component is a nice touch that elevates the entire experience beyond what you’d expect to see in a fighting game.

• Release Date — November 12, 2020
• Developer — Bluepoint Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)

We should’ve guessed that this generation would be home to a plethora of remakes when one of the PS5’s launch titles was itself a remake of a beloved classic, but Demon’s Souls is so much more than just “another remake”. Instead, it’s a testament to the talent of Bluepoint Games at reimagining some of the most important titles in the PlayStation hardware’s back catalog, taking the original PS3 game (and originator of the entire Souls lineage) and bringing it into the future with stunning visuals and improved balance.

• Release Date — February 29, 2024
• Developer — Square Enix Creative Business Unit I
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)

Were this list longer, we’d have included Final Fantasy VII Remake as one of the PS5’s best games. But limiting the list to just 30 entries meant we could only include one game in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is undoubtedly an improved and expanded game that blows the doors wide open and sets up what’s sure to be a thrilling and emotional conclusion to the project. As both an action RPG and an open-world game, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is about as good as it gets.

• Release Date — February 22, 2023
• Developer — Stage Games
• Publisher — Enhance Games
• Genre — Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)

Alexey Pajitnov’s Tetris has been around for more than 40 years now, and it’s still about as close to a “perfect” video game as we’ve seen throughout the history of the medium. It’s been endlessly ported, remade, and re-released on just about every platform imaginable, and the latest official mainline entry, Tetris Effect: Connected, is maybe the best version ever made. It’s also the best puzzle game on the PS5, proving that Tetris is likely to stick around for another 40 years or more.

• Release Date — April 24, 2025
• Developer — Sandfall Interactive
• Publisher — Kepler Interactive
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)

Another of this year’s biggest surprises has been Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is one of the absolute best games in the RPG genre in years and a new high mark for narrative storytelling in games. It’s only been out for a little over 3 months and is already the front-runner for 2025’s Game of the Year accolades and one of the best role-playing games in the PS5 library.

• Release Date — March 24, 2023
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Survival Horror, Action
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)

Capcom’s remakes of the Resident Evil series have each been excellent (some more than others), but Resident Evil 4 takes what’s many players’ favorite entry in the series and boldly reimagines it in ways both expected and unexpected. One of the most exciting new additions is the ability to move and shoot at the same time, which Capcom balances by using a new parry mechanic attached to a breakable combat knife, significantly switching up the flow of combat and making an already incredible game somehow better.

• Release Date — August 13, 2021
• Developer — Supergiant Games
• Publisher — Supergiant Games
• Genre — Action Roguelike
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)

Supergiant Games’ Hades is arguably the greatest action roguelike ever made, and for evidence of that, look no further than the sheer number of games that have used it as inspiration for their own take on the genre. If you own a PS5 and decide to get just one roguelike, the clear best choice is Hades.

• Release Date — November 9, 2022
• Developer — Santa Monica Studio
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)

Santa Monica Studio’s reinvention of the God of War series with the eponymous 2018 entry was a phenomenal game that brought Kratos to a brand-new pantheon of gods, and Ragnarök builds on it by delivering a thrilling conclusion to the saga that further fleshes out the relationship and dynamic between Kratos and his son, Atreus. It’s a phenomenal game with some of the best combat of any modern action title, and one of the PS5’s best games bar none.

• Release Date — October 11, 2024
• Developer — Studio Zero, Atlus
• Publisher — Sega
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)

The only JRPG that could best Persona 5 Royal for top honors in the PS5 library is, of course, another game from director Katsura Hashino and the first game under his new studio, Studio Zero. Metaphor: ReFantazio shares a lot of similarities with Hashino’s previous games in the Persona series, but it merges those elements with an incredible take on the classic high fantasy JRPG and a job system that gives Final Fantasy Tactics a run for its money.

• Release Date — December 14, 2022
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)

10 years out from its original release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains the “gold standard” for an open-world action RPG. In terms of its gameplay, its narrative, its writing, and its exploration, few games can match what The Witcher 3 regularly delivers. It’s the high point of the Witcher series, the game that helped make CD Projekt RED a household name, and one of the PS5’s best RPGs.

• Release Date — September 6, 2024
• Developer — Team Asobi
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)

If it’s possible for a video game to contain an interactive version of pure joy, then Astro Bot may very well be that game. Arriving at a perfect time when players and developers alike were growing increasingly disillusioned with the industry, Astro Bot is a reminder of the pure magic and escapism of video games, and a loving homage to the rich history and legacy of the PlayStation brand.

• Release Date — September 6, 2023
• Developer — Larian Studios
• Publisher — Larian Studios
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)

It says a lot about how phenomenal this generation of gaming has been that the top three games in the PS5’s library are each Game of the Year winners. But as anyone who’s played Baldur’s Gate 3 can attest, there was never any question about whether it would take home the year’s top honors. Baldur’s Gate 3 is both a fantastic follow-up to the classic BioWare CRPGs and an exciting modern take on the Dungeons & Dragons formula, merging the D&D world with Larian Studios’ peerless turn-based tactical combat to create an RPG for the ages.

• Release Date — February 25, 2022
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Genre — Action RPG, Open-World, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is yet another game that’s about as close to “perfect” as we’ve ever seen the medium reach, successfully building upon years of design and innovation from the Dark Souls series to deliver a stunning open-world adventure that deserves to be played by everyone with even a passing interest in video games. Elden Ring also helps make the Soulslike formula more accessible, giving millions of players the perfect on-ramp to a genre that may have previously been intimidating.