The PlayStation 5 turned two years old in November, and thankfully, Sony’s flagship gaming console is finally getting easier to find. Supply chain issues and production disruptions related to the pandemic meant that for the longest time, the search for a PS5 console, any PS5 console, required timing, precision and a lot of luck. Now that you can get your hands on one of these beasts, focus on where it should have been all along—the games you can play.
The PS5 launched with a decent but modest selection of games, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls, but its library has slowly but surely grown with more original, cutting-edge games. Some are exclusive to the console, while the PS5 shares some of its greatest hits with the PS4 and Xbox X|S . Latest addition — God of War: Ragnarok, which was launched in November. Although not as memorable as its predecessor, it is a must-have for PS5 owners.
Not all of the PlayStation 5 games on this list are for everyone, but there’s something here for gamers of all tastes.
In his time, Kratos has performed many Herculean tasks—literally—but to live up to the hype that accompanied God of War: Ragnarok , was perhaps his most difficult quest. Unfortunately, the silent man from Sparta has done it again. While God of War: Ragnarok isn’t a perfect game, it’s a worthy follow-up to its stellar predecessor and one of the most satisfying games of 2022.
Horizon Forbidden West
Guerilla Games may have a cursed release. Horizon Zero Dawn was great, but it was quickly overshadowed by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of the best Igor . When Horizon Forbidden West came out, it was followed a week later by Elden Ring, which sucked all the oxygen out of the gaming world for at least a month.
But don’t count Aloy out. Her second adventure is visually stunning, and continues to explore the fascinating world created by the first game (even if some of the characters still feel like cardboard cutouts).
The gameplay introduces the new Pullcaster hook, which opens up new forms of platforming, as well as the dynamics of several underwater levels. It also has new weapons and new gnarly machines to destroy. Give Aloy a chance.
Deathloop
Arkane Studios’ Deathloop brings the thrilling open-world, stealth action gameplay of the Dishonored series into a time loop, delivering the most inventive first-person action game of 2021. While exploring Blackriff Island, the wily and equally hilarious Colt demonstrates Deathloop’s dexterity in dealing with comedic and weird, ultra-violence.
The many encounters you will have will leave you amazed at how far you can push the complex design of its clockwork world to kill key targets and break the endless loop. But when you add another player who can invade your game, like Colt’s ex-lover turned rival Julianna, Blackreef Isle becomes an impromptu multiplayer arena where one player hunts another. Deathloop is a must have game on PS5.
Strolling
In 2019, Untitled Goose Game showed how much fun it can be to wreak havoc as a rogue bird. In 2022, the developers of BlueTwelve Studio allowed players to inhabit the body of a stray cat during a quest to return home. In Stray, you control a cat who finds himself in a futuristic, neon-drenched city populated by robots and several carnivorous aliens.
“It’s rare for a game to offer a completely new take on how we can experience a familiar environment, and even rarer when its entire mechanics are so confidently designed around it.” — wrote GameSpot’s Alessandro Barbosa in his review of the game , in which he gave Stray a score of 9/10. “This is a consistently thrilling adventure with a charming story of camaraderie that rarely misses a beat in its dynamic pace.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
The Ratchet & Clank series is synonymous with the PlayStation brand, and even after almost 20 years of games, Rift Apart remains one of the best in the series.
Rift Apart leans heavily on the series’ tried-and-tested action-platform formula with a heavy dose of extreme weaponry, but the latest game features one of the strongest stories in the franchise, giving longtime fans and newcomers alike an exciting plot to follow.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a great example of what the PS5 can do with levels built around the console’s ultra-fast hard drive, and has made us more excited for the future of the series.
