The PS5 has been out for 5 years! Wow! Someone should really tell the PS4 that. It’s way past the time that we left that wonderful console behind and fully focused on the current generation. With that in mind, here are just some of the best PS5 games that actually are properly current, and we’re also not including remakes and remasters just to make our lives even harder. Still awake? Good.
Alan Wake 2
Thirteen years later, Remedy finally let Alan out of his cabin and made a game so good that it was almost worth using the Epic Games Launcher. Almost.
Alan Wake 2 takes the self-aware charm of the first game and turns it into a proper survival horror with an artsy edge. You’ve got suffocating darkness, limited ammo, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like a face is gonna flash before your eyes at any second. It does do that a lot.
You alternate between Saga Anderson, an FBI profiler investigating ritual murders in Bright Falls, and Alan himself, still trapped in his own malignant imagination. The two stories bleed into each other in a way that’s clever without being showy, and the Northlight engine makes the whole thing look absolutely incredible. This game couldn’t be done justice on PS4.
While not the scariest game ever,Alan Wake 2 really does like to play with your head in brilliant ways. This one should be diving deep to the surface of your PS5 library.
ARC Raiders
ARC Raiders shouldn’t be as good as it is. You see, it’s an extraction shooter. We’ve had enough terrible ones of those for a lifetime. But it’s got enough style, balance, and general fun to win over anyone who’s allergic to collecting stuff, and then better stuff. Set in a retro-futurist wasteland full of scavengers and falling debris from orbit, it feels halfway between The Mandalorian and an IKEA catalogue left out in the rain.
You drop into ruined zones to hunt for loot and scrap while dodging hulking alien machines that feel genuinely unpredictable. The trick is how ARC Raiders sells the danger. Do you try and team up with other solo players, or do you shoot everyone you see? You should really do the former, but you never know what someone else might do.
Even if you’ve never cared about extraction loops, this one might change your mind. It’s probably the best extraction shooter on the market right now, and you don’t even really have to be a huge shooter guy to enjoy it.
Astro Bot
Oh yeah, now we’re gaming.
Astro Bot is a full-blown love letter to the PlayStation ecosystem, wrapped in the most technically impressive toybox you can imagine. Team Asobi somehow made a game that feels like both a modern game and a classic platformer that also has amazing reactivity with your PS5 controller. Seriously, I think playing this kinda confirmed that the DualSense may be…my favourite controller ever?
Plenty of levels riff on a different corner of PlayStation history, from PaRappa the Rapper to God of War, all dressed up in absurdly detailed worlds that make other platformers look kinda drab. Pretty much every pixel of this thing is designed to make you smile. Well, apart from those challenge levels.
Astro Bot is relentlessly charming without being saccharine, and a genuine showcase for what the PS5 can actually do when someone gets weird with it.
Baldur’s Gate 3
OK, this is the last time we’ll put BG3 on a list for awhile. It just fits in a billion different categories!
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most sprawling, reactive RPG in years, and such a dense, layered RPG is not out of place on PS5. Larian took decades of D&D systems, dialogue trees, and player bollocks, then somehow crammed it all into a gamepad layout that actually makes sense. You can be a heroic paladin, a manipulative devil, or just someone who murders everyone. All are equally valid playstyles.
What’s made BG3 such a life consumer for millions is the sheer freedom. Every line of dialogue can turn into an argument, so many fights can be resolved by kicking dudes off ledges, and half your party’s problems could probably be resolved by therapy. It really feels handcrafted in a way that something like an Aardman animation usually does. These things takes ages.
Even if you normally bounce off tabletop-style games, Baldur’s Gate 3 will find a way to drag you into its expedition to get rid of a tadpole. Sorry, don’t mean to be so obscure.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
In Clair Obscur, the people of Lumière face the yearly Gommage. That’s not the French version of a mukbang, sadly. Instead, the Paintress wakes, paints an ever-lower number on the great Monolith, and everyone that age turns to flowers. Expedition 33 sets out to end her ritual before the next number is drawn, and it goes immediately very wrong
This is an RPG with a lot going for it. Combat is turn-based but laced with real-time timing. You’ve got dodges and parries to consider, which means you can never zone out, and every party member has something different they’re good at.
But the painterly world and its sad inhabitants are who you’ll stick around for. The concept is brilliant, and the Hollywood voices elevate the already melancholy material to where it feels like every story beat is a different gut punch. It’s beautiful in a properly tragic way.
If you haven’t played this yet, you Gust ave a go.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
The first Death Stranding split audiences clean down the middle. Some found quiet brilliance in its meditative parcel delivery, others just saw Norman Reedus swigging Monster and staggering under forty kilos of boxes. On the Beach keeps the eccentric soul intact but reshapes it into something sharper, stranger, and better.
The sequel expands on the idea of rebuilding connection in a ruined world, only this time Sam ventures beyond the Americas into vast new regions filled with dust storms, oil-black oceans, and monologuing weirdos. Traversal’s smoother, combat far more natural feeling, and there’s a newfound emphasis on companionship. You even got a little puppet pal to yap at you.
Death Stranding 2 is still unmistakably Kojima. By that I mean, cinematic, really odd, and not for everyone. But if you want to stare at Elle Fanning as weird things happen around you, this could be the best PS5 game for you.
Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom: The Dark Ages might not have caused the same cultural explosion that Eternal did, but it’s still a riot, and a banger FPS on your PS5.
This time id Software trades frantic sci-fi corridors for a grim medieval hellscape, handing you a shield that doubles as a buzzsaw and enemies that look halfway between Warhammer miniatures and a weird reimagining of your favourite demons.
It’s a prequel, showing the Doom Slayer before the armour and the industrial metal soundtrack, yet it still feels unmistakably Doom. The pacing’s chunkier and more rhythmic, the gunplay is less demanding, but the sense of scale is enormous.
It hasn’t lingered in the public imagination quite like Eternal, maybe because it’s a prequel. Or maybe the lack of Mick Gordon was bigger than Bethesda realised. But every entry in this new trilogy has its own flavour. It’s just that this one’s like The Dark Knight Rises or At World’s End.
Final Fantasy XVI
Like Doom: The Dark Ages, Final Fantasy XVI didn’t exactly stick around in the collective memory as you’d expect. Ifrit came to Clive, and we all moved on. But for the dozens of hours it lasts, it’s a hell of a spectacle.
Square Enix basically made a Devil May Cry game wearing a Final Fantasy coat, swapping party management and exploration for cinematic boss fights and slick, combo-driven combat. There’s very little actual role-playing here, but what we do have is a fantastic cast.
The story follows Clive Rosfield, whose name alone sounds like he should own a wine bar, as he carves through a kingdom collapsing under divine power and family tragedy. It’s often too long for its own good, but the writing and performances are the best the series has had in nearly twenty years.
If you’re sceptical, give it a chance, especially now its price is dropping. Just know it’s a stylish action game first, Final Fantasy second.
Helldivers 2
Arrowhead turned a cult twin-stick shooter into one of the funniest, most chaotic co-op games ever made. I’ll be honest: I thought this was gonna flop before it came out. How wrong I was.
Helldivers 2 drops the old top-down view in favour of a slick third-person perspective, but everything else, including the always funny friendly fire, remains perfectly intact.
It’s built around killing aliens as stupidly and efficiently as possible. You’re part of Super Earth’s military machine, spreading “democracy” to alien worlds by way of orbital bombardments and banzai charges. Every mission is an absolute mess, and something’s gone wrong if you don’t get at least one clip out of each one.
There’s even a community-driven galactic war that actually changes over time. Helldivers 2 might need some TLC from a performance point of view, but if you want a succulent PS5 meal, this is democracy manifest. Get your hands off my seque.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle isn’t just another nostalgic cash grab. This is a full-blown adventure crafted by people who clearly adore the source material. It’s more of a fourth movie than anything that came after The Last Crusade.
Developed by MachineGames, it’s set between Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade, with Indy chasing a conspiracy that links ancient sites across the globe. The presentation’s pure cinema. You’ve sweeping camera work, proper globe-trotting transitions, and Harrison Ford’s likeness perfectly brought to life.
You shouldn’t just buy a game cos it’s pretty though. There’s the expected punching, puzzling, and whip-swinging, but it also dips into immersive sim territory. There’s stealth, distractions, environmental interactions, and multiple ways to solve encounters. You can sneak through dig sites, climb, improvise, or go full pulp hero when things fall apart, though you usually don’t get too far.
It’s not sold a billion copies, but it’s quite possibly the best Indiana Jones game ever. It’s a whipper in more ways than one.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
The first Kingdom Come was ambitious, and occasionally brilliant, but also just as janky sometimes. The sequel keeps that grit but smooths out the splinters, turning Henry’s story into something far more polished without losing its offbeat charms. Warhorse Studios doubled down here with denser towns, better AI, more complex quests, and a world that meets the aspirations of the original.
Combat’s still brutally technical. You are not John Wick, you’re not some chosen hero, just a bloke trying not to get stabbed by someone with better gear. The new voice work and motion capture make Henry a more convincing protagonist too, and the writing lands with a mix of sincerity and dry humour that’s rare in big RPGs. There is also loads of shagging.
It’s bigger and more complex in its roleplaying, yet still rough around the edges in all the right ways. If you ever wanted to live among medieval peasants without getting the tuberculosis, this is as close as you can get.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
You know, there’s a touch of Spider-Man 3 syndrome in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. It’s got the same overstuffed vibe that made Raimi’s finale both brilliant and messy. It juggles villains, subplots, and tone every 5 times, sometimes flipping from heartfelt Peter-Miles moments to random civilian errands before you’ve even finished a swing.
One minute you’re web-gliding through Brooklyn, the next, you’re suddenly playing as a supporting character who can’t fight but sure can walk slowly.
Still, when it gets going, it’s phenomenal. The dual-protagonist setup keeps momentum high, the combat’s faster and flashier, and the city itself is a joy to move through. The black-suit storyline gives Peter a genuine edge, while Miles carries the emotional weight with ease.
Even with a few pacing stumbles, this is a stunning open-world game that really shouldn’t be far away from every PS5 owner’s library.
Ninja Gaiden 4
Ryu Hayabusa is back, but this time he shares the stage with Yakumo of the Raven clan — a new, faster character meant to make things easier for newbies, but the game is still rock hard.
The story picks up after Ninja Gaiden 3: Tokyo is drowning in cursed rain, the Dark Dragon’s husk coils over the city, and a priestess named Seori might be the only way to end it. You’ll swap between Yakumo and Ryu as the mess spills across a quarantined metropolis and into the underworld.
It’s classic Ninja Gaiden, with precise inputs, enemies that punish hesitation, and set-pieces that escalate from messy street fights to mythic showdowns. The PlatinumGames combat keeps the pace vicious, and it barely lets up.
In short, it will beat you up, take your money, and then take your dad’s as well. You might say thank you to..
NINJA GAIDEN 4 is a proper return to form, and hey, if you enjoyed it, Ragebound is pretty good fun too.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Four years on, Rift Apart is still one of the best-looking games on PS5. It’s such a visual showcase Sony that Sony even wheeled it out to show the erm “power” of the PS5 Pro.
It’s bright, and ridiculously polished, your favourite old Cartoon Network show running at 60fps. The new dual-protagonist setup works surprisingly well too. Ratchet’s the steady hand, Rivet’s the fresh energy, and their banter keeps things moving even when the plot’s just an excuse to shoot another dimension full of robots.
The rift-hopping gimmick remains the showpiece, letting you pull entire worlds through portals in seconds. Or, well, bits of them. It’s slick, and probably the best demonstration of the PS5’s SSD so far, though you can’t help wishing the sequel makes it more than just a set-piece trick.
Still, it’s comfort food done right, and an easy, fun Platinum if you fancy ticking one off over a lazy weekend. I’d love to returnal to this world soon.
Returnal
You are a big dafty if you write this one off.
Returnal might’ve been an easier sell if it hadn’t launched at seventy quid, but it’s since found a loyal following who see it for what it is. Returnal is a demanding, beautifully weird sci-fi roguelike that’s like a space opera on loss.
You’re Selene, an astronaut stuck in a looping alien nightmare, piecing together fragments of story between desperate runs. You’re dodging neon projectiles, swapping weapons, and weaving through bullet patterns until you go cross-eyed. Each loop lets you push a little further, unlock better gear, and learn just enough to make the next death sting even more.
It’s tough, stylish, and surprisingly hypnotic. And when the story finally pulls back the curtain on what’s actually happening, you’ll just have to set your controller down and have a nice big think. Here’s hoping Saros is also a banger.
Rise of the Ronin
Rise of the Ronin feels like a slightly less cinematic Ghost of Tsushima built on a smaller budget. You got less sweeping poetry, but more grappling hooks and shuriken to the face.
Team Ninja built it as an open-world action RPG set in Japan’s Bakumatsu era, and while it doesn’t have the same elegance or polish as Sucker Punch’s epic, it makes up for it with flexibility and sheer playability.
You can fight, sneak, or glide your way through missions, swapping stances and gadgets on the fly. The combat feels weighty and deliberate, somewhere between Nioh and Sekiro, and the verticality gives every area a sense of freedom that’s rare in historical settings. It’s easy to get lost for hours just picking fights or gliding off rooftops for no reason other than because you can.
It’s not perfect and has had absolutely terrible post-launch support, but at the right price, it’s brilliant fun. And you can’t spell fun without f.
Silent Hill F
It makes sense that years after a fully brand new Silent Hill game, Silent Hill F would drag the action somewhere new too.
Gone are the rusted hospitals and foggy American streets; this is a more folkloric nightmare, full of creeping fungus and floral horror. Flowers can be spooky.
You play a schoolgirl caught in a web of guilt, decay, and something ancient festering beneath the surface. The writing, from Higurashi creator Ryukishi07, leans heavily into psychological dread, and especially early on, it’s pretty unnerving.
It’s not perfect, mind you. The pacing drags near the end, and the combat overstays its combat. But the story and performances are properly worth bearing with the repetition. It might not replace Silent Hill 2, but it proves there’s still life, and death, in this series yet.
Split Fiction
Split Fiction is a bright, fast-paced co-op adventure where you and a partner play as Mio and Zoe, two creative rivals trapped inside a book publisher’s machine that turns imagination into reality. World Book Day funds Skynet, apparently.
Each chapter throws you into a completely different genre. One moment you’re running about as a monkey, the next you’re trying to avoid an exploding sun. And it’s all stitched together by your characters’ competing ideas.
It’s designed from the ground up for two players, either local or online, with a Friend Pass so only one copy’s needed. The gameplay constantly changes to suit the theme. There’s platforming, puzzles, shootouts, even rhythm challenges. Everything’s built around true cooperation, so you’re both always doing something that matters.
If you’re after a PS5 co-op game to play with your brainrotted friend who can’t focus on one thing for too long, let Split Fiction be it. It is a stellar experience.
Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade is the most famous game with ladders since Metal Gear Solid 3 — though for wildly different reasons. Shift Up’s debut console title is a glossy, unapologetically flashy action game that wears its influences proudly and its camera angles even prouder.
You play as Eve, a soldier sent to reclaim a ruined Earth from grotesque alien creatures, slicing through them with an acrobatic grace that makes Bayonetta look almost chill.
The combat’s tight and stylish, built around parries, perfect dodges, and just being quite cool. It’s punishing but fair, rewarding precision rather than button mashing. The world design’s surprisingly strong too, with semi-open zones full of hidden upgrades, side quests, and just enough lore to make the apocalypse feel lived-in.
It’s not subtle, but it doesn’t need to be. Stellar Blade knows exactly what it is, and you should know this game belongs in your library.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
And lastly today, a game you can happily play with the last of your remaining brain cells, and what a banger it is.
Space Marine 2 is loud, gory, and gloriously shooty. Sometimes shooty is all you need. You’re once again Titus, now a Primaris Marine with a chin that could deflect artillery, carving your way through endless Tyranid swarms in set-pieces that look straight out of a heavy metal album cover.
The gunplay hits hard, the melee hits harder, and the whole thing moves at such a pace that it makes stopping feel like a crime. There’s no deep philosophy here, no moral grey areas — just bolters, chainswords, and the occasional prayer to the Emperor.
It’s pure catharsis to shoot down swarms of idiots for dozens of hours. Turn your brain off, crank the volume, and enjoy one of the most satisfyingly dumb action games the PS5’s got.
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