The PlayStation Vita was a failure. For all intents and purposes, it’s a dead system thanks to terrible support from its creators, who announced that they would be ceasing all production of the handheld in 2019 after quietly distancing themselves from it over the years. The downfall of the Vita has as much to do with Sony’s reluctance to push it as hard as they should have as anything else. Even the best PlayStation Vita games couldn’t help the system overcome the poor support.
However, and this might come as a surprise to you, but now is probably the best time to pick up a PlayStation Vita. It shifted enough units to ensure that there will always be plenty of options on eBay for well under $100 as well as the fact that the best PlayStation Vita games might already be sat in your library waiting for you thanks to cross-buy: a program that allows you to download a game across multiple Sony platforms for one price. If you’ve been adding PlayStation Plus games to your library over the years, you may be surprised at just how many Vita games are waiting for you.
Away from those titles, the Vita also certainly isn’t lacking in quality games that you can’t find anywhere else. Sure, they may have all come in one relatively short burst, but the PlayStation Vita’s best games made full use of the handheld’s power, which was above and beyond its contemporaries on the market at the time. Heck, there are even some maniacs still releasing new Vita games after all this time.
So, if you’ve ever been curious about Sony’s forgotten child or just want to freshen up your handheld library, here are the best PlayStation Vita games you should check out, ranging from throwback indies to the JRPG that will consume everything within your life.
50. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
We’re not going to sit here and try to tell you that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is some kind of unsung fighting game masterpiece that people were too harsh on after launch. It’s not, but it is the only game in the world that lets you pit Kratos against Fat Princess. It’s a wonder ScrewAttack managed to outlive this game.
Basically Smash but PlayStation and also reboot Dante for some cursed reason, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is not as good as the games it’s very much trying to emulate, but there is definitely some fun to be had here. The match-ups are mental and there’s plenty to do and unlock, and it all runs pretty alright on Vita as well. It’s just a fun game. I’ll never get over them cancelling the Legend of Dragoon DLC though.
49. Orgarhythm
What happens when you cross god simulation, strategy and rhythm-action elements? Firstly, something weird, let’s be clear, but you also end up with a game like Orgarhythm, a game so bananas that it could only end up on the PlayStation Vita. Say what you want about Sony’s ill-fated handheld, but there’s some genuine ingenuity and creativity on offer in its library that feels missing today.
You play as the God of Light, and must command the God and their troops through rhythmic button presses, fighting against the dark forces of your brother in the process.This Vita effort from the Octopath and Tenchu guys is a weird game, and one you’d have to play in order to truly attempt to understand it. Might be for you though?
48. Sound Shapes
The idea of a platformer incorporating music and rhythm gameplay might seem old hat these days, but when Sound Shapes launched on the PS Vita, it felt like we’d been shown a brand new way to experience a classic genre. Instead of just running and jumping through basic levels, you’re instead given a bunch of beautiful worlds backed by some incredible music from the likes of and Beck. And Deadmaus? Remember him?
While the levels that the game provides are great on their own, something that really sets Sound Shapes apart from other platformers is the fact that players can create their own levels and soundscapes too. There’s even support for the PS Vita’s touch controls, making it talesor made for the handheld.
47. Tales Of Hearts R
One of the best things about the Tales of series is that, because of how long it’s been going for, across so many platforms, there’s always one you never knew about before that people can recommend. Take, for instance, Tales of Hearts R, which gave western RPG players a chance to experience a previously Japanese only RPG, remade with new features and the like. Unfortunately, it launched on the PS Vita so no one played, but Bandai will probably port it again, like all the others.
An action RPG, the game follows Kor Meteor and Kohaku Hearts, two improbably named weirdos who happen to get into a spot of bother. Specifically, Kohaku’s heart gets shattered, leading to a world-spanning adventure to pick up the pieces.
46. Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark
This game might have launched on the PS Vita as Stealth Inc: A Clone In The Dark, but we massively prefer the original PC release name – Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole. It just speaks to us, as fellow sweary British tossers. A loving send up to the stealth genre, wrapped up in the “one more go” style of gameplay you’d expect from the likes of Super Meat Boy. We’ll get to that one.
The premise is basic enough, as you play as a clone in a testing facility trying to sneak through one of dozens of levels. Throughout the game, more mechanics and obstacles are introduced, ramping up the difficulty before you’re wondering if Metal Gear Solid would actually be easier on you.
45. Soul Sacrifice Delta
Legendary designer Keiji Inafune is a game developer with a more storied first half of his career than second, and while there’s been such duds as Mighty No. 9, Inafune also served as a designer for great games like Soul Sacrifice. A co-op focused action RPG, the core mechanic of Soul Sacrifice was the sacrificing. If you took too much damage to a body part, you could sacrifice it to activate a powerful spell, but incur a penalty as a result.
While the original Soul Sacrifice launched on the Vita anyway in 2013, Delta served as a standalone deluxe edition with new weapons, classes, enemies and a whole new faction. It’s the definitive version of a weird yet wonderful RPG experience, a testament to the Vita’s ingenuity.
44. Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines
A while ago, we put out a video about PS1 games you didn’t know had sequels, and wouldn’t you know it? Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines fits that bill. A follow-up to 1999’s Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke, which didn’t receive any release outside of Japan, not even the PSP remake, Oreskiha is set 100 years later and has nothing to do with the original. Oh, that makes things easier at least.
Set in the midst of feudal Japan, with an artstyle designed to evoke the styles of that time period, but it’s the gameplay that really is compelling. Players defeat enemies and earn points used to marry deities and sire children with increased stats. From there, you’re off to create the strongest Bloodline since the Anoa’i.
43. Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2
Look, it’s hard to pick which one out of the two of these is actually the best PS Vita entry in the series, and they go pretty well together as a duology so you’ve got them both. If you want to experience some of the best RPG action on the PS Vita, you could do a hell of a lot worse than both The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel games.
Both games follow Rean Schwarzer, a military academy student who has to find his place amidst a burgeoning civil war, which he does through turn-based combat of course. The first game has school schedule mechanics similar to Persona, but the second game isn’t bound by that. Both are still incredible games though, so check them out.
42. Child of Light
Ubisoft might not be going through their best phase at the minute, especially considering they’ll happily cancel a Prince of Persia remake but continue supporting Skull & Bones, but years ago, they’d take a swing on some much smaller games. Child of Light was one such game, and feels like an RPG that’s been completely forgotten about in the years since.
A turn-based RPG using the UbiArt Framework, Child of Light follows a child who must bring the sun, the moon and the stars back to the land of Lemuria after they were stolen by the Queen of the Night. It’s a side scrolling RPG, with ATB mechanics and a genuinely emotional story. While Child of Light is available on other platforms, it really just feels at home on the Vita.
41. Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing Transformed
Sony clearly wanted to steal some of Nintendo’s success with the party games they developed for the PS3 and Vita, considering they developed Playstation All-Star Battle Royale to try and emulate Smash Bros. They even tried to ape Mario Kart via Sony publishing ModNation Racers, but the Vita sequel, Road Trip, wasn’t well received. You know who did ape Nintendo well on the Vita? Sega, specifically with Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing Transformed.
Sonic’s third racing game, second one with karts involved (where are my Sonic R heads at?), Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing Transformed introduced land, air and water racing into the mix, oftentimes on the same track, meaning laps were always chaotic. A healthy mix of single player and multiplayer modes helped cement this Sonic racer as a Vita must-have.
40. Iconoclasts
A game many, many years in the making owing to just how difficult it is to make a game when you’re mostly on your lonesome, Iconoclasts feels remarkably fresh and modern despite being in the oven for so long and doffing its hat to the SNES platformers of old.
Where Iconoclasts really starts to distinguish itself is in its mechanic, erm, mechanic. Your protagonist, Robin, has use of a wrench which can be used to attack enemies but also solve puzzles, as well as many other trinkets down the line.
With an intriguing and subtly dystopian storyline as well as welcome periods of levity, Iconoclasts may be one of the last great games to release on the Vita.
39. Ys VIII Lacrimosa of Dana
There have been an almost countless amount of RPG franchises over the years, but the Ys series seems to just quietly trundle along even if it doesn’t get the same level of notoriety or success as others like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. Now, technically, Ys VIII was originally only a PS Vita release in Japan, but the Western Vita version did arrive a year later in 2017, along with other platforms right as the Vita was bombing. No wonder this is an overlooked Vita release. Shame, because this game slaps.
Refining the action RPG game of the Ys series, this eighth installment in the main series continues to follow the adventures of Adol and his party as they find themselves shipwrecked on a remote island.
38. Freedom Wars
We promise that we didn’t mean to clump them together, but Freedom Wars is another example of an action RPG finding a home Vita. It’s also one of the most ambitious action RPGs on the platform, offering co-op missions and consistent online faction warfare that makes the game feel like Devil May Cry meets Clash of Clans.
Set 100,000 years in the future where being born is a sin worthy of a million years in prison, humans are confined to Panopticons and forced to fight robots. Players then compete to see which Panopticon has raised the most resources, meaning you’ve got to work together to succeed. Unfortunately, servers are kaput on the Vita, but it is available on other modern platforms thanks to a HD port.
37. Resogun
Housemarque might have earned their reputation as bullethell gods in the PS5 era thanks to Returnal and, presumably, Saros. We’re writing this before Saros has come out but we’re assuming it whips? Still, Housemarque’s history with bullet hell bangers dates back to the PS3 days with Super Stardust HD, itself a follow-up to a game developed by Housemarque’s predecessor studio, Bloodhouse. But Resogun is arguably the best of the bunch.
Resogun is as basic as it gets: you’ve got two sticks, use them to move and shoot around a circular arena until the screen is clear of enemies and projectiles, and don’t let innocent people die. Enough said. With lots of weapons, power-ups, and explosions, this is a Vita showcase piece through and through.
36. Severed
You may be more familiar with DrinkBox’s Severed as a Nintendo title after seeing it pop up on the 3DS, Wii U and later the Switch, but it actually began life as a Vita exclusive. As with so many games that were originally only available on the handheld, however, it had to find a new home to reach the audience it deserved.
Beautiful to look at and with a heart that cannot be denied, Severed pits you as a warrior lost in an unusual world. You must use the touchscreen to attack your enemies and sever their limbs, which gives the game a strange but entirely welcome vibe of Fruit Ninja meets Dead Space.
A really underrated dungeon crawler from a studio who always delivers.
35. Downwell
If you haven’t owned Downwell on at least one platform, you really ought to fix that as it’s one of the smoothest action platformers going. You may actually be saving yourself, though: it’s so addictive despite being so basic on the eye that you will be cursing frogs and gravity before too long, completely unable to make it past the first few levels.
While Downwell is tough, it retains a pick up and play appeal that’s hard to resist. You effectively fall your way down through levels and kill enemies with your trusted Gunboots to eventually reach the end goal with plenty of power-ups along the way.
Its levels are procedurally generated and the replayability infinite, so there’s a hell of a lot of bang for your buck. Technically, two: Downwell is also really on the cheap side.
34. TxK
Do you remember Tempest? Possibly the most popular example of a “tube shooter”, Tempest was developed by a guy called Jeff Minter when he worked with Atari, before going on to found Llamasoft. Llamasoft would then release TxK, a Tempest inspired tube shooter that was released exclusively for the PlayStation Vita. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s because other platform releases were cancelled thanks to Atari threatening legal action. Isn’t that fun?
As a game, TxK is just Tempest but with power-ups, more psychedelic visuals and a great soundtrack, but somehow, that combination makes TxK feel like the perfect Vita game. If you’re wondering how the Minter/Atari situation worked out though, he ended up working with them on Tempest 4000 down the line/
33. Crypt of the Necrodancer
Some indie games flop when they launch, but others seemingly go from strength to strength as time goes on. Crypt of the Necrodancer is unquestionably the latter, considering Nintendo ultimately took notice of developers Brace Yourself Games and asked them to create a Zelda-inspired spiritual successor to Necrodancer, Cadence of Hyrule. Pretty successful if you ask us, and its Vita port is a part of it.
A top-down, roguelike blend of dungeon crawling and rhythm-action combat, players can only move and attack on beat, but the enemies are also confined to the beat too. After each run, you can earn permanent upgrades to make subsequent runs easier and easier, making it a great first roguelike for people to enjoy, and it feels right at home on the Vita.
32. Bastion
Most people probably know of Supergiant’s work from the excellent Hades and its sequel, but they’d been releasing bangers for a decade before Zagreus came along. Just look at their debut game, Bastion. If isometric action RPGs are your thing, and if you love Hades, they probably are, Bastion is right up your alley.
Playing as The Kid, you awaken in a ruined city after an event known as the Calamity, you try to find other survivors and the titular Bastion in an attempt to figure out the cause of the Calamity and a way to reverse it. Players blast through levels, carving a path through enemies before returning home to level up and upgrade equipment. It’s bitesize fun, making for an ideal Vita game.
Check out Pyre, btw. Very underrated.
31. Don’t Starve: Giant Edition
Don’t Starve proved that survival games don’t necessarily have to be first person affairs a la Ark or The Forest. If you want to instead, you can create an almost top-down survival game instead, that still features all of the hardcore trappings of the survival genre. If managing your heat, your hunger and even your sanity amidst an onslaught of nightmare creatures from another dimension sounds like a good time to you, Don’t Starve on the Vita is essential.
Like other games we’ve mentioned on this list though, Don’t Starve on the Vita is somewhat hamstrung by the fact other platforms have seen more DLC over the years. Still, that only means something depending on if you like multiplayer survival This is Don’t Starve, not Don’t Starve Together.
30. Risk of Rain
The PlayStation Vita sure did have a lot of roguelikes, though Risk of Rain 1 might have been more slept on. It laid down the franchise’s foundations, but it was the 3D sequel, Risk of Rain 2, that really made the roguelike a household name. Still, that doesn’t mean that the first Risk of Rain on the Vita isn’t worth your time.
Functionally, Risk of Rain didn’t change much going from 1 to 2, aside from adding a new dimension, as the first game is still about blasting through levels and trying to find new loot. Enemies get harder the longer you play for though, so the balancing act becomes how much do you want to loot versus how much risk (EH?) are you willing to take on.
29. Salt and Sanctuary
Salt and Sanctuary might’ve been PS4 first, but this Dark Souls inspired 2D Metroidvania belongs on a handheld. What can we say? There’s something about 2D platformers and handhelds that just works for us. Another ultra hard platformer where you’re going to have to be careful not to yeet(a) your Vita, this is for those who relish a challenge.
Players control a warrior who finds themselves on a mysterious island that’s filled with items to find and enemies to either kill or be slaughtered by. With a huge skill tree and a ton of weapons/armour to find and choose from, the ability to craft your own build here is massive, which is good news for anyone who loves to watch numbers get bigger.
28. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
A series that made its name on PlayStation handhelds, we could talk about Danganronpa 1 and 2, which were both ported to the Vita. They were originally PSP titles though, so we’re focusing instead on Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, which was developed with the PS Vita in mind. Still, if you prefer the first two games, just pretend we’re talking about them instead. They are also bangers.
The continuation of the killing game visual novel/detective series, players must try to solve murders by finding evidence and using them in chaotic debate sequences. As the game progresses, you’ll find out more information on the characters involved, and why they’ve found themselves in the killing game to begin with.
27. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Vanillaware might be best known for their more recent work on the likes of 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim or Unicorn Overlord, but they’ve been quietly putting out bangers since the PS2’s Odin Sphere. Not content to rest on their laurels though, Vanillaware would revisit this forgotten gem years later, creating the remake Leifthrasir as a result, improving on the core formula massively.
The game follows a group of characters, each of whom have their own role to play in a war between kingdoms over a powerful weapon, with the game itself playing like a 2D side scrolling RPG. This remade version contains everything the base game had, only with added skills and abilities, making it a more complete package. It’s also twice as hard to pronounce. Leifthrasir.
26. Dragon Quest Builders
It’s weird that Dragon Quest Builders would ultimately be responsible for Pokemon’s newest smash hit, Pokopia. That might seem like an unrelated attribution, until you realise that Dragon Quest Builders literally laid the foundation for Pokopia to thrive from years later. Not that DQB isn’t a success in its own right, of course, it’s just that people tend to forget about the original and skip straight to the sequel.
Dragon Quest Builders takes its inspiration from Minecraft, with DQB set in an alternate version of the original game where the villain won. Now, it’s on you as the builder to repair the world, town by town, setting the stage for the next hero to come along and beat the villain once and for all.
25. Lumines Electronic Symphony
Tetris might be the premier game about falling blocks being cleared from a board, but those in the know will tell you that Lumines deserves more love than it gets. At least it finally has its own Tetris Effect style game in Lumines Arise, but before that, it had been a long 13 years since the previous Lumines game, Electric Symphony.
Players clear coloured squares off a board, which drop one at a time in 2×2 formation of differing colours. Once players match 2×2 squares of the same colour, they’re cleared from the board when the time line sweeps over it, but bigger shapes equal more points. It’s simple enough, but when you’ve got the music and backgrounds going all at once, it’s absorbing like no other puzzle game.
24. Rayman Legends
The other UbiArt example on this list, in a world more just and fair than ours, we’d have more Rayman games using the formula of Rayman Origins and Legends than just those two. While both are available on the Vita, we’re going for the sequel Legends just simply because it includes pretty much every level from the first game as unlockables, along with a brand new campaign on top.
A gorgeous platformer with some of the best mechanics in the genre’s history, Rayman Legends sees the limb-less wonder racing through several new and varied worlds, rescuing lums and the like with up to four players. With new musical levels that are highly entertaining, and optional touch screen controls, this is peak Vita gaming.
23. Dragon’s Crown
The other Vanillaware banger on the Vita that shouldn’t be ignored, Dragon’s Crown is an utterly wonderful fantasy-inspired beat ‘em up that feels like the closest we’re ever getting to a Dungeons and Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara spiritual successor. It’s just that this game happens to be a lot meatier than that classic arcade beat ‘em up, and we’re not just talking about the bloody Amazon’s proportions. DAMN.
A beat ‘em up for up to four players, Dragon’s Crown has players choose from one of six adventurers as they find themselves in the kingdom of Hyland. Here, they travel to one of several different regions at a time, delving into dungeons and finding rare loot, before heading back to town to upgrade. A simple formula, a winning formula.
22. Wipeout 2048
Another example of a series that we really should be seeing more of, it’s a shame that Studio Liverpool would be shut down by Sony after the release of Wipeout 2048. A prequel for the series, which optimistically predicts we’ll be seeing high speed antigravity racing in the next 22 years and not just the opening scene of Terminator 1, Wipeout for the Vita still retained the key hallmarks of the series: fast racing and thumping beats.
Players race around several tracks, set within one specific city, as the game’s campaign chronicles the first three years of the Anti-Gravity Racing Championships. You’ll battle for position, using weapons picked up off the track to achieve supremacy in one of the most gorgeous games on the Vita.
21. 2064: Read Only Memories
2064 is a great example of some games just being a great fit on the Vita. A point and click title with a more than steady cult following, it pits you as a journalist who is trying to do their job in a world that seems split on technology, the pros and the cons. This is all relayed through the game’s spirited humor and bloody lovely pixel visuals.
While those who are after some grand, challenging affair will be left wanting, 2064 excels in the small stories concerning the game’s many affable characters. It’s an eclectic bunch all paired wonderfully with established names in voice acting. Combine that with a good heart and some very catchy music and you have a quaint but worthwhile time waiting for you on your Vita.
20. Papers Please
Papers Please was the game that let everyone know that bureaucracy could genuinely be compelling. You just had to have your digital family’s lives hanging in the balance, no pressure. Set in the fictional country of Arstotzka, you control an immigration officer responsible for checking who can cross the border or not. As the days progress, the requirements get stricter while your loyalties become tested.
As anyone who’s played Papers Please in the past will no doubt attest, the screen gets cluttered quickly with documentation and the like, so playing on the Vita might seem counter-intuitive, but then you remember it’s touch screen enabled. It’s actually such a natural fit, and is simply unmissable on the Vita.
19. Terraria
It feels like Terraria has always played second fiddle to Minecraft, but those who love the game swear by it, even over other competitors. If that’s not a better metaphor for PlayStation Vita lovers, we don’t know what is, so unintentionally, the match of the PlayStation Vita and Terraria seems serendipitous.
Admittedly, the Vita version of Terraria hasn’t aged the best, or at least it hasn’t if you’ve been keeping up with the other versions, as support for the Vita version stopped a long time ago. However, the Vita version is still a complete experience with hundreds of pieces of loot to find, creatures to slay and gear to craft. The scale of Terraria has always been staggering, so the fact it works on the Vita is just brilliant.
18. Axiom Verge
Completely unabashed about taking inspiration from Metroid, Axiom Verge has become a cult favourite indie in recent years, not just because it was the next best thing to a brand new 2D Samus adventure, but also because it builds and contemporises the experience while also delivering plenty of unique mechanics and innovations of its own.
Made presumably during a heavy binge on hallucinogenic drugs, Axiom Verge sees you playing as a scientist who awakens somewhere that feels entirely alien. By unlocking new abilities and even deforming the world around you, you’ll get utterly lost in this LSD nightmare that’s a total dream to play on your Vita.
17. Shovel Knight
One of the first games to really embrace the retro revolution on modern platforms, Shovel Knight looks and plays every inch the Nintendo classic, just with a bit more welcome silliness in the fact that your protagonist has a shovel. Hey, at least nobody can say that its name is misleading as you spike downwards and dig your enemies an early grave,
For featuring a tonne of extra content and somehow still giving back to its audience so long after its release, Shovel Knight feels completely at home on the Vita. It’s a tough time, though you should come to expect that from basically any retro-styled platformer.
Dig this one up in your PlayStation Store library and lose yourself for hours on end.
16. Super Meat Boy
One of the most influential indie games of all time feels right at home on the Vita, its infuriatingly tight platforming the perfect antidote for your constipation while you’re sat on the toilet. That “just one more try” appeal has made it a classic and comes with cross-save so you can continue your anguish on the go.
So why’s it so low down? It’s really not the best way to experience the game, as the Vita sticks are not quite fine enough to make the inch perfect leaps you’d find on a controller. Still, that’s something for you to acclimate to and overcome on your quest to beat the meat in what is one of the simplest but most devilishly addictive games ever made.
15. Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat needed a big win when it rebooted itself in 2011, and boy did it deliver. Establishing the newly minted NetherRealm Studios team as a force to be reckoned with, MK 2011 was a phenomenal game, so of course it was going to be ported to every platform under the sun, the PlayStation Vita included. What makes this version special is how it utilised the Vita’s own features to enhance the game.
Mortal Kombat for the PS Vita includes all the Story content and modes as the original release, but the Challenge Tower has been refitted to include touch and tilt controls, making for more interactive mini-games including having to literally wipe blood off your screen. You want to play Fruit Ninja with someone’s head? Well now you can.
14. Guacamelee!
The cult classic Metroidvania suplexed its way onto the Vita and then promptly into our hearts. While its sequel may mechanically be a better game, there’s no faulting the original Guacamelee!’s goofy humour and downplayed but stunning visuals. Guacamelee! is the perfect game for a train ride, hitting that perfect spot between being long enough to last and not so short that it ends so soon — the perfect pick me up.
There’s also a lot of replayability with Guacamelee! thanks to just how damn endearing it is to play. The protagonist, Juan, a terribly out of shape luchador, is a likeable protagonist, but a lot of the fun from the game comes from the interactions with the hilarious bad guys and even chickens.
Bursting with secrets and tidy combat, Guacamelee! is yours for a pittance and worth every penny.
13. The Binding Of Isaac
Also known as “Baby’s First Roguelike”, largely because you’re actually playing as a baby, The Binding of Isaac is a game that probably doesn’t need an introduction at this point. You play as a baby, you fight through a bunch of randomly generated dungeons and you spend the majority of the time making a disgusted look on your face because of how gross the things on screen are.
Much like Terraria earlier, the Vita version of Isaac has been dated by the lack of DLC support other versions currently have, but if you’ve never played Isaac before, there’s still about 100 hours of content waiting here for you if you’re masochistic enough. The Binding of Isaac isn’t an easy game, so try not to spike your Vita when playing.
12. LittleBigPlanet
Poor LittleBigPlanet. After initially setting the imaginations of gamers — young and old — alight when it first landed on the PlayStation 3, it eventually sputtered towards relative obscurity by the time LittleBigPlanet 3 came around. It’s a shame because the experience is like a shot of joy straight to the heart, seen perfectly with its Vita version.
LittleBigPlanet on the Vita (or LittleBigPlanet PS Vita to give it its official name) took what had made the series so charming and minimised it for a handheld. Almost boundless creativity awaits you with touch controls spicing up the formula, as well as the fact that it’s a potentially bottomless well of possibilities. Well, apart from them killing off the online.
11. Killzone: Mercenary
Unfairly overlooked by critics at launch for not moving the dial enough, Killzone: Mercenary may lack the bombast of its PlayStation 3 brethren, but it’s quite easily the best FPS game on the Vita. The controls transfer well to the small screen and it makes inventive uses of the handheld’s gimmicks to make something that feels as exciting as playing a shooter on your TV.
The story is an oddity in the Killzone timeline, pitting you as a mercenary during key moments of the conflict with the Helghast. Killzone: Mercenary also has great multiplayer and you will surprisingly still be able to find some (admittedly half-empty) matches this far down the line, if you want to go down the unofficial route.
The sound of a confirmed kill is also worth the price of admission. Pure dopamine each time.
10. Velocity 2X
An acclaimed but not wildly commercially successful hybrid of ship-based gameplay and side-scrolling, Velocity 2X might actually best be first discovered on the Vita. It’s a game that you constantly dip in and out of, the experience regularly refreshing thanks to its inventive mechanics that never allow you to rest on one aspect of it for too long.
The origins of Velocity 2X actually run deep in the PlayStation brand with a PlayStation Mini (remember those) game by the name of Velocity. Since then, FuturLab have updated and refined the experience until they arrived at 2X, which is one of the smoothest and most downright beautiful games you’re ever likely to play on a handheld.
Yes, this is the same guys behind PowerWash Simulator. Fair enough.
9. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Really, the ability to pit Deadpool against Viewtiful Joe from the palm of your hands should be enough to sell you on picking up Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for your Vita, not even considering the fact that many believe it to be the best Marvel vs. Capcom game on the market. Well, it’s certainly better than Infinite, but that is not hard.
The gameplay transfers wonderfully to the Vita, the cel-shaded visuals make everything pop just as much on the small screen as it would the big. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 also makes good use of the Vita’s touch-screen, though nothing can match the “conventional” controls.
Whether you’re a casual player or diehard fighting game fanatic, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 should be your first port of call on the Vita as one of the best superhero games around.
8. Rogue Legacy
Rogue Legacy is an insanely addictive side-scroller that is as hard to put down as it is irreverent.
You play as a knight storming a mysterious castle housing plenty of bad things for you to slay, and then you die. On your next run, you play as a descendant of your previous character who has their own powers and drawbacks. It’s one of the best Vita games at making you love to hate it — in a good way, of course.
This constantly maintains a feeling of freshness to Rogue Legacy so that even if you’re entering the castle for the 500th time (and you probably will), the wonders that await you never get any less intriguing. It’s an understated and underrated gem that will have you utterly hooked even when the cards are against you.
7. Tearaway
Another innovative game that had to leave its home to find the players the Vita couldn’t provide, Tearaway is a charming platformer from the pioneers of the LittleBigPlanet franchise. Media Molecule certainly knows how to create gorgeous and cute games with an undeniable charm, and Tearaway certainly fits that bill.
Just like their marquee franchise, Media Molecule rewards the player for their experimentation and creativity in Tearaway, making the game feel like a toybox just begging to be played with. Tearaway even makes the touch-screen feel more than a gimmick, asking players to peel back its paper world and dive right in.
Unfolded on PS4 is a good way to experience the game, though Tearaway is simply at home on the Vita.
6. Spelunky
An indisputable indie classic, Spelunky is a lo-fi whale of a time that feels custom-made for the Vita. Many modern games owe a debt to Spelunky, the work of mainly one guy, for reinvigorating and redefining the platformer by introducing old school elements to a new school experience, which include randomised levels and, erm, eggplants.
Spelunky just keeps on giving, offering new challenges and quirks that you weren’t previously aware of the deeper into it you go. That’s apt, because you spend your time in the game travelling deep underground on the hunt for treasure and crying with shameful remorse when you attack a shopkeeper and find that the rest of your game is utterly ruined.
Seriously, don’t mess with them — it’s hard being a small business.
5. Darkest Dungeon
Ever found RPGs stressful? That you aren’t quite powerful enough to beat a boss, or that you don’t have the items you need? You should probably approach Darkest Dungeon with some caution then as it puts the “end” in friendship with alarming regularity, ridding you of your favourite party members over and over again.
Anyone who’s played XCOM will recognise the jarring permadeath in Darkest Dungeon, but when paired with the game’s strict insanity mechanics, the task becomes even greater. Allow one of your party members to descend too deeply into darkness and they will be lost, which makes every action and tough decision in Darkest Dungeon feel far weightier. Is glory worth death?
4. Hotline Miami
Do you like hurting people while straining one out? Then allow us to introduce you to Hotline Miami: an effortlessly stylish top-down shooter that rewards patience when it comes to mastering doors.
Like many indie games on this list of the best PS Vita games, Hotline Miami is irresistible because it’s not only pick up and play but also impossible to put down once you get going. Bolstered by a synthwave soundtrack that is the stuff of legend and a gloriously eighties aesthetic, this is one murder puzzler (no, really) that should be ticked off your list.
Someone at Naughty Dog clearly loves Hotline Miami as it can be seen being played during The Last of Us Part II in a less than subtle nod to both games’ themes.
3. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
While it’s true that Golden Abyss may try to use too many of the Vita’s unique features all at once, the fact remains the same that it’s the perfect pocket-sized adventure for Nathan Drake. It only minimally downsizes the scale of the Uncharted console adventures to create something that feels like a technical marvel.
A lot of simple joy can be had from drawing the destination for Drake as he’s climbing or swiping to leap across a gap. The controls are also tight and the combat just as fun as its bigger peers. The story is also great, even if it takes a little while to really get going. Don’t overlook this underrated gem in the franchise.
2. Gravity Rush
Here’s another worthwhile game on the Vita that didn’t find the audience it deserved, so much so that its sequel actually went on to become a PS4 exclusive. It’s a shame because Gravity Rush arguably suits the Vita more than its bigger and more successful brother, allowing you to mess with gravity and kick some ass from the palm of your hand.
An out and out wacky time, Gravity Rush sees you playing as a young girl aided by a cat made of galaxies (bear with us here) to stop the destruction of a mysterious world. Thanks to its gorgeous cel-shading and unique gravity shifting mechanics, Gravity Rush really deserved to shift more copies than it did as a game that’s closely associated with the underrated nature of the Vita as a whole.
But the best Vita game ever is, of course:
1. Persona 4: Golden
The aforementioned JRPG Vita game that will completely consume your being, Persona 4: Golden isn’t something that you can play: you have to open it up and climb right inside. When a body turns up in an otherwise quiet town, you must discover the truth by diving into televisions and taking on enemies with your high school friends while listening to the most dangerously funky soundtrack of all time.
Weird? You’re damn right, and it’s all the better for it. Persona is a franchise that’s all about the creeping slow-burn, you going from being vaguely interested in its story and characters and then suddenly deciding that you would, in fact, die for some of these weirdos.
There’s at least a hundred hours of content here in a game that just grows the more you play it. Bear with its methodical pacing at the beginning and you will be trying to climb inside your 4K TV before you even realise what’s happening.
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