PS3 Games That Aged Beautifully

I’ve got some bad news if you don’t think the PlayStation 3 has aged much.

Friend, the console released nearly 20 years ago. For perspective, we are now further away from the launch of the PlayStation 3 than the original Game Boy was from the PS3 when it launched.

Before your elbows turn to dust, let’s take a look at some PlayStation 3 games that have stood the test of time the best, coming out of an era of tricky HD development when framerates and anti-aliasing weren’t that important in the pursuit of sweet, sweet 720p and a whole lot of motion blur.

 

1. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

One of the nicest surprises of the last decade, apart from the reexamination and realisation that yeah Lost was actually good the whole time, has been the absolutely crazy outpouring of love for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: Platinum’s character action spin on Metal Gear that Hideo Kojima was a supervising director for.

I wonder which parts he supervised. Ya dirty dog.

While nobody could ever say that Metal Gear Rising was a failure at release in 2013, with it selling a healthy 2 million copies, its departure from the style of usual Metal Gear was a bit divisive among fans who hate having fun, and it didn’t seem to stick in the mind of that many in its release year with the PS4 on the horizon.

Since 2022 though, when you could barely look at Twitter without seeing Jetstream Sam, appreciation for Raiden’s big day out, in which the milk man goes to hunt down more milk from some private military contractors, has exploded. From continuing the franchise’s eerie ability to see into the future to the incredible soundtrack to just how good the game feels to play without any unnecessary fat, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance really has aged beautifully. Personally, I will be taking a Rising replay over Guns of the Patriots any day.

Obviously, its PlayStation 3 version isn’t the best way to play it these days, but for targeting 60fps and often hitting 40-50, it’s one of the smoother games to play on the console in 2024, and did you know that if you play it we will get a second game?

 

2. Ridge Racer 7 (1080p 60fps)

Not every PlayStation launch game stands the test of time, though Killzone: Shadow Fall on PS4 probably would not look out of place on PlayStation 5 today. The same could be said for Ridge Racer 7, which came out competing against big hitters like Resistance, Genji, and uh, Tony Hawk’s Project 8.

But while all of those certainly show a bit of rust, Ridge Racer 7 still looks and feels the part today, and that’s because way, way back in the halcyon days of 2006, some 44 years ago, Bandai’s racer managed to not only be 1080p, but also 60 frames per second. Considering how challenging it is to get 4K60 these days, you can imagine how difficult it must have been all those years ago to manage something equivalent, especially when the PlayStation 3 was notorious for not always playing ball for developers.

It’s also just a wonderfully straightforward racer to revisit in an era of overcooking things, as it were. Get car, drive car, unlock more car, drive that car, and repeat while vibing out to some Y2K adjacent music and checking out the horizon. Lovely stuff.

Yes, visually Ridge Racer 7 isn’t the most complicated game by today’s standards, but if you just want pure racing fun on your PlayStation 3, you could do much worse. Sadly, while Ridge Racer used to be the game to launch your console with, Ridge Racer 7 remains the last proper Ridge Racer game released for consoles, if you discredit Ridge Racer Unbounded and yes, we will be doing that.

 

3. Puppeteer

While you could perhaps fairly argue that Sony really just don’t get out of their comfort zone enough when it comes to the PlayStation 5, you could hardly say the same for their work on the PlayStation 3. They weren’t afraid to get a bit weird, to publish games they knew wouldn’t make all the money but would be creatively interesting.

That certainly applies to Puppeteer, one of the console’s most unsung gems that still looks and plays beautifully today. Following Kutaro, a boy who’s been transformed into a puppet, you play as the least problematic video game character holding a giant pair of scissors as he looks to cut his way through this constantly shifting side-scroller while taking on big paper tigers,

If that doesn’t sound quite weird enough for you, how about that you’ve been decapitated, and are able to find different heads to fill in the blank, as it were? Oh, and those heads can come flying off too, leaving you scrambling to pick it back up. You’ve heard of NeverDead, now it’s time for NeverHead — and this game is actually good too.

From the puppet show setting to the story book aesthetic to the mechanics adopted by bangers like SnipperClips to even the ability to play it in co-op, Puppeteer is a game that has hardly aged a day on your PlayStation 3.

Sony’s decision to shut down Japan Studio, though? That looks like more of a headass decision by the day.

 

4. Journey

Some games change your life. Everyone remembers where they were when they heard Song 2 in FIFA 98 for the first time, for instance. However, there are some games that fundamentally shape you as a person if you let them, and Journey is certainly an experience that is hard to forget, even all these years on.

About as lo-fi as games get, Journey’s objective is simple: bring yourself that horizon. You play as an unnamed, scarfed adventurer who’s on a pilgrimage to reach the top of a mountain. You can jump and make a few chirps, and that’s about it. It’s no Skyrim, though it’d be interesting to see a game in which you can shout your way up a mountain.

Get on that, Bennett Foddy.

But there’s real beauty in the basics of Journey. Developed by the minds behind the equally great Flower, Journey’s stunning vistas and goosebump-inducing soundtrack is probably the best argument for video games as art there is. Even if you’re used to slide canceling and pop- shove-it-ing or whatever it is these days, it’s hard to imagine that you won’t be moved by Journey in some way.

I’m not embarrassed to say that I personally really needed to experience Journey when I did. If you’re not where you want to be right now, maybe you do too?

 

5. Rayman Origins & Legends

We’re not treading any new ground here when we say that Ubisoft has seriously mistreated Rayman over the years, turning him into the Poochie of his own series alongside the Rabbids before then making him your average Valorant player. He just needs to be in some blockchain game to really cap it all o–oh, they actually did do that.

What makes all of this so much worse is how brilliant his two most recent full-fat, actual video games, Legends and Origins, actually were and still are, with the duology probably being in the top 3 of most Rayman fans. The problem for Ubisoft? Apparently they weren’t very strong sellers, but they were profitable — just not profitable enough at a time when the Rabbids could be part of a mini-game collection about hiding a dead body and still rake in the money.

Of the two, Legends came first, and follows Rayman as he looks to restore the glade of dreams and Bubble Dreamer after the evil doings of an evildoer from the Land of the Livid Dead. Legends, meanwhile, is set a century after Origins, and follows Rayman and the gang (the Raygang?) fixing more of Bubble Dreamer’s mess.

Both games are pretty similar to each other, with players taking on gorgeous side-scroller levels with tonnes to collect, plenty of different characters to play as, and Legends even featuring remastered levels from Origins for like 120 levels in total, which is a lot of levels.

What makes both Rayman games resist the ravages of time so well, though, is that both can pretty reliably run at 60fps and 1080p, which is a real rarity. It feels brilliant today, but not as brilliant as it will when Ubisoft eventually does anything actually good with this IP. Please don’t make him a Rainbow Six Siege operator next. Okay, do do that for a laugh, and then give him a new game.

 

6. Mirror’s Edge

There are a lot of games that overcomplicate things. Even the sequel/reboot to this game, Catalyst, added fluff that nobody was really asking for, and it was overlooked by a lot of people to the point where it’s one of the de facto “oh yeah” games. As in “oh yeah, that came out”. It’s not a bad game, though.

But there’s a good chance that anyone you talk to has some fond memories of the relatively pure Mirror’s Edge, a parkour game that asked: what if Assassin’s Creed was first-person, but instead of chilling in bushes and trying not to fall asleep while tailing targets, you’re always pushing forward?

In it, you play as Faith Connors, a much more nimble courier than Sam Bridges, though unfortunately with none of those handy pocket ladders to rely on, as she looks to clear up her sister’s name after she’s been accused of murder. What that means for you is a lot of leaping, wallrunning, and taking in the deceptively squeaky clean image of your dystopian city.

The keyword for Mirror’s Edge is momentum, as it’s a game in which you really have to jump at the exact right time and rarely let your pace slip. Once you get into the flow of it, there’s few games that feel as good as Mirror’s Edge, though make no mistake, you’re going to be fixing a lot of your mistakes over and over again before you get to that point.

There is some combat here, but if you liked Dying Light but wished there was a lot less of those pesky zombies and that someone put the lamp on, Mirror’s Edge is a bright, eye-catching delight on your PlayStation 3.

 

7. Batman: Arkham City

If you liked the look of Mirror’s Edge but wish there was a bit more orphan in it, let us introduce you to Batman: Arkham City.

Alright, granted, we’re not going to be the first people ever to show you  one of the most revered and beloved games of all time, but what Rocksteady did here is honestly like magic, and should be celebrated.

First off, this is an effects-drenched, action heavy open world game on the PlayStation 3 that regularly manages to sticks to 30fps, even as Batman bashes heads together and swoops down to inform the bad guys of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ, i.e. his big billionaire bruisers. In an era where intense action would often mean some pretty severe frame dips, Arkham City looking and playing this good in 2011 was wild.

And man, it seriously does look crazy good. In an era of Batman games where the character of the game itself comes second to the skins, it’s hard not to immediately see how well Arkham City has aged. Yes, the streets may be fairly empty, but glide around in the snow while the city positively hums with neon and moody lighting and try not to be impressed well over a decade on. It’s a game you can just sit in and feel pulsating with life.

No wonder the marketing guys were proud of it, as they put every single word anyone has ever said about the game on a subsequent edition’s box art.  That’s probably the only thing about this masterpiece that’s aged poorly though.

 

8. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

It shouldn’t be a surprise to see a game with animation produced by Studio Ghibli on a list of games that’ve aged as well. I recently watched Spirited Away for the first time (I know, but in my defense, I am an uncultured swine), and that could quite honestly have been released today.

The same applies to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch too, which many people forget is a souped up version of a DS game that never left Japan. Want to see a video on PlayStation 3 games that never left Japan? Let us know in the comments, down below.

Ni no Kuni follows Oliver, a young boy whose whole world is flipped upside down when his mother dies after she saves him from drowning. In the most effective bit of crying since Ash somehow became dethawed, Oliver’s tears manifest Drippy, a Welsh fairy who almost immediately sends him to another world. You sadly don’t go to Pontypridd, but instead a world controlled by an evil wizard.

The game’s story goes in some pretty traditionally wild JRPG directions, but Ni no Kuni is a pretty refreshingly straightforward time as far as the actual role-playing goes, with a nice blend of turn-based and action combat, as your familiars help you out in battle and also tell you exactly what to do pretty much all the time.

But it’s the presentation where Ni No Kuni absolutely soars. From those gorgeous cel-shaded visuals to the amazing soundtrack to the charming humour, Wrath of the White Witch will regularly have you cheesing. Be sure to check out the constantly overlooked Revenant Kingdom after, which introduces a bit of Dark Cloud into the mix, also developed by Level-5.

 

9. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Without wanting to repeat myself from the Puppeteer entry too much, there really have been way too many creative casualties since Sony’s first-party focus switched to “over the shoulder” and “costing $300 million to produce”. Sly Cooper, also known as the much more literal Sly Raccoon in Europe, is another one that’s been consigned to the black bin bag in the sky.

It’s a real pity, as it looked like they were building quite the Slyverse for a second there, but the IP has been more or less left in the past since 2013 and the release of Thieves in Time. The game probably didn’t get anywhere near hitting sales targets, as Sony canceled already completed DLC for the game.

That’s a shame, as while it might not have quite the same magic as the first three games, Thieves of Time was a real tonic for those looking for an old school platformer collectathon when it launched back in 2013, 36 years ago.

The first game not developed by Sucker Punch, the honourable lot you may also know from the equally forgotten inFamous and also Ghost of Tsushima, new developers Sanzaru took their work from The Sly Collection and built probably the most ambitious title to date. Sly and the gang must rescue his ancestors so that he stops getting McFlyed, hopping from one style to the next while mainly focusing on staying out of sight.

It’s Thieves in Time’s variety that really makes it such a joy to play, as you will be hopping around from one experience to the next, collecting new moves as you go while falling in love with this gang of idiots. If you’re after a cel-shaded platformer with tonnes of content, funny jokes, and absolutely not getting any resolution on cliffhangers at a crispy 60 frames per second, you shouldn’t waste any more time before giving this a spin.

 

10. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

You might have heard that thing where it’s like, “objects in rearview mirror are closer than they appear,” which is not only basic road safety to stop Final Destination 2 situations, but can also be applied more metaphorically to say that your memories may not be as accurate as you think.

In terms of video games, it should probably be “previous games in series are better than new games in series, mirror,” because the absolute stink of Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite has really highlighted just how good Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 truly was, and still is.

Objectively speaking, from top to bottom, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a tag fighter that’s going to last the distance way better than Infinite, with a far deeper well of characters, a much less upsetting aesthetic thanks to its lovely cel-shaded visuals, and a simple fun factor that’s sorely missing from Infinite.

What’s interesting here is that the base Marvel vs Capcom 3 itself probably has not aged that well at all, due to how broken it was in terms of balancing. But this Ultimate update may have just made it the ultimate 3D MVC game, with more style, characters, and better online play, not to mention balance, though you can still absolutely cheese the heck out of it. The fact that Infinite never even had the chance at a redemption arc says a lot, really, though it might be more down to Disney’s Marvel wanting to wash their hands of it than anything.

Obviously, you’re going to want to play a competitive fighting game on a more current system like the PS4, but if you’re looking to see just how badly Frank West can body Ghost Rider at 60fps without being a bit sick in your mouth, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is absolute nonsense that we will always have time for.

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