If you’re a proud owner of a PlayStation 5, then you need to buy the best PS5 games that showcase the power that the console offers. In the past few decades, Sony has made games that have captivated gamers and created a landmark in the gaming industry. Their games provide immersive worlds and impeccable storytelling with characters that are hard not to get attached to. Sony has a lot of first-party studios that make these games exclusively for the console, which is the driving force behind gamers preferring to have a PlayStation console over others.
Since PS5 was released four years ago, plenty of games have been added to its catalog and it has games in every genre so that no gamers are left out. There are some that are an absolute must-have for every console owner. Especially with the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback in the new Dual Sense controllers, the console gaming experience is taken to a whole new level. And today, we’ll be talking about our favorite games that are just too good to be missed out.
Here is the list of our 7 best PS5 games that you should have. Keep in mind that this list is a list of just 7 games, which means a lot of great games are not included.
Do You Need PS Plus to Play Games on PS5?
No. You only need PlayStation Plus to play multiplayer games that require online access. All single-player games can be played offline unless a co-op feature is included, in which case, you will need to buy a subscription.
7 Best PS5 Games Ranked in 2024
You can’t own a PS5 and not have played the following games. These games are the reason that you buy the console. Let’s take a look at the 7 best PS5 games that are mandatory for every PS5 owner:
BEST OVERALL
Elden Ring
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Great storyline
Epic soundtrack
Beautiful open-world
Lots of items to collect
Challenging boss fights
But…
Lack of instructions
In the fantasy land of the Lands Between, the Greater Will, a mysterious being, blesses the world with a collection of magical runes called the Elden Ring and the Erdtree, a giant golden tree that towers the entire land. Greater Will also sends a woman, Marika, to take care of the Elden Ring and rule over the world with her consort, the Elden Lord. After her son, Godwyn, is killed by unknown beings, Marika shatters the Elden ring before disappearing, hurdling its pieces across the land. These pieces are later claimed by her other demigod kids, sending them into a war with each other. The Tarnished, human species who were once exiled from this land mysteriously receive the power of immortality and the instructions to fix the Elden Ring to become the new Elden Lord.
Elden Ring is FromSoftware.Inc.’s most successful souls-like game to date and one of the best open-world games on PS5. Known for their hard-to-beat bosses, FromSoftware has created some of the most unique boss battle encounters with this game. Players are given a wide variety of weapons and magic spells to use during fights. There is no doubt that you will die a lot but with persistence, you will eventually defeat them. This has an open-world structure with the bosses scattered across the map, so there is no particular order to fight. You can go to certain locations to farm runes, get stronger, and return to fight bosses. With its DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, which was released early this year, this is a grand adventure that you shouldn’t miss.
BEST PS5 RPG GAME
Horizon Forbidden West
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Good story
Amazing graphics
Imaginative open-world
Variety of machines to fight
But…
Story pacing issues
Horizon Forbidden West is an open-world game and a sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, which was released back in 2017 for the PS4 console. The story continues with Aloy, who, after defeating Hades, is now looking for the backup of GAIA to restore the planet’s biosphere. GAIA is the advanced AI program that Elizabet Sobeck created to restore Earth to life. When Aloy does find GAIA, the data isn’t complete and to find these broken pieces of information, Aloy has to travel to the Forbidden West. Along the way, there are a lot of revelations come forward that work against her. Now, Aloy has to push herself harder than ever to restore GAIA and save the planet from collapsing again while also defeating these unknown foes.
The game is a massive improvement over the first part. The graphics, gameplay, character models, and animation are crafted with a lot of attention to detail. There are a lot of new machines added to fight and ride, which was also the best part of the first game. These machines pose a good challenge but still enough to be one of the best PS5 games for beginners. Since it is an open-world game, there are a lot of places to be explored and items to be collected.
You can ride into the desert to see the disaster-stricken Dunehollow or dive into the oceans of the broken islands of Isle of Spires. You can even find strangers who give you errands to run and merchants who give you clues about lost treasures; there is a lot to do in this game. And with the New Game+ mode, you can play the same from the beginning with all your legendary items carried over.
BEST PS5 MULTIPLAYER GAME
Helldivers 2
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Fun gameplay
Different landscapes
Variety of stratagems
Diverse enemy types
But…
Repetitive missions
Helldivers 2 is a sequel to Helldivers, which was released back in 2015. Unlike its predecessor, this is a third-person shooter game. The game takes place years after an alien invasion took over the entire galaxy. As Helldivers, you and your squad must work together to defeat both the Terminids (Bugs) and the Automatons (robots) through a series of missions. Your ultimate mission is to spread Managed Democracy in order to restore “Super Earth,” where democracy and prosperity once prevailed.
When Helldivers 2 was released, nobody expected it to be as successful as it did. But given how fun the gameplay is, it is totally understandable. The game offers a wide variety of weapons to choose from, battle stratagems to reign fire on your foes, and some shining armor to protect yourself from any damage. It also has various terrains and enemy types that you have to shoot through to complete your mission. The missions do get repetitive, but the combination of different enemies and terrains enables exciting gameplay.
Since it is completely a PVE game, there is no online toxicity that comes with other multiplayer games. However, keep in mind that friendly fire is turned on and there is a high chance that you or your friend could get caught in the crossfire. This creates a lot of fun and hilarious moments to enjoy with friends.
Become a Hero. Become a legend. Become a Helldiver!
BEST PS5 ACTION GAME
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Boss fights
Various suits and abilities
Dual character gameplay
Satisfying traversal mechanic
But…
Repetitive gameplay
With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, a sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man, you get back into the shoes of Peter Parker, who is mentoring Miles Morales to control his powers. The game takes place a few months after the events in Spider-Man Miles Morales DLC and it starts with Peter interviewing for a teacher’s position. During the interview, something goes wrong outside and before you know it, you’re thrown into a huge fight sequence with the Sandman. Peter and Miles defeat him, but they are also warned about a looming threat that is waiting to happen. This springs players into a grand adventure to save the city from enemies like Kraven and Venom. If you’ve any idea who Venom is, you know it’s going to get very personal. The story has a lot of exciting plot twists that you have to play the game to experience it.
On the gameplay side, there are a few new elements introduced in this game, the main one being switching characters. You can switch between Peter and Miles at any given moment when you’re not on a mission. Owing to the PS5’s fast load times, the switch is instantaneous. Both characters have different ways of traversing. Peter is experienced, so his swinging is very nuanced. In contrast, Miles is still trying to master his movement, so it’s slightly amateurish (there is a great improvement from Miles Morales DLC, though). With the latest technology of adaptive triggers and haptic feedback on the PS5 controller, you will feel every thwip when you swing through New York City. With the large open-world style game, this is definitely one of our favorite PS5 open-world games in 2024. The game has a lot more to offer, which is why this is a must-buy!
BEST PS5 HORROR GAME
The Last of Us Part I
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Engaging story
Revamped graphics
Haunting soundtrack
Memorable characters
But…
Not enough pun jokes
Set in a post-apocalyptic world of a zombie infestation, The Last of Us follows the story of Joel and Ellie. Bear in mind the game never calls them zombies; it always refers to them as Infected. Twenty years after the outbreak, the world is still overrun with Cordyceps-affected humans. To make ends meet, Joel works as a smuggler with his partner, Tess. During a hunt down of their dealer, Robert, they meet Marlene, the leader of a rebel faction called Firefly. She gives them a job to smuggle a 12-year-old girl, Ellie, out of the quarantine zone.
On their way, both of them learn that Ellie is also affected by the Cordyceps but for some reason, she hasn’t turned into an Infected yet and she could be the source of the cure for this entire infected-ridden world. When they reach their destination, things don’t go according to plan and now Joel has to take her across the entire country to the headquarters of Firefly. From here, the game tells a beautiful story of how these two bond and become a father-daughter duo while also reminding us how brutal the Last of Us world is.
The Last of Us Part I is a remake of the PS3 game. It was originally on the PS3 back in 2013 but with every new PlayStation console, Sony re-released the game with upgraded graphics. Given how amazing this game is, it is obvious that Sony will bring it to the latest console. Banking on the PS5’s graphical power and ultra-fast load times, Naughty Dog took it a step further and rebuilt the entire game from the ground up. The character models, environment, audio design, and animation were all reworked using their latest game engine. This brings a whole new dimension to the already emotional and impactful narrative. With the remaster, it is one of the best PS5 games even in 2024. So, if you have a PS5 and have never played the game, this is a sign that you should.
BEST PS5 ACTION ADVENTURE GAME
God of War Ragnarök
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Grand storyline
The ending
Mimir’s stories
Large open-world
But…
Few boring sidequests
God of War Ragnarök is a sequel to the God of War 2018, which had set a very high bar for the series. And in all honestly, Ragnarök exceeded its predecessor along with all our expectations.
We kick things off with a small but intense chase sequence with Freya, the mother of Baldur, the guy who we killed in the last game, remember? But she isn’t the only one after Kratos. Shortly after this sequence, Kratos is visited by Thor and Odin, who are at his hut to warn him about Atreus’s search for Tyr. Kratos, staying true to his character, doesn’t agree to the negotiations. And yet again, he is dragged into a fight but his time, it’s against Thor, whose sons, Modi and Magni, were also killed by Kratos and Atreus. It is a glorious battle between the axe and the hammer, which ends in a stalemate. What follows after this is pure art and has to be experienced firsthand.
Kratos and his journey in the Greek lands are nothing new to PlayStation owners. You can go as far as to say that Kratos has been the face of PlayStation since the PS2 era. With the 2018 game, Santa Monica Studio took a different approach and put Kratos in the land of the Norse gods. This was a welcome change that every gamer loved. This game continues that journey with access to new realms to explore, new weapon and armor sets to collect, new enemy types to fight, new characters to interact with, and so much more. It has plenty of high-octane action sequences that just get better as the game progresses, with an ending that pulls some serious heartstrings.
BEST PS5 ACTION RPG GAME
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
PHOTO CREDIT: AMAZON
Why We Love
Fast gameplay
RPG mechanics
Character switching
Beautiful open-world
But…
Repetitive side quests
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a sequel, picks up after the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake and also the second part of the 1997 trilogy that is currently being remade. The story takes place on “The Planet,” where Cloud Strife and his friends — Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and others — are trying to relieve the world from the turmoil of the Shinra Corporation and want to kill Sephiroth. Shinra intends to use the planet’s resources called Lifestream to weaponize it and Sephiroth wants to summon a meteor to create a hole in the planet that will give him access to this resource. He wants to claim the resources himself in order to achieve a god-like status. Cloud and the members of Avalanche, an eco-terrorist insurgent group, continue their fight to keep the Lifestream from falling into the wrong hands.
Unlike Remake, which took place in Midgar, Rebirth takes Cloud and his team across the planet in search of Sephiroth. It has an open-world structure with seven regions to explore, each area being different and filled with tons of interesting places to explore. The action remains at the core with their iconic real-time strategy combat combined with menu-based commands. The combat system is extremely fluid with a lot of new abilities. At any given moment, you can switch between the characters seamlessly, offering multiple playstyles. If only this game had a co-op mode, it could’ve been one of the best open-world multiplayer games on PS5.
Can I Use A Keyboard and Mouse To Play On The PS5?
Yes. You can connect the keyboard and mouse on the PS5, but keep in mind that it will occupy USB ports for the entire usage time. This may be an issue for people who often like to connect external hard drives that have games installed on them. We highly recommend that using a controller on the PS5 is still the best way to experience games.
How We Chose The Best PS5 Games
These PS5 games were chosen by our team of passionate gamers who have spent the majority of their life playing different games. They also did a lot of research to understand what other gamers around the world love and have issues with. This research was done by looking through many social media sites, forums, and reviews on multiple platforms. After considering all the information, they narrowed down the list to these seven games. Know this – if you decide to buy any of these games, you’ll not regret your decision.
FAQ
What is the best PS5 game right now?
Elden Ring has garnered a lot of attention on the PlayStation console in recent times owing to its DLC — Shadow of the Erdtree.
What games should I buy with my PS5?
Pick any one or all of the games from our list — they’re all fantastic games to be in your collection.
What is the number 1 selling PS5 game?
The title of the best-selling PS5 game is held by Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which has over 11 million copies in sales.
Is PS5 popular in the USA?
Yes, the PS5 is one of the most popular gaming consoles, not just in the country but the entire globe.