Sydney Butler · October 24, 2024 · 6 min read The Playstation 4 has been an absolute juggernaut of its console generation. Coming in at $100 less than the Xbox One at launch, eventually outselling it 2 to 1, and having a more powerful base model all helped cement the PS4 as the winner in this round of console wars.
Whether the Playstation 5 can repeat this success remains to be seen. But as the PS4 starts reaching the end of its time, we think it’s a good opportunity to take a look at the best games on PS4.
Spider-Man
Marvel’s Spider-Man might very well be the best game ever made to bear the Marvel brand. This is also, without a doubt, the best video game adaption of the popular web slinger’s franchise. You play as Peter Parker (AKA Spider-Man) and an incredible open-world New York is your playground. The story is top-notch, there’s a million things to do and, best of all, the web-swinging mechanics are breathtaking.
Never has there been an open world game with such unique and fun traversal mechanisms. Spidey himself is also at his wise-cracking best With tight combat and a variety of interesting villains to face off against, Spider-Man is almost the perfect all-round game with wide appeal even for those who aren’t Marvel fans.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn is a fresh new intellectual property in a gaming industry that’s stuffed to the gills with remakes, remasters and sequels. Coming from the same developer that created the excellent Killzone series, Horizon Zero Dawn is an open-world science fiction game that pushes the PS4 to its absolute limits.
Quite possibly the best-looking game on the platform, the setting is an incredible far-future world where man has regressed to relatively primitive levels. At the same time, robotic animals roam the wilds and mysterious ancient forces are still at play that could mean the end even of this hard existence.
You play as a young woman named Aloy, who must figure out where she came from and what the future of Earth might be. The actual gameplay involves levelling up and customizing your character, hunting robots and helping a diverse bunch of tribes with their troubles. Horizon Zero Dawn is an absolute must-play title for anyone who owns a PS4.
God of War
This is not the original God of War for the Playstation 2. Instead, it’s a soft-reboot set after the final game in the original series. You don’t need to have played anything that came before, but it will certainly enhance the experience.
With a Norse setting, God of War breaks with the Greek pantheon of the previous games. We join Kratos and his son as they lay the other member of their family to rest. Now Kratos and his boy must battle incredible creatures in beautiful and exotic settings. God of War would have been a smash hit even if it wasn’t part of such a mega-franchise.
The graphics and combat are outstanding, while the story matches the high standards gamers have come to expect of these games. While this new God of War plays rather differently from those that came before it, the series’ flair for spectacle and literally godlike drama is still at the core of the experience.
Persona 5 (Royal)
The Persona series of Japanese role playing games aren’t exactly mainstream and are themselves a spin-off of the even more obscure Shin Megami Tensei games. Yet, Persona has had a devoted following since the days of the original Playstation. By the third title people had started to take notice, and Persona 4 was a legitimate hit.
Persona 5 has been the series’ breakout title and is almost universally lauded by both critics and players. You play as a high-school student who gets involved in a world that lies beneath ours where people have psychic castles. As the “Phantom Thieves” you need to steal the treasure at the heart of those castles in order to change that person’s psychology for the better. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds, but Persona 5 tells a phenomenal story and uses fresh gameplay to spice up the JRPG formula.
When not in the other world, you go to school, socialize, pursue hobbies and generally live your life. All of which influence your character’s statistics and powers. Persona 5 also has style coming from every pore. From the slick UI design to the music and character designs, this game is so hip it can’t see over its own pelvis. Apologies to Douglas Adams.
The Royal version of the game is the one to get now. As a new player, it has significant additions and improvements to the original game.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 is one of the best games on PS4 that has a massive reputation. It was the first Final Fantasy title to use 3D graphics and it was a showcase for the power of the first Playstation console. Ever since that 1997 release, fans have been clamoring for a remake on more modern machines. Finally, during the PS4 era, they got what they asked for.
This remake really is a total remake. First of all, this is not the complete story. Instead it’s the first in the Remake series, so expect more releases as time goes on. Secondly, Square Enix has reimagined the story and characters in significant ways.
Filling in the gaps left to our imagination by 1997 graphics and completely rethinking the combat system. While it may be a retelling of Final Fantasy 7, this game is a cutting-edge modern title taking lessons from the last few games and running with new ideas.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake has also met with almost universal acclaim and is a key PS4 title for both new and old fans.
Honorable Mentions
There are plenty of amazing games on the PS4. We do think the ones mentioned above deserve to be called the best games on PS4, but as always tastes differ. For example, Bloodborne is often listed as one of the absolute top titles on the console.
Yet it only appeals to a narrow subset of hardcore gamers who crave punishing difficulty. Likewise, Gran Turismo Sport is undoubtedly the PS4 flag bearer when it comes to racing games, but has rather niche appeal. The quirky Death Stranding is a graphical masterpiece and game design innovator, but it’s more like the video game equivalent of an art-house film. The PS4 also has games like The Last Of Us Remaster, which are essential titles to play, but is a PS3 port.
It should also be said that there are still some heavy hitters on the horizon before the PS4 calls it a day. The very best games may still be coming, as often happens late in a console generation.
Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us 2 are angling to be contenders for the title, but only time will tell. Which games do you think are the absolute best the PS4 has to offer? Whatever they are, there can be no doubt that Sony is leaving this generation on a high note, which gets us excited for what the next generation will bring.
