For this list, we’re focusing purely on actual PS5 games, which means games that are exclusive to the console (of which there are only a couple at present, like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart), cross-generational releases that launch on PS4 at the same time (like Hitman 3), and earlier PS4 games that have been updated with significant PS5-only patches (like Control: Ultimate Edition). As the machine is so young, we’ve restricted ourselves to just 13 picks, but you can expect this list to grow quickly as the library for Sony’s latest machine is fleshed out. To see all that resurrected and refined on PlayStation 5 is quite the thing, and in so many ways it’s the ideal launch game - and ideal accompaniment when you first pick up your PS5. Here’s a classic whose heritage and excellence is undoubted, delivered with searing fidelity thanks to Bluepoint’s exhaustive makeover. Is the original FromSoft game the best one? The debate will never be settled, but for now this is the most impressive one you can currently play. By the time Astro’s Playroom’s short six-hour runtime has finished, it’s more than earned its place alongside those PlayStation classics. More than a nostalgia trip, it’s an inventive and uniquely tactile platformer that puts the PlayStation 5 through its paces, and underlines the point that Team Asobi is one of Sony’s very best assets when it comes to video game development. Want to read more? See our full Astro’s Playroom review. It helps that Miles Morales has been elevated to a starring role, and - sorry dear Peter Parker - he lifts the whole thing, his gangly nerviness as he learns those silken ropes the perfect foil as you clumsily bound around Harlem and Manhattan. Oh, and we should probably mention this thing is absolutely gorgeous on PlayStation 5 - a blockbuster spectacle for a blockbuster machine. The best thing about Control is that it knows when to take itself seriously, such as with the perfect animation for a projectile hitting a filing cabinet, and when to enjoy the campy nonsense, which is generally where the plot and world-building come in. With a sweet upgrade for the PS5, this game has never looked better. It’s beautiful stuff - which now, thanks to an update, runs at a silky 60 frames per second on PS5 - a Metroidvania wrapped in luxurious mythical detailing, and powered by a wonderfully brutal bit of theatre whenever you lob your axe into someone and then god-brain it back into your hand, as everybody around you erupts into fountains of hot Lucozade. Not bad, Sony, but can we have another Sly Cooper soon? From a knowingly arcade initial offering, the series has evolved into a hard-edged take on what’s a somewhat underappreciated golden age for the sport, with cars as powerful and awe-inspiring as those seen in the Group B heyday. WRC 9 is the culmination of all that, and is the measure of - perhaps even superior to - Dirt Rally 2.0 when it comes to off-road kicks. The PS5 version, with its brilliant use of the DualSense controller’s haptics and adaptive triggers combined with a 60fps frame-rate, simply seals the deal. For those already invested, however, Destiny is probably the best it’s been for years, thanks to an excellent expansion in Beyond Light and a revolutionary next-gen update that gives everything a boost, from faster loading times to vastly improved performance that showcase the game’s stunning environments and combat at their best. It’s enough to heartily recommend giving Bungie’s shooter another chance (if you are, we recommend getting refreshed with the New Light tutorial, then playing each story campaign in sequence before taking on some dungeons and raids with friends) - and thanks to cross-save support across all platforms, doing so is easier than ever. Want to read more? See our full Destiny 2 review and buy it now from PlayStation Store. Rift Apart is a breezy game, a light game. It has verve and snap and panache and all that but it’s just such a joy to be in, above all. It’s actually quite a humble PS2 game at its core, wrapped in an extraordinarily expensive jacket, and in many ways that’s all you could possibly want from a Ratchet and Clank game coming out on a PS5. Shoot things, smash things, collect things, scoot about and get whipped around corners and along rollercoasters at warp speed. And the story, by the way, which introduces the all-new, all-empowered Rivet and Kit, is as kindhearted as any. What a treat. Even if you’re late to the party, the third game is the best place to start. Hitman 3 features some of the most varied and inventive levels in the series - one moment pushing through crowds in a warehouse-sized nightclub, solving a murder mystery in an English mansion the next - and the ability to import levels from previous games you’ve purchased (chances are you already own the original through PS Plus) makes it feel less of a sequel and more of a best of package. On next-gen consoles is where Hitman 3 shines thanks to those all-important load times. It’s a rare series where experimentation through save scumming - the act of reloading after you attempt something risky, like ‘subtly’ dropping a chandelier on your target and seeing if you can get away with it - is actively encouraged, and knowing you can do so in a matter of seconds feels like just the task SSDs were made for. And with its next-gen upgrade, it’s genuinely beautiful too, great lighting effects and a lovely draw distance blending with an art style that turned out to be the secret weapon. This is a game where anything goes, and nothing looks out of place. Just ask the Predator. Want to read more? See Fortnite’s entry in our games of the decade series. The upside of that, though, is how good it feels to progress, to triumph over a game that just seems to absolutely hate you. Successfully releasing yourself from a parasite, or cleansing a nightmarish malfunction, or vanquishing that one boss, is heavenly. Some of the combat is euphoric. Some of the guns are magic. Some of the “biomes” you visit - the muggy, mecha-foggy third is an all-timer - are just sensational. It’s an unholy marriage, ultimately, of old-school arcade hardcore and new-school sci-fi action. Happy marriage or not, it’s something you have to experience. As Hades’ son Zagreus, you must try to escape the underworld over and over again, facing randomised challenges - and bonuses - as you go. The action is fantastically well balanced and the character builds are deep and interesting, as is the seemingly bottomless well of story you experience piecemeal each time you progress through the game. It’s a modern classic. Want to read more? Here’s our Hades review and you can buy it now from Base. And yet it just works, thanks to brilliant design that refines Arkane’s previous, already very sophisticated template while increasing its accessibility and ramping up the fun factor. The outrageously cool art direction goes a long way, and the icing on the cake is the asymmetrical multiplayer endgame, inspired by Dark Souls, in which players can invade others’ games and attempt to assassinate them while they play. For more curated best-of lists like this, meanwhile, feel free to argue in the comments section of the following, too:
The 15 best Xbox Series X games The 20 best Xbox One games The 20 best Nintendo Switch games The 20 best Game Pass games The 25 best VR games The 20 best racing games
We’ve also got the latest updates on PS5 stock and where to buy it, if you’re still hunting down a next-gen upgrade!
