‘God of War Ragnarok’ and ‘Horizon Forbidden West’ are some of 2022’s biggest releases (iStock/The Independent)
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The PS5 has been out since November 2020 and in that time there are a number of must-play titles that have been released.
It’s a testament to the strong first-party support that many of those games are exclusive to PlayStation consoles, with developers such as Guerilla, Insomniac and Polyphony Digital all falling under the “PlayStation Studios” umbrella.
Because of the wavering availability of the elusive console, cross-platform support on both the PS4 and PS5 games may be very welcome indeed and plenty of previously released titles have been given the next-generation port, some of which are featured on our list. There’s even a chance that some of these games may appear on the updated PS Plus subscription tiers as an included title, such as Returnal and Stray.
Not only have some of these games received a visual upgrade with improved loading times, they’ve also made excellent use of the PS5’s additional hardware capabilities, such as dualsense controller support and storage optimisation for the SSD.
Ragnarok is quite simply one of the best games to come out in 2022. It has masterful storytelling, beautiful renditions of a Norse realm and intoxicating mechanics that is as satisfying to master as it is to see play out on screen in a ballet of blows. In our five star review of the game, we said, “On its own merits, it’s difficult to fault but on the foundations of 2018’s God of War,it’s nothing short of a masterpiece”. High praise indeed.
Just when you think you’ve uncovered everything Elden Ring has to offer, it throws something new, jaw-dropping and challenging all in equal measure. It’s no wonder the game has become such a behemoth and has sold over 12m copies in less than a month.
Elden Ring offers plenty of challenges for players, while its improved combat mechanics and traversal provide ample opportunity for newcomers to get acquainted with the genre. If this is your first FromSoftware game and you relish a challenge, then there has never been a better time to jump in. If you’re already a veteran, then this perfects the formula of every FromSoftware title that came before it. This is gaming at its very best.
In Horizon Forbidden West, Guerilla Games has developed its post-apocalyptic marriage of technology and nature to craft a beautifully realised vision of a world desperate for rebirth.
The story will take new players to unexpected and breathtaking places, and fans of the original, Horizon Zero Dawn, will have plenty of their questions answered.
It’s one of its most detailed, rich and fascinating depictions of a post-apocalyptic future, not to mention one of the PS5’s best-looking games to date.
The Last of Us Part I is a remake of the original 2013 release that makes several graphical improvements as well as adding a smarter AI, updated accessibility features and even dualsense support. It’s still the same game as before, but when that game is one of the greatest ever made, it’s hard not to jump back in to its fungal-infested world.
In our review of the game, we said, “The Last of Us is (and always was) a masterpiece and Part I is unquestionably the best version of it yet, but that may not be enough for anyone hoping for a complete reinvention of the formula from the ground up.
“Part I adds just enough to warrant its remake for the latest hardware, which elevates it to the same level of The Last of Us Part II in smart design choices, flexibility and technical prowess even if it’s still the third time we’ve made this journey before.”
The Skywalker Saga is the biggest Lego game yet, encompassing the span of all three major trilogies, as well as hundreds of miniature recreations of the series’ most iconic characters. In our review of the game, we praised its family-friendly approach to cooperative play, as well as its extensive replayability.
Players must work together as either Cody or May to navigate through a series of different mechanics that tie into the themes of their marriage woes.
In one instance players will be changing the flow of time or cloning themselves before finding themselves navigating a boat down dangerous rapids. The amount of different genres It Takes Two throws at you is as expansive as the story is endearing.
It was five years since we saw the Lombax and his robot companion returned in the Ratchet and Clank reboot and eight years since their last new entry into the series. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart wastes no time in throwing the duo back into the fray in a dimension-hopping adventure to stop Dr Nefarious from destroying the fabric of time and space.
The run-and-gun platforming action has changed very little since their first outing which is what makes Rift Apart feel so special in an age of hyper-realistic blockbusters.
With a wildly creative arsenal of new weapons and gorgeous graphics, Rift Apart is a powerful return to form and one of the Playstation 5’s best exclusive titles.
Returnal was a divisive game when it came out as one of the PS5’s earliest exclusives. As a roguelike where levels are randomly generated, players take control of Selene as she crashes her spaceship on the planet Atropos. Every time she dies, time loops back to the point of impact and she must find a way to survive long enough and escape the planet.
Praised for its stunning visuals and fast-paced gameplay, it was also widely derided for its steep learning curve and reliance on random number generation. Players couldn’t even turn off their console mid-game in case they lost their progress and had to start from the beginning again.
A number of free updates have been put in place to alleviate some of these highly requested features, such as a suspend state and a photo mode. The latest update, titled “Ascension” also added online co-op and a new endless mode brilliantly named “Tower of Sisyphus” so it’s an excellent time to revisit.
Like Arkane Studios’s other titles, Deathloop is a genre-bending mixture of stealth, role-play, first-person shooting all set in a stylish world. Players will control Colt Vahn, as he tries to escape Blackreef, an island populated by hedonists using a timeloop to host an endless party. Colt must eliminate eight visionaries in one day in order to break the loop and leave the island. Doing so requires learning the movement patterns of each character and finding the most efficient path to taking them all down in quick succession.
One of Deathloop’s unique twists is other players are able to invade your game as one of the eight visionaries, an assassin named Julianna, which adds an extra level of chaos to the proceedings as you navigate your route. It’s a colourful and cool first-person shooter that makes it one of the PS5’s most unique console exclusive titles.
If Resident Evil 7: Biohazard could be described as a haunted house experience then Village could be fairly described as a rollercoaster. It might not be as traditionally scary as it sets off but its many twists and sudden drops make for a fast-paced adventure that will make you double take around every corner.
Players once again take control of Ethan Winters as he investigates a vaguely central-European town to find his kidnapped daughter. Among some of the residents of this town are a ten-foot vampire, a puppeteer and a giant fish creature.
Village also boasts one of the most absolutely terrifying sequences in the franchise’s long history of jump scares and buildups, which is saying a lot.
The most recent entry into the Gran Turismo series is a celebration of the game’s 25 year history with hundreds of cars to choose from over some of the most iconic locations featured in the series.
From its opening cinematic all the way to the granular detail of its descriptions of cars throughout automotive history, a clear love and expertise can be felt throughout. It may not play like an arcade racer such as Forza Horizon 5 but the sheer reverance for accuracy is well demonstrated.
Two Point Campus is the latest business management sim from Two Point Studios, that sees players build their dream universities and curriculums, from “Knight School” to a masters in “Internet History”.
In our review of Two Point Campus, we said: “It does well to play the class clown, but its deceptive enough to hide plenty of A-grade material under its desk.
“But beyond its off-kilter humour and (admittedly understandable) fixation on cheese-based snacks, Two Point Studios’s latest title is another successful case study in the exploration of classic simulators. It encapsulates everything that made Bullfrog Productions’ Theme series of the late nineties essential gaming, and continues to deliver that experience as a spiritual successor.”
A soft reboot of the franchise after protagonist Kiryu’s story has concluded. Yakuza: Like a Dragon takes a bold decision to swap out its beat-em-up playstyle for a turn-based strategy game.
Like a Dragon follows new hero, Ichiban Kasuga, shortly after serving an 18-year prison sentence for a murder he did not commit only to be betrayed by his former boss upon his release. Ichiban decides to become a hero and teams up with other playable characters to clean up the streets, fight gangsters and sing karaoke.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a delightfully oddball take on the JRPG genre and its new protagonist is a welcome addition to the franchise.
The final chapter in the “World of Assassination” storyline, Hitman 3 carries on agent 47’s globetrotting hit-spree. Each level ranges in explorability and difficulty, from towering skyscrapers in Dubai, murder mysteries inside an English country estate to warehouse raves in Berlin.
There are many different ways to assassinate each targets and Hitman 3 rewards players willing to explore every murderous avenue, by revisiting previous hits and finding new methods. It’s an incredibly nuanced action-stealth title that combines all of the best aspects of previous games.
Built from the ground up, this remake of the genre-defining Demon’s Souls was one of the strongest offerings out of the launch titles available on the PS5.
There are some design elements that have started to show its age since it was first introduced in 2009 on the Playstation 3, such as the confusing “world tendency” mechanic, non-replenishing healing items and wildly varying boss difficulty. But the PS5 remaster from Bluepoint also makes plenty of quality of life improvements such as improved inventory management and superfast loading times that really make the most of the new hardware.
Not to mention, it’s still one of the best looking games available on the new console. It runs at a buttery 60fps consistently and the improved textures make it feel almost like a completely different game if you were to view them side-by-side.
If you’ve rolled through the open expanse of Elden Ring and are looking for another Souls-like to sink your teeth into, then this spiritual predecessor is the perfect follow up just to see where all the magic started.
Spider-Man on the PS4 was one of the console’s strongest entries and the follow-up Spider-Man: Miles Morales put us back into an open world Manhattan as Peter Parker’s protégé.
It’s not quite a sequel and comes in at a shorter time to complete but it offers plenty of new content with a focus on Harlem and some new villains as well as some extra powers like invisibility and bioelectricity.
Waking up in a trashed motel room with a missing shoe, the world’s worst hangover and no memory of who you are is a dark way to start any game, until you realise you’re a detective who’s been sent to the city of Revachol to investigate a murder, then it gets darker. You must search the city for clues, speak to its citizens and put the pieces of your broken psyche back together in a poverty-stricken world where everybody has an ulterior motive. But first, you must find your shoe.
Disco Elysium harks back to classic role-playing games such as the first two Fallout games. It’s dense, text-heavy but within that it’s layered with depth and opportunities for multiple outcomes. You can play it old-school and solve all your problems with your fists or become an armchair philosopher, there’s really no wrong way to go about your detective work.
Guilty Gear Strive is the 25th entry in the long running fighting game genre. But outside of Japan it has had a relatively small yet loyal following when compared to other franchises such as Street Fighter.
As far as fighting games go, it’s an incredibly sophisticated system of interlocking mechanics that give each of Strive’s fighters a careful balance of maneuverability and intensity. Increasingly complex combos and build ups can create “wall breaks” that launch opponents into new areas and “psych breaks” can also be used to throw opponents off their rhythm, giving newer players a chance to catch their breath and create some much needed distance.
That’s not to mention its immaculate presentation. Developed by Arc System Works, also known for Dragonball FighterZ, the cel-shaded visuals give each stage the appearance of a tightly choreographed anime showdown, only elevated by the relentless heavy metal soundtrack accompanying it. After 25 games, the story and characters may be convoluted enough to warrant a four hour cinematic (yes, you read that right) but by putting its gameplay first, Guilty Gear Strive gives players enough cause to go another bout.
As FIFA bows out before changing its name to EA Sports FC next year, FIFA 23 certainly doesn’t hold anything back. With women’s club teams, two world cups and a huge expansion to the overall roster, it’s arguably one of the biggest football titles yet.
In our review of the game, we praised its “new and original content” and added “its refinement of basic mechanics and animations make it one of the best looking in the series to date, as well as one of the most comfortable to play for veterans and newcomers alike”.
In our review of the game, we said that “assuming the role of a cat comes naturally. Stray is not just immersive for its controls, interfacing or animations, all of which help to sell the experience, but the way in which the world is constructed, with raised bars, narrow ledges and death-defying leaps that come naturally to our feline friends.
“With Stray, BlueTwelve Studios has created a memorable platforming experience with an emphasis on giving its stark setting the warmth of a human touch, or paw in this case.”
It would be woefully simple to frame Rollerdrome as a kitschy homage to early Noughties titles like the Pro Skater series or Jet Set Radio at a glance. But in reality, it’s unlike any other sports game or third-person shooter out there. Despite everything it borrows, all of it feels fresh, rewarding and impossible to put down.
In our review, we said: “From its action to its slick presentation, everything about Rollerdrome screams “effortlessly cool” from the moment it ramps off. Its breakneck pacing and unabating stages make each victory feel well earned, and revisiting each feels like a mastery that verges on transcendental.
“It’s endlessly replayable and while its gradual difficulty demands a lot from players, none of it ever feels unfair, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Rollerdrome is another crack shot hit from Roll7 that will demand every ounce of your attention.”
Inscryption is a card game that’s difficult to define. At its forefront, it’s a roguelike deck builder combined with escape room elements, that sees the player explore the cabin he’s trapped in to outwit his captor. But underneath its folk horror facade lays a grim foundation that’s rich in disturbing detail and secrets to uncover.
To say anymore would be a disservice to Inscryption. It’s one of those games that deserves to be taken apart piece by piece firsthand to fully appreciate the experience.
Astro’s Playroom is the first game you should ever boot up on your PS5. It’s a wonderful ode to some of PlayStation’s best moments and manages to encapsulate every generation it’s been a part of in four generations.
But after you’re done playing around with Astro’s quirky tech demonstration to understand your console a bit better, then God of War Ragnarokis the definitive blockbuster that should make any PS5 feel like a worthwhile investment. In terms of storytelling, it’s the absolute pinnacle the console currently has to offer.
For another recent open-world blockbuster, check out Horizon Forbidden West. It’s also available on the PS4 consoles but, thanks to its stunning visuals and vast world filled with ruins and robotic dinosaurs, it’s an excellent showcase for the power of the PS5.
Finally,if you’re up for the challenge, Elden Ring is also well on track to be one of the best games to come out in 2022. It deserves its reputation as a difficult game, but if you’re able to invest the time (and runes) into beating its numerous bosses, few gaming experiences are as rewarding.
