This article has taken many forms. I have been mulling over the idea of a game, or games of the generation for a while now. There have been so many incredible titles that you could agonise over it forever. In the end, I have chosen to select only from PlayStation 4 to limit the pool, although honestly outside of Animal Crossing: New Horizons I don’t know that my list would have altered.
The next hurdle was to try and put them in a numbered list. That also became really difficult, as every time I would open this draft I would begin switching the order around based on how I felt in the moment. You see, these ten games are all special to me and they represent the absolute best of what I consider the strongest console library in history.
Before I start, I should note that there are some glaring omissions here. The 2018 God of War, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt being the most obvious. Let me explain myself briefly. While I did play the first half of God of War, I fell off and didn’t feel the urge to return. Perhaps one day I will get the chance to play it from start to finish and revise my list, but as things stand it misses out.
As for Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt… I just haven’t played them. I get through a lot of games, but even I don’t have the time to play everything. Souls games have always felt daunting and so I have never felt the urge to play either Bloodborne or Sekiro and despite Witcher being universally praised, a mix of the fantasy setting and game length combined to keep me from starting it.
So now that half of you are raging that your favourite game hasn’t even made my ten picks, let’s break down this list in no particular order.
Quite possibly the most beautiful game I have ever played. I spent large chunks of this game trying to pick my jaw up off the ground at the incredible visuals. Not only that, but the combat is so addictive. I am a big fan of Assassin’s Creed, and you’ll notice there are no AC games featured here. That’s because as good as those games are, Sucker Punch rocked up and did the formula better. Not only that, they did it in the most requested setting – feudal Japan. The game also tells a brilliant story and somehow has near PS5 level load times on a PS4. If this list were numbered, Ghost of Tsushima would be at the top.
For me, the most impressive thing about the Last of Us Part II is that it somehow managed to live up to the insane expectations. The first game is one of my all-time favourites and I truly respect the bold choices Naughty Dog went with in the sequel. Superb performances bringing to life some of the strongest character work we have seen in gaming. A script that would be at home in a blockbuster movie, a refined control scheme and some of the best graphics seen on any console all combine to make this an instant classic that will be talked about for years to come.
My pick for best third-party game on PS4 is Red Dead Redemption 2. The wild west has never been something I was overly interested in and while I enjoyed the first game, I would have been more excited to see GTA VI or Bully 2. Playing is believing though, and what Rockstar have created in RDR2 is nothing short of phenomenal. The term living, breathing world gets thrown around a lot in gaming but never has this been more true than here. Being able to interact with every NPC. Random character remembering you twenty hours later. This game felt like a generational leap back in 2018.
HITMAN 2 is unlikely to make a lot of these types of lists, but I just couldn’t leave it out. Stealth games have always had a special place in my heart and HITMAN is the ultimate sandbox for fans of the genre. Every map in the game is expertly crafted to allow countless kill opportunities. Even the DLC maps shine and feel on par with the base locations. As if that wasn’t enough if you own the first game you can import all those maps and play them with the updated mechanics. With HITMAN 3 coming in January and the announcement today that IO Interactive’s next project is a 007 game, the Danish studio is going to be one to watch closely next generation.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission is the closest thing we will likely get to Mario in VR for the foreseeable future. The level design, boss battle, challenge levels and graphics are all absolutely brilliant and it combines to make one of my favourite platformers ever. It’s great to see a new Astro game packed in with Sony’s next-gen console. With the rave reviews it’s getting you can be sure the next entry in the series is being planned already.
Horizon Zero Dawn was probably one of the biggest surprises of this generation for me. While I love the likes of Jurassic Park, I tend to dislike anything to do with mechs. However, this ended up being my game of 2017 and one of my all-time favourites. The world that Guerrilla Games managed to create looks breathtaking even today and I fully expect the sequel, Forbidden West, to build on the original when it releases in Fall 2021.
The second VR game to make my list is by London Studio. Despite its short runtime, this narrative-heavy first-person shooter plays out like a Guy Ritchie film in all the best ways. There is so much unique and memorable set-pieces that you will be straight back into the chapter select once the credits roll. The game is slightly held back by the limitations of the PS Move controller, which makes me really excited for a potential sequel on the PSVR 2.
No PlayStation games of the generation list would be complete without 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man. For the longest time these licenced games were just flung out with minimal care and attention. Insomniac Games managed to put together not only the best Spider-Man game ever, but the best superhero game. It’s a must have for all PlayStation gamers.
I absolutely loved Uncharted 4. It was a fitting send off for Nate’s story and had some truly memorable moments. If you haven’t played Uncharted 4 yet, make sure you work your way through the Uncharted Collection, also available on PS4 so that you get the most out of all the references.
I wanted a horror game on this list and it came down to either Until Dawn or Resident Evil 2 remake. In the end, I went with Until Dawn due to its teen slasher movie vibes. The graphics are still superb and the story can branch off in so many different ways that you’ll want to play through the game multiple times. This is one of the most underrated games on PlayStation 4.
There you have it. My pick for the top 10 games of the generation, in no particular order. However much your list differs from mine, I think we can all agree it has been an incredible seven years of games. In my opinion, the PS4 has the best library of games ever and there are no signs of the pace slowing down. Here’s to another generation of greatness!
-Craig 🧐
Codes for some of the games on this list were provided by the publisher for review purposes.
*Featured image captured in game by @_CMWalsh on twitter.
