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After a rocky pandemic launch in 2020 leaving potential buyers frustrated by short supplies, the Sony PS5 has grown to dominate this console generation in sales, with over 59 million consoles shipped as of March, according to analyst Daniel Ahmad. A big part of its appeal has been its lengthy catalog of exclusive and cross-platform games spanning multiple genres, so we've collected the best PS5 games to pick up.
The PS5 was released with $500 physical and $400 digital-only versions of the console, and even though the latter launched at a higher price than the smaller-storage Xbox Series S option (starting at $300 for a 500GB model), gamers still overwhelmingly chose Sony's console in this generation, with PS5 outselling Xbox five to one in the first quarter of 2024, analyst Ahmad noted. There's even a midgeneration upgraded PlayStation console coming -- the PS5 Pro, which is more powerful, but comes at a staggering $700 price tag.
Read more: Exclusive Hands-On: I Played Sony's All-New PS5 Pro
The PS5 launched with another advantage: the DualSense controller, which includes triggers that dynamically increase resistance based on what's happening in-game. While few games released in the years since have taken full advantage of the DualSense's extra functionality, the console has nonetheless dominated this console generation in sheer sales, though credit also belongs to its strong library of games, both cross-platform and exclusive titles.
Here's a list of the best PS5 games to buy right now.
Astro Bot, released last week, is one of the best PlayStation games in years, like concentrated joy coming back from a simpler time in gaming's past. It's a whimsical tour de force of unfettered creativity, essentially Sony's equivalent of iconic Nintendo 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 or Galaxy. Astro Bot is a love letter to every Sony game, with references and cameos to PlayStation games and hardware stretching back to before some gamers (including this writer) were born.
But Astro Bot isn't just a nostalgic cash grab dropping dozens of 'member berries and phoning it in. It's a game where every level is a mechanical and visual triumph, with power ups that allow players to float like a balloon, bullet dash, spring punch, climb like a monkey, blast like a rocket, stop time and shrink down to the size of a mouse, each one changing how you engage with the collectable bots and puzzle pieces.
This game also makes full use of the DualSense controllers -- different levels take advantage of the gyro capabilities and even have you blowing into the controller to spin pinwheels to create gusts of wind. And when you succeed in your task and make it to the end of the level? You best believe you're going to be serenaded with hundreds of acorns, gold coins, snowballs or whatever bauble fits the level's theme, just because the game wants to remind you that it can handle dropping all those beautiful physics objects in front of you at once.
Astro Bot is a unique and laudable PlayStation experience, made possible only through a combination of Sony's cultural currency and the PlayStation 5's hardware. It's a must-have game for the console.
- Tyler Graham, associate writer
Santa Monica Studios' God of War: Ragnarök, released in November 2022, continues the titular god Kratos' epic dad adventure through lands inspired by Norse mythology -- and clashing with the Nordic gods themselves -- while raising his son Atreus. The sequel to the 2018 God of War, which served as a soft reboot of the classic series, has been lauded for its voice acting, lush graphics and tight combat, but it's the narrative that sets the game apart from other AAA action games.
Ragnarök picks up where God of War left off as Kratos' killing of the Aesir god Baldur triggers the leadup to the mythical realms-wide, age-ending titular battle. With more weapons, enemies, bosses and gameplay featuring slices playing as Atreus, Ragnarök improves on everything from the first game. There's even a free DLC, Valhalla, serving as a narrative epilogue to the Norse chapter in the war god's story. For a cinematic adventure of epic scale, God of War: Ragnarök is hard to top.
- David Lumb, mobile editor
Another great sequel of a fan-favorite game, Horizon Forbidden West is Guerrilla Games' sequel to the 2017 smash hit Horizon Zero Dawn. Forbidden West, which came out in February 2022, follows Aloy's quest to find a cure for a plague in a post-post-apocalyptic world, where sentient beast-like machines roam the land while tribes of surviving humans unravel the mysteries of fallen civilizations.
As an open-world game, Forbidden West builds on its predecessor with more areas to explore, underwater sections to investigate, weapons to find and skills to master. Guerrilla Games expanded production of the sequel with more emphasis on story cinematics, with a star-studded cast led by Ashly Burch and the dearly missed Lance Reddick, as well as the talents of Angela Bassett and Carrie-Anne Moss in new roles. The sprawling game is further expanded in the DLC, Burning Shores, that explores even more of what happened in the past -- and the course of the world's future.
For a big adventure promising dozens of hours of gameplay in an open world, Horizon Forbidden West is a great choice.
- David Lumb
The Last of Us 2, the long-awaited sequel to the post-apocalyptic zombie game from Naughty Dog, first came out in 2020 on last-gen consoles to enormous critical and cultural acclaim (if eerie timing during a pandemic). Only a few years later, the studio released a remastered version for PS5 in January 2024. While the graphical gains aren't significant, having a definitive edition for current-gen consoles is helpful for players to pick up and experience, and there are several extras like No Return (a roguelike zombie survival mode) and the unfinished Lost Levels not found in the original game.
Where the original The Last of Us was a story about grief and the (very bloody) lengths taken to start anew after the apocalypse, The Last of Us 2 is a story of consequence and the (very bloody) lengths taken for revenge. As you'd expect of developer Naughty Dog, this is a beautiful, laboriously crafted story unlike pretty much anything else in gaming, and The Last of Us 2 Remastered is the best way to play it. Worth a place on anyone's shelf, but don't expect to come out of it unscathed.
- David Lumb
Fortnite
A couple of years ago, I would have described the free-to-play shooter Fortnite as the premier battle royale game, but that's no longer a sufficient description. Fortnite is like the final boss of live-service games because it isn't simply a game anymore: It's a platform for what feels like seemingly endless games.
Hey, maybe you enjoy the fast-paced, zany battle royale experience that normal Fortnite offers you, but you don't like building? Fortnite: Zero Build remedies that, allowing me to drop in to a more traditional battle royale experience. But there are even more "out there" game modes. Are you a fan of Guitar Hero? Fortnite Festival wants to help you get your rhythm fix, allowing players to jam out to a constantly updating library of music. Do you enjoy building, but you're not so big on battle royales? Lego Fortnite offers an entire blocky open world to gallivant across.
Even if you prefer classic battle royale, there are always new events to shake it up: One day a sandstorm is reshaping the entire island, and the next Marvel's Dr. Doom is building his empire within the playable arena. New player skins of fictional characters and real celebrities are added all the time. This is a game that both shapes and is shaped by popular culture, and you get to be in the middle of it all.
- Tyler Graham
Games make the most of a revenge narrative, which is why it's so enthralling to step into Jin Sakai's shoes as he becomes "the Ghost" of Tsushima, enacting his vengeance with sword in shadow.
The game, which was rereleased in a Director's Cut version for PS5 in August 2021, tells a story about a hero -- and a legend -- that emerges during the first Mongol invasion of Japan. You're forced to walk in two worlds as you alternate between stealthy takedowns and intense sword fights, including epic samurai duels.
But all that violence occurs in a beautiful game: There are peaceful, reflective moments, too, ones where you'll recite haikus in the hot springs or ride your horse through fields surrounded by beautiful white plum blossom trees. It's no surprise the game has a built-in photo mode and the option to turn off the HUD altogether.
No matter how you slice it, the conflict between the enemy-stalking Ghost and honorable Jin Sakai is an example of Sony's commitment to premium storytelling, and Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most cinematic games under the PlayStation banner.
- Tyler Graham
Among my group of friends, I'm the notorious side-quest hater. I almost never do them because they feel like tedious busywork that slows down the game for minimal reward. But let me tell you, when I got to the first open area of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, when it was released in February 2024, I finished every single quest in that area. The game just felt immediately inviting.
Rebirth takes everything about the first remake installment and expands it -- more characters, more quests, more freedom, more minigames (hello, Queen's Blood obsession). There's a freedom and fluidity in the game that I never quite felt with the previous installment, Final Fantasy VII Remake nor the Intergrade DLC, including upgrades to combat such as synergy skills and abilities, which make the fights feel even more dynamic by allowing you greater creativity. I expected to enjoy the next chapter in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, but even I wasn't prepared for a game that felt so thorough, fun and welcoming.
- Adam Benjamin, managing editor
I love Baldur's Gate 3 so much, I have multiple save files because I keep dragging friends into it. It was an easy sell for me, a D&D player who grew up with BioWare RPGs, but I'm still impressed by how much Larian Studios managed to do with this game -- it's stunning in its visuals, storytelling and customization. And on the PS5 version, which came out in September 2023, it's easy to start a game with a friend or three, letting you explore the realm together, while still allowing each person a degree of freedom in how they want to do that.
Play as one of the Origin characters or create your own custom character, whether that's a tough dragonborn monk or a cotton-candy-haired elf sorcerer. Make choices that affect the story, roll for outcomes, use inspiration to reroll bad outcomes and eventually load a previous save when you continue to roll poorly. In all seriousness, part of the fun of the game is discovering what mechanics you enjoy -- whether that's speaking, sneaking or summoning -- and building out your character to be progressively better at those things as the game goes on. You can save villages, loot dungeons and face off against champions of the gods... or you can destroy villages, plunder cities and threaten people into worshipping you. Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the best games, full stop, and it's essential for any PS5 collection.
- Adam Benjamin
Insomniac's first go at Marvel's iconic webhead in 2018 was a solid outing, with an enthralling story pulled together by Peter Parker's personal ties to villains Mr. Negative and Otto Octavius, who challenge both the hero and the human. Spider-Man 2, which came out in October 2023, featured iconic foe Kraven the Hunter who raised the stakes and proved truly dangerous as he hunted down other characters from the Spider-Man mythos, but the story takes a backseat to the gameplay this time around.
Most of the new fun comes from the combat. Everyone knows Spider-Man pulls his punches; with great power comes great responsibility, after all. That's why it's a real treat to unlock more heavy-hitting moves as the Venom symbiote corrupts Peter over the course of the game. Combining familiar fighting moves with tendril attacks and a "rage mode" was a natural iteration that makes tangling with enemies more engaging. There are even tag team battles where Miles Morales or Peter Parker (depending on which Spider-Man you're currently playing) will randomly swing in to help lock down a fight.
This might be the same New York City as the setting of the first game, but this time around it truly feels alive. There are new collectables to find, new crimes to stamp out and new ways to beat down the bad guys. When I'm swinging around as the most prolific superhero of all time, that's all I can possibly ask for.
- Tyler Graham
While there's seemingly always been a cultish fervor surrounding FromSoftware's Souls series, Elden Ring truly went mainstream, making these ARPGs more approachable to a wider audience. Now, many gamers have started to turn toward FromSoftware's previous titles to get their next hit of dark fantasy. Certain recommendations I'd love to make (looking at you, Bloodborne) are trapped on older consoles. But PS5 owners are lucky enough to have a chance to play Bluepoint Games' remake of the first ever Souls game that started the so-called Soulsborne game type: Demon's Souls.
Though it was one of the launch titles for the PS5 when it was released in November 2020, Demon's Souls remains visually stunning: This version of the game imbues iconic fights with new life, such as the desperate slugfest to take down the massive, gleaming Tower Knight. Fights don't move as quickly as they do in FromSoftware's more contemporary games, but it feels more rewarding to find and exploit a boss' true weakness. It's also worth playing the remake to experience old mechanics that never made a return -- such as world tendency, a karmic system creating a more dynamic world that reveals different items and NPCs.
If Elden Ring sunk its hooks into you, and you wouldn't mind playing a slower, more tactical-feeling Souls game, the Demon's Souls remake is a must-play on the PS5.
- Tyler Graham
Now this is a game that goes down like a warm cup of liber-tea. Helldivers 2, released in February 2024, somehow fluctuates between being one of the greatest power fantasies I've ever played and making me feel like absolutely hopeless cannon fodder. One second I'll feel like an invincible super soldier (Master Chief has nothing on me) and the next I'm a puddle of viscera being chowed down on by some really big bugs.
And yet Helldivers 2 always feels like a wholly cohesive experience, because as soon as I drop back into the thick of the fight in another hellpod, I'm riding the high of tearing through dozens of knockoff Terminators or killer space bugs all over again. It feels even better to drop into battle with a squad of friends, working in lockstep to secure objectives by calling down tactical airstrikes, heavy weapons, minefields and more -- until everyone gets blown up at the same time because your friend drops a 500 kilogram bomb at your feet.
This game has the highest highs but it also makes the lows feel like highs, too. I'm either mowing down hundreds of Super Earth's enemies in glorious combat or getting turned into mincemeat by slapstick accidents with high-powered munitions. Either way, I'm always having a blast.
- Tyler Graham
After a long absence for the racing series, Gran Turismo 7 burst on the scene in March 2022 with the franchise's signature mix of realism and style. The first Gran Turismo on PS5 takes advantage of the console's high performance for quick loading via solid state drive, gorgeous graphics with ray tracing and haptic feedback in the DualSense controller.
GT 7 leans into time and weather's effects on track conditions, rewarding players who tweak their car performance to account for rain, wind and other effects. The game features several racing modes, Championships and tracks returning from former games. For PS5 owners itching to get behind the wheel, Gran Turismo 7 is a great pick.
- David Lumb
Elden Ring was a colossal success when it was released in February 2022, expanding the exacting and difficult combat of FromSoftware's Souls games to open-world gameplay. Players used hundreds of weapons against dozens of bosses across colossal continents that house many secret areas. If you wanted a big game that could take you hundreds of hours to experience everything, Elden Ring was it.
FromSoftware released the Shadows of the Erdtree DLC in June this year, adding a new region, 10 major bosses and over a hundred weapons that can be brought back into the main game. The combination of base game and DLC expand Elden Ring into the preeminent action RPG for players who don't mind a challenge and enjoy cryptic worlds of dark gods with many secrets.
- David Lumb
Alan Wake II arrived on Oct. 27, 2023, with a lot of expectations, following up on the fan-favorite Alan Wake 13 years and two console generations later. But studio Remedy (Control, Quantum Break, Max Payne) produced an all-timer survival horror game that truly feels like a singular experience you won't find anywhere else.
Alan Wake II appropriately picks up 13 years of in-game time after the original with a story split between two characters: the titular horror writer Alan Wake stuck in the Dark Place and Saga Anderson, FBI agent investigating strange goings-on in the area of Bright Falls. With vibes of Twin Peaks, The X-Files and more dark cult horror, Alan Wake II is an incredible game folding in bits of the so-called "Remedyverse" as Wake's universe absorbs material and characters from Control and other games in the studio's lineup. And if it hasn't been spoiled for you, there's a musical number (seriously) in the game, as has become tradition with Remedy's oeuvre, that will make you pump your fist in raucous joy.
Remedy surprise-released the first DLC expansion, Night Springs, in mid-2024. The second, Lake House, is coming in October 2024. These require the Expansion Pass, which is included in the digital or physical Deluxe Edition -- in short, just upgrade to or buy the Deluxe Edition of Alan Wake II to get access to both.
- David Lumb
Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, which came out on June 11, 2021, brings back the iconic duo for another adventure with a wild array of guns, collectible bolts, upgrades and gadgets. In this game, Ratchet discovers he's not the only Lombax in the galaxy after meeting the female Rivet (who appropriately has her own robot, Kit).
Insomniac Games' A Rift Apart was lauded for its graphics and fun platformer gameplay, but the game particularly wowed players with its titular rifts that players dived through to enter slightly altered or entirely new worlds without loading times, which was made possible by the PS5's solid-state hard drive. Aside from that technological stunt, the game is a fun shooting-oriented platformer suitable for gamers of all ages who want bright, delightful visuals in a fun action game.
- David Lumb
Watch this: My Exclusive PlayStation 5 Pro Demo: What $700 Gets You, and Why It Matters
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PS5 game FAQs
What PS5 games are coming out next?
There are still PS5 games slated for release in late 2024, including Lego Horizon Adventures and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. In 2025, the console will be getting Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Doom: The Dark Ages, Grand Theft Auto 6 and more big-name titles.
What is the bestselling PS5 game in 2024?
What's the bestselling PS5 game of all time?
The bestselling PS5 game over the console's lifetime is Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Since it was released in October 2023, the game has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide.
What's the best PS5 game?
Naming the best PS5 game is subjective and answers will vary according to each gamer's preferences. The three authors of this article, however, voted that Astro Bot was the overall best PS5 game right now. With its joyous platformer gameplay and signature PlayStation character cameos, Astro Bot is a critically acclaimed standout that should please many gamers.
How we determined CNET's best PS5 games
When creating this list of best PS5 games, we factored in how unique and enjoyable these games are for most players, from impressive graphics to novel gameplay to compelling narratives. Our picks cover a variety of genres from fantasy to retro platformers to shooters to racing games, and while we favored console-exclusive games you won't find on Xbox, PC or Nintendo Switch, we also included some can't-miss games that appear on multiple platforms. If you're looking for help choosing your next game, CNET's top PS5 list is a good place to start narrowing your choices.