PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Switch: Best Exclusives in Q4 2018
PS4
Despite undoubtedly having a sensational 2018, Sony’s fourth quarter of the year was pretty quiet. Although that’s hardly unusual for the publisher, which has for years now opted to lean on third-party support of its console during this busy launch schedule.
It’s been a strategy that has worked well for them, so far. A combination of the marketing mindshare that PS4 holds over its rival, Xbox One, and a host of lucrative exclusive content and timed exclusivity deals that Sony has been able to secure with franchises like Call of Duty has mitigated any need to release their major AAA exclusive games in the same window.
So what exactly did launch exclusively on the PS4 in Q4? Well, surprisingly, perhaps for the first time since the peripheral launched back in 2016, it’s two genuinely brilliant PSVR titles that propped up the catalog.
Astro Bot Rescue Mission has caused a huge stir since its launch, earning critical acclaim for its excellent platforming gameplay, which translates to a sublime VR experience. This new layer of immersion has brought new innovation to a genre as old as the hills.
Tetris Effect, too, is another example of an ancient video game genre made fresh through VR. You wouldn’t have thought this iconic but rudimentary puzzle game from the 1980s would necessarily work as a VR experience, but it’s absolutely brilliant.
It’s a truly masterful reimagination, which in VR, oscillates between feeling like some sort of magical place of zen to an intense, chaotic, and at times, infuriatingly difficult.
Other Q4 highlights for Sony include Persona 5: Dancing All Night, the quirky rhythm game based on the popular Atlus series, which was every bit as well received as its predecessor’s own dance spin-off.
Elsewhere, Sony bolstered the collection of Japanese titles and remasters, only available on PS4 hardware.
Notable Q4 PS4 Exclusives:
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission
- Tetris Effect
- Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
- The Last Remnant: Remastered
- Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight
