Now that Sony’s latest console is out in the wild and starting to properly hit its stride, players will no doubt be looking for the very best games to push their consoles to the limit this year. From engrossing RPGs set amid spectacularly beautiful open-worlds to intense platforming experiences sure to test your reflexes, here we’ve compiled the very best PS5 games as of 2022 so far.
Horizon Forbidden West
Best PS5 Games 2022
Horizon Zero Dawn is fondly remembered as one of the PS4’s greatest ever exclusives, and so the team at Guerrilla Games was up against it in trying to follow up with another instant classic in Forbidden West. Luckily for PS5 owners, they absolutely did, delivering an utterly drop-dead gorgeous open-world action RPG that is every bit as compelling.
Forbidden West takes players across post-apocalyptic America, where lush tropical biomes also provide habitat to previously unseen species of robodinos. There, Aloy seeks to uncover the mysterious origins of a plague that kills all whom it touches following the defeat of HADES in the first game.
In Forbidden West, the game’s exploration features a greater focus on underwater exploration, and there’s improved traversal in the form of better climbing mechanics and an incredibly satisfying glider. The signature combat from the first game, which challenges players to dismantle robotic enemy creatures with different arrow ammunition, is also sharper. The questing, too, is more varied and features some excellent storytelling along the way.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time might not push your PS5 to its limits in terms of graphical fidelity, but it’s an absolute blast to play, and one that deserves a spot on the HDD for nostalgia’s sake if nothing else.
Elden Ring
Best PS5 Games 2022
FromSoftware’s leap to open-world gaming with Elden Ring might have had some diehard Souls fans a little worried, even despite the developer’s esteemed reputation and portfolio. It’s never easy iterating on a tried and tested formula, after all. Not to mention that open-world design has in the past been criticized for diluting the gameplay experience of many popular series’.
As it turns out, though, there was nothing to worry about. Elden Ring is a masterpiece that somehow manages to capture the essence of the Souls series while pushing it forward in an exciting new direction that feels familiar but fresh. This is an enormous RPG experience that offers a near unrivaled sense of adventure, old-school questing, and endless replayability thanks to all the many classes and builds its character option facilitates.
And fear not if you’ve ever considered Souls games too tricky and too intimidating. While Elden Ring is no walk in the park, its scale and depth mean you’re never really shoehorned into moving in one linear direction. If there’s an enemy proving too tough to handle, go do something else — explore, level up, and return when you’re stronger. Don’t miss out on what is among the best video games ever made!
Gran Turismo 7
Best PS5 Games 2022
Polyphony Digital’s GT Sport improved throughout its life following a slightly barebones launch back in 2017. As good as it ended up, however, it wasn’t the full fat Gran Turismo experience in the same vein as previous games in the esteemed series. That all changed with the announcement and subsequent launch of GT7 earlier this year, which marked a huge return to form for the franchise.
The single-player focus of the original five mainline entries is back, featuring a gameplay experience that is a synergy of outstanding driving physics and near photo-realistic graphics that has propelled the franchise back to the very top of the genre.
Indeed, after Microsoft’s Forza series arguably wrestled away the crown of best racing game series throughout the PS4’s lifecycle, it’s fair to say Polyphony Digital has made a huge statement with GT7. This is the driving sim experience that PlayStation fans have been craving, and it’s a must-play.
Returnal
Best PS5 Games 2022
Developer Housemarque has long been praised as one of Sony’s most capable first-party studios, but while brilliant arcade shooters such as Nex Machina earned critical acclaim, they never quite performed on the commercial level. Something needed to change; Housemarque needed to reinvent itself with a bigger, bolder vision while staying true to the studio’s signature focus on intense action and quality gameplay. Returnal is the brainchild of that initiative, and boy is it great.
In Returnal, the core of Housemarque’s style remains intact as bullet-hell and arcade design meets third-person, over-the-shoulder shooting mechanics in a furious harmony that just feels astonishingly good to play. The step-up in production quality from its previous games is also marked, boasting some of the best visuals on PS5 to date. They help to bring to life an eerie alien planet that serves as the engrossing location for Returnal’s mysterious story.
Be warned, though, Returnal is a punishing affair that will test your gaming skills and patience to the maximum. You’re forced to quickly adapt to an unfamiliar but satisfying mashup of intense shooting and intense platforming as you plow throw waves of enemy aliens to level up your gear and make it to the next area. If you die, you’re back to square one, and so the cycle continues on and on in a devilishly morish loop that can sap hours of time. But we wouldn’t have it any other way and we can’t recommend Returnal enough.
