PS4 Hall of fame

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO THE LAST GEN’S GREATEST GAMES The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game Of The Year Edition

Red Dead Redemption 2

You won’t find another open world quite like this, the streets of Los Santos paling in comparison to this gorgeous, realistic western sprawl. Arthur Morgan’s wild west adventure is epic, emotional, and has enough teasing mysteries on every horizon for no two cowboys’ journeys to feel the same. With train robberies, tootin’ headshots, and racists to kill, there’s never a dull moment in Rockstar’s greatest.

Grand Theft Auto V

Laughing in the face of other cross-gen ports, GTA V on PS4 is more than a mere HD remaster. Upped to a glorious 1080p, it weaves together everything that made the PS3 original great, with new music, more dynamic weather, and a game-changing FPS mode.

God Of War

A departure in some ways but a resounding return in others, Kratos is back with a son and a ruddy big axe. Taking the legend from Greek to Norse mythology, this entry brings a lot to the table while improving on what was core to the earlier series’ identity.

The Last Of Us Part II

Arguably the original is holistically better but there are few games that push PS4 to its limits as this sequel does. With near-photoreal visuals, emotional twists that land, and enough new ideas to ensure you’re always thinking, this is a slick followup.

Dreams

This is a feature-laden platform of artistic tools that enables you to create everything from characters, elements, and scenes to entire games, and resets any ideas about what a console ‘game’ should be and do. Dreams should be installed on every PS4.

The White Wolf’s epic journey is an RPG experience like no other on PS4. It’s been made even more spectacular with this gigantic pack stuffed with DLC, making it a must-have part of any gaming library.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

A beautiful open world where every Greek island tells a unique story, AC Odyssey is a epic in the truest sense, with lively writing, mythical beasts to battle, and a poignant Assassin’s Creed story that lays the table for all the delicious lore to come. A brilliant spectacle.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A staggeringly large world that condenses cracking combat, accessible systems, and uncut eye candy into an action RPG that will please anyone. In Aloy, PlayStation might just have a new icon. Come for the robo-fights, stay for the exquisitely dense mythology.

09 Marvel’s Spider-Man

Borrowing heavily from Rocksteady’s acclaimed Batman series, this delivers the heart and soul of Marvel’s superhero. It ticks every box you could ask for: perfect web-swinging, a powerful story, a roster of classic villains, and all of New York City to defend.

Persona 5 Royal

The most stylish JRPG ever made finds its definitive form in expanded release Royal. It combines dark and moving teen angst with unforgettable friendships that power you up in the heart-invading dungeons, and sets the gold standard for the genre.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware’s latest adventure repackages its unflinchingly difficult combat into a fantastical take on feudal Japan. More accessible than Bloodborne but layered with equally clever and subtle ideas, this is director Hidetaka Miyazaki’s best yet.

Bloodborne

With the finest third-person melee combat in gaming, droolworthy art design, and the most twisted monsters imaginable, this is a gorgeously gothic must-have. The Old Hunters expansion adds enough nightmare fuel to make a return to Yharnam essential.

Monster Hunter: World

Presenting a vibrant open world, light on story but heavy on monster-mashing action, this is the most accessible entry in the series yet. Perfecting the feel-good grind through its complex systems and pitch-perfect multiplayer, it’s a PS4 must-play.

Resident Evil 2

Powered by the RE Engine, this remake is more than a classic game with a facelift. The new Tyrant and improved zombie AI add tension, and fresh areas not seen in the PS1 classic update the core gameplay making this Resi 2 a celebration of PS1 and PS4.

Yakuza 0

Set in Japan in the ’80s, this is the perfect entry point to the long-running series. Bouncing between two heroes, you take part in a crime thriller by bashing enemies into dropping piles of cash, and undertake side-quests that include stealthily buying pornography.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Solving your own murder seems hard enough, but you quickly find it’s a single domino in a whole conspiracy run. Fortunately, as a ghost, that’s where you shine, controlling objects poltergeist-style to untangle puzzlebox murders moments before others cop it.

Psychonauts 2

Level design and narrative mesh together in this longawaited sequel. Bounce around vibrant, ever-creative platform worlds inside other peoples’ minds as you help them conquer trauma – and save the world. Ever-warm, the script is one of the funniest around.

Nier: Automata

Few games require immediate replaying, but this demands it. The twisty-turny story reveals more just when you think you’re done, and the android combat as you explore is top-notch thanks to PlatinumGames’ expertise in creating character action titles.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

A space opera in game form. Explore the galaxy as you try to stop a universe-wide threat, building a team of the best as you go. The adventures are better than ever in this smoothed-over version. A fan of science-fiction sagas? You owe it to yourself to have one of your own.

Days Gone

On the surface this seems to be a step backwards: a testosterone-fuelled Freaker-killing adventure, one man and his bike versus the apocalypse. Slowly you realise Bend Studio’s playing with you, and everything’s flipped on its head – while the action’s excellent throughout.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age

JRPGs don’t get more classic-feeling than this, but DQ embraces its traditional qualities, giving its turn-based fights and Toriyama-designed visuals a modern overhaul. This is an adventure that’ll stick with you.

Dishonored 2

The followup to a PS3 great, mixing a creative skillset with impressive level design to create a Kaldwin-ning immersive sim. From the shifting rooms of The Clockwork Mansion to learning to link your powers, there’s so much scope for experimenting.

Alien: Isolation

Explore Ridley Scott’s original vision of a horrifying future in startling fidelity, as this game recreates the tension with an attention to detail that borders on the obsessive. It’s time to remember what made the xenomorph so scary… and then get killed by it.

Shadow Of The Colossus

Bluepoint completely overhauls the visuals of Team Ico’s masterpiece but still manages to match the original step-for-step in its remake. New controls and a beautiful photo mode add to the package. Wander’s tragic quest has never looked or played better.

Tekken 7: Definitive Edition

The title for best fighter on PS4 is fiercely fought over, but for our prize money King remains the, er, king. Easy to pick up, with plenty of depth, few fighters feel quite as crunchy as this. With all DLC characters now released, from Noctis to Negan, it’s time to get sweaty.