2023 was a surprisingly light year where first party PlayStation releases are concerned, with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 really being the only major game coming from a Sony studio this year. In spite of that, however, thanks to a deluge of excellent releases from a variety of third party devs, the PS5 still ended up enjoying what might be its best year yet- and by quite some margin, at that. With 2023 now in our rearview mirror, here, we’re going to take a look back and talk about the games that we feel stood as the best in the PS5’s library.
NOTE: All entries and rankings were decided by an internal vote held among the entire GamingBolt staff.
#23. DIABLO 4
Blizzard Entertainment hasn’t been able to support Diablo 4 following its release the way so many would have hoped, and though criticism on that front is warranted, there’s no denying the game’s underlying qualities. The addictive core loop of adrenaline-fueled combat and loot-driven progression is as strong as it has ever been, while the addition of an open world, a surprisingly engaging story, and predictably engaging customization options across all classes also contribute to a solid foundation.
#22. LIKE A DRAGON: ISHIN!
It’s incredible how consistently solid the Like a Dragon franchise has been over the years, and though Like a Dragon: Ishin! was a decidedly different experience with its period Japanese setting, it continued the trend of great new games in Sega’s franchise. That setting was, in fact, one of its biggest strengths, and it blended perfectly with other strengths that the series has always been known for, from excellent storytelling to impressively designed and varied side content to enjoyable, flashy combat.
#21. LORDS OF THE FALLEN
Lords of the Fallen launched with grand ambitions, with developer Hexworks dubbing it Dark Souls 4.5 to convey the game’s vision. Whether the Soulslike action RPG is able to touch those heights might be up for debate, but there’s little doubt that it’s a solid experience on its own merits. Intricate level design that encourages exploration, brutal and crunching combat, some excellent boss fights, and top-notch art and visual design combine in a worthy addition to the Soulslike genre.
#20. SEASON: A LETTER TO THE FUTURE
SEASON: A Letter to the Future hasn’t been in the conversation as much as it perhaps should have, thanks to how ridiculously packed 2023 has been, but as those who’ve played it will tell you, it’s worth checking out. A meditative, thoughtful, and deliberately slow-paced experience, SEASON puts players in a gorgeous yet dying world, and tasks you with memorializing it before its impending demise by exploring serene environments and logging everything they have to show. To say the very least, it’s a unique experience that stands out in memory.
#19. VIEWFINDER
Viewfinder might be one of the more unique first-person puzzlers we’ve played in some time, which is saying a lot, given that this is a genre that thrives on creativity and uniqueness. Though fairly brief, throughout its runtime, it does an excellent job of using its core premise of manipulating photographs as 3D objects to help you overcome obstacles in the environment. It’s the sort of thing that you experience and can’t help but keep wondering how it was even conceived of, much less successfully implemented in the game.
=#17. ROBOCOP: ROGUE CITY
RoboCop: Rogue City is further proof that you don’t need a AAA budget to be able to bring a beloved IP to life in a game effectively. Though it definitely doesn’t boast the level of polish and scale you’d expect from a AAA production, it captures the essence of its source material perfectly, and in doing so delivers an experience that’s not only a must-play for any RoboCop fan, but also remains riotously enjoyable even from a fundamental moment-to-moment gameplay perspective, regardless of what IP name it is attached to.
=#17. JUSANT
Don’t Nod branched out in impressive fashion with Jusant, and it’s fair to say that the experimentation paid off. Though storytelling is still an important part of the experience, Jusant goes about it in a very different way, instead choosing to put players in a platforming-puzzler. Its central premise of scaling a massive mountain is a decidedly straightforward one, but the game utilizes to its fullest potential from beginning to end.
#16. DEAD ISLAND 2
Coming after a log and protracted development cycle that saw the project changing developers multiple times, Dead Island 2 was fighting an uphill battle from day one, and still somehow managed to deliver a great experience. Gleefully bloody, utterly gorgeous, brimming with personality, and appropriately concise, Dambuster Studios’ action RPG knew exactly the kind of straightforward and proudly mindless slasher it wanted to be, and it was better for it.
#15. EVERSPACE 2
Courtesy of its lengthy early access period, that Everspace 2 was going to be a hell of a game had been plainly visible for a while before its full release, and upon launch, its 1.0 version very much met all of those expectations. Its moment-to-moment space flight and combat gameplay builds on the first game in smart ways, while some radical shifts in other areas – from an open world structure to much more involved loot-driven progression systems – made it that much more of an engaging experience.
#14. WILD HEARTS
Monster Hunter has reigned uncontested in its particular subgenre for as long as anyone can remember, and though Wild Hearts doesn’t quite come close enough to threaten supplanting it, it’s undoubtedly a great first outing for a new IP that all fans of monster hunting action RPGs should check out. Thanks to tight mechanics and incredible monster design, combat in Wild Hearts is a consistent thrill, whether that’s against trash mobs or the set piece bosses. Combined with excellent map design and the uniqueness of the Karakuri devices and everything they bring to the table, the game successfully carves out a distinct identity for itself.
#13. HORIZON FORBIDDEN WEST: BURNING SHORES
Given how excellent Horizon Forbidden West was, we were more than happy to have the excuse to dive back in with its Burning Shores expansion, though we probably didn’t expect it would be as good as it turned out to be. For starters, its new open world map of the sunken, post-apocalyptic remains of Los Angeles makes for an excellent setting, while the expansion also tells a captivating story that proves to be a worthy addition to the series’ canon. Add to that incredible visuals and a particularly memorable breathtaking set piece sequence, and you get a package that’s more unmissable than many would have thought.
#12. LIES OF P
Many games have tried their hand at the Soulslike genre over the last decade and a half, and outside of FromSoftware itself, it’s hard to think of one that has captured its strengths as expertly as Lies of P does. Thrilling challenge, tight mechanics, and rewarding progression systems come together in a brilliant action RPG experience, which is uplifted further still by its gorgeously evocative gothic Belle Epoque setting. And that setting is not only stunning to behold in a visual sense, thanks to excellent design, it’s also an absolute blast to explore and unlock.
#11. CYBERPUNK 2077: PHANTOM LIBERTY
After its infamously terrible launch, many had written off Cyberpunk 2077 as an unsalvageable mess (ourselves included), but CD Projekt RED stuck with the troubled action RPG, until in 2023, its persistence paid off with the one-two punch of Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty, completing a remarkable turnaround for the game. The expansion in particular deserves special praise for how significantly better it is at properly adapting the Cyberpunk universe, delivering a well-told story, crafting engaging gameplay, and all-around just doing a much better job of realizing the potential of the IP.
#10. FINAL FANTASY 16
A new Final Fantasy game being divisive among the series’ fanbase is really a tale as old as time, and though Final Fantasy 16 doesn’t buck that trend, the many people who do love it never seem to run out of praises. We’re certainly in that group here at GamingBolt. The story of Clive through different stages of his life is one of the most captivating tales this series has told in recent memory, and the darker, more mature tone it adopts helps distinguish it from the rest of the franchise in excellent ways. Beyond that, with incredible combat, stunning visuals, and an excellently realized setting to boast about, Final Fantasy 16 definitely earns itself a spot on this list.
#9. RESIDENT EVIL 4
The Resident Evil franchise has been gaining increasing momentum with each new instalment over the last few years, and with 2023’s Resident Evil 4 remake, it may very well have hit its peak. Meaningfully improving on a game that’s already considered to be one of the greatest ever made is never an easy task, to put it mildly, and yet, that’s exactly what Resident Evil 4’s remake does, and does so with startling ease and confidence. The fact that it does all of that while also striking the perfect balance between introducing its own new ideas and retaining what made the original so great cannot be praised highly enough.
#8. STREET FIGHTER 6
The rich vein of form Capcom has been in for the last several years also made its way to the Street Fighter franchise in 2023. When Street Fighter 6 launched, it felt almost like an explicit apology for the half-baked state its predecessor had launched in many years ago, delivering a cavalcade of content across the three overarching modes (or hubs) that served as its main pillars. Multiplayer was obviously the highlight, but even with its World Tour story mode, the game swung for the fences. Some of its new ideas may not have landed as well as they should have, while post-launch microtransactions have also drawn some criticism, but by and large, this is the best shape the Street Fighter series has been in for a long, long time.
#7. STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR
Respawn Entertainment established its Star Wars Jedi series with great results with its first instalment in 2019, and its follow-up, Jedi: Survivor, similarly does an excellent job of expanding the series’ horizons in several meaningful ways. On top of telling another captivating story that also ties in to the larger Star Wars mythos in unpredictable ways, the game also continues to build on the excellent Metroidvania design, Jedi combat, and traversal mechanics of its predecessor. From beginning to end, Jedi: Survivor delivers a steady stream of moments and sequences that will live long in our memories.
#6. HOGWARTS LEGACY
An open world RPG set in Hogwarts has always seemed like such a perfect idea, and though it certainly took longer for it to actually materialize than many expected, when it did arrive, it lived up to expectations. Hogwarts Legacy’s biggest strength is the love, care, and attention with which it brings the iconic magical school to life, cramming both the castle itself and the massive areas surrounding it with a startling level of details. Simply existing in the world the game creates is pure joy, even if the way the experience is structured can feel a bit rote.
#5. DEAD SPACE
We’ve been treated to many great remakes in recent years, and we’ve been treated to many great survival horror games, but very few of them have managed to touch the utterly terrifying heights of Motive Studio’s Dead Space remake. If ever there was just one game you could point to as an example of how to faithfully pay tribute to an all-time classic while making the exact right amount (and kind) of changes required to expand upon it and modernize it, 2023’s Dead Space would be it. Brutal, horrifying, visual stunning, and psychologically unsettling, it’s easily one of the highlights of the year.
#4. ARMORED CORE 6: FIRES OF RUBICON
FromSoftware switched gears in 2023 from Soulslike games to something that its older fans will be very familiar with, and in doing so, delivered one of the best mech action games we’ve ever played in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. With its grueling difficulty and stellar boss fights, it delivers in the ways that we’ve all come to expect from FromSoftware at this point in time, but it does so without losing the essence of what makes Armored Core great. Chief among its strengths in those areas is the sheer range and freedom it affords to players in its vast and nuanced customization mechanics, and how rewarding it can be to master them with the perfect build for your mech to overcome a previously insurmountable challenge.
#3. BALDUR’S GATE 3
A new Baldur’s Gate game made by Larian Studios seemed like a match made in heaven as soon as the game was announced a few years ago, but not even the most optimistic of fans could have anticipated that Baldur’s Gate 3 would be the industry-shaking revelation it turned out to be. Choice-and-consequence is something a great many games hang their hat on, but Baldur’s Gate 3 puts the vast majority of them to shame, not only with the mind-boggling range of choices it always presents, but also in the meaningful impact almost all of them end up having your experience, and in ways that are consistently delightful and unexpected. Without a doubt, Baldur’s gate 3 has already gone down as one of the greatest games ever made.
#2. MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is pretty much the perfect sequel, one that builds on its predecessors in every way possible- even in areas where many would have though major improvements weren’t necessary. Take the traversal mechanics, for instance, which were already the series’ greatest strength, and with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, somehow scaled even higher heights. Similarly radical improvements were also made to the combat and its expanded focus on explosive abilities. Combined with a brilliantly told story, a larger open world, and significantly better optional content, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is easily one of the best game’s we’ve ever seen from Insomniac across its entire illustrious history.
#1. ALAN WAKE 2
Living up to more than a decade of anticipation can never be an easy task for any game, but Alan Wake 2 not only lives up to expectations but blows them completely out of the water. Remedy Entertainment has a knack for delivering the unexpected, and it does so in much more emphatic fashion with Alan Wake 2 than it ever has. The sequel’s switch to the survival horror genre is an ingenious move that elevates the experience in and of itself, thanks to tense and rewarding exploration, tight level design, and heart-pounding combat, but above all else, what really sets this game apart is its audacious, bold, and wonderfully bizarre narrative. So layered and intricate is its gripping story, it’s hard to tear yourself away for even a second, and the fact that it manages to convey it all without ever feeling overwrought or needlessly self-indulgent makes its writing accomplishments that much more impressive. Alan Wake 2 is an absolute masterpiece that we’re going to be thinking about for a long, long time to come.
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