Once again, 2022 was a great year to own a PS5. While 2020’s launch lineup was nothing to sniff at and 2021 enriched the console’s library even further, 2022 ensured that PS5 owners wouldn’t want for entertainment for quite some time. Whether you like massive open worlds that reveal more secrets as you explore or linear, hyper-focused action titles, you’ll find plenty on your PS5 to keep you occupied. Here are the best PS5 games of 2022.
Elden Ring
With Elden Ring, Hidetaka Miyazaki and From Software proved that there’s life in the Soulslike concept yet. Many had thought that the genre’s time in the spotlight might be coming to an end, but Elden Ring’s incredibly strong sales suggest otherwise. It takes the classic dark fantasy action RPG gameplay of Dark Souls and transposes it into an expertly-crafted open world setting complete with breathtaking vistas and an organic sense of exploration.
Horizon Forbidden West
On the other side of the coin, there’s Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Forbidden West, a much safer open-world proposition. While it doesn’t have the hands-off approach of Elden Ring, this is a beautiful game full of sidequests to take on, robots to take down, and a rich, layered story to discover. The continuation of Aloy’s journey will appeal to you if you loved Zero Dawn but wished there was more of it; this feels very much like a grander second act rather than a reinvention.
God of War Ragnarok
Kratos and Atreus’ journey through the lands of Norse mythology comes to a tearjerking end in God of War Ragnarok. Like Forbidden West, it’s a refinement of a concept rather than a ground-up rework; Ragnarok takes the brutal up-close combat and rudimentary puzzling of 2018’s God of War and expands on them, giving Kratos and his son more options in fights and opening up the world a little for exploration. To say much more would be spoiling Ragnarok’s many surprises.
The Last of Us Part I
Even though it hasn’t been ten years since the original Last of Us came out, it’s hard to argue that the game wouldn’t benefit from a remake utilising the PS5’s superior graphical and processing power. That’s exactly what Part I proves; it takes Joel and Ellie’s iconic journey and renders it even more beautiful thanks to lightning-quick load times, longer draw distances, and generally improved visuals and gameplay. If you want to see where it all began, this is the definitive version.
Persona 5 Royal
We’re cheating a little bit with this one, since Persona 5 Royal came out back in 2020, but it only graced the PS5 this year, so it counts. This is the best version of Joker and company’s epic odyssey, and it tacks on another handful of hours to what was already a pretty impressively massive game. Persona 5 Royal is the culmination of an aesthetic Persona has been working towards since Persona 3; it’s stylish, fast-paced, exciting JRPG goodness, and you should love it.
Inscryption
The first act of Inscryption is some of the most effective horror we’ve ever experienced in a video game. You are a nameless character facing off against some kind of monster lurking in the shadows, and you must battle through a roguelite odyssey of deckbuilding card-based gameplay, fighting bosses along the way. We very much don’t want to give anything else away, but suffice it to say that Inscryption is not what it first appears to be on the surface.
Tunic
If you like games like the original Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls, then Tunic is for you. To say the game has a hands-off approach would be understating the case; it gives you so little instruction that it can feel like you’ve missed something when you first fire it up, but rest assured that you’re supposed to know very little at the outset. As you play, you’ll collect pages of an achingly authentic NES-era instruction manual that will open up the game’s world and explain its more obtuse mechanics.
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Who would have thought that a card-based strategy game interspersed with RPG relationship-building and starring the cast of the expansive Marvel universe would work? Well, XCOM designer Jake Solomon did, as it happens, and that’s why we have Marvel’s Midnight Suns. A rich, lengthy campaign is on offer here, complete with the chance to get to know Marvel stalwarts like Blade and Wolverine a little better. The mixture doesn’t sound like it should work, but somehow, it does.
Stray
It’s fair to say that if you’re looking for a true “cat simulator”, Stray probably won’t deliver on that fantasy. However, if you want to explore a moody cyberpunk world and poke around for secrets while curling up on cushions and rubbing up against friendly robots (as a cat, mind), Stray will provide. Its story is surprisingly affecting and well-realised, although it does rather stretch the bounds of cat credibility, and its world is beautifully-rendered to boot.
Cult of the Lamb
On its face, Cult of the Lamb doesn’t really do anything particularly special. Its management mechanics feel reminiscent of an idle game during their worst moments, and its roguelite combat is fairly straightforward. Still, Cult of the Lamb manages to be effortlessly addictive and charming simply by linking its two styles together so that you always feel like one will make the other more fun. Switch your brain off and power through Cult of the Lamb’s campaign in a few sittings and you’ll have lots of fun.
