9. Persona 5 (2016)
Action/Adventure/RPG/Open Zone | Metacritic Score: 94
Image via ATLUS
Persona 5 is a stunning JRPG that raised the bar for the genre, and 2020’s Persona 5 Royal re-release raises it even higher. It’s a captivating journey that is bursting with style and flair. During the day, you must navigate school life; at night, you must enter the corrupted minds of Tokyo’s more evil residents to dissuade them from their evil plans.
As they are introduced and progressively become involved in the activities of the Phantom Thieves, the students who make up Persona 5’s masked-cast leave an imprint that cannot be erased. Persona 5 does a fantastic job of balancing the two aspects of its gameplay. On the one hand, you’re experiencing character interactions in daily life, while on the other, you’re seeing its impact in the dungeons you explore as your persona.
Persona 5 Royal delivers one of the generation’s deepest JRPGs, if not all of all time, thanks to its consistently entertaining battle system, catchy soundtrack, twisted, wild story, and a tonne of extra content on top of the original game.
8. Mass Effect 2 (2010)
Action/Adventure/RPG | Metacritic Score: 94
Image via Electronic Arts
The space opera sequel expanded the Mass Effect universe and emphasized delivering smaller storylines more effectively. The game attracted RPG and shooter players both. The stakes were still high, but Mass Effect 2 used its position as a middle chapter to explore characters in depth and refine the gameplay to the point of becoming incredibly mainstream-viable. As a result, a game was created that is now regarded as the peak of high-budget sci-fi storytelling in video games and Bioware’s fame and impact as a studio.
The loyalty missions skillfully incorporate this character investigation into the overall gameplay. Shepard had to resolve a personal issue for each of these optional missions’ team members one at a time. Each squad member has one, and almost all of them are among the game’s greatest missions and present challenging narrative decisions that will impact the rest of the campaign and Mass Effect 3.
7. God of War (2018)
Action/Adventure/RPG/Open Zone | Metacritic Score: 94
Image via PlayStation Studios
2018’s God of War challenged the PS4’s capabilities in every way possible and became a strong contender for the best-looking games on the console. It demonstrates a precise degree of attention that was put into creating its universe, characters, and gameplay. God of War has transformed a long-running PlayStation franchise into a testimony to the power of storytelling through the medium of video games.
Exploring God of War’s realm makes for a journey in itself; every element feels purposeful and connects to every other significant part of the game. Your comprehension of this new universe ranges from the main quest to side missions and seemingly unimportant trinkets.
God of War’s solid narrative choices make the game feel less like a history and more like an out-of-body experience living among Gods of new and old ages. The new Leviathan axe is one of video game history’s most satisfying and deadly weapons.
6. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
Action/Adventure/Open World | Metacritic Score: 95
Image via Konami
The most ambitious game in the Metal Gear series is, without a doubt Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The game thrives on players’ freedom of choice – giving them every thinkable option to infiltrate an enemy base while being creative, crazy, and understandably logical.
While many ardent series fans were frustrated by the game’s disjointed plot, it’s impossible to deny that the gameplay is fantastic at any given moment. The Phantom Pain provides players with various weapons, vehicles, gadgets, and AI partners to approach missions in various ways, offering rock-solid movement and a big, occasionally literal, sandbox to explore. However, if a mission goes wrong, the game doesn’t punish you too harshly for getting loud and dirty. As usual, covert tactical gameplay is rewarding and satisfying.
5. The Last of Us Remastered (2014)
Action/Adventure | Metacritic Score: 95
Image via PlayStation Studios
The storytelling in The Last of Us is just as crucial to the overall experience as any aspect of the gameplay. The world-building takes ‘infected’ into a background narrative while focusing on Joel and Ellie’s journey through a critical mission. The Last of Us is the first fully mature interactive narrative in the action genre. As such, it is a real historical milestone and a perfect illustration of the final chapter of the seventh console generation.
You can find strands of familiar genres like action-adventure and shooting, but they are reworked and contextualized to create something much greater than the sum of their parts. Its storytelling is unmatched, complex, grounded, and authentic. While the sequel receive endless criticism for its writing and narrative choices, the first game stands as one of the best stories told in video game history.
4. Batman: Arkham City (2011)
Action/Adventure/Open World | Metacritic Score: 96
Image via Warner Bros. Games
Batman and Rocksteady could both take flight thanks to their adventure in Arkham City. It is the pinnacle follow-up with grander ambitions. There is a far larger area to explore and more puzzles, opponents, and infamous villains to find and defeat. In a way, Arkham City serves as the perfect example of a sequel to a video game. Additionally, it’s also one of the best Batman narratives you’ll come across.
As Batman, you’re free to explore parts of the city that were untouchable in the previous game. Along with it, you also face some of the cruelest and most mysterious enemies from the comic books. The open-zone nature of Arkham City brings to life the more unspoken truths about Gotham that fans have been craving for a long time.
3. Elden Ring (2022)
Action/Adventure/Open World/RPG | Metacritic User Score: 96
Image via Bandai Namco
Compared to other open-world and RPG games, FromSoftware adds its uniqueness to the genre. Elden Ring offers several unique features and alters the gameplay formula, ushering in advancements that have revolutionized those genres. There are several reasons gamers are growing to love the game, arguably the best one available right now.
The environment of Elden Ring immerses players by emphasizing exploration and destinations they desire to visit. You’ll be captivated enough to explore every inch of The Lands Between, from its magnificent castles to its breathtaking forests. Elden Ring succeeds where many other open-world games have failed by bringing the world to life with its ominous atmosphere and dispersed narrative.
2. Grand Theft Auto V (2014)
Action/Adventure/Open World | Metacritic Score: 97
Image via Rockstar Games
You’ll seldom encounter a gamer who has yet to hear of Grand Theft Auto 5. After countless re-done versions of the same game, GTA 5 on PlayStation 4 is a beautiful rendition of the already successful PS3 title. Its scale and scope are unparalleled in video game worlds, and a keen intelligence backs its hilarity and capacity for mayhem. It presents a compelling and unpredictable story without ever getting in the way of your self-directed journeys in San Andreas.
The ever-expanding world of GTA Online adds to the experience, giving you more freedom to explore possible career paths as a criminal kingpin in the making. Currently, there are no plans to stop GTA Online from getting newer updates, and you’ll have a great time planning bank heists with friends. And if you’re feeling toxic, try out a flying bike with lock-on missiles equipped.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
Action/Adventure/Open World | Metacritic Score: 97
Image via Rockstar Games
To many (including us), Red Dead Redemption 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece. Rockstar’s magnum opus is a technical marvel and the benchmark for open-world storytelling in video games. RDR2’s world always feels alive. The trees and wildlife around you, along with NPCs that have routines – everything breathes fresh air into the virtual world. And that is perhaps its most significant open-world trait.
You’ll never tire of Rockstar’s age-old gameplay loop of getting from point A to B with well-written dialogues. Instead, in RDR2, you explore the character motivations of people who matter to the game’s overarching narrative and little side-quests that may not seem as important.
Of course, the characters from Red Dead 2 remain most in the mind. Even though their trajectories are predetermined, Arthur Morgan, John Marsten, Sadie, Dutch, and other colorful individuals have complicated dynamics that are constantly shifting and changing.
These are our favorite titles from the PS4 era. Is there a game you’d want to see on the list? Let us know in the comments below.
