Get redy for some exclusive PS5 action
(Picture: Yelim Lee/AFP via Getty Images)While the PS5 is undoubtedly a brilliant gaming machine, its first couple of years have been a little dry in terms of experiences that really show off what it’s capable of.
The best PS5 games so far — Astro’s Playroom, Returnal, and Ratchett & Clank aside — have been available on PS4, too, leaving the upgrade struggling to justify itself.
Fortunately, that won’t be the case for long. Some excellent PS5 games are coming down the tracks in the next few years. Here are the best of them, divided into PlayStation exclusives and those that will also be gracing Microsoft and/or Nintendo’s consoles.
Best upcoming PS5 games: PlayStation exclusives
Final Fantasy XVI
That’s Final Fantasy 16, if Roman numerals aren’t your strong suit. Yes, the Final Fantasy series has been going for quite some time now, which should tell newcomers everything they need to know about the game’s addictive longevity.
Not too much has been revealed about the plot or setting, but early trailers suggest that squad-based gameplay may be a thing of the past in a world that looks a bit darker than what’s come before.
Release date: Summer 2023.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
More glorious web-swinging action, the original Marvel’s Spider-Man was a breath of superhero fresh air when it arrived back in 2018. It also pushed the PS4 pretty hard and, this being a PS5 exclusive, we can expect even more from its sequel.
The story of both Peter Parker and Miles Morales will continue, and it looks like the iconic villain Venom is set to feature, too. Developer Insomniac Games says we can expect new suits and abilities along with a “compelling human story” when it arrives at some point in 2023.
Release date: 2023.
Marvel’s Wolverine
After Insomniac is done with Spider-Man, the studio is getting its claws stuck into another Marvel franchise: Wolverine.
With no release date in sight, there are next to no details at all, though the company has said that it aims to “respect the DNA of what makes the character so popular, but also try to make it feel fresh”.
Release date: TBA.
Best upcoming PS5 games: Multi-platform ports
Hogwarts Legacy
To date, Harry Potter tie-in games have lacked the same big-budget feel as the movies, but that looks completely set to change with Hogwart’s Legacy.
It’s an open-world RPG set in the Harry Potter universe, though we won’t see any of the characters from the books, given it’s set a whole century before Harry and friends were born. That should give the game the freedom to tell its own story, and early signs are looking very positive indeed.
Release date: February 10, 2023.
Skull and Bones
Piracy — the old-school seafaring kind — isn’t anywhere near as prolific in gaming as it should be, but Skull and Bones looks set to change that. It’s an open-world adventure where you customise your pirate ship and assert your dominance over the seven seas.
If you fondly remember the seafaring of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, this should be right up your street, as it was originally intended as a spin-off before becoming its own thing.
Release date: March 9, 2023.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
If you think the Batman Arkham games were the pinnacle of console action over the past few years, then you’ll want to keep an eye on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
It’s made by the same developer — Rocksteady — and will offer a co-operative action experience for up to four players, with each taking on the role of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark. Given how fluid and natural the combat of the Arkham games felt, this should be brilliant.
Release date: Spring 2023.
Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter needs no introduction, and the sixth promises the same addictive brawling action that the series is known for, with familiar faces joined by some new ones.
It seems Capcom has been thinking about how the single-player experience could be improved and has introduced a semi-open-world adventure mode which could be a brilliant innovation or something that’s quickly forgotten. We’ll find out at some point next year.
Release date: 2023.
Alan Wake 2
It’s been a decade since we had a new Alan Wake game — the spin-off title of American Nightmare — and we’re finally getting a full sequel at some point in 2023.
This time, it won’t be an Xbox exclusive after PlayStation players got a taste for the horror action with the remastered versions. We’ve been told that this version will venture more in a survival horror direction, and we can’t wait to jump out of our skins all over again.
Release date: 2023.
Star Wars Eclipse
Quantum Dream is known for its choose-your-own-adventure-style like Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human. Now the studio has been granted a Star Wars licence, and we can’t wait to see what it does with it.
It’s super early days, and all we know is that it’s set during the High Republic — the time period between 300 and 50 years before the Skywalker saga.
Release date: TBA.
Grand Theft Auto 6
It’s fair to say that Grand Theft Auto 6 is the most eagerly anticipated PS5 game out there. We’ve certainly waited long enough, with the last instalment a swansong title for the PS3, but with no release date in sight, it looks like we still have a way to go.
Back in September, early footage of the game was leaked online, suggesting a return to the Miami-like Vice City and the first playable female character in the GTA universe.
Release date: TBA.
Best upcoming PS5 games: Remakes and remasters
If you’d prefer something a bit more familiar, then Sony has you covered. As with the last generation, a number of games are already due to get remade or remastered for PS5.
Three of them — Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth — are due to come out in 2023. Two other big ones — Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Silent Hill 2 — don’t have release dates yet, but are well worth keeping an eye on, too.
