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To help you find the best PS4 games out right now, we spent many long hours testing out the 50 best PS4 games recommended by the top magazines, as well as the best selling video games for PS4 right now. When evaluating games we looked for lived-in worlds that feel real, with incredible controls and, if needed, robust online communities. We also favored games with good storylines, fantastic voice acting and lengthy quests, so as to maximize your gaming dollar.
This season, Grand Theft Auto V is a top pick for its expanded, immersive open world style play and vivid graphics, as well as its complex, interwoven storyline that gives you the ability to play through from multiple perspectives.
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: Expanding on the Grand Theft Auto Franchise’s brutal yet often light and even funny underworld antics with stunning graphics and new opportunities, this is among the best video game for PS4.
The fifth in the long running Grand Theft Auto franchise from Rockstar Games, this is among the best open world games developed yet for the PS4. It mixes elements of role playing games with action and adventure, with plenty of freedom to choose among different modes and storylines. Join a motorcycle gang and terrorize the streets, or manipulate your way through the ranks of a criminal cartel.
The crazed stunt races return with even better graphics, plus this version of the game now offers denser traffic, new, more realistic foliage and new weapons and vehicles, too. It comes alive on the best gaming monitor for ps4.
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: Web swing as Spider-Man and try to get through the day as Peter Parker in this immersive 3rd person Spider-Man adventure. It’s among the most sophisticated and mature Marvel games yet and one of the best games for PS4 if you’re a Marvel fan.
Billed as the most “grown up” Spider-Man game, this is also the most involving yet, with more in-depth storylines and a well-developed open world style of game play. You can collect objectives to upgrade Spider-Man’s suit, gain experience to improve web-swinging and even craft new items and gadgets.
This new Spider Man game for PS4 also lets you spend more time with the mask off as Peter Parker, and the storyline involves familiar characters like Aunt May and Mary Jane. You may want the best external hard drive for ps4 if you have a ton of games downloaded.
Award: BEST FIGHTING
WHY WE LIKE IT: Still among the best fighting games of all time, Mortal Kombat’s 11th iteration brings new custom character design options and a stunning new graphics engine.
Mortal Kombat 11 shows us the 25-year old franchise still has lots of fight left in it. This latest version is one of the best fighting games for PS4 this year, with the most vivid, beautiful and well-rendered graphics yet seen in any Mortal Kombat game, thanks to an all new graphics processing engine.
Ranked among the top 10 PS4 games 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 features an all new Story Mode that upgrades the single player experience considerably over older versions. It also lets you connect to the network via Playstation Plus and you can play remotely with up to 8 of your friends. You may also want the best ps4 headset for the best sound.
Award: BEST ADVENTURE
WHY WE LIKE IT: Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series has one of the most interesting Sci-Fi stories of any video game. Best PS4 game lists from Reddit, IGN and others are virtually unanimous in declaring this version a “must play.”
Featuring improved game play mechanics and more engaging ship-to-ship combat on the high seas, this latest version of the acclaimed historical adventure Assasin’s Creed is among the best open world adventure games for PS4 you can buy. No internet is needed for single player, but you do have to connect to Playstation Plus for DLC content and multiplayer modes.
Battle colonial forces and commander ships, plus interact with historical personages like Blackbeard in this stunningly detailed maritime adventure. Plus, new and high tech (for 1715) weapons come on board, like wheel lock firearms! Also read about 10 of the best ps4 games for 2014.
Award: BEST STAR WARS
WHY WE LIKE IT: This PS4 Star Wars game is the most satisfying single player Star Wars game yet and one of the best PS4 games of the last few years. It features cinematic graphics, fast paced light saber battles and galaxy spanning action.
It may not break any new ground conceptually or in terms of character development, but this immersive 3 person adventure game is one of the most well thought out and satisfying Star Wars games for PS4 in single player mode.
Set just after Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, the story line follows the path of a fugitive Jedi escaping the order’s destruction at the dawn of the galactic empire. As with many of the best PS4 games of 2019 and 2020, this one has spectacular graphics, with vistas ranging from ruined temples to ice planets to space battles.
Award: BEST RPG
WHY WE LIKE IT: This original sci fi adventure from the makers of Fallout takes you to the far reaches of the galaxy for one of the year’s best role playing games for PS4.
This deeply immersive role playing game, set in a colony on the most distant inhabited planet, lets you explore a creatively detailed and well rendered sci fi world full of mercantile, self-serving corporate colonists, vicious creatures, and ancient, mysterious alien menaces.
From the same studio that brought us Fallout: New Vegas, this character-driven RPG has been called the best role playing game of the year for PS4. It’s not as focused on fighting or as action packed as the post-apocalyptic Fallout series, but it lets you build your character in new, interesting ways.
Award: BEST SHOOTER
WHY WE LIKE IT: The vault hunters return in this post apocalyptic madcap shooter. Single and multiplayer options plus new characters make this the best 1st person shooter video game for PS4 right now.
The latest development of the Borderlands series continues with the same award-winning shaded cartoon style of animation and well designed characters. Zany vehicles, rag tag robots and ridiculous weapons are all over the place as you join the four new “vault hunters” as they shoot and loot their way across the ravaged landscape.
While the story may lack some of the interest of Borderlands 2, and the single player mode can feel somewhat repetitive, this is still among the best shooters and best video games for PS4 overall, especially if you’re a fan of Borderlands’ unique style.
In order to select the best PS4 games you can buy this year, we combed through the best PS4 games 2018, 2019 and 2020 reviews and put in many hours of research and game play, focusing on satisfying, immersive storytelling and engaging, intuitive game play mechanics.
We favored games that reward adept players while being at least somewhat accessible for novices and for those unfamiliar with the game’s particular franchise, though we didn’t identify per se the best PS4 game for kids, we made sure to include some kid friendly offerings like Marvel’s Spider-Man (our #2 pick) alongside the MA-rated games on our list.
We only included games that allowed for single player as well as some form of multiplayer mode. For first person shooters, we looked for good pacing, clear graphics, creative worlds and plenty of options for exploring.
For open world games, we only included those with creative, lived-in world building, interesting backstories and which rewarded at least 20 hours of play. And finally, we only included games that were available with or without internet subscription service.
Depending on what source, and what you’re looking for, publications like IGN and Gamesradar list games like Final Fantasy 15, Marvel’s Spider Man, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto V are listed among the best PS4 games 2018 through 2020.
The best game overall is always a contentious question, but it depends on what sort of game you’re looking for and in what genre you’re looking. The best role playing games include Outer Worlds (our #6 pick,) Final Fantasy,
A PS4 is still a worthwhile purchase, whether you’re looking to play classic games or the best PS4 games of 2019 and 2020 and perhaps for 2021. You can get the most out of the modern games with a PS4 Pro and Playstation Plus subscription, but this isn’t necessary for basic and single-player versions of most games.
Among the 50 best PS4 games lauded by IGN and according to reddit, some of the best graphics are found in the Borderlands series and in Assassin’s Creed (our number 4 pick.)
The key difference between the two consoles is resolution. The original PS4 is limited to 1080p, whereas the newer PS4 Pro offers exceptional gaming quality at 4K (2160p). However, to take full advantage of this, the game in question does need to be updated specifically for 4K. Older games such as Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Uncharted 4: Lost Legacy, and The Witcher 3 are all games that have been remastered for 4K resolution. Many other games including Dark Souls 3 have increased the frame rate up to 60fps to match the Pro’s enhanced hardware.
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