Beastly: Best PS4 games for new owners

Best PS4 games for new owners

How do I love thee, new PS4? Let me count the ways

 

SHARE

 

TWEET

STAY CONNECTED. FOLLOW POLYGON NOW! 

  

×

Congrats! You are now the owner of a beautiful, hopefully not bouncing PlayStation 4. You might have a few must-have games in mind, or you might not — the point is, you don't have to worry. We've put together a healthy mix of console titles, from AAA open worlds to bite-sized indie experiences, action to strategy, and so on, to dig through.

Here are some of our favorite PlayStation exclusives (with some bonus multiplatform titles!) to get you started.

RECENT GAMES

For those of you who want to get caught up immediately, let's start from the top. 2015 had some great games that offer an easy jumping-off point for any new console owner.

Bloodborne: From Software's trial by death is a dear friend around these Polygon parts, even snagging our No. 2 spot for 2015's Games of the Year. As a hunter in the Gothic city of Yharnam, you ... actually, you know what? Let's skip all that. The best thing aboutBloodborne is learning how to master its difficulty; to become the kind of player who gets knocked down and right back up again. You'll suck at it until suddenly you don't anymore, and that transition is absolute bliss.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: A game for those of you ready for a quiet apocalypse from the makers of Dear Esther. The end of the world has come and gone, and players are left to figure out what's happened through third-person exploration. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is quiet experience that rewards your attention with a journey that's surprisingly emotional and, at times, personal.

MLB 15: The Show: Reader, I will not mislead you. This is not my kind of game. However, resident sports dork aficionado Samit Sarkar assures me that this is One Heck Of A Sports Game. To quote his review directly, "MLB 15 is buoyed by subtle upgrades that combine to paper over a few lingering deficiencies and uphold the franchise's stellar track record." We also gave it a 9 out of 10, if you're more into numbers.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection: If you missed the roguish Nathan Drake during his run on PlayStation 3, this bundle has everything you need to catch up before Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Critically acclaimed third-person action-adventure titles Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception have been remastered for PS4, meaning you can now experience all the games' explosions, collapses and more in 1080p.

Until Dawn: Supermassive Games' thrilling piece of interactive fiction revels in every slasher film trope, ever. Players are dropped into a familiar "scary cabin in the woods" scenario, and then charged with keeping a group of friends alive. If you're really bad at it (and you probably will be, at least a little), you'll get everybody murdered. That's what makes it so compelling. Your choices and actions are key to staying alive, making every playthrough a new challenge of its own.

Tearaway Unfolded: The Unfolded edition of Vita darling Tearaway is equally as charming — papercraft heroes in a beautiful world — and comes with controls remade specifically for PS4. Players guide their tiny hero through the game's paper land by modifying or moving things around. It's a special world with creative puzzles, and it's easy to fall in love with.

OLDER, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Since the PS4's release, there are more than a few excellent console-exclusive titles we're still stuck on. Here are a few older games you should consider.

Infamous: Second Son/First Light: Modern-day superhero story Infamous: Second Soncontinues the series tradition of being a really fun game that lets you blow shit up. There's a choice-and-effect element to it as well, but zipping around the city using powers of smoke, neon and more makes this an enjoyable action game. Its stand-alone DLC, First Light, is equally strong in this sense, but adds an extra bonus of exploring the backstory of one of the game's best characters.

The Last of Us Remastered: In addition to improving the general quality of Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed action-adventure survival game, the Remastered edition of The Last of Us also includes the fantastic Left Behind expansion. This is the definitive edition, one that redelivers one of the best games of the PS3 generation with all its bells and whistles.

FOR THE PC HATERS

Look, I don't blame you. I'd much rather play a game on my consoles than my creaking, questionably performing computer, too. Although these titles are also PC hits (hi, Steam), you can grab them for your PS4 right now.

The Talos Principle: It's hard to talk about how good first-person puzzle game The Talos Principle is without sounding like a snob, so I'll let our reviews editor, Arthur Gies, take the fall for me. It has "a mystery and a secret at the heart of the game, an interesting philosophical debate in its story and even [in] its game design on the rules of a system and what it means to be human." For a low-rent version of that, try my advice that it's a super cool puzzle game that's real hard, yo.

Transistor: Like its predecessor, Bastion, Supergiant Games' Transistor features isometric gameplay and the smooth sounds of actor Logan Cunningham. The game follows Red, a young woman who's lost her voice, as she uses the titular Transistor — a giant talking sword — to fend off enemies and attempt to restore peace. Transistor is a beautiful game with a surprisingly deep combat system and a simple story to tell.

Soma: Soma is set in a research facility under the sea, where players search for clues to what's happened and how to escape. Unlike most horror games, it isn't about jump scares. Players can't fight back against enemies, meaning they'll have to run, hide and carefully plan how to proceed when they encounter monsters. It also packs one heck of an existential crisis as you start to unravel its story.

Rocket League: Rocket League may be one of the most approachable sports games to ever exist, because it's about hitting big balls with fast cars. It's as ridiculous as it sounds, and I mean that in a good way. It even manages to make soccer interesting.

Volume: Volume, the latest from Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell, is both a modern retelling of Robin Hood and an elegant puzzle game. It tackles the big questions about heroism and villainy while offering smart stealth and experimentation.

THE MULTIPLATFORM HITS

If you already own an Xbox One or a PC, or even any of the previous-generation consoles, chances are you might have already picked up one of these games. But we'd be remiss if we didn't offer a few quick words on some of our favorite multiplatform titles.

• Batman: Arkham Knight: With Arkham Knight, Rocksteady has perfected itsBatman formula. The game offers an open world that doesn't hold your hand, challenging puzzles and fights that really make you feel like a badass.
• Destiny: Bungie continues to improve its online shooter, and with the release of The Taken King, it's finally hitting its stride.
• Final Fantasy Type-0 HD: This is easily the most mature Final Fantasy to date.Type-0 deals heavily with death and war through action-driven gameplay.
• Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain: There's a lot to love about Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear swan song, from its outlandish action and downright ridiculous characters to its more concentrated, calculated stealth elements.
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor: Shadow of Mordor sets up the best Lord of the Rings-driven plot we've ever had in a game, on top of offering endless foes in the form of revenge-seeking AI.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: The Witcher 3 is a beautiful, massive game that offers a considerably better story than its predecessors and a captivating world to sink tens of hours into.

ONWARD AND UPWARD

If you're still aching for games to add to your new library, have no fear, because 2016 is finally here. Check out our cover story on the big games of 2016 for more ideas.