The PS5 has now been in the wild for around 3 months or so and owners are starting to find a level of comfort with their next-gen consoles. In terms of a launch lineup, one could argue it was the best one a PlayStation console has ever seen.
Plenty of older games are playable on the PS5, but it’s also seeing a host of new games release on it as well. Among all of those new games, which ones are worth buying and playing? Let’s look at the best and worst new games available on PlayStation’s next-generation console, the PS5.
10 Worst: Bugsnax
Before pitchforks and torches are grabbed, understand that Bugsnax has a score of 75 on Metacritic and is a good game. It simply happens to be one of the lower scoring games on the PS5 and thus it ended up on this list. It mixes the best and weirdest parts of Pokemon Snap and Bioshock and keeps the player’s mind in a place of subtle confusion and enjoyment. Bugsnax is a game in which the less you know about it going in, the more fun you’ll have with it overall. It’s miles above every other game on the “Worst” side of this list.
9 Best: Astro’s Playroom
Is Astro’s Playroom a real game or is it simply a glorified tech demo for the PS5 and its DualSense controller? That’s a tough question to answer, but at the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter. Astro’s Playroom is a fun experience that shows off what the DualSense controller can do, it offers some easy trophies for hunters, and it provides an environment for new or young gamers to become acclimated. Metacritic considered it a game and it ended up landing with a score of 83 on the review aggregate’s website.
8 Worst: Madden NFL 21
The Madden NFL franchise is a shining example of why exclusive licenses hurt brands and often result in worse products. Its issues have only become more apparent in the years following the cancellation of EA’s college football franchise NCAA Football.
Transition years are always weird for annualized sports franchises as the focus is always on sweat and visual fidelity, but the modes and features in the games often take quite a hit. Fans are hoping to one day have a simulation NFL game they can love playing.
7 Best: Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
Putting remasters of already excellent games on next-gen consoles is a cheat code publishers use and it works every time. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered improved the quality of the game overall from load times to frame-rates, with its only issue or point of contention revolving around Peter Parker’s design change. With plenty of sequels in the works and the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it was smart of Sony to put a PS5 version of the beloved title on the PS5 that’s more than just the backward compatible version.
6 Worst: Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion is sadly an example of a game trying to take risks and being innovative, but missing the mark. It’s tough to try and pull off the expansive systems and mechanics the game was trying to do with any citizen in the open-world being a playable character, and the release of a next-generation of consoles doesn’t make it any easier. Watch Dogs: Legion is a bad game at $60 or $70 for most people, but if it goes on sale it seems like the core of the game is worth checking out due to its unique gameplay setup.
5 Best: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
When the Assassin’s Creed franchise was annual it saw market fatigue set in and the quality of the games was beginning to dip. In recent years Ubisoft’s approach has resulted in a better critically received released and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla is no different. The PS5 version of the game was gifted a score of 84 on Metacritic and is one of the best next-gen gaming experiences out. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game are lauded as being the best way to experience this Viking adventure.
4 Worst: Cyberpunk 2077
Some people may consider this to be a stretch, but Cyberpunk 2077 deserves to be on this list. Though it technically didn’t release on the PS5, the PS4 version playing on the next-gen console is a way in which a lot of people experienced it. It is sitting at a 56 on Metacritic, which is sad considering how much hype the game had around it.
Currently, playing it on PS4 or PS5 is the worst experience anyone can have with the game, and it seems it won’t be fixed in any meaningful way anytime soon. The PS5 version is set to release in the second half of 2021.
3 Best: Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a game that had a lot to live up to. Not only was it a sequel to one of the PS4’s best and most beloved exclusives, it was the character’s coming out party to gamers after the critical success of the animated film titled Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. The game’s scope boss battles drew plenty of criticism, but the game’s core was strongly built. That strong core resulted in the game ending up with a respectable score of 85 on Metacritic, despite the game also releasing on the PS4.
2 Worst: Godfall
From the moment Godfall was revealed, people were skeptical about its quality. For gamers, it screamed “launch game” in the best and worst of ways. The assumption was that it would be a pretty game with little substance and would likely be received pretty poorly when it came to critics. It turns out those assumptions were warranted as it ended up with a score of 61 on Metacritic. Godfall will likely end up as a game solely remembered for being a PS5 launch title and not much beyond that, unfortunately.
1 Best: Demon’s Souls
When it was announced that Bluepoint Games was set to release a remake of Demon’s Souls, fans of FromSoftware games were both excited and concerned. The concern had nothing to do with the quality of the studio’s work, but rather the wonder of how much they’d change about the classic FromSoftware title. It turns out it was mostly a visual upgrade for better or worse and the game people loved was the same experience from the PS3. The game is currently the premiere next-gen exclusive on the market.
NEXT: Every PS5 Exclusive Announced For Next-Gen Only
