You don’t buy a console for the hardware, no matter how much the manufacturers try to convince you that theirs is the best. You buy one for the games, and some of the best are the ones that are exclusive to that platform.
Exclusive titles are often made by developers with a close relationship with the platform holder, they may have exclusive information on how to best program and optimise their games for its specific architecture, or may even be owned by the hardware manufacturer itself. They’re designed to show off the capabilities of the console, to really make it sing, and to push owners of rival systems into envy-based shopping trips.
The PlayStation 5 has its fair share of exclusives, as PlayStations always do, but the market has changed from the days of Wipeout on the PS1 (which, while an exclusive launch title, eventually ended up on PC and Sega Saturn too). While multiplatform titles proliferate, Sony has tried to keep its exclusives close, but has recently started releasing its games on PC too, following a period of exclusivity.
Note that while the prices of individual games can be high, they’re also available for a subscription through Sony’s PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers, and many have free trials too. These, then, are the best games that are console-exclusive to PlayStation, but you may find them on PC too.
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God of War: Ragnarok
Best for: action and adventure fans
One of PlayStation’s latest exclusives, Ragnarok has a slightly convoluted backstory. You see, for a large number of games spread across the PS2, PS3 and PSP, lead character Kratos was Greek, a Spartan soldier taking on Ares, the god of war. Starting in 2018, however, he switches mythologies and gets stuck into the Norse pantheon, acquiring a son and a beard in the process.
Still, when you’ve got multiple realms’ worth of mythological creatures to meet and punch in the face, maybe you don’t stop to ask where they came from. Moving to Scandinavia has also allowed Kratos to get his hands on a large axe, useful for cutting down trees as well as elves, beasts and other monsters.
It’s a violent game, but also one that can tug on your heartstrings. The relationship between Kratos and his son is a considered and well-rounded one, and Norse Kratos is a much deeper, less one-dimensional creation than his Spartan predecessor. It also contains plenty of puzzles involving teamwork, with multiple paths to its objectives and some solutions that - gasp! - don’t involve smacking a mythological creature across the chops.
Buy now £62.99, John Lewis
Horizon: Forbidden West
Best for: anyone who’s ever wanted to ride a robot dinosaur
Yes, the robot dinosaurs are definitely the Horizon games’ biggest draw, but there’s a lot more going on in the latest instalment of the free-roaming RPG. Set in a post-apocalyptic future a thousand years from now, humanity lives a primitive existence while high-tech reminders of a previous civilisation are everywhere. This includes the aforementioned cyber-dinos, metal monsters with light-up weakspots that are both a help and hindrance to your progress through the world.
There’s a sci-fi plot laden with technobabble and AIs pushing everything along, but the best thing about the game is the ability to go off the beaten track and explore, the simple joy of just discovering things, and the need to know what’s just over the next ridge, dragging you back to the game should you consider playing something else. It’s also an excellent graphical showcase for the PS5, and being able to shoot bits off a robot dinosaur with a bow and arrow is an awful lot of fun.
Elsewhere, this is a modern console role-playing game, and that means skill trees, stats, clothing you can change while in the middle of a fight, and reams and reams of dialogue. None of these drag the game down particularly, and the entertainment value you’ll get from Forbidden West far outweighs any slight niggles in its presentation.
Buy now £45.00, Amazon
Stray
Best for: cat lovers
More robots, but this time experienced through the keen eyes of a cat. Exploring a city abandoned by its human inhabitants and now populated only by robots who mimic the actions and lifestyles of their creators is more fun when you can leap up to a high spot and playfully paw a tin of paint so that it drops off the edge.
It’s a striking looking game. The neon-lit night-time of the city, and the sinuous, considered movement of the feline protagonist make it a joyful way to pass an afternoon. While most of the game is made up of traversals, your kitty aided by a small flying robot who can grab things for her, there are some sections in which she’s pursued by nasty little creatures who will overwhelm her if you don’t run away in time, or by security drones shooting lasers. This makes it a little stressful for cat-lovers, and perhaps less suitable for youngsters than it otherwise might be. The game has a 12 certificate for a reason.
Once you’re confident you can outrun the nasties, however, the pleasure of exploring a city as a being who can leap and climb like nothing else is unmatched, and the conclusion is heartwarming.
Buy now £29.99, Argos
Gran Turismo
Best for: car nuts
Gran Turismo has been lauded since 1997 and its PlayStation debut for its graphical fidelity, and 26 years of fine-tuning has led to something that, in 4K and with ray-tracing enabled, can look positively real.
It isn’t, of course, which is why you’re able to take an Aston Martin Vulcan round the Nurburgring instead of a Ford Focus to the shops. The detail is considerable, both in the way the cars look and how they behave. It’s a game that makes the most of the DualSense controller, using the resistive triggers to stiffen the feeling of acceleration or braking, and the vibration motors to communicate exactly how close to the edge of spinning off you’re pushing your tyres. Every different car feels a little different, which is how it should be.
Plug in a racing wheel, and you can use that too, or even make use of the DualSense’s motion sensitivity and tilt the controller to steer. New to this iteration are simulated weather, meaning certain tracks can change as you race on them instead of being either wet or dry, and there’s a load of new cars to drive. Alongside things like the licence tests, car upgrading, and all the racing, this is a comprehensive motorsport package that looks simply amazing on PS5.
Buy now £69.99, Amazon
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Best for: The whole family to play
A rare true PS5 exclusive, in that there are no PS4 or PC versions of this game available, Rift Apart is a cartoony thirdperson shooter with over-the-top weapons and imaginative characters throughout. It’s family friendly, as long as you don’t mind cartoon violence, and everything is fast-moving and colourful. If you’ve played a Ratchet & Clank game before, and there have been many, then you’ll know what to expect.
The ‘rift’ part of the title refers to the dimensional portals through which our heroes can pass to instantly travel to new areas, in which they generally find someone to shoot and something to collect. These make excellent use of the SSD storage in the PS5, as you pass into a new, completely different, level with little or no loading times.
Full of excellent animations and detailed character models, this is an eye-catching game, and passed the one million sales mark just a month after launch.
Buy now £42.59, Amazon
Forspoken
Best for: Getting stuck into a story
A step along the road toward photoreal games, Forspoken uses motion capture and some remarkable facial animation to deliver a narrative adventure that looks incredible.
The plot follows Frey, a New Yorker who is sucked into a fantasy world and develops magical powers while there. She’s on a quest to get home, but there’s a lot to explore, a world to save, and a great many people to meet, along the way.
Presented with a huge open world, Frey is free to explore. Her hair blows in the wind and plants bend as she pushes past them, while later on magical explosions generate clouds of colourful particles - it’s a game designed to show off the graphics rendering capabilities of the PS5, and it largely works. There are even purple cats with wings.
Buy now £49.85, Amazon
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Best for: Spider-Fans
A launch title for the PS5, Miles Morales is a treat to see as Spider-Man, as he’s a bit more interesting than Peter Parker, who’s already got a game on the platform, and turns up in this one too.
Set in New York, you can swing anywhere you like, and getting across the city this way is fast and exhilarating. Running straight up buildings to discover something hidden at the top is a fitting realisation of the Spider-Man dream, though Miles can also travel on the subway.
Note that, while younger Spider-Man fans may be attracted to the game, there are combat sequences (mainly beating up goons before dropping something heavy on their heads) which may be too difficult for them, and parental aid may be required.
Buy now £40.50, Amazon
Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut
Best for: Samurai dream fulfilment
To Japan in the 1200s, and what we now call the First Mongol Invasion. Jin Sakai is a samurai warrior protecting his home island from the hordes, fighting with his katana, and with his code of honour firmly in mind, or becoming a ghost and stealthily repelling the invaders in ways that might not live up to his honourable intentions.
Having this choice of gameplay styles means you can switch between one-on-one duels straight out of Samurai movies, which are a heavy influence on the game rather than historical accuracy, or become an assassination from hiding, which is harder to set up as you creep forward, distracting guards with firecrackers or bells, but eventually pays off if you can manage a successful hit.
The thirdperson camera gives you a wide view of a well-designed world, the colours especially rich, and the game shines on an HDR TV.
Buy now £58.99, Amazon
Death Stranding: Director's Cut
Best for: a walk in the countryside
Death Stranding is a weird game. But then it’s meant to be. On the surface it seems to be all about walking through moors and rocky canyons, which is unusual enough for a videogame, but you’re also carrying a baby, and you’ll recognise the faces of the characters.
Recognisable actors lending their likenesses to games may not be new, but the technology is now at a level where Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelson and Lea Seymour now inhabit their characters through full performance capture. There’s a lot of walking in Death Stranding, as you carry vital supplies across the country to scattered human outposts in the aftermath of an invasion by invisible enemies (the baby helps you avoid them) and rebuild society by connecting each one to a communications network.
Eventually you’ll build roads, but getting your cargo to survivors in need by balancing your way across the landscape isn’t as easy as it at first seems. It may be weird, but in that weirdness there’s a spark of something unique and remarkable.
Buy now £29.95, Amazon
The Last of Us Part 1
Best for: escaping zombies
The remake of the game that inspired the TV series, The Last of Us Part 1 is a PS5 upgrade of a 2013 action-adventure in which Joel, a smuggler, escorts teenager Ellie, across yet another post-apocalyptic US.
This time, the bad guys are zombies created by a fungal infection, but there are plenty of other hostile humans too. It’s not a game for kids. Fighting them off with guns and improvised weapons, Joel protects Ellie - who appears to be immune to the infection - from ambushes and scavengers while dealing with their own feelings of guilt about surviving.
Currently the definitive version of the game, Part 1 is upgraded over the original, with improved graphics and small changes to the combat and quests that allow things to flow more smoothly. If you’re watching the TV series, and haven’t played its inspiration, this is the version to get.
Buy now £64.99, Argos
Verdict
PlayStation 5 exclusives are where you’ll find some of the best and most exciting games for the console. Games tailored for the way the console works from developers who have a deep understanding of its innards - as well as support from Sony itself - always beat adapted multiplatform releases when it comes to squeezing extra performance out of a games machine, and so it proves once again.
The exclusive games for the PS5 look better than many others, and make use of the latest PlayStation’s idiosyncrasies, the motion-sensing controller or fast SSD storage to create game experiences that you might not find elsewhere. God of War: Ragnarok is an excellent example of what the PlayStation 5 can do, but any game on this list will provide hours of entertainment you won’t find on other consoles.
