The best upcoming PS5 games you’ll need to play

Sony’s PlayStation 5 is launching in just a few weeks, on Nov. 12 and while there’s no one killer app in the PS5’s launch lineup, there are several games that will probably be solid: Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Demon’s Souls spring to mind. 

But when you look at what’s coming to the PS5 in 2021 and beyond, things get a little more interesting 

Here’s our list of PS5 games we think you should know about. 

God of War: Ragnarok

OK, to be fair, all we’ve seen of God of War: Ragnarok is its logo. And even then, it’s probably not even the full logo. But there are still many reasons to be excited. 

It’s a sequel to 2018’s God of War, which is one of the very best games not just on the PlayStation 4, but of the entire generation. It took a gnarly hack-and-slasher from the PS2 era and turned him into a caring dad. Kratos still does partake in quite a lot of hacking and slashing, but the more mature and thoughtful approach made God of War 2017 more deeply enjoyable than the most visceral predecessors. 

So a sequel, made by the same team, is cause for anticipation. And though we only have maybe half a logo at present, its teaser trailer tells us Ragnarok will launch next year. 

Horizon Forbidden West

Like God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West is a sequel to one of the PlayStation 4’s best games. Unlike God of War: Ragnarok, we’ve actually seen a bit of Horizon Forbidden West. The game’s trailer shows protagonist Aloy venturing through tropical lands, a deep forest, an underwater city and icy mountains, indicating Forbidden West will be a particularly large-scale game.

It focuses on a plague that’s been killing everything and everyone it touches. Aloy has to venture to the Forbidden West, aka 31st century Utah and California, to investigate its origins. It looks absolutely dope — if you can handle playing a game about a plague right now. 

Final Fantasy 16

Final Fantasy 16 is a mainline Final Fantasy game. Based on that alone, you probably already know whether you want to play it or not. We want to play it. 

It appears very Final Fantasy. The plot revolves around a Mothercrystal that protect’s the region from a blight, or something. And there’s much fear and anxiety over the sudden appearance of Ifrit and Phoenix, two fire Eikons — which appear to basically be summons. Or something.

We don’t know when Final Fantasy 16 will hit store shelves, but it’s scheduled for PlayStation 5 and PC. 

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, an expansion to 2017’s Spider-Man, you can wear a backpack in which a small cat donning a Spider-Man mask pops out and attacks your enemies. I don’t really think I need to expand any further. 

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Spider-Man: Miles Morales will launch alongside the PlayStation 5, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will follow during the “launch period.” Ratchet and Clank are long-tenured mascots for PlayStation, having appeared exclusively on Sony’s platforms since 2003. Rift Apart is the tenth entry into the mainline series, following nine games that were all highly regarded.

In other words, the odds are that Rift Apart will be excellent. 

Demon’s Souls

One of the more conspicuous trends of the past 10 years has been the rise of the super hard game. A lot of that is chalked up to the success of Dark Souls, by FromSoftware, which hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011. But Dark Souls itself was a spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls, a highly regarded game by FromSoftware that launched in 2009.

Demon’s Souls is getting the remake treatment for the PlayStation 5, giving the punishing tale a new level of spectacle. If you beat Demon’s Souls, you’re probably already eager to do it again on the PS5. If you missed it, Nov. 12 is your time to plug that gap.