The PlayStation 5 has slowly amassed a collection of exclusive games that keep pushing the medium forward. The experience of playing any PS5 game, whether it’s a first-party exclusive or a third-party title, is enhanced by the console’s excellent controller. While the PS5 is almost halfway through its life cycle, PlayStation Studios and other developers continue to push the console into new areas.

The PS5 can also play games from the PS4 generation and enhance the experience with improved frame rates and resolutions. Most PS5 games also use the SSD for near-instant loading, so you’ll never have to check your phone again after a botched boss fight. If you have a PS5 Pro, you can expect these games to look and perform even better thanks to the console’s Game Boost feature. We’ve covered the best PS5 games of 2024 separately, but here we’re talking about the best titles that make better use of the console’s hardware than others.

Games designed exclusively for PS5 always bring something new to the table, and here are the best ones – according to us and review aggregators like Metacritic – that you should play if you bought the console.

Astro Bot

Astro’s Playroom comes free with every PS5 and is still the best game to showcase the console’s capabilities, or at least it has been so far. Astro Bot, the full-fledged sequel to Astro’s Playroom, takes the console’s immersive features even further. The eponymous PlayStation mascot has already made its way into our hearts, and it helps that it’s also one of the best 3D platformers of its generation. Don’t pass on this 10-30 hour adventure. It won Game of the Year in 2024, and that’s commendable considering what a busy year it’s been for high-end video games.

Soul of Demons

Demon’s Souls is technically a PS3 game that got a nice coat of paint for the PS5 remake, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best on the console. Even though it was the launch title for the PS5, it still smokes most modern triple-A games with beautiful graphics and fast loading times. The latter part comes in handy in a game where you’ll be dying a lot, but at least you’ll be doing it at a silky smooth 60 frames per second.

Return

Returnal expertly balances Housemarque’s arcade bullet hell shooter legacy with a premium third-person experience. If you’re a fan of time loops and alien worlds, then Returnal is for you. It uses the haptics and adaptive triggers of the Dualsense controller better than most PlayStation games, and its roguelike gameplay loop will keep you engaged for hours.

Silent Hill 2

Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake pays homage to the original while expanding on its themes and gameplay mechanics. A new third-person camera allows players to follow her ambiguous story from a new, more personal angle. A PS5 exclusive that makes the most of its hardware and controller, Silent Hill 2 immerses players deeper than ever in its fog-filled purgatory.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is the type of live service game that cannot be ignored. Its monetization scheme is the last thing on your mind as you shoot giant bugs while an aerial missile strike wipes out the map. It’s the perfect tribute to Starship Troopers. Its biting satire is complemented by engaging mechanics such as tricks. The community-driven narrative ensures that players are always focused on the main goal, such as defeating automatons or alien zombies.

Spider-Man 2

In Spider-Man 2, you don’t just swing across the skyscrapers of New York, you can slide between them. The game uses the PS5’s lightning-fast SSD drive to add extra dynamism to Spidey’s movements, making it the closest analogue to a Flash or Superman game. You also get to control two Spider-Men, and while the symbiote story isn’t inventive, it does pay homage to classic Spider-Man stories with a bombastic finale.

God of War Ragnarok

God of War: Ragnarok builds on the foundations of the 2018 reboot by offering a larger variety of enemies and deeper combat options. It looks and plays well at 60fps and features some twists in its gameplay mechanics that we haven’t seen before in the franchise. The RPG-inspired customization systems have also been overhauled, so you’ll always be motivated to switch offensive and defensive weapons. It’s a grand Nordic epic that tackles the reboot narrative and deserves your full attention.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon: Forbidden West might be the best looking PS5 game. Sure, it’s technically available on PS4 as well, but Guerrilla Games is pushing PS5 by offering more details on every character, weapon, costume, leaf, robot, and everything else. It also has a more interesting story that explores the history of advanced humans fleeing the planet before the rise of robotic dinosaurs, with a great twist that we won’t spoil here. Forbidden West features more variety in its biomes, although the open world design is a bit tiresome.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Insomniac’s Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was another PS5 exclusive that made good use of the Dualsense controller. It has a simple but charming story with an equally colorful cast of characters and is an absolute sensation. Many have compared Rift Apart to a playable Pixar movie, but its gameplay is also rewarding. There are tons of gadgets to use that have different, cartoony effects on enemies, and jumping through portals to instantly travel across levels never gets old.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth makes the first game look like a tech demo. It features a vast but not overwhelming open world with plenty of quests to tackle without losing sight of the central story. While it’s a retelling, it’s also a meta-sequel that will leave you guessing about the fate of its cast. The addition of Zack to the world of FF7 is amazing, even if it leaves you wanting more. Rebirth’s best moments are between the characters during the side quests, and it’s one you can’t skip if you’re a fan of the OG FF7.

Final Fantasy 16

Final Fantasy 16 takes a different path than previous entries. Its story is grand and harkens back to the days of medieval fantasy, but its gameplay is frenetic, leading to amazing combat encounters. Its only problem is the mediocre sidequests, but the fantastic boss encounters more than make up for it. You only get to control Clive in this one, and the lack of proper party members takes away from the experience for older Final Fantasy fans.