Top PlayStation 4 Games 2023

The new Far Cry 5 on PS4, PC, and Xbox has everything you’d expect from an open-world game, but it ruins the fun with a half-hearted attempt at tackling politics.

The Surge makes good use of its detailed sci-fi setting and provides an engaging experience throughout the 30 to 40-hour campaign, mostly thanks to its widely customizable inventory and wickedly fun combat system. It may struggle to keep the action moving and tell a strong story amid the chaos of battle, and its weapon progression plateaued early, but it offers some interesting ideas and delivers a solid new take on a familiar genre.

We’re split over Project CARS. In our opinion it’s more of a simulator than a game but for die-hard racing fans, it’s a must. It’s fun to race but unless you’re a dedicated racing fan, you may find yourself getting bored quite quickly. It can be frustrating to play at times, there’s no doubting that, but for every frustrating game we had, we also had an enjoyable one, so its balanced on that front. Graphics, while far from terrible, aren’t up to standards set by the likes of DriveClub, especially with the dynamic weather system. The lack of a story mode, upgrades and unlocks may put some gamers off but as long as Slightly Mad Studios keep adding new tracks and cars, there may be an element of longevity to this game.

Alien: Isolation has its issues, but by-and-large it’s the best stealth game of the year and a stunning tribute to Ridley Scott’s universe.

'The Banner Saga' offers a strategy/RPG that is simple, refined and more than a little somber — and quite beautiful in its harshness.

The Surge 2 manages to recapture a lot of what made the original Souls-style sci-fi adventure fun, even improving on its already-solid combat and gear grind in several meaningful ways, from the added variety of weapons and enemies to the simple but oh-so-welcome ability to build multiple equipment loadouts. It’s missteps, however, made the sequel an overall lesser game than the original: uninspired environmental design and overly ambitious story choices rob it of the same level of satisfaction, even with the mechanical improvements. That said, if you're just here to chop dudes in robot suits in half as you grind up to the next power bracket or craft another piece of gear made out of severed arms, you're probably gonna have a great time. Either way you'll likely still have a good time, but will probably spend most of your playthrough fondly remembering your first time.

NBA 2K continues its tradition of upping already tremendous gameplay, emulating the real-life sport in ways that didn’t seem possible just years ago. The inclusion of the WNBA may be this year’s biggest step forward, especially because it does an excellent job showcasing the many gameplay improvements from last year. MyCareer also continues to improve in small and noticeable ways, setting a new standard for story modes in sports games. Still, NBA 2K20 would have been better off by focusing on its complex modes like MyLeague and cleaning up MyTeam to be less dependent on microtransactions. In spite of that, NBA 2K20 remains the best at what it does. It just might be time to ask for better.

Trover Saves the Universe feels really, really chill, and that alone makes it pleasantly different from most other games out there.

A lot of games tout the ability to “play how you want to play,” but Sniper Elite 4’s missions and mechanics actually are robust enough to back up that claim. Picking apart the Nazi war machine piece by piece, using whatever plan comes to mind, is a blast. The way it encourages you to stay mindful, experiment, and get better is a refreshing vote of confidence, even if it doesn’t always reward the extra effort you’re putting in.

With a bit more narrative care, Dying Light could’ve been a classic of a zombie game. Instead, it’s merely a few steps in the right direction.