Top PlayStation 4 Games 2023

The original Mirror’s Edge did its utmost to define first person platforming when it launched in 2008. In many ways it succeeded and offered never before seen parkour movement mechanics in a beautifully minimalist sci-fi landscape. Catalyst tries to reboot the idea, transposing the game to an open-world structure, but despite scattered cool moments, it stumbles.

Shenmue 3 feels like it’s from a different era – a step forward from its ambitious action-adventure predecessors but still about five steps behind modern games. In everything from its laborious progression to its abysmal voice acting and clumsy combat, it’s ignored the innovations of the past 20 years and kept doing its own thing. This direct continuation of Shenmue 2’s story and gameplay did feel like coming home for someone who had all but given up hope of ever returning to Ryo Hazuki’s world, and for that reason, I am glad Shenmue 3, in all its oddity, exists. I just wish it had given me the satisfying story I returned for.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum fails to provide a satisfying answer to the big Why’s. Why, of all the interesting characters in The Lord of the Rings lore, would anyone want to play an entire game as Gollum? Why would one trade the solid action of prior games in this universe for busywork, uninspired and frustrating platforming, and bad stealth? It’s not clear who this is for, or what it was intended to achieve. What is clear is that it’s not fun to play, and not something to recommend to any but the most curious and dedicated Lord of the Rings fan. 

As someone who considers themself an action game buff, Wanted: Dead let me down on just about every front. Its combat may be fun for a few hours, but eventually I realized that it was just a pool of shallow water to splash around in. The fights never evolved in any interesting or meaningful way, the minimal enemy variety never challenged me to change up my tactics, and worst of all I always felt weak, even when I fully maxed out the skill tree. Add on bland visuals, a distinct lack of personality and charm, and frequent crashes, and it all amounts to one of the first big disappointments of 2023.

Over a decade since the original Dead Rising launched on Xbox 360, it’s kind of amazing that the series’ singular concept – killing hundreds of zombies with bizarre and ridiculous weapons – has kept up enough popularity to warrant a fourth near-identical sequel. But here we are; 2016 delivers another devastating surprise.

Postal 4: No Regerts clearly wants to be a hilariously edgy so-bad-it’s-good follow up to its infamous predecessors, but it misses that mark in every way. The comedy is lazy and embarrassing, the combat is messy and painfully unsatisfying, and it runs so poorly on high-end hardware that it can scarcely be enjoyed at all even by those just hoping for some campy shock humor. The open world of Edensin also completely disappoints as a destructive playground due to its empty, bland areas that can’t even make some self-driven destruction any fun. Put all of that atop a terrifying pyramid of bugs, glitches, and frequent full-on crashes and you’ve got one of the most thoroughly unenjoyable mistakes ever created. You shouldn’t play this game, and I wish I hadn’t.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, developed by Eidos Montreal and published by Square Enix, is an unexpectedly delightful game with sharp writing and heartfelt characters.

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, an enhanced version of the 2019 cult hit role-playing game, tells a satisfying but at times inscrutable story. It felt like reading an epic novel that went a little over my head.

Marvel’s Avengers boasts one of the most robust betas in recent memory, featuring a wide variety of exciting solo and multiplayer modes. It offers a solid glimpse of what we can expect when the full game arrives on September 4.

Iron Man VR is a good idea on paper: wearing a VR headset and motion controls to pretend that you’re Marvel’s iconic superhero. But the PlayStation 4 exclusive is held back by finicky controls, long load times, and repetitive gameplay.