Top PlayStation 4 Games 2023

Final Fantasy XV is a masterpiece, channeling some of the franchise's best qualities while adding something new and unexpected at every turn.

Even if you don’t have a PSVR, Rez Infinite is still the most complete version of an imaginative cult classic with deceptively nuanced gameplay. But if you do, it’s also an impressive glimpse into the transportive power of virtual reality.

Ratchet and Clank is a culmination of everything Insomniac has done with the series over the past 14 years. It takes the characters that we fell in love with long ago, and sets them off on their most gorgeous quest yet. The deep and rewarding weapon system, beautiful and varied worlds, and charming-as-heck story make it an adventure that anyone with a PlayStation 4 should strap in for.

While BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma is, ultimately, a new version of the same game that we’ve had the last four years, there’s quite a bit here to sink your teeth into whether you’re a grizzled veteran, or a curious outsider checking out BlazBlue for the first time. As ever, its beautiful art and rocking heavy metal soundtrack serve as great complements to the fun, fast-paced fights. The new arrivals to its existing roster of wholly unique playable fighters, along with its plentiful single-player modes and exceptional online play, makes for a whole lot to explore and enjoy.

'Second Son' is a blast of an open-world game with beautiful graphics and exciting superpowers, even if the moral choices are too simplistic.

The reviewer's job is difficult when it comes to a game like Dark Souls. I simply can't unreservedly recommend that you buy it. It's not a game that you play to relax. It doesn't care in the slightest about whether you're enjoying yourself, and it doesn't give a fig for your notions of entertainment or your mental well-being. If you just play games for fun, this isn't for you, and no amount of insistence on my part is going to change that. But if you're interested in the limits of the videogame form – to see just how focused, how pure and how uncompromising in its vision a game can be – Dark Souls is unmissable. If you take the time get into Dark Souls' mindset, to begin to understand the twisted way in which it operates and taste the rewards behind its cruellest challenges, this is one of the most thrilling, most fascinating and most completely absorbing experiences in gaming.

I struggle with L.A. Noire, because at times I love it, yet it has some notable flaws. As a noir fan, I find moments that really get me grinning. There are certain cases that draw me in and side characters who eat up the scene. But it never adds up -- amazing pieces that don’t quite amount to an incredible game. At the same time, no one’s ever played a game like this before. And unless there’s a sequel, I doubt anyone will again for some time. Credit Rockstar for taking a huge risk, for succeeding in many areas, and for offering something fresh and different.

Developer IO Interactive’s Hitman 2, a sequel to the 2016 franchise reboot, offers all of the same inventive and creative assassinations as its predecessors but on a much larger scale. It’s available today on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Yakuza Kiwami makes great strides in updating the classic original Yakuza game to modern standards. But while it adds better combat, bizarrely charming side quests, and a gorgeous graphical revamp, it also ignores some of the original’s biggest problems in pacing and storytelling. And because of its relatively short length, Yakuza Kiwami’s fun trip through the tangled web of Japan’s criminal underground feels like a prelude to something bigger and better to come.

Dishonored 2 is an excellent stealth game bogged down by a terrible port. Consider this score provisional until Arkane fixes its myriad issues.