These are the 25 PS3 games players say never got the credit they deserve. We surveyed players: 4,561 recommendations from people trading overlooked PS3 picks, with every game they named counted. A pick other players backed counts for more than a lone shout.
Nier takes #1. 3D Dot Game Heroes was named just as often, but more players backed the picks for Nier, so it settles for #2. The Saboteur is #3 and Binary Domain is #4.
Even The Last of Us, the #1 game on our 100 Best PS3 Games, makes #9.

25. Alice: Madness Returns (2011)


Return to Wonderland and experience an all new nightmare as Alice fights to regain her sanity as she fights for the truth behind her past. Can Alice save Wonderland - and herself - from the madness that consumes them both?


24. Asura's Wrath (2012)


The game follows the title character, the demigod Asura as he seeks revenge on the pantheon of other demigods who betrayed him. The story is presented in the style and format of an episodic series of cinematic shorts, including opening and closing credits, with the gameplay being integrated into the cinematic where players switch between third-person combat and interactive sequences with player input in the form of quick-time event button prompts. Because of its unique style, the game has been described in the media as an "interactive anime". According to the game's producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, Asura's Wrath takes elements from Hinduism and Buddhism and blends them with science fiction, with the main character based on the ever combative and superiority-seeking beings of the same name that are part of the Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.


23. Dragon's Crown (2013)


Dragon's Crown is a multiplayer hack-and-slash beat'em up game with breathtaking visual style, a design built around cooperative play, epic boss fights, and the ability to discover a new adventure in every play session. Developer Vanillaware deftly marries stunning hand-drawn and animated art work with deep, action-packed hardcore gameplay. Dragon's Crown allows up to four players to team up locally or online to clear out monster-ridden dungeons, discover precious treasure, and destroy awe-inspiring bosses. Its unique, highly replayable design means that every time players can boot up and log on, they can expect a different experience. Unparalleled in their unique style, Vanillaware painstakingly hand-paints every detail, be it a blade of grass or the scales on the game's impressive dragons. The game becomes a lush, vibrant storybook come to life when everything starts to animate in gorgeous full HD.


22. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition (2009)


X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition is a third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Released in 2009 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC, this version offers a more intense and graphic experience compared to its counterparts on other platforms.
The Uncaged Edition features mature-rated content, including explicit violence and gore, showcasing Wolverine's feral combat style. Players can perform brutal attacks, such as dismembering enemies and utilizing environmental hazards for combat advantages. The game also highlights Wolverine's regenerative abilities, with real-time visual damage and healing effects.
Drawing inspiration from titles like God of War and Devil May Cry, the gameplay emphasizes combo-based melee combat, platforming, and quick-time events. Players can upgrade abilities and unlock new moves by earning experience points through defeating enemies and discovering collectibles.
The narrative expands upon the film's storyline, incorporating additional characters and scenarios from the X-Men universe. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine


21. Heavy Rain (2010)


Heavy Rain is a cinematic psychological thriller from game developer Quantic Dream exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Dealing with a range of adult themes, the game revolves around a sophisticated plot and strong narrative threads that explore a complex moral proposition. You assume the role of multiple characters with very different backgrounds, motivations, and skills in a world where each player decision affects what will follow.


20. Dark Souls (2011)


Dark Souls is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Released in September 2011 as a spiritual sequel to Demon's Souls, it is set in a dark, medieval fantasy world. It is renowned for its challenging gameplay, intricate level design, and deep lore. Players control a customizable character known as the Chosen Undead, embarking on a perilous journey to uncover the secrets of the cursed land of Lordran.
Dark Souls is known for its punishing difficulty, requiring players to carefully manage combat, stamina, and resources while navigating hostile environments filled with dangerous enemies and formidable bosses. The game features a unique multiplayer component, allowing players to leave messages for others, summon allies for cooperative play, or invade other players' worlds for PvP combat.
The original release of Dark Souls received critical acclaim for its atmospheric world, innovative mechanics, and rewarding gameplay, solidifying its place as a seminal title in the action RPG genre.


19. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010)


Follow a gripping, surprise-filled journey as two dissimilar characters form an uneasy partnership in order to survive through a perilous, post-apocalyptic America. 150 years in the future, war and destruction have left the world in ruins with few humans remaining and nature having reclaimed the world.


18. Afro Samurai (2009)


Afro Samurai is a 3D brawler with platforming elements loosely based on the manga and anime series of the same name. Using light hits, power hits, kicks, and blocks the player fights various enemies. Most levels culminate in a boss fight, and in-engine cutscenes advance the story.
The game features a cel-shaded animation style. Though it is a hack and slash game, the "fighting is a bit more strategic" and the player will be able to block and use combos. The enemies will respond by rolling, ducking and hopping over the player's blade and occasionally using body orifices to catch the weapons, the combat system was worked on by Monty Oum.


17. Resonance of Fate (2010)


In this sci-fi rpg you will follow the three protagonists - Zephyr, Leanne, and Vashyron - as they form a mercenary group that take odd jobs for the populace of Basel. During their missions, they discover a plan by the city's ruling Cardinals to subvert Zenith's rule, and discover their own connections to the Cardinals' plans.


16. Remember Me (2013)


A visionary 3rd person action adventure, Remember Me puts players into the role of Nilin, a former elite memory hunter with the ability to break into people's minds and steal or even alter their memories. The authorities, fearful of her knowledge and capabilities have arrested Nilin and wiped her memory clean. After her escape from prison, Nilin sets out on a mission to recover her identity, helped by her last and only friend. This search for her past leads to her being hunted by the very people that created this surveillance society.


15. Lollipop Chainsaw (2012)


Lollipop Chainsaw is the 'un-deadly' story of sweet and killer zombie hunter Juliet Starling and her quest to uncover the root of a colossal zombie outbreak. With her wickedly awesome chainsaw in hand, Juliet slices, dices and splits her way through hordes of the undead, but soon realizes the horde is only the opening act to a festival of zombie rock lords determined to kill the chainsaw wielding cheerleader.


14. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)


Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. The gameplay of the previous games have been kept along with some new features, such as the ability to roll on your back and also to hide in bins scattered around the environment. Most of the story and the relationship between the characters are explained through cut-scenes with a considerable length, so knowledge of the prior games is recommended to fully understand the story. The game also features a complex multiplayer mode entitled Metal Gear Online with some original missions based on the stealth aspects of the single-player games.


13. Shadows of the Damned (2011)


From the creative genius of Suda 51 (No More Heroes) and Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil) comes an all-new psychologically twisted vision of hell unlike anything seen before. Shadows of the Damned combines visceral action with dark, grotesque horror to create a mind-shattering adventure that has to been seen to be believed.
Players must harness the power of the light to fight the army of the dark in unique light versus darkness gameplay that will forever change the way gamers perceive puzzles, combat, and terror.
Combining the punk rock style of Suda 51 with the legendary horror design of Shinji Mikami, Shadows of the Damned will take gamers on an in-your-face thrill ride through demon-torn towns, shadow infested forests, grimy sewers and more. Featuring the most twisted boss battles ever seen, warped visuals and intense visceral combat, Shadows of the Damned will challenge gamers to break through the ultimate head-trip to help Garcia rescue his tortured girlfriend from the clutches of a mysterious enemy.
Brace yourself for one hell of a trip to the city of the damned.


12. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (2011)


Developed by a hugely-talented, Tokyo-based team headed by the legendary Sawaki Takeyasu (Devil May Cry) and Masato Kimura (Okami, Viewtiful Joe) El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, draws players into a rich storyline inspired by events in the Old Testament's apocryphal 'Book of Enoch.' In the game, players take on the role of Enoch and must harness his natural combat skills to master a range of powerful and Heavenly weapons under the guidance of the watchful Archangels. Only then will he be able to deliver the souls of the Fallen Angels and spare the world from a great flood ordered by Heaven.


11. Spec Ops: The Line (2012)


A third-person shooter in which three American soldiers led by Capt. Walker are sent to Dubai in order to recover whoever remains of an infantry unit, the 33rd Battalion, until they decide to take action against the militants situated in the city. As they progress, however, the logistical and ethical complexity of their objective deepens, and their perception of themselves, and their enemy, is put into question.


10. Vanquish (2010)


You are Sam Gideon – an American soldier armed with state-of-the-art combat armor known as an Augmented Reaction Suit. Battle for the fate of your nation in a shooting action game like none ever seen!
In addition to an arsenal of firearms and considerable hand-to-hand combat skills, Sam has a few tricks at his disposal thanks to the power of ARS: Tricks like AR mode, which shows him surrounding enemies in slow motion, and Boost, which lets him slide around the battlefield at breakneck speed. Mastering these abilities and more is critical to surviving the no-holds-barred action!
Vanquish combines precise shooting and fast-paced combat action in dazzling new ways. From superpowered battle armor to space colonies; space battlecruisers to giant, autonomous transforming battle robots – Vanquish brings you a sci-fi future loaded with wonder, rooted in the geopolitical and technological realities of the present, to create a compelling, believable setting that will capture your heart and mind.


9. The Last of Us (2013)


The Last of Us is a third-person action-adventure game featuring a mix of exploration, stealth and combat. Players face both infected creatures and hostile human enemies while progressing through varied environments. The game includes a narrative-driven single-player campaign and a competitive online multiplayer mode called Factions. Trophy support is included, and additional downloadable content was made available separately.


8. Folklore (2007)


Folklore is a dark fantasy action role-playing game developed by Game Republic and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3.
Set in the mysterious Irish village of Doolin, the story follows two protagonists: Ellen, a young woman searching for answers about her supposedly deceased mother, and Keats, a journalist investigating supernatural phenomena. Their separate investigations lead them into the Netherworld, a realm inhabited by spirits and mythical creatures known as Folks.


7. Tokyo Jungle (2012)


In Tokyo Jungle, everything is the enemy, and only the strongest will survive!
With over 50 playable animals to choose from, unleash your inner beast to hunt your way to the top of Tokyo's post-apocalyptic food chain. Whether in Story or Survival Mode, you never know where your next meal will come from or the dangers you'll face, so be prepared for anything and everything. Forage through this desolate but dangerous city to complete story-based challenges using a variety of survival skills, from all-out attack to stealth. Beware-- you are not the only animal out there hunting for survival!


6. Heavenly Sword (2007)


Developed by Ninja Theory, Heavenly Sword is a visually stunning martial arts drama set in a mythical time and place in the Far East.


5. Valkyria Chronicles (2008)


Set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of the 1930s, Valkyria Chronicles depicts Europe divided in two and ruled by two super powers: the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, situated in the middle of the two superpowers territories, in an attempt to secure invaluable natural resources. Within this struggle a hero named Welkin, and his fellow soldiers of the Federation's 7th Platoon, are fighting back against the invasion and the Empires attempts to unify the continent under its power.
During the ensuing war the Federation discovers that the Empire possesses a secret weapon, known as the "Valkyria" - an ancient race with special powers thought to exist only in legends. With this new discovery the fate of the Federation's ability to turn the tide of the war, and the hope for a better future, hang in the balance.
“CANVAS” graphics engine: A unique engine that produces breath taking images that look like watercolour paintings in motion.
“BLiTZ” tactical battle system: Experience strategic manoeuvring of units combined with conventional RPG gameplay, all layered on top of the moment to moment action afforded by real-time controls as players command each squad member and tank in battle.
Epic storyline: Players will immerse themselves in the epic struggle for freedom, as the fate of the world lies in the hands of Welkin and the members of the 7th platoon.
Customisation: Over 100 customisable characters allow players to create a variety of platoons to suit each battle’s needs.
Beautifully rendered battlefields: Players explore 30 different environments, using unique terrain features to gain advantages in battle.


4. Binary Domain (2012)


The Machine Age has begun in the immersive and atmospheric squad-based shooter Binary Domain. Regain control of a futuristic Tokyo from an emerging robotic threat in the year 2080. The story starts when Dan Marshall and his squad are sent to bring the robotic community under control as they begin to infiltrate society and slowly take over undetected, leaving humans redundant in their wake. Fighting through the derelict lower levels of the city, players control an international peace-keeping squad that soon starts to question their surroundings and the choices they make. Are the robots becoming more human, or are humans becoming more like machines?
Thrilling encounters with these highly intelligent robotic enemies require you to think tactically, make challenging, real-time moral decisions and build up trust with your team mates in order to guide your squad to safety and success.


3. The Saboteur (2009)


Experience the ultimate open-world action/adventure as The Saboteur. Fight, climb, and race your way through a uniquely stylized version of Nazi-occupied France, and hunt down your sworn enemies who have taken everything from you. Enter the seedy underground world of a saboteur living in 1940s Paris, where the women are sexy, the missions are epic, and the revenge is satisfying.


2. 3D Dot Game Heroes (2009)


3D Dot Game Heroes is an action adventure title paying a strong homage to 8bit adventure games such as The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy Adventures.
The game uses a unique style, presenting 2D retro-style graphics in a 3D environment using voxels


1. Nier (2010)


Nothing is as it seems in Square Enix's latest action adventure game, set in a crumbling world plagued by disease and dark, unrecognizable creatures. Players assume the role of the unyielding protagonist, NIER, resolute in his quest to discover a cure for his daughter, who is infected with the Black Scrawl virus. With powerful allies and a mysterious book, NIER encounters things that will confound even the mightiest of warriors. With NIER, experience seamless in-battle cinematics and explore hauntingly familiar lands, intense action-packed battles, and storytelling like only Square Enix can do


Every issue features one game worth playing, plus the latest retro news.






