Screenshots of the best PlayStation 4 games

25 Best PS4 Hidden Gems

These are the 25 PS4 hidden gems players keep telling each other to try. We surveyed players: 18,156 recommendations from people trading overlooked PS4 picks, with every game they named counted. A pick other players backed counts for more than a lone shout.

Days Gone takes #1, named nearly one and a half times as often as Mad Max at #2.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is #3, a hair ahead of The Order: 1886 at #4. Hidden is a strong word for The Witcher 3, but that is where players put it.

The best PlayStation 4 games
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25. Yakuza 0 (2015)

Yakuza 0 gameplay on PlayStation 4Yakuza 0 box art

Yakuza 0 is an action-adventure beat 'em up and a prequel to the Yakuza series, set in 1988 Japan during the country's economic bubble era. The game follows two protagonists: Kazuma Kiryu in Tokyo's Kamurocho district and Goro Majima in Osaka's Sotenbori district. Players alternate between their stories as they navigate the criminal underworld, engaging in street fights using multiple switchable combat styles, managing businesses, and participating in a wide variety of side activities and minigames. The game is largely credited with bringing the long-running franchise to mainstream Western attention.

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24. Tearaway: Unfolded (2015)

Tearaway: Unfolded gameplay on PlayStation 4Tearaway: Unfolded box art

Journey through a vibrant, living papery world, with a plucky messenger who has a unique message to deliver - to you! Choose to guide either atoi or iota on this adventure, each a bold courier with an expressive personality and a unique message for you locked away inside their envelope head. In order to read it though, they're going to need your help to deliver it!

Tearaway: Unfolded screenshot 1Tearaway: Unfolded screenshot 2
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23. Vampyr (2018)

Vampyr gameplay on PlayStation 4Vampyr box art

London, 1918. You are newly-turned Vampyr Dr. Jonathan Reid. As a doctor, you must find a cure to save the city’s flu-ravaged citizens. As a Vampyr, you are cursed to feed on those you vowed to heal.

Will you embrace the monster within? Survive and fight against Vampyr hunters, undead skals, and other supernatural creatures. Use your unholy powers to manipulate and delve into the lives of those around you, to decide who will be your next victim. Struggle to live with your decisions… your actions will save or doom London.

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22. Helldivers (2015)

Helldivers gameplay on PlayStation 4Helldivers box art

Helldivers is a topdown shooter set in a satirical dystopian future where mankind is ruled by a managed democracy. You are part of the Helldivers – the spearhead of humanity’s defense against the perpetual alien threat on Super Earth.

With up to four player co-op missions, working together as a team is vital, whether calling in strikes or placing weapons, each action must be totally synchronized to achieve the objectives. This isn’t just a four player co-op game; it’s a co-op game that relies on the global efforts of the entire Helldivers community!

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21. The Last Guardian (2016)

The Last Guardian gameplay on PlayStation 4The Last Guardian box art

In a strange and mystical land, a young boy discovers a mysterious creature with which he forms a deep, unbreakable bond. The unlikely pair must rely on each other to journey through towering, treacherous ruins filled with unknown dangers. Experience the journey of a lifetime in this touching, emotional story of friendship and trust.

The Last Guardian screenshot 1The Last Guardian screenshot 2
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20. Driveclub (2014)

Driveclub gameplay on PlayStation 4Driveclub box art

DRIVECLUB brings to life the heart and soul of car culture. An incredible, authentic and immersive PS4 driving experience, DRIVECLUB makes you feel the exhilaration of driving the most powerful and beautifully designed cars in the world; all rendered in staggering detail, inside and out as you race them in richly detailed real-world locations alongside your Club.

Driveclub screenshot 1Driveclub screenshot 2
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19. Until Dawn (2015)

Until Dawn gameplay on PlayStation 4Until Dawn box art

Until Dawn is an interactive drama survival horror video game. It was originally planned as a first-person game for the PlayStation 3's motion controller PlayStation Move, but the motion controls were later dropped when it became a PlayStation 4 exclusive game.

Until Dawn is designed to be played multiple times, as players will miss out on quite a bit of content with a single playthrough. Each will last about nine hours in length and the game mechanics utilize a new in-game system called the "Butterfly Effect" in which any choice of action by the player may cause unforeseen consequences later on. For example, locating a weapon in an earlier chapter may allow the player to pick it up down the line when a chase scene leads back to the same room. Throughout the game, players will make difficult decisions during ethical or moral dilemmas, such as sacrificing one character to save another. The Butterfly Effect system blurs the line between right and wrong decisions and it is possible for players to keep all eight characters alive as well as having all eight of them die, allowing for many different paths and scenarios as well as offering several different endings. Until Dawn has a strict auto-save system to prevent players from reloading a previous save file to an earlier point in the game if they regret an in-game decision they have made. The only way to change the player's choice is to restart the game from the beginning or continue to the end and start a new game. In a developer interview, it has been said that Until Dawn has "hundreds of endings". Different endings have different variations depending on the combination of characters alive at the end of the game.

The gameplay is focused on exploration, quick-time events and discovering clues as well as making decisions. There is an in-game system that will keep track of all of the clues and secrets players have discovered in total, even if there are multiple playthroughs; these clues will allow the player to piece together the mysteries of Blackwood. In terms of the gameplay mechanics and theme, Until Dawn has been noted to be similar to Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.

Until Dawn was met with a positive critical response upon release, with praise directed at the visuals, choice mechanic, horror elements, music, voice acting and gameplay design. Most of the criticism the game drew was concerning the story, mostly the second half, camera angles, character movements and partially linear plot.

Until Dawn screenshot 1Until Dawn screenshot 2
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18. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain gameplay on PlayStation 4Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain box art

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the sequel to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and a prequel to the original Metal Gear. The game has a complex story with long cut-scene sequences, but there are fewer and they are shorter compared to earlier Metal Gear Solid titles. Most of the gameplay mechanics introduced in Ground Zeroes are carried over: it is still an action game and stealth oriented but replaces the linear corridor design from most earlier titles with large open world environments that offer the player unrestricted freedom for the approach. The world has now a real-time day and night cycle and various weather effects that influence enemy behaviour, visibility and sound. Sabotaging or destroying certain structures can also influence other parts of the map.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain screenshot 1Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain screenshot 2
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17. Resogun (2013)

Resogun gameplay on PlayStation 4Resogun box art

Resogun is a shoot 'em up game. Unleash an explosive array of devastating weapons to obliterate hordes of ruthless enemies while making sure you rescue the last survivors and keep your multiplier going!
Push yourself to the limits trying to climb the global leaderboards for each game mode and difficulty setting. Join forces with your friends online and show off your skills in action packed co-op multiplayer.

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16. No Man's Sky (2016)

No Man's Sky gameplay on PlayStation 4No Man's Sky box art

No Man's Sky is an action-adventure survival game set in a procedurally generated universe containing over 18 quintillion planets. Players explore star systems, gather resources, trade with alien species, and upgrade their equipment while following an overarching narrative involving a mysterious entity called the Atlas. The game is built around four pillars: exploration, survival, combat, and trading. Since its 2016 launch, it has received numerous free updates adding multiplayer, base building, fleet management, and virtual reality support.

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

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