Best New PS5 Games to Play Now

Sony’s PS5 continues the decades-long aesthetic ascent up the ladder to new heights in gaming capabilities. Wizards, warlords, and wrestlers diversify the sights and sounds of the best, new PS5 games.

WWE 2K23  (PS5/PS4)

Publisher: 2K

World Wrestling Entertainment enjoys a recent resurgence in fanfare built off the wide back of Roman Reigns’ dominant run spearheading the Bloodline. Critics acknowledge WWE 2K23’s ability to grapple with the arcadey style players preferred from wrestling’s glory days for gaming by giving March’s release the best reception for a WWE game since the PS2 era.

Expansive sliders quell the concerns raised by dissenting voices preferring simulation styles. The improved design contextualizes animations while implementing an aggressive, versatile AI. Results balance silly spam fight genre stalwarts love to hate with as much realism a predetermined art where athletes clobber each other’s heads for 10 unblocked punches without bleeding allows. Multiple storylines that are incredibly self-aware and self-deprecating engage the passionate niche fanbase while drawing easy chuckles out of gamers who don’t know a suplex from a soufflé.

WWE 2K23 / PS5

MLB: The Show 23 (PS5/PS4)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Professional baseball is underway, meaning MLB: The Show is in full swing. The latest edition of America’s favorite pixelated pastime takes “full swing” literally. Enhanced audio of baseball bats authentically thwacking pitching mistakes for massive home runs entices previously humble players to flip the controller alongside beloved sluggers flipping boosted bats. Developers overhauled throwing animations for an increasingly dynamic experience that doesn’t feel as locked into randomization as previous editions. 

Improved details enrich the gameplay of comfortably familiar modes. The Negro Leagues mode breaks tradition by being the first major baseball game to prominently feature the historic league some of the greatest black athletes played in before Jackie Robinson debuted for the Dodgers. President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendricks narrates a bedazzling effort of freshly designed gameplay and archived footage to highlight great, largely unknown players to the gaming public. The mode competes with NBA 2K11’s handling of Michael Jordan for the GOAT historical sports gameplay that will resonate with baseball purists.

MLB The Show 23 / PS5

Wild Hearts (PS5)

EA

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Hopefully, your home isn’t where Wild Hearts is! This hectic hunt of a game writes a gushy love letter to Monster Hunter sealed with a deadly kiss. The gameplay flow is fast and smooth. Difficulty nudges players with a sense of urgency, yet Wild Hearts stays appreciably more accessible than many genre peers. The story is simple and non-invasive, which suits the “show, don’t tell” mantra these games play best under.

Usage of the PS5’s technology is anything but rudimentary. Haptic feedback immerses gamers into actually feeling harmonious with the weapon of their choice. Even steps through grasslands feel properly weighted in importance and sonic impact. Wild Hearts’ usage of adaptive triggers creates a true finality to each blow.

Wild Hearts / PS5

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PS5/PS4)

Koei Tecmo

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Ghost of Tsushima combines with Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Souls series to deliver a rapidfire effort that aims to bring tears to gamers’ eyes and muscle tears to fantastical adversaries. The gameplay nods to later entries of the Dark Souls series through fast combat predicated on striking before an enemy can strike you and rolling just as quickly when bloodlusted beasts bark back. 

A complex story spanning two decades satiates the appetite of those seeking more journeys than jousts. Setting the game during the Yellow Turban Rebellion as the Han dynasty faces collapse gives a thick coating of precise paint to a familiar historical setting for those enjoying Nioh or Three Kingdoms games.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty / PS5

Hogwarts Legacy (PS5/PS4)

Warner Bros. Games

The Wizarding World is your oyster — or potentially oblivion. The choice remains yours through a rich offering of customized freedom in every sense. Players attend diversified classes, join houses, explore an expansive space that is lively, and greatly affect the world/narrative surrounding them. The game fulfills the tough duty of providing a truly fulfilling experience regardless of where the wand of magical choice lands.

New technologies and experiences set before Harry Potter’s timeline embrace old nostalgia. The opportunity to interact with a wide cast of classic characters nestles fans with familiarity, enhancing the willingness to stick with the game’s lengthy experience.

Hogwarts Legacy / PS5

God of War: Ragnarok (PS5/PS4)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Beloved behemoth Kratos delivers concussions amidst conflict again in God of War: Ragnarok. The Leviathan Ax takes aim at Nordic mythology again. The excellent, emotional story is a coming of age for Atreus and a coming to realization for Kratos as both find their place in a world overran by greed, gore, and gods.

Deeper gameplay offers more options that allow Kratos to resemble a true God of war instead of the God of ax tossing higher difficulties cornered him into becoming last time. Even rage can be broken into different playstyles that carry true pros and cons for completionists aiming for completion. Beating the story isn’t difficult and there are a host of accessibility options to keep any player from quitting. However, the optional fights between Berserker King Hrolf Kraki and Valkyrie Queen Gna rank among the very hardest of the last decade for those seeking a true challenge worthy of Kratos’ mighty blades.

God of War: Ragnarok / PS5

Stray  (PS5/PS4)

Annapurna Interactive

Who knew playing as an adorable cat would be the ‘purrfect’ vehicle to compelling gameplay within a mysterious, dystopian world overran by robots? BlueTwelve Studio rolled into Game of the Year nominations by realizing such an experience wouldn’t be met by a catty response. Casuals who can’t get enough cute cat memes scratch their itch by clawing carpets and meowing to neighbor’s discontent. 

The intrigue of a world that radiates equal levels of vibrance and vacancy lasts when the novelty of cute cat action potentially wears off. Questions repopulate whenever storyline answers arise until the end. A short runtime that sprint through its story at cheetah speeds mixes the perfect ingredients for a weekend gaming binge.

Stray / PS5

Octopath Traveler II (PS5/PS4)

Square Enix

Octopath Traveler II quenches the thirst of Final Fantasy players waiting for the next edition’s release in June. A similar turn-based combat system necessitates strategy to find the right opening to deal damage. Although turn-based systems carry the downside of often getting drawn out and clunky, making the right move in this game feels like a satisfying accomplishment worth the wait.

Storylines upgrade JRPG stereotypes with a heaping dash of emotion. Vengeance, prison stints, abuse trauma, and recovering lost memories mix with lighter quests to run gamers through a full gauntlet of feelings. Each character carries an arc that feels organic and worthy of inclusion.

Octopath Traveler II / PS5

Atomic Heart (PS5/PS4)

Focus Entertainment, 4Divinity

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Humor and ingenuity partnered decades ago to build a bullet-heavy blueprint that has served shooters well since Duke Nukem ran out of bubblegum in 1991 A wacky sense of humor reminiscent of Deadpool breaks as many fourth walls as enemy bones. The intro drops you into a 30-minute narrative unveiling the humor and fidgety nature of a surprisingly detailed world.

Graphics shine on the PS5. Vibrant graphics seem almost native to 4K and run seamlessly on 60 FPS. Incredibly bright surroundings swallow the whole color spectrum. Firefights exude epicness as a result.

Atomic Heart / PS5

Road 96: Mile 0 (PS5/PS4)

Ravenscourt

Road 96’s prequel revs up another wayward road trip with catchy music and trippy graphics. The experience hurls you between reality and fantasy at warp speeds. Difficulty shifts just as quickly, keeping gamers on their toes and thumbs. 

Gameplay behaves similarly with more quick-time elements. The prequel deepens the story by unfolding intricate politics that cast a heavy shadow of morality over the entire game. Although we know what happens to the main character Zoey, the players’ choices that shape how she reached 2021’s Road 96 journey feel important.

Road 96: Mile 0

Final thoughts

PlayStation evolved a long way from when Metal Gear Solid literally changed the game in 1998. Whether you want to punish foes, paint fastballs, or pet cats, the best new PS5 games include something for everyone.