10 Near-Perfect PS4 Games Nobody Played
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The PlayStation 4 launched in North America first on Nov. 15, 2013, before coming to Japan and the rest of the world several months later. Since then, it has maintained a steady stream of game releases across numerous genres, with more titles still on the way, even six years out from the launch of PS5. It’s clearly winding down, though, as Sony focuses on plans for new hardware and a discless future. That makes right now the perfect time to take a look at 10 near-perfect PS4 games nobody played, while a lot of them are still available to purchase digitally or in the used games marketplace.
10
Infamous: Second Son
Released: Mar. 21, 2014
Infamous: Second Son only just barely makes this list because, after all, it is an Infamous game. The series was huge on the PS3, and deservedly so. On the PS4, it got a lot less attention. People sometimes post on social media, recalling the early games and wishing Sony didn’t end the series after Infamous 2. That’s not a slight on Infamous: Second Son. They literally don’t realize it exists. And it was a perfectly solid game that shouldn’t have marked the end of a beloved franchise. But unless you count Infamous First Light (released a few months later, on Aug. 26) as a sequel rather than a spinoff expansion, it did.
9
Gravity Rush 2
Released: Jan. 18, 2017
People who spent any time with Gravity Rush 2 agree: it’s one of the very best games of the decade. The only problem is that most players didn’t pay much attention to it at all, even with Sony handling the publishing and marketing duties. It features a large cast of female characters, presented with comic-book stylings that perfectly suited the gravity-focused gameplay. Some ground-based missions and tight corridors strip away that freedom, highlighting the tremendous sense of freedom that makes the bulk of the game such a thrill.
8
Summon Night 6: Lost Borders
Released: Mar. 10, 2016
Summon Night 6: Lost Borders was developed by Media.Vision, a team best known today for Digimon Story: Time Stranger and its work on the classic Wild Arms RPG series. However, it managed to avoid widespread notice, despite that pedigree and the franchise’s cult following. If you give it a chance today, you’ll find a compelling SRPG game with colorful visuals and accessible combat. Unlike many other entries on this list, the game is not currently offered on the PlayStation Store. You’ll have to track down an increasingly rare physical copy if you want to play it.
7
Erica
Released: Aug. 19, 2019
The PS4 era provided a number of games that blended gameplay with live-action footage, often to pleasing effect. Erica is an example of such a title, and we liked it a lot. The branching narrative follows the eponymous hero as she deals with her father’s murder. But there are darker secrets behind that event than she initially realizes, and a shocking truth awaits her at the end of her journey. The adventure isn’t a lengthy one, but if it really grips you, going back through and making other decisions that lead to the different endings should prove to be a worthwhile exercise.
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6
Driveclub
Released: Oct. 7, 2014
Driveclub launched early in the PS4’s life. Unhelpfully, it was a bit rough in places, even if it looked beautiful in screenshots. The developers at Evolution Studios kept right on working on the title for months, adding awesome weather effects and improving little details under the hood that made for a more pleasant arcade driving experience. The game eventually became something pretty special, but by then, audiences had found other attractions. The game was eventually pulled from the PlayStation Store, its multiplayer servers went dark, and the development team became part of Codemasters. Despite that unfortunate end, you can still have fun with the single-player content today if you track down a physical copy.
5
Zanki Zero: Last Beginning
Released: July 5, 2018
Developed by Spike Chunsoft (Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island) and Lancarse (Final Fantasy Resonance), the unconventional Zanki Zero: Last Beginning didn’t have an established history as a franchise to draw on for any marketing. That’s unfortunate, because the game deserved a wider audience than it received. It tells an intriguing story about life after the end of the world as we know it, with themes that include loss and family, all serving as an excuse for a bunch of dungeon crawling that players will find more familiar. There aren’t a lot of other games quite like it, so check it out if you’re looking for something unexpected.
4
The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition
Released: Sep. 6, 2022
Sony Interactive Entertainment originally published a game known simply as The Tomorrow Children on Oct. 25, 2016. It was an interesting action-adventure title developed by Q-Games, but the design incorporated microtransaction elements intended to encourage continued player spend. Keeping the game online cost more than Sony was willing to pay, however, and the game’s servers shut down in November 2017. The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition released a few years later, now self-published by Q-Games with a lot of tweaks to the original design. The new version no longer needs servers and microtransactions to justify its continued availability, and you can find it on the PlayStation Store once again.
3
Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky
Released: Dec. 17, 2015
People who have followed tri-Ace from the beginning know it best for the Star Ocean series (which saw its newest original installment with 2022’s Star Ocean: The Divine Force), but sometimes the developer breaks new ground, as it did with Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky. The game, developed in cooperation with Spike Chunsoft, featured work by a number of the same people responsible for the Norse mythology-inspired RPG Valkyrie Profile, which was also unique at the time. Highlights of Exist Archive include endearing characters and satisfying combat, though it can get a bit grindy by the end of the adventure. Surprisingly, dungeon exploration takes place from a side perspective, like a standard platformer. It’s not a conventional approach, but it should appeal to folks looking for a JRPG that tries something a little different.
2
Bound
Released: Aug. 16, 2016
Bound is a unique 3D platformer celebrating love, life, and expression. It explores a fantastic world that exists within the mind of a woman looking back at the earlier years of her life. Dance moves allow you to negotiate expansive environments while marveling at the breathtaking art. Writing about the game, our critic put it best: “Bound is a reminder that through diversions like art, sport, dance and literature, there are ways to escape, at least for a while, and perhaps to re-emerge as someone slightly different.” If you’ve been looking for something along those lines, a game that embraces the medium as an art form, now you know just where to find it.
1
Concrete Genie
Released: Oct. 8, 2019
In Japan, Concrete Genie was launched as Ash to Mahou no Fude. Whatever title you might know it by, the game is a third-person adventure following Ash, a painter who can bring his creations to life and use them to bring about real change in the tiny fishing town of Denska. It’s a beautiful experience sure to entertain gamers of all ages, thanks to vibrant visuals and a heartwarming story. It’s also PlayStation VR compatible, which gives you a reason to drag that hardware out of storage. Frankly, the game’s biggest flaw is that it ends too soon, but you should still seek it out if you care more about quality than quantity.
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