E3 2022 has come and gone with very few new additions to the PS5 exclusives list. However, that will no doubt change as the year powers on, with Sony always set to make its announcements outside of the traditional summer gaming news season.
If you’ve managed to grab a PS5 stock update then these are the games you’re going to at least want to add to your wishlist. After all, what good is a PS5 if you can’t make your PS5-less friends jealous by playing all the exclusive games you can’t play anywhere else.
Because we’re still relatively early in the console’s life cycle, which means the majority of PlayStation games are cross-gen, meaning they launch simultaneously on PS5 and PS4. Further narrowing the pool of true-blue PS5 exclusives are cross-platform games, which are available on Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. All that being said, there is an ever-growing list of actual, honest-to-goodness PS5 exclusives that you truly can’t play on any other platform, and we’ve collated every single one of them into this handy guide.
Read on for all the PS5 exclusives available now or confirmed.
Out now
PS5 exclusives available now
Astro’s Playroom
Astro’s Playroom may seem like a mere tech demo to showcase the new PS5 features, from ray tracing to the adaptive triggers of the DualSense PS5 controller, but that assumption couldn’t be farther from reality. This pocket-sized adventure (around 3 hours of length, with potentially more for the platinum) is an endearing tribute to the PlayStation franchise, featuring callbacks to previous consoles and games. But it also manages to provide a platforming experience that is charming as it is polished, and the fact that it comes pre-loaded with the console means that you can, and should, start playing right away while you finish setting everything up.
Demon’s Souls
All stories start somewhere. FromSoftware’s legacy began 11 years ago with Demon’s Souls, one of the most intriguing and challenging titles of the PS3 era. Now, under Bluepoint’s vision (the studio that brought back Shadow of the Colossus) the beginning of the ‘soulsborne’ genre gets the remake treatment on PS5. This is the same experience we remember, but it’s almost indistinguishable over a decade later. With only a few touches here and there in terms of gameplay, Demon’s Souls’ biggest change comes from the way it looks and plays on this new console generation – it’s a remarkable PS5 launch game that you shouldn’t miss.
Destruction AllStars
Destruction AllStars introduces itself as a new IP of multiplayer competitive racing. Don’t picture it as regular races, however – this is akin to the battle arenas of the Twisted Metal series or the collisions that you would see in a Burnout game, packed with a cast of 16 distinct characters. Perhaps its biggest twist comes when your car is destroyed: you will automatically enter a third person view of your racer and move them around the map as if it was a different game. Its player base isn’t as active as it was at launch, but if you can find a match in a timely matter it can be a fun way to spend a couple hours with your PS5.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is as triumphant a return as they come for the titular duo; a visual showcase for the PS5, a well-written story right up there with the best Pixar movies, and simply a blast of a platformer from front to back. If you want something to show off what your PS5 can do, you can’t beat Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and it comes with the bonus of being an incredibly polished, well-made platformer/shooter even without considering its technical accomplishments.
Returnal
As stunningly beautiful as it is blisteringly challenging, Housemarque’s 2021 roguelike Returnal will test your patience at the same time as it challenges your expectations about what’s possible in the new generation. It makes full use of Sony’s new hardware to deliver a visual spectacle, buttery smooth performance, and a new level of immersion thanks to its creative utilization of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. Returnal is another fantastic choice to wow your friends and family with as you show off your PS5, but don’t make them too jealous as you’ll likely need their support after you die for the thousandth time.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade
It’s an expanded and remastered version of one of 2020’s best RPGs, itself a remake of one of the best RPGs of all time, and you absolutely need to play it if you have a PS5. Make no mistake, this is more than just a simple remaster. Intergrade itself adds “classic” battle controls for the game’s normal difficulty mode, a photo mode, and improved frame rate and resolution. But the PS5-exclusive Yuffie DLC, formally titled Episode Intermission, is a whole new chapter where you get to play as Yuffie Kisaragi.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade is available as a free upgrade from the PS4 version, but Episode Intermission is a paid expansion unless you bought Intergrade as a standalone purchase.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
A beautifully remastered version of one of 2018’s best superhero games, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered takes an already great game and makes it better. Thanks to 4K resolution, ray tracing support, and a buttery smooth 60 FPS (in performance mode), swinging around New York City as Spider-Man and beating up goons is more satisfying than ever. The framerate boost is especially appreciated during fast-paced, high-intensity scenes, which let’s face it, make up about 90% of the game. Even if you’ve played the original game on PS4 already, be sure to pick up the remaster (it’s free if you own the game on PS4) and give it another go.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
If you fancy taking a stroll through an empty, totally haunted version of the Japanese capital, then Ghostwire: Tokyo is the PS5 exclusive for you. Although it is also available on PC, it’s a PS5 console exclusive, and really does look excellent on Sony’s latest console. You play as the last human in a Tokyo where all the other living things – bar some adorable dogs, cats, and tanooki – have been whisked away to the spirit world. You’ll need to rescue your sister and discover the stories of the spirits that still linger, trapped between worlds, all the while fending off all the horrific creatures that do roam the streets. It’s creepy, atmospheric, and a fantastic world to exist in.
Gran Turismo 7
PlayStation’s premium racing sim is back with Gran Turismo 7. Although it’s had a ropey launch with online and maintenance issues, and discussions around updates making the need for microtransactions slightly more prevalent, it’s still a fantastic racer. It’s a huge and utterly beautiful racing game that will no doubt earn it a position among the best PS5 games of all time eventually.
Upcoming
Upcoming PS5 exclusives
Forspoken
Release date: May 25, 2022
Forspoken seems like a highly ambitious project, even for prolific publisher Square Enix. It’s being developed by an all-star team of talent called Luminous Productions, formed from the dev team behind Final Fantasy 15. Better yet, Square Enix recruited Gary Whitta (of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story fame) and Amy Hennig (creative director on the first three Uncharted games) to build the world and write the story.
Forspoken stars a young woman named Frey from New York City, who celebrates her 21st birthday by being transported to the world of Athia, “where fantasies and nightmares are suddenly very real”, reads the Sony blog post. It’s coming sometime in Spring 2022 exclusively on PS5.
Final Fantasy 16
Final Fantasy 16 is dropping exclusively on PS5 at some point in Summer 2023. Set in the world of Valisthea, the people there once lived in peace thanks to the crystal mountains found there, known as the Mothercrystals. But, that wasn’t meant to last, as there’s now a Blight spreading across the world. The story will revolve around humans called Dominants, who are able to control Eikons, which are deadly and incredibly powerful creatures. Gameplay wise, this will be an interesting change in combat style, with a more action-orientated focus.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Horizon Call of the Mountain is an upcoming PSVR2-exclusive game based in the Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West universe and developed by Guerrilla Games. Main Horizon protagonist Aloy will be in the game in some form, but Horizon Call of the Mountain stars a brand new protagonist. If that isn’t enough to excite you, former Forbidden West world designer Chris James recently said Call of the Mountain will “change what AAA means for VR,” which is honestly almost too much hype for us to handle right now.
Spider-Man 2
Announced during the 2021 September PlayStation showcase last year, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will see the two Spider-Men – Peter Parker and Miles Morales – team up. There’s only been a teaser trailer so far and a loose 2023 release window, but we know we’ll be ready to swing through New York again when it drops.
PS4/PS5 exclusives
PS4 and PS5 cross-gen exclusives
God of War: Ragnarok
Coming in 2022
God of War: Ragnarok is that kind of sequel that any tidbit of news is poured over with a fervor. Following on the narrative from the 2018 God of War reboot, we’ll back with Kratos and Atreus ahead of the world-shattering Ragnarok event, as they search for answers – and allies. Various Norse Gods and monsters will try to stand in their way as they travel the Nine Realms sometime in 2022.
Horizon Forbidden West
Aloy’s second adventure arrived in March 2022, taking her to lands anew. As the title suggests, Horizon Forbidden West sees Aloy heading west into locales like Las Vegas and San Francisco in search of the source of a blight that’s killing the Earth. What she finds are new tribes, fresh threats, but also friends old and new. It’s a brilliant tale in one of the most impressive and full open-worlds to date.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Sackboy: A Big Adventure launched as a launch title for PS5, but also dropped simultaneously on PS4. However, it’s definitely best experienced on the newer console as the game really looks fantastic, and utilises the haptic feedback in the Dualsense to great effect. It’s Sackboy’s first foray away from the LittleBigPlanet name too, so don’t expect the creative elements of that original series here. This is a stunning story-driven title, with support for co-op too. It’s inventive, playful, and utterly adorable, so well worth a play.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Arriving as a PS5 launch title, and also launching on PS4, this smaller Spider-Man story follows the titular Miles Morales as a direct sequel to the last PS4 Spider-Man game. He’s just got his powers, and he’s figuring out how to be his own version of the friendly neighbourhood superhero. Peter Parker is his mentor, but he has his own powers – including electric venom blasts, camouflage, and other gadgets. It’s set in the same world but with the focus being on Spanish Harlem, and Morales’ immediate friends and family. It might be a more compact story than the main Spider-Man entry, but Spider-Man: Miles Morales is probably more impactful.
For more exciting PS5 titles check out the lists below: