A reader bids au revoir to the PS4 and lists his favourite Sony exclusives, including Astro Bot: Rescue Mission and The Last Guardian.
It’s now just a few days until the next generation is set to start. I’ve already sold my PlayStation 4 to raise funds. Now in anticipation of my PlayStation 5 arriving I would like to say a final goodbye to the PlayStation 4 by giving my thoughts on the PlayStation 4 life cycle and the games.
Slow start
I was an early adopter to the PlayStation 4. Though I didn’t purchase it on day one it wasn’t long before I got one. One of the earliest games I recall getting is Killzone: Shadow Fall. Although it looked pretty amazing at the time it wasn’t anything special. I remember being hyped up for Infamous: Second Son as that was the first real PlayStation 4 exclusive and being disappointed. I think for me the first real next generation game that I really enjoyed was Batman: Arkham Knight and that was 18 months into the PlayStation 4 era.
Sony formula
Sony have in my opinion, and I think many would agree, been miles ahead of Microsoft in regards to exclusive games. However recently there have been a few criticisms that PlayStation 4 exclusives follow the same formula, namely third person, single-player action adventure type games such as Uncharted, God Of War, and Spider-man, etc.
Personally, I have no issue with this as these are the type of games I enjoy and don’t think there are enough third party developers making this type of content. Also, whilst you could argue that God Of War and Uncharted 4 are both single-player action adventure games they are both massively different in terms of gameplay and narrative, as is Spider-Man or Days Gone or Ratchet & Clank. The so-called Sony formula theory also doesn’t take into account games such as Gran Turismo, Driveclub, Until Dawn, LittleBigPlanet or Killzone, among others.
PlayStation VR and mid-generational upgrades
This generation hasn’t proven to be the cheapest for gamers. I’m not sure how I feel about the PS4 Pro. I personally haven’t upgraded as I didn’t feel it’s justified the extra outlay. I hope it doesn’t become the norm. Slim versions of consoles have always been a thing but I believe it’s the first generation to offer upgrades in terms of performance and graphics. One thing I have bought though is PlayStation VR.
I’m still on the fence about it. The first time you use its a definite ‘wow’ moment. However, after a while it has its flaws. For me I struggle with first person games where you need to ‘teleport’ from one point to another to move. It just feels awkward and clunky. I also find the Move controllers inconsistent. On the other hand, Astro Bot is an absolute blast and would be gutted if I sold my PlayStation VR set and missed out on a sequel.
Quality not quantity
There’s been some brilliant games during this generation and many that will be fondly remembered in the years to come. Also, the graphical leap has been astounding. Compare, say, The Last Of Us Part 2 with The Last Of Us Remastered and the difference is obvious. However, though there have been a number of great games, there’s definitely been a reduced output from some of the bigger companies such as Rockstar, who have released only Red Dead Redemption 2, compared with two GTA games, L.A. Noire, Midnight Club, Max Payne, and Red Dead Redemption during the PlayStation 3/Xbox one 360 era.
Top 10 Sony exclusives
Before we start. Let me state I haven’t played all the Sony exclusives. This is my own personal top 10. I haven’t played Bloodborne and don’t have much interest in doing so. Neither am I bothered by Death Stranding or Detroit: Become Human, among others. I’m also not including PlayStation 3 remasters, only games exclusive to the PlayStation 4.
10. Days Gone
I never got very far into this game. It looked pretty at the time but didn’t do anything that was particularly interesting or new. However, I might give it another try on the PS Plus Collection. I don’t remember it as a bad game, just not a great one.
9. Horizon Zero Dawn
I really wanted to like this game. I’ve heard great things and saw the footage of the PlayStation 5 sequel and gave it a try after picking it up for about a fiver including DLC. However, I just can’t get into it. I’m useless with the stealth which it relies heavily on, which results in me dying all the time which is beyond frustrating. Also, though it looks pretty I can’t say the landscape is particularly exciting to explore. Maybe it gets better later on the game. I really should give it another try because I really want to like it, but it’s not clicked yet.
8. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
I’m a fan of the Uncharted series and Naughty Dog in general. However, for some reason, although I finished this game, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as other games from Naughty Dog and doubt I’ll ever replay it. Maybe it’s because it rehashes bits from the other games or perhaps it’s not as engaging story-wise. Personally, I think Chloe isn’t as interesting as Nadine and it would have better to have her as the lead.
7. Ratchet & Clank
Although I wasn’t sure at first, I soon grew to really enjoy this game. It’s always been on my radar but was encouraged to play it more after the first PlayStation 5 reveal showed footage of the soon-to-be released sequel.
6. The Last Guardian
I played a bit of Shadow Of The Colossus and didn’t think it was all that great. To me it’s just a series of boss encounters, which for me are the most frustrating parts of video games as I’m generally rubbish at them. However, I really liked The Last Guardian. The art design was amazing and loved the relationship between the boy and Trico. Also, I think some of the sections where the player scales great heights really felt tense and gave a sense of danger.
5. Uncharted 4
I played the first three games quite quickly beforehand, in anticipation, as I had never played them before. Personally, I think this is possibly the best in the series. From a purely narrative point of view I think it’s the best. Also, there’s some great set pieces and it looks stunning.
4. Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
I’m not sure this counts since it’s a PlayStation VR game but whatever, who cares. For me Astro Bot is the definitive VR experience and is far ahead of anything else I’ve played on PlayStation VR. It’s imaginative and incorporates the VR technology in a way that doesn’t feel gimmicky. I’m looking forward to the PlayStation 5 game and it will be interesting to see if Astro Bot will be as fun to play without VR. My feeling is it will.
3. The Last Of Us Part 2
So far my game of the year. No game ever has had themes and narratives that are as challenging and complex or a storyline as rewarding and engaging, other than perhaps its predecessor. Gameplay-wise it takes the formula of the first game and adds a few subtle tweaks. If I was making this list a few years in the future this game might rank higher. I think though it’s too soon to tell the lasting impact and legacy of the game.
2. God Of War
I sold my original PlayStation 4 when I decided to trade it for an Xbox One S and make use of the 4K Blu-ray player and HDR after getting my new TV. However, this is the game that encouraged me to get the updated slim PlayStation 4 and I wasn’t disappointed. The story was great and it looked amazing. I also loved the leviathan axe, it was a great weapon and felt weighty.
I do feel however, like many games on the list, it was a little bit too long. Also, I felt I struggled with the difficulty spike but maybe that’s just my lack of skill. But despite these minor quibbles it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played. I intend to dip my feet back in it before next year’s sequel and concentrate on some of the side content I missed on my first playthrough.
1. Spider-Man
I know that many people will question my decision for this to be number one. I know it’s not as well thought of as some of the other titles I’ve mentioned. And in some ways I can accept and acknowledge that. Though I personally thought it had a good narrative it’s not nearly as engaging as, say, The Last Of Us or God Of War. And although it looks great in terms of graphics other games have outshone it.
However, I don’t think I’ve had as much fun with other games on this list compared with Spider-Man. The web traversal system is excellent and although the combat borrows heavily from the Batman: Arkham series it is easy to pick up and feels satisfying to master. To date it is the only game I ever picked up a platinum Trophy for, which says something about its side quests and the fact it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
By reader matc7884
The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
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