The PlayStation 5 has been the more dominant console of the generation, lapping the Xbox Series X/S multiple times since their respective launches at the tail end of 2020. That’s likely due to the fact that since the end of the PS3’s lifetime, Sony’s studios have been producing megaton blockbusters that have managed to connect with audiences, while Microsoft spent most of the past few years gobbling up studios and trying to turn Game Pass into its real cash cow. In the meantime, Sony has managed to dominate with a relatively lean first-party lineup, all the while porting and releasing some of its biggest hits on PC.
Now, many of those PC hits are on sale, and with very little to be excited about this fall season, you may as well dip your toe into the best games Sony has to offer while they’re cheap. Here’s what to pick up on PlayStation’s PC sale.
Helldivers 2
I’ve written exhaustively about Helldivers 2, the cooperative third-person shooter from Arrowhead Studios that took the world by storm when it launched earlier this year. I don’t think Sony expected it to be its biggest game of the year, but often the best things in life can’t be predicted. Since its meteoric rise, the game (as well as the studio behind it) have been in hot water with the fanbase over countless balancing and quality-of-life issues, but that hasn’t ever stopped Helldivers 2 from being a good time when enjoyed in the right company. At the end of the day, it’s still fun as hell to drop into increasingly ravenous hordes of enemies, be they killer bugs or robots, and wage a constantly escalating and satirized war against them. It’s still fun to dive just out of the way of a barrage of missiles and land a well-placed shot from an autocannon into the weak spot of an enemy just in the nick of time. Helldivers 2 regularly churns out incredible stories of survival and endurance (or just baffling good luck) in the face of all odds, and that’s what the game’s all about. You can dive into hell with some good friends and kill some bad bugs by picking up Helldivers 2 for just $US32 on Steam and Humble.
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
Throughout the PS3’s lifetime, Naughty Dog put itself on the map by releasing the first three Uncharted games to widespread acclaim and popularity. These action-adventure games made a household name of protagonist Nathan Drake, who became the generation’s golden boy and made the franchise Sony’s prized possession. Though the studio would eventually move on to The Last of Us (more on that in a bit) Naughty Dog did come back in 2016 to properly finish Nate’s story with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and its 2017 spinoff, The Lost Legacy. I happen to like these last two installments quite a lot, with the former putting a neat bow on Nate’s story that leaves the door propped open for other protagonists and tales, which allows The Lost Legacy to deliver on by letting us play as his longtime ally Chloe Frazer in an adventure that rivals the mainline games’ best stuff. These are also the two games that come bundled together in the Legacy of Thieves Collection, which uprezzed either title for the PS5 and brought them to the PC in the first place. Now, you can tackle some of the series’ best setpieces and heartfelt moments by snagging Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection for $US25 on Steam, Humble, or GOG.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Miles Morales
I’ve got a soft spot for Insomniac’s Spider-Man games. I can’t help it. He’s been my favorite hero since I was a kid and my whole life has been dominated by him. I grew up with the Sam Raimi flicks, watched the Sony-produced Amazing Spider-Man movies as a teenager, and by the time Tom Holland took over the role in the MCU, I was a young adult who’d spent a lifetime admiring the friendly neighborhood superhero. I love that he’s just a kid from New York—whether it’s Peter in Queens or Miles in Harlem—and that he lives like the rest of us and has to pay rent by slinging pizza and taking crappy jobs around town. Dropping me into his shoes is always going to go over pretty well, and the Spider-Man games are respectable blockbusters with a lot of heart and some of the breeziest storytelling and gameplay in the AAA space.
It is so easy to enjoy the fantasy of swinging around the city as either Peter or Miles and it never fails to produce a grin or a boost to my mood to zip around and do things Spider-Man would do. Both are also easy heroes to root for, and Insomniac’s version of Peter might be the most personable and down-to-earth take on the guy ever. Watching him websling across the city while engaging in a tense text conversation with MJ is still one of the high points of the entire generation of games and shows that Insomniac really understood what this character was about and why we love him so much.
Miles Morales, a sort of sequel to the first game, establishes Peter’s successor and centers a hero who is much closer to my heart. We may be from opposite sides of the same city, but our heritage takes us back to a pretty similar place, and I love that boricua king with all that I can muster. He’s the blueprint for the heroes I never grew up with: ones who kind of look and sound like me. I would protect him and his bodega cat with my life. Do yourself a favor and pick up Spider-Man Remasteredand Miles Morales on Steam or Humble for $US36 and $US30, respectively.
Returnal
We don’t say it enough but Returnal is probably one of the best games of this generation. Housemarque knocked it out of the park in this grueling roguelike that spins hell out of a procedurally generated alien planet. Selene, the game’s protagonist, is a rarity in games—a middle-aged woman—and Returnal follows her after she crash lands on a curious planet and tries to blast her way home. Everything from the movement and gunplay to the trickle of abilities and upgrades is finely tuned in Returnal, but it’s really the presentation that takes the cake. Helios feels alien. Its structures and biomes resemble our own, but there’s a menacing aura about them. The planet feels like it’s withholding something crucial from Selene, and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to crack it. It taunts her, and by extension, you, and throws you for literal loops as you die and crash land again and again in search of a way to break free and go home. Get caught in Returnal’s loop by picking it up for $US36 on Steam or Humble.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
I never really loved the Ratchet & Clank games in the past. I’ve played a few, namely Size Matters on PSP, but the wider series never clicked with me. That was until I parked myself on my friend’s couch while on vacation and blasted through Rift Apart in record time. What an absolutely vibrant, beautiful, and joyous game it is, the kind of game that PlayStation’s been lacking lately, and one that shows the company finally seems to understand it should be making these games alongside heavyweight “prestige” titles like God of War and Horizon. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is much the same as any game in the series, but it wields the (at the time) new PS5’s technology to render a world that feels like it’s teeming with playfulness. A gun opens portals that make use of the console’s powerful SSD to transport randomized elements and characters into the fray. You seamlessly jump between perspectives and characters in manners that are not only buttery smooth, but awe-inspiring. It’s not just impressive to look at, it’s a pleasure to behold and I’m sure that’s especially true of its PC port. Aside from Astro Bot, I’d say Rift Apart is one of a handful of PS5 titles everyone should have, and you can now grab it on Steam or Humble for $US36.
God of War
God of War: Ragnarok is landing on PC very soon, which means now’s a pretty appropriate time to check out the game that kicked off Kratos’ Nordic rampage. Back in 2018, God of War shook things up thanks to its tonal differences from the games that came before it, a drastic shift in gameplay, and a new pantheon of gods to face off against. It retains the series’ longstanding emphasis on scale, but distilled it into setpieces with a sharper focus than that of its predecessors. It also kickstarted the rehabilitation of Kratos, one of gaming’s foremost toxic assholes—where you come down on the success of that is entirely up to you. I aint here to yuck anyone’s yums. I am here to tell you that God of War is $US20 on Steam, Humble, and GOG, so do with that what you will, boy.
The Last of Us Part I
The Last of Us Part I is, annoyingly, the third version of this game, despite the title. Originally released as the swan song of the PS3, The Last of Us was eventually remastered for PS4 before being completely remade for no apparent reason a few years back. Part I made it to PC last year where it was absolutely busted, but the game is in significantly better shape now. Though I still wonder why it was made at all, there’s no denying the lasting impact of The Last of Us, which has since spawned a controversial sequel and a hit show for HBO. It’s one of the games of the 2010s, for better or worse, and you probably owe it to yourself to check it out while it’s on the cheap. You’re not going to find a technically better version of the first game than this, even if it is a bummer that it’s missing the original’s incredible multiplayer mode. Prepare to cry before grabbing The Last of Us Part I on Steam or Humble for $US36.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
If you’ve just finished up Astro Bot and are looking for other adorable platformers on the PS5, there’s not many of them! Hopefully that’ll change in the near future, but in the meantime, you’ve got Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Both games are similarly charming, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure even manages to successfully separate itself from the brand-heavy identity that began encroaching on the LittleBigPlanet titles, which feels all-consuming in Astro Bot. In this 3D platformer, you play as the titular character in a familiar world of arts and crafts that constantly challenges you with new and inventive tasks. You can play the game cooperatively with up to three other players, which retains the chaos of LittleBigPlanet’s multiplayer but fits it into a different mold of game this time around. It’s a blast, even if it errs on the side of being a simpler game for kids more often than not. You and three of your favorite people can jump and punch your way through Sackboy: A Big Adventure for $US30 on Steam or Humble.
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut
Over the years, PlayStation has put out some pretty notable games, but most of them have been fairly linear. Horizon was its biggest open-world series, and probably still is, but for my money, Ghost of Tsushima is probably the better one. Cribbing from the style of the works of the acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Ghost of Tsushima is a samurai action game set in a Ubisoft-style open world. Funny how PlayStation beat Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed to that punch…
Ghost of Tsushima is, in a word, cinematic. It’s minimalistic, often guiding players by the visualization of wind blowing through fields and trees. Its combat is a mixture of stealth gameplay and more direct clashes, but all of it has a sheen and elegance to it that PlayStation prides itself on. It’s restrained and even quiet in a way that open-world games, which are prone to bloat, rarely are and it’s much appreciated. It actually stands apart in its field, and on top of that, it’s got a cooperative multiplayer mode that is apparently a hoot and a half? You can get PlayStation’s best open-world game by grabbing Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut for $US48 on Steam and Humble.
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