Now that the PlayStation 4 cycle has ended, it’s fair to say that Sony successfully bounced backafter the PlayStation 3 failed to impress. The PS4 hadhuge sales figures of over 100,000,000 units, thanks in no small part to its fantastic catalog of games. A few examples includeGod of War, Bloodborne,andUncharted 4: A Thief’s End,whichwere all big hits among critics, and helped convince many gamers to join the blue brand thanks to their exclusivity.
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Microsoft is clearly not taking the loss lying down, as they have improved their value for money Game Pass service with the addition of EA Play, as well as flexing their financial muscle to acquire ZeniMax Media, and subsequently Bethesda, for $7.5 billion. Potentially because they want to take the upcomingElder Scrolls, Fallout,andDishonoredgames away from PlayStation.
Sony will be keen to respond to this and to carry their success over from the PS4 generation to the recently released PS5. The Metascores for their launch titles have been posted, offering players the first insight into how successful Sony’s initial response has been.
19Godfall (63)
Godfallwas the first game confirmed for the PS5, although Sony will be hoping that it’s not a sign of things to come. Counterplay Games' high fantasy action RPG failed to impress with its repetitive gameplay and underwhelming story.
18NBA 2k21 (68)
Competition between companies is always a great thing for consumers, which is why EA again droppingNBA Livefrom their large list of sporting titles spelled bad news for basketball fans. Fans' fears appear to have been realized, asNBA 2k21offered little innovation, as well as an almost comical emphasis on microtransactions despite being a full-priced game.
17Maneater (68)
The open-world RPGManeateroffered an interesting and unorthodox twist on the genre by choosing not to put players in the shoes of a human, elf, or dwarf, but a shark. Unfortunately, the idea wasn’t well-executed, putting the game closer to Sharknado than Jaws on the shark media spectrum.
16Watch Dogs Legion (70)
The third game in theWatch Dogsseries takes players to a dystopian London. Unfortunately, Ubisoft’sWatch Dogs Legioncontinues the series' tradition of struggling to turn its great ideas into great gameplay.The series is reminiscent of Ubisoft’sAssassin’s Creedin a way, as the first game was underwhelming, but had a ton of potential that was realized on their next attempt,Assassin’s Creed II.
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For this reason, it will be a shame if Ubisoft doesn’t continue the series as there’s still so much untapped potential, and it may have itsAssassin’s Creed IImoment, although three attempts to make it work may understandably be their limit.
15Planet Coaster (Unofficial 72.5)
At the time of writing this,Planet Coasteronly has two Metacritic scores, so it doesn’t have an official Metascore yet. Video Chums and Push Square are the two companies who’ve reviewed the game so far, scoring it at 75 and 70 respectively.
The game received an impressive score of 84 on PC though, with praise being directed towards its excellent career mode.
14Bugsnax (74)
Bugsnaxis the second game from independent game studio Young Horses, following 2014’sOctodad: Deadliest Catch. The game provides players with some great puzzles and a surprising amount of story depth but does little more to impress.
13Fortnite (78)
PUBGmay have been the game that revolutionized the battle royale genre,thoughFortniteis undoubtedly the one that strapped a rocket to it and shot it into the mainstream. The PS5 iteration of the game currently runs on Unreal Engine 4 but is planned to be upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 in 2021.
12Borderlands 3 (78)
The much anticipatedBorderlands 3was released in September 2019 to a solid but somewhat underwhelming reception. Although the game had excellent multiplayer and some of the series' best environments, it received its fair share of criticisms, many of which came fromPC Gamer who gaveBorderlands 3a score of just 63.
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The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S re-release of the game added split-screen multiplayer to the mix.
11Sackboy: A Big Adventure (78)
Sackboy has never quite been able to live up to his initial hype in 2008 of being PlayStation’s future mascot, but the IP has still produced some excellent games in the past, in particular 2011’sLittleBigPlanet 2.
Sackboy: A Big Adventureis a decent game with some solid platforming sections, but offers little more than that.
10Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (81)
Ubisoft had a huge stroke of luck before the release ofValhalla, asCyberpunk 2077’s delay handed the latestAssassin’s Creedgame an influx of consumers.
Whether Ubisoft takes the tagline as a compliment or insult is unknown, buttheAssassin’s Creedfranchiseis increasingly being recognized as consistently producing 8/10 games, andValhallais no different.
