The Best PS5 Games in 2026, Ranked by What Critics Actually Scored

The PlayStation 5 turned six on November 12, and somewhere in that time its library quietly passed the point where anyone can keep up. Hundreds of games now carry a "PS5" badge, many of them excellent, many of them remasters of games you already own. If you just unwrapped a console, or you are finally upgrading from a PS4, the question is not "what is good?" but "what is best?"

So we did the boring part for you. This guide ranks games using OpenCritic's Top Critic Average (a score built only from established outlets), checked in mid-November 2026, with Metacritic used where we note it. We left out DLC, kept one entry per game, and grouped the list so you can find what fits your taste rather than just the highest number.

How we picked

A critic average is not the same thing as fun, but it is a very good filter. A game that averages 90 or above has convinced dozens of reviewers with different tastes, which is a stronger signal than any single review. Our rules:

• Score first: every pick averages 86 or higher on OpenCritic unless we flag it.
• Playable on PS5 today: no announced-but-unreleased games.
• Variety: we cap the list so that one genre does not swallow it.

The exclusives that sell the console

These are the games you cannot play on an Xbox, and the ones most people buy a PS5 for. Some have since come to PC, which we note.

• Astro Bot (Team Asobi, 2024): 94. A joyful 3D platformer that uses every trick of the DualSense controller. It won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024, and it is the single best argument for owning a PS5.
• God of War Ragnarok (Santa Monica Studio, 2022): 92. Kratos and Atreus across the Nine Realms. Now also on PC.
• Demon's Souls (Bluepoint, 2020): 92. The launch-day remake that still looks like a showpiece.
• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kojima Productions, 2025): 90. Sam Porter Bridges crosses Australia in Hideo Kojima's strangest and most confident game. It came to PC on March 19, 2026.
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (Insomniac, 2023) and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac, 2021): both 88. Pure blockbuster fun.
• Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch, 2025): 86 on Metacritic, with 94% of critics on OpenCritic recommending it. A revenge story in 1600s Hokkaido and still a PS5 exclusive.
• Saros (Housemarque, 2026): 87. The Returnal team's new action game, released on April 30, 2026.

A quick word on backward compatibility: almost every PS4 game runs on a PS5, which is why older classics such as The Last of Us Remastered and God of War (2018), both at 94, still sit near the top of OpenCritic's PS5 chart. Many of them offer free or cheap PS5 upgrades, so check before you buy the same game twice.

The one big Sony release we cannot put on this list is Marvel's Wolverine. It landed on September 15, 2026 with a Metacritic score of 77, the lowest for an Insomniac game in more than a decade. An analytics firm estimated it sold about 1.9 million copies in three days anyway, so plenty of players disagree with the critics.

The third-party giants

Many of the best games on PS5 are not made by Sony at all. If you own nothing else, start here.

• Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian, 2023): 96. A huge, reactive fantasy RPG that rewards every silly idea you try.
• Elden Ring (FromSoftware, 2022): 95. The open-world Souls game, plus the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion at 94.
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar, 2018): 95. Played through backward compatibility, and still the benchmark for open-world detail while you wait for Rockstar's next game.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive, 2025): 92. A turn-based RPG with real-time dodges and parries, from a French debut studio. It won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025.
• Resident Evil 4 (Capcom, 2023): 92. The best action-horror remake on the console.
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix, 2024): 91. A massive second chapter of the remake trilogy.
• Street Fighter 6 (Capcom, 2023): 91. The easiest modern fighting game to get into.
• Metaphor: ReFantazio (Atlus, 2024): 92. A fantasy RPG from the team behind Persona, built around a race for a vacant throne.

2026's best new arrivals

This year has been strong on PS5, and several of its best games are new enough that you may have missed them. All scores are from OpenCritic's 2026 PS5 chart.

• Hades II (Supergiant): 94. The roguelike sequel reached PS5 on April 15, 2026.
• Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter (Falcom): 92, released September 17.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered (CD Projekt Red): 91, released September 29, and a free upgrade for existing owners.
• Resident Evil Requiem (Capcom): 89. The year's biggest horror game, out since February 27.
• Phantom Blade Zero (S-Game): 89. A Chinese action game that impressed critics on October 29.
• 007 First Light (IO Interactive): 87. A young James Bond in a stealth-action story.

The year has been just as generous to smaller teams. Mina the Hollower (91), from Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games, and Mewgenics (89), co-created by The Binding of Isaac's Edmund McMillen, both outscore most of 2026's blockbusters.

Smaller games, big scores

You do not need to spend full price to find a 90. Some of the highest-rated games on PS5 cost a fraction of a blockbuster.

• Hollow Knight: Silksong (Team Cherry, 2025): 91. Hard, beautiful and enormous.
• Balatro (LocalThunk, 2024): 92. Poker hands, jokers and very late nights.
• Dave the Diver (Mintrocket, 2023): 90, and its 2026 follow-up In the Jungle at 91. A Korean-made hit that mixes diving with running a sushi bar.
• Hades (Supergiant, 2020): 94. Still one of the best games ever made for short sessions.

By the numbers

• 96: Baldur's Gate 3, the highest-rated game on PS5 on OpenCritic
• 94: Astro Bot, the best-rated PlayStation exclusive made for PS5
• 13: games on our list that average 92 or higher
• 77: Marvel's Wolverine's Metacritic score, the year's big miss
• 6: years since the PS5 launched in November 2020

What to play next

If you buy only three games, our picks are Astro Bot for pure joy, Baldur's Gate 3 for a story you will talk about for months, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for something you have never quite played before. Horror fans should add Resident Evil Requiem; anyone who loves big worlds should add Death Stranding 2.

What to watch: the PS5's next headline is not a Sony game. Grand Theft Auto VI arrives on November 19, console-only at launch. And on the Sony side, Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is promised a full reveal in 2027. When the scores land, this list will change, and we will update it.