I can’t say that I have been a lifetime Playstation fan. In fact, I was heavily on “Team Xbox 360” during the last generation of consoles. Playing crazy custom games in Halo 3 with my friends are some of my favorite gaming memories. But when this current generation of consoles came out, there was a clear leader for me when it came to console gaming: the PS4.
And boy, has that proved to be right since I bought my PS4 6 years ago.Â
While it was hard at first for an Xbox convert like me to come to grips with not being able to play games like Halo or Gears of War, I have come to discover over the years of owning my PS4 just how good of a gaming experience that it provides.
The controller, first off, is the best controller ever created (don’t @ me, Xbox One fans). It fits perfectly in your hands and has withstood wear and tear for years. And while the original PS4 that I own may provide a bit of an outdated gaming experience these days with its older graphics and processing power, the PS4 Pro offers something a little bit closer to what PC gamers play with.
Gamers are eagerly waiting to see what will be offered with the upcoming PS5 (SSD memory please?). My favorite part of owning a Playstation, though, has been playing Playstation’s exclusive titles, which have turned out to be some of my favorite games of all time.
In this article, I will be diving into the best games that you can play on the PS4 in 2020, including some amazing PlayStation 4 exclusives. I hope this list can help you find your next new favorite game.
#1 Best Overall: Last of Us: Remastered
There aren’t many survival games that are as gripping, as intense, or as emotional as the Last of Us. I was absolutely locked into every second of playing this game just because of how emotionally invested I was in seeing how this story played out.
Last of Us: Remastered Review
A story of a zombie apocalypse certainly isn’t unique, especially in gaming, but Naughty Dog has created an experience with the Last of Us that truly stands apart from the rest of them with some incredible characters and a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat story. If you don’t shed a couple of tears playing this game, you might not have a soul.
Last of Us: Remastered Gameplay
The Last of Us is all about the feeling of desperation and survival. You are not controlling a superhuman character in this game. Instead, you are controlling a regular guy named Joel, who is trying to do whatever he can to survive in a world full of zombies, fierce animals, and evil humans. And when I say “do whatever he can” I mean using whatever he can pick up to defend himself: guns, bats, bayonets, Molotov cocktails, and many other things.
As part of Joel and Ellie’s journey throughout this dangerous world, you come across a wide range of terrifying enemies. The zombies, in particular, are really well made. They are very strong, so fighting them head-on is not always the best option. Some of the best parts of this game are when you have to sneak through a room full of zombies. It’s terrifying stuff.
The worst enemies for me were the Clickers, whose way of spotting you is through a clicking sound they make to spot you with ultrasonic waves (like bats). Just the sound of their clicking will have your heart in your throat because getting spotted by them is instant death.
The third-person combat in this game feels great. You can move between cover very smoothly and generally move around environments without any hiccups. The gun combat also feels very good for a game not dedicated to shooting.
Guns have a nice amount of recoil and shots feel like they have a good amount of weight to them. As you move through the game, you have a nice amount of options for how you can progress the weapons that both Joel and Ellie carry.
Graphics
While the original version of this game has certainly started to show its age, the remastered version has done a great job of giving this classic game a facelift. Will it be the best looking game you’ve played, no. Even the remastered version came out 5 years ago. But the visuals won’t impact the storytelling or gameplay at all for you, especially since this game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second.
What the Last of Us does really well is how it portrays emotion. The acting in this game is an absolute masterclass. Main characters Joel and Ellie are played by actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, respectively, through both voice acting and facial capture.
It is because of strong performances from both the main characters that this game is such a masterpiece. The heavy moments that these characters have with one another throughout the story would not have been nearly as impactful without good acting.
The sounds of the game are another stand out. As I said before, it can be the simple sound of a clicker enemy that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Combat sounds good as well. Guns have a good pop, grenades feel heavy, and punches hit with a good thud.
Storyline
The story of the Last of Us follows Joel, who, like all others left alive after the sickness spread throughout humanity, is just trying to do what he can to survive. He’s living in a world 20 years after humanity fell into tatters, clumped into walled communities to protect themselves from zombies.
Yet the communities themselves have internal power struggles between human entities vying for control in the absence of a central government. The result is a feeling of desperation and fear for surviving to the next day.
Throughout the game, you see a lot of terrible humans do in desperate situations. It’s not a story for the fake of heart, and Naughty Dog does an incredible job of portraying just how hopeless this world is. But in that bleak world, Joel and his girlfriend, Tess, find a potential saving grace, and it lies within a young girl named Ellie.
The main story follows Joel, Tess, and Ellie as they journey across a destroyed and dangerous United States. Joel, who lost his young daughter during humanity’s collapse, is at first hesitant to get close to Ellie along the way. But you watch as their relationship evolves the longer they travel together. Joel’s ultimate goal is to protect Ellie. at. all. costs.
Hang on for a wild ride folks, because this story will have you from start to finish.
Coop/Multiplayer
The multiplayer in the Last of Us is surprisingly good for a game so focused on the single-player story. The multiplayer modes, Supply Raid and Survivors, play well into the game’s feel of desperation and dire feel. The great combat that is present in the single-player campaign really shines here.
Overall Review
It is always hard to use the title “Best Game of All Time”, but if there was a game that deserved it then it would be the Last of Us. From great combat, across incredible acting, to the heart-pounding story, there really is no game quite like it. If you haven’t experienced the Last of Us yet and you own a PS4, you need to add this on to your list.
#2 Best Action: God of War (2018)
One of the most historic series for Playstation, God of War, took a quite the turn with its release of the 2018 version of the game. Formerly a game that was lower on story quality on heavy on the hack-n-slash combat, God of War (2018) took a turn towards an emotionally deep story with more methodical, yet equally thrilling combat.
God of War Review
This time around, the story follows Kratos and his son, Atreus, in the land of Norse mythology, which offers a much different setting than usual Greece. The many changes made to God of War paid off in a big way, as people who play it get to experience a great story, some deeper characters, and some incredibly fun combat.
God of War Gameplay
Controlling Kratos has never been more fun. Kratos’ long chains that were so famous in the original are replaced with the badass Leviathan axe, which Kratos uses to incredible effect. As opposed to the combat in the last God of War games, which was composed of furiously pressing attack buttons until all the enemies were dead, this God of War game requires you to be much more methodical with combat.
You need to learn how to patiently wait for an opening in your enemies, know their weaknesses, and strike when the time is right. If you don’t that could result in a serious blow and possibly death. As you progress through the game, you will be able to unlock more combos and abilities for both Kratos and Atreus, who acts as a support character for you with his bow and arrow.
Combat is pretty basic to start, but the combos that you begin to unlock later result in some of the coolest spectacles in gaming. Tearing enemies in half, creating huge AoE effects by slamming your ax into the ground, or being able to have your ax get thrown through three enemies at once are just a few things to look forward to. Highlight reel moments are always right around the corner in this game.
Of course, no God of War game would be complete without some epic boss battles. One thing that has always been great about God of War is the sense of scale, and you fight some truly massive beasts in this game. Those battles will have your jaw on the floor.
What God of War really gets right is how varied the enemies are in this game. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses that you have to remember. The varying enemies throughout the game keep combat fresh and interesting.
In the end, there are a plethora of other things to do in this stunning PS4 game. For example, God of War features treasure maps and uncover wonderful riches that will increase Kratos’ power.
Graphics
God of War is a gorgeous game. The setting of the land of Norse mythology allows Kratos to go to many different types of worlds throughout the game, all of which are created with beautiful detail. Santa Monica studio also did a fantastic job portraying the sense of scale in each of the worlds, but especially in some of the massive characters in the game. The World Serpent, in particular, is a sight to behold.
A cool style choice that Santa Monica Studios decided to go with is having one unending shot on Kratos for the entire game. Unless you die, the camera never cuts from you. It not only helps you see each of the worlds that you go to from Kratos’ perspective, but it also aids to the story that is being told, which is fully centered around the relationship between Kratos and his son, Atreus.
What helps make the story so effective in God of War is how good the voice acting is from both Kratos and Atreus. Each of them give great performances and sell the relationship between the two well throughout the game. Past Kratos and Atreus, the game is full of interesting characters, each of whom put in equally impressive performances.
Ultimately, it’s the well-crafted characters and the great performances from each voice actor that makes this game as good as it is.
Storyline
You take control of Kratos, who is traveling with his son, Atreus, to take Atreus’ mother’s ashes to the top of the tallest mountain in the land. But the journey is not an easy one, as the Norse gods discover Kratos’ true identity and begin to take interest. Not only that, but there are many other monsters along the way that look to stop the father and son pair before they can complete their mission.
This game is set well after the events of the first God of War games took place. The story in this God of War game portrays an older Kratos, who is still dealing with many ghosts of his past. This game shows that all of his previous violent actions had consequences later in his life, especially when it came to raising his son, Atreus.
Kratos has tried to hide as much of his past from his son as he could up to this point, but it begins to become nearly impossible as ghosts of the past become creeping back into the picture. Ultimately, Kratos does not want Atreus to take the same violent path that he did.
The developing relationship between Kratos and Atreus throughout their journey is portrayed in a very deep and emotional way. The God of War is constantly struggling to find ways to connect with his son, to protect him, and also train him to survive on his own. The two both struggle with the loss of Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mom in their own way and that is ultimately what binds them even as they struggle on their journey.
Seeing Kratos deal with a deeply complex situation like that is a refreshing take on a normally paper-thin character. Some of my favorite moments of the game are meeting all of the unique supporting characters throughout the campaign. One dwarf, in particular, is one of the funniest characters I’ve run into in any game I’ve played.
Coop/Multiplayer
There is no multiplayer in God of War.
Overall Review
This edition of God of War was a welcome change to the franchise and was executed to near perfection by Santa Monica Studios. Seeing the deeper side of Kratos as he struggled to connect with his son was wonderfully portrayed, and the setting in Norse mythology was beautiful. But ultimately, it is the thrilling combat that will have you out of your seat cheering as you nail that perfect combo and tear an enemy to shreds.
This game is well worth the play. If you want to experience God of War in its full glory, including getting the most out of the amazing sounds of the game, then check out GameGavel’s article on the best gaming headsets for the PS4 to help immerse yourself into the game even more.
#3 Best PS4 Exclusive: Bloodborne
I’ll just get this out of the way right off the bat, Bloodborne is freaking hard. In fact, it’s probably the most challenging game you will ever play. In this dark world, the game gives you almost no tutorial, no background to the story, and makes you figure it out yourself. And the way you figure it out yourself? Trial and error (aka dying over and over again).
Bloodborne Review
While that might not sound fun, to all that love this game: it is. That’s because the incredible sense of accomplishment gained when you figure something out on your own, when you uncover a key piece of information or when you finally, finally beat the boss you’ve been stuck on for hours.
Overall, Bloodborne is an extremely challenging, yet ultimately very rewarding game that has thousands of gamers calling it “the best game ever” for a reason.
Bloodborne Gameplay
Bloodborne does not hold your hand at all in this game, even at the beginning. This game is all about figuring the combat yourself through constantly trying out something, failing, and learning from your mistake. Combat in Bloodborne is slow and methodical. You will be absolutely punished if you try to press the same button over and over again like in some other combat games.
In Bloodborne, you want to find the right combination of light, heavy, sidearm, and stun attacks to keep your enemy at bay. Speaking of enemies, there are a wide variety of weird and creepy baddies that you will run into throughout Bloodborne. Everything from giant bosses to maniacal villagers to crawling horrors. Each one can hit you hard if you don’t dodge out of the way quickly enough, and the deaths can be pretty gruesome.
There are a wide variety of ways to build your character in Bloodborne. You can choose from a wide range of weapons to outfit your character, so if you want a heavy two-handed weapon: go for it. If you want to have a gun at your side: sure, why not? The wide range of ways you can make your character your own will have you wanting to come back and try out a new style on your second playthrough.
Graphics
The world of Bloodborne is dark and menacing. The world is set in an evil version of 19th century England: full of Victorian castles, small villages full of crazy villagers, and blackpowder sidearms. Bloodborne doesn’t have amazing visuals, but it portrays the bleakness of its story in a very effective way.
What also adds to the dark portrayal of the world is the soundtrack, which is full of creepy church organs and other sounds that will make your skin crawl. Equally creepy is the sounds from all around you, especially from the monsters themselves. The soundtrack is very well made and really adds to the bleakness you feel after your fifth death in a row.
The various monsters in this game are all terrifying in their own right: You’ll run across creepy crawly monsters that swarm around your feet, giant boars, monsters with tentacles that sprout of their head to try and eat your face, and much more. The studio certainly dove deep into their scariest nightmares to design the wide variety of monsters you will face.
Storyline
The story of Bloodbourne is a complete mystery when you begin. Besides giving you a vague overarching goal to follow, the game barely even directs you on what to do or where to go at the beginning. You will have to glean information from clues around you in the environment or talking to the people who populate the land for what to do next.
There isn’t a whole lot I want to say about the story, as part of the fun is figuring it out on your own. You could say that it is a commentary on real-world religious organizations and faith, but there are many other crazy aspects to this story too. It is certainly a fun experience and well-worth melting hours into discovering for yourself.
Coop/Multiplayer
One of the most unique features of Bloodborne is its multiplayer option. If you are stuck on a hard boss, you can perform a ritual to call for help from other players online. This is an extremely useful and fun feature, especially when it comes to distracting a boss long enough for you to land some blows. However, there is a downside to calling for help, as the ritual also opens up for online players to invade your world.
Invading players can hunt you down in your world and try to kill you, so watch out. Battling invading players can certainly make for some fun 1v1s.
Overall Review
Bloodborne is not for the weak of heart. It’s a game that will knock you down again and again until you learn how to survive. Bloodborne’s vast world is rich with lore to discover, treasures to find, and terrifying monsters to fight. For those brave enough to try this game, you will be rewarded with deep and worthwhile experience.
If you’ve already played Bloodborne and are waiting for a sequel, check out our Bloodborne 2 news hub which we update regularly.
#4 Best Adventure Game: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
If you are a fan of action-adventure movies like Indiana Jones, then Uncharted 4 right up your alley. Uncharted 4 offers one of the most exciting and over-the-top adventure experiences out there as it leads you around the world in search of valuable treasure.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Review
The Uncharted franchise is known for having jaw-dropping action scenes, interesting puzzles, and great storylines. In all of those areas, Uncharted 4 certainly doesn’t disappoint. Add on an unexpectedly good multiplayer mode and you’ll have a game that should keep you hooked for hours.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Gameplay
Playing as Nathan Drake, veteran treasure hunter, you travel around the world in search of the greatest treasure yet. Along the way, you meet up with your old companion, Sully, and your brother, Sam, who both join you in the hunt for the treasure. Nathan Drake is your classic action hero. He can climb walls, swing across things with his rope, shoot people with any gun he finds, and, of course, punch people in the face.
Nathan Drake is still human, though, so much of your time around enemies will be spent stealthing around to find the best point of attack and quietly taking out a few enemies on the way. Thankfully if you do get into combat, your allies are surprisingly helpful in combat. Many are able to take down enemies effectively and stay out of your way.
Tip:Â If you favor this kind of sneaky playstyle, you might want to look at our choices for the best stealth games of all time.
The gameplay in Uncharted 4 is incredibly smooth. Jumping and swinging around Uncharted’s environments feels almost second nature after a few hours of playing at it makes completing them all the more satisfying.
The climbing feature has been improved since the last Uncharted game with the added ability to control your reach with the joystick. One of my favorite parts of the Uncharted 4 levels was the fact that it always felt like there were multiple ways to get past a roadblock. It made the game feel much less linear.
Of course, you can’t talk about Uncharted 4 without talking about its incredible setpieces. This game is spectacularly intense moments like car chases, boat chases, and other jaw-dropping moments that will have your palms sweating like crazy. The car chase in Madagascar stands out as one of the more exciting moments I’ve played in a long time.
Graphics
It’s hard not to stop at certain points while playing Uncharted 4 and just admire the view. Being a treasure hunter like Nathan Drake has its perks since Nathan’s hunt for treasure took him to places with some spectacular landscapes. While this game only runs at 30 frames-per-second, the gameplay still felt smooth. The characters are probably the best part of the Uncharted series.
Naughty Dog, who also developed the Last of Us, is well known for creating deep, engaging characters in their stories and Uncharted 4 is no exception. The voice actors of Nathan Drake and his brother, Sam, both deliver blockbuster movie-level performances, which really adds to the weight of the story. Every side character you run into is well-acted as well, especially your old friend Sully.
Storyline
This game is focused on the relationship between Nathan and his long-lost brother, Sam. The game opens showing how close Nathan and Sam were when they were young and how Sam and Drake eventually lost contact with each other later in life.
If you’ve have a gamer sibling, this would be an awesome ‘gamer gift’ for you two to enjoy together. Gaming time is the best bonding time.
Flash forward and Nathan Drake is now retired from treasure hunting. He swore that the last hunt he had would be his last and that he would finally settle down with his wife and have a simple life. But suddenly, Sam reappears into Nathan’s life and overturns Nathan’s settled lifestyle with the offer for one more treasure hunt. This would be the best treasure yet.
While Nathan is hesitant at first to agree, he eventually accepts. Nathan and Sam aren’t the only ones searching for this treasure though. Everywhere around the world that Nathan and Sam search, their enemies are right behind them. The journey is an incredibly exciting one and will keep you guessing right until the end. There are many unexpected twists and turns throughout.
Coop/Multiplayer
Uncharted 4’s fantastically smooth combat shows up again in the game’s multiplayer modes. Uncharted 4 features four different modes for multiplayer: Team Deathmatch, Plunder, Command, and Ranked Team Deathmatch.
Both the Plunder and Command game modes have uniquely Uncharted themes to them, with Plunder tasking you to carry an idol to a central point on the map before the other team reaches it with their idol. Even if you just choose to play Team Deathmatch, though, you’ll still experience the same rope-swinging, gun-shooting, and face-punching combat that you did in the campaign. It’s a ton of fun to play with friends.
Overall Review
Uncharted 4 is yet another great addition to one of the best series in Playstation’s history. It’s non-stop exhilarating action will give any Hollywood movie a run for its money, and to be in control of the whole thing makes it even better. If you haven’t experienced an Uncharted game yet and you own a PS4, now’s the time to give it a go.
#5 Best Open World: The Witcher III – Wild Hunt
There are many fantasy open-world RPGs out there, but there aren’t many that can match just how deep and immersive the Witcher III is.
“Wild Hunt” is full of misery and darkness.
The Witcher III Review
This world is full of various monsters of all shapes and sizes and of beings – humans, elves, dwarves, and more – that are willing to resort to desperate measures to survive. The Witcher III is wide-world, indeed, and it will keep you busy with things to find, learn, and hunt for well over 100 hours.
The Witcher III Gameplay
The world of The Witcher III is absolutely massive and it is chock-full of things to do. You could get lost for tens of hours doing random side quests before coming back to the main story.
This is easy to do since many of the side quests are really fun on their own. But it’s also fun to just lose yourself exploring the vast landscape of the world for hours on end. You’ll run into many challenging monsters on the way that can reap some great reward. There’s also the fan-favorite card game in Witcher III, Gwent, which many players have melted hundreds of hours in by itself.
The combat in the Witcher III is great, probably the best combat of any fantasy RPG game. Swinging your sword and using magic are both very smooth in the real-time combat and it makes you feel like a real badass. There are many ways to upgrade Geralt to make him fight the way you want. You can upgrade him in a more balanced way, or go the min/max route for maximum effectiveness in one area.
Graphics
The Witcher III’s vast landscapes are beautiful to behold. From vast cities, through the rolling sea, to the dense forests, there are so many different sites to explore and take in. While the game is a few years old now, it is still a joy to wander through. Being such a big game, the Witcher III can suffer from some lagging on normal PS4s, many times dipping below 30 fps. The PS4 Pro should easily be able to handle this game though.
One other thing of note is just how well the voice acting is in this game. Everyone from the main characters down to even the random characters you run into have great performances. Some of the most interesting personas are people you interact with for side quests. Each having interesting stories and motivations.
Storyline
The story of the Witcher III follows Geralt’s search for his long-lost lover, Yennefer, and his daughter, Ciri. The journey will lead you down many paths of intrigue and will force you to do many sorts of tasks for pieces of information of Ciri’s whereabouts. Overall, the main storyline is just ok, but it is everything else you can do in the game where the Witcher III really shines.
In the world of The Witcher III, nothing in the world is a simple as it seems. Each decision you make is a tough one, yet you have to make decisions all the same and the decisions that will change how the world evolves around you.
Even the decisions you make in side-missions can impact how certain characters interact with you in the future. That type of impactful decision making makes your future choices that much harder, and that much more meaningful.
Coop/Multiplayer
There is no multiplayer in the Witcher III.
Overall Review
While the main quest isn’t the best, the rest of the Witcher III’s experience offers one of the most immersive experiences in gaming. From the numerous side quests, the interesting people you meet, the interesting monster hunts, and even the card game Gwent, you will be busy with this game for hundreds of hours.
If you loved TW3, you might be interested in other excellent open-world games.
#6 Best Superhero Game: Marvel’s Spider-Man
Is there any Spiderman game that can match the quality of Spiderman II back on the PS2? I still remember swinging through the streets of New York and fighting bad guys back when I was young. Man, that game was a blast. Well, Spiderman is back in the 2018 release of Marvel’s Spider-Man, which aims to match the quality of the old games.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Review
And match the quality, it does. This new installment in Spider-Man’s video game history does a fantastic job of giving you the sense of being “Underoos” himself.
Web-slinging, using web-based gadgets, and beating up bad guys make for a lot of great Spiderman moments while playing the game. What sets this game apart from its older counterparts, though, is how well it portrays Peter Parker’s side of the story, specifically with his relationship with Mary Jane. The combination of the thrilling Spiderman side and the interesting Peter Parker side make for a story that is deep, engaging, and all-around fun.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Gameplay
If this game came out as simply just a Spiderman swinging simulation, I would still recommend you try this game because swinging through New York is just that fun. It takes a little bit to get used to, but once you get it then it becomes almost effortless.
You always have to look for the right combination of swinging from buildings, wall-running, and web-zipping to get from A to B as quickly as possible. You gain the ability to fast travel later in the game, but it’s hard not to take the long way just to experience swinging as much as possible.
When you eventually swing your way into combat, you’ll find that the experience isn’t really a unique one, but is still very enjoyable. Picture if you took Batman: Arkham Asylum’s combat and inserted Spiderman in, instead, because that’s essentially what it is.
What makes combat uniquely Spiderman, though, is being able to use Spidey’s gadgets. There is a wide variety to pick from and each can impact combat in different ways. Alongside the gadgets, you also have the ability to customize Spiderman’s suit, each suit having its own powerup abilities.
The side objectives can vary from fun to monotonous. Finding backpacks and taking out enemy outposts were both ones that felt a little repetitive, but there were some harder puzzles to solve that got me excited to find more. The best side missions are the ones where you interact with some of Spiderman’s best villains. Some of those missions even tie in well with the main story, which is an added bonus.
Graphics
Insomniac, Marvel’s Spider-Man’s developer, did a beautiful job creating New York City in this game. Swinging through the skyscrapers of the Big Apple has never looked or felt better. This game is also aided by a great superhero soundtrack, which seems to dip and swell as you are swinging.
What really drove the story forward is the great voice acting done by both Peter Parker, voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, and Mary Jane, who is voiced by Laura Bailey. Both of them portray their complicated relationship as they deal with Spiderman’s responsibilities to the city of New York.
Storyline
This story follows a Spiderman who is already well-established in New York City. They know that you’ve heard the origin story a billion times, so thankfully they skipped right past it. Villains are faithfully represented in the game, some with interesting new interpretations of their look.
The story balances time playing as Spiderman and Peter Parker really well. The Spiderman side of things is great, but there are some interesting and even powerful moments with Peter Parker that don’t make that side of the story a drag like it used to be in past Spiderman games. Both Spiderman and Peter Parker need to make really tough decisions throughout the story, decisions that actually feel heavy.
Overall, this is just a solid Spiderman story. It isn’t a story that is too heavy on fan-service, but it does throw in plenty of great easter eggs to make fans happy. Insomniac did a great job creating a new and unique Spiderman experience.
Coop/Multiplayer
Marvel’s Spider-Man has no multiplayer mode.
Overall Review
This edition to the Spiderman video game universe web-slings itself up to the top of the charts to be probably the best Spiderman game of all time. The lovingly-created New York City is full of things to explore and interesting enemies to fight. Even if you just spend your time swinging around the skyscrapers, I guarantee you’ll have fun.
#7 Best Multiplayer: Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter RPG with some elements of an MMO. It takes you into the far future, where humanity has been reduced to a single city on Earth and a few colonies on nearby planets and puts you in the shoes of one of the few heroes, the Guardians, remaining to protect humanity’s survival.
Destiny 2 gives you three classes to choose from; Warlock, Titan, or Hunter. Each has its own unique playstyle and abilities.
Destiny 2 Review
Jump into Destiny 2 with a squad of your friends and take down humanity’s greatest threat: Dominus Ghaul, leader of the Red Legion. When Destiny 2 originally came out back in 2017, it promised to build on the strong finish of the original Destiny. However, the game that was released was devoid of much content and saw a setback in areas like loot, weapon design, and class abilities (more on the last one that later).
But years have passed since the lackluster release and the game’s developer, Bungie, has responded in a big way. The game made a big comeback with the release of its Forsaken DLC, which had a great story and huge improvements to the in-game quality of life, and is set to get even better now that Bungie has split from its parent company Activision.
Already Bungie has announced that Destiny 2 will be free-to-play starting in October 2020, which is sure to rejuvenate the community even more. Destiny 2 has a lot of promise heading into 2020 and now is the time to jump on board.
Destiny 2 Gameplay
As I said earlier Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter RPG that has many elements of an MMO. The main campaign, which takes about 5 to 10 hours to complete, is only a small fraction of what this game is made for. Past the main campaign, your goal is to upgrade your character (or characters) to be the best that it can be through constantly grinding for better gear.
Destiny 2 gives you many different ways to get better gear after the main campaign. You can do some simple side missions; complete daily goals; play the Crucible, Destiny 2’s PVP multiplayer; do Strikes, which are three-person missions that aren’t in the campaign; or do the Raids, which are awesome 6-person missions that can often take 3 or more hours to complete (more on Raids later).
With daily missions and Strikes being refreshed on a daily and weekly basis, respectively, Destiny 2 is constantly pulling you back to play more. Your character’s rank in Destiny 2 is based on two things: regular level and light level. Your regular level acts as a barrier to certain tiers of gear you can use, while light level dictates the actual power of the gear within that tier.
Everyone who plays Destiny 2 for a while will eventually end up at the same regular level since that can just be obtained from playing a lot. But what sets the great players apart is their light level, since only some of the rarest gear can boost your light level up to the highest level. Don’t worry, while Destiny’s level system may seem confusing at first, it is pretty straight-forward when you play the game for a bit.
At its core, Destiny 2 is a first-person shooter, but the class you choose will depend on the play style that you want. Titans are a tankier class who prefer to hit people with their fists or fly head-long into a group of enemies. The Warlocks are the “magic” users, who can either play a support role or shoot large balls of energy for large amounts of damage.
Finally, the Hunters are an agile class that dash around the battlefield shooting and stabbing foes with their knives. The gameplay might not vary between classes as much as many RPG-purists might like, but the different classes offer enough of a difference that it makes sense to have a variety of classes in a squad for maximum effectiveness in a mission.
Graphics
Destiny 2’s presentation is all-around impressive. The graphics are presented in a half-cartoon, half-realistic way that works for this setting. The expansive worlds that you are able to explore are full of great spectacles, each one very unique from the last. The game is also aided by running on a very smooth 60 fps, which makes gameplay feel amazing.
One of the best parts of Destiny 2 is the sound. Wearing headphones while playing this game is an amazing experience because the sound effects of the explosions, gunshots, enemies, and the wonderful soundtrack combine to one of the best audio experiences in gaming. Having that great audio experience makes this game all the more immersive. It’s just a joy to play.
Storyline
In Destiny 2 you play as a Guardian. The Guardians are humanity’s last hope of survival since they were driven back by a wide variety of enemies to a single city on Earth. You and the rest of the players in the game are the only Guardians remaining, so it is up to you to fight back the darkness surrounding humanity on both Earth and on the surrounding planets where humans had made colonies during humanity’s great golden age of expansion.
Besides the Guardians, the last thing protecting humanity from being totally destroyed is the Traveler, a giant mysterious orb that hovers over the Last City and grants the Guardians with their powers. However, dark forces are constantly trying to defeat the Guardian (which acts as the force of light).
At the beginning of Destiny 2’s main campaign, the Last City is attacked by Dominus Ghaul, who is the leader of the Red Legion. Dominus Ghaul’s goal is to block the Traveler’s energy, leaving the Guardians powerless, and harness the Traveler’s power to make himself the most powerful being in the galaxy. You, as a Guardian, must find a way to bring down Dominus and free the Last City from the Red Legion’s occupation.
Past the main campaign, there is a ton of interesting lore to dive into in Destiny 2. You’ll run into many different alien races to learn about throughout the game including the Cabal, the Vex, the Hive, the Fallen, and the Taken. All enemy types present unique challenges and add a great variety to missions.
The Cabal offer a standard military foe by shooting at you with different types of guns, while the Hive come at you in large swarms of enemies. Each alien race has deep backstories to dive into that isn’t present in the main campaign, which makes finding new lore exciting.
Coop/Multiplayer
Destiny 2 is made to play with other people. Even if you end up doing most things on your own, you will run into other players along the way to your next mission. You will spend a good chunk of your time in Destiny 2 at either the Farm or the Tower, which act as the main hubs for players to buy new gear, get new missions, or meet up with friends before the battle.
Seeing other players in the Tower or Farm oftentimes gives you inspiration for how want to build your character, especially when you see someone else with the rare piece of gear that was just released.
Playing Destiny 2 with your friends is where the game truly shines. Playing PVP or doing the weekly Strikes is a blast, but there is nothing better than diving into a Raid with your friends and figuring out the Raid’s tough puzzles and challenging enemies together.
Raids are the most unique part of Destiny 2. They demand you to have great communication and coordination with your squadmates, as often times it takes the actions of multiple people to progress a Raid forward. You simply cannot get by without teamwork.
Overall Review
The Destiny franchise has had many ups and downs and it ultimately disappointed at the release of Destiny 2. However, Bungie has put in a ton of work since the original release and has turned Destiny 2 an awesome game. With Bungie’s split from Activision, the studio will have more freedom to make decisions that are better for gamers instead of stakeholders.
Decisions like making the game free-to-play, which starts October 1st, make me confident in Destiny 2’s direction. Now is the time to jump in and start playing. For you Destiny fans out there desperately trying to get your hands on Jotunn (a.k.a. the best exotic rifle in the game right now) then check out GameGavel’s guide to getting a Jotunn for yourself.
Final Verdict
If you own a Playstation 4, you are lucky enough to have a console that has a multitude of fantastic exclusives. If you haven’t experienced masterpieces like the Last of Us, Bloodborne, Uncharted, or God of War yet, then you need to make sure you do that fast. Each game treats you with a cinematic-like experience with top-notch writing, beautiful visuals, and some great gameplay. The Playstation is still the place to play.
For more on some great Playstation games to check out, check out Game Gavel’s article on the best games on Playstation Now in 2020.