PlayStation 4 & Xbox One: What are the greatest games of that generation?
So the next generation of gaming consoles are now upon us; a seven-year chapter that is coming to a close with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Their predecessors, the PS4 and Xbox One, were released back in the autumn of 2013. David Moyes in charge at Manchester United, Luis Suarez returning from a biting ban and Avicii dominating the music charts. It really feels like an age ago.
So what are the best games of the last seven years? GamesRadar have recently decided to rank them accordingly, listing the games that have well and truly defined an era.
Looking in depth at various factors such as design, storytelling, online experiences, the games that evolved and also set the tone for present day gaming development, here are the top 35 titles from GamesRadar’s list.
35. Sea of Thieves
Year: 2017 | Developer: Rare
34. Hollow Knight
Year: 2017 | Developer: Team Cherry
33. Call of Duty: Warzone
Year: 2020 | Developer: Infinity Ward
32. No Man's Sky
Year: 2016 | Developer: Hello Games
31. Rainbow Six Siege
Year: 2015 | Developer: Ubisoft
30. P.T.
Year: 2014 | Developer: Kojima Productions
29. Persona 5 Royal
Year: 2019 | Developer: Atlus
28. Hades
Year: 2020 | Developer: Supergiant Games
27. Marvel's Spider-Man
Year: 2015 | Developer: Insomniac Games
26. Outer Wilds
Year: 2019 | Developer: Mobius
25. GTA Online
Year: 2013 | Developer: Rockstar Games
24. Dreams
Year: 2020 | Developer: Media Molecule
23. Control
Year: 2019 | Developer: Remedy Games
22. Celeste
Year: 2018 | Developer: Extremely OK Games
21. Alien Isolation
Year: 2014 | Developer: Creative Assembly
35-21 Summary
Games 35-21 offer a nice mix of genres, starting off with the real-time multiplayer, pirate adventure title Sea of Thieves.
Call of Duty’s entry into the Battle Royale fray lands as the first 2020 title in the list, as Infinity Ward successfully adapted the world’s most popular FPS game into the current trend.
No Man’s Sky recovered from an awful start, which included waiting times of around 15 minutes between levels to make the list, while Rainbow Six Seige’s different take on the shooter genre proved to be a long-term success.
Marvel’s Spider Man definitely deserves a mention, being able to swing between skyscrapers in a surprisingly realistic Manhattan was awesome, and gave players the closest feeling yet of being Peter Parker.
The success of GTA Online can’t be understated, as it prepares to enter its third console generation, various big updates over the years, including Heists, Gunrunning and The Diamond Casino & Resort have helped keep GTA Online a consistent success, and Rockstar aren’t slowing down, adding the Cayo Perico Heist update just this week.
20-11
20. Return of the Obra Dinn
Year: 2018 | Developer: 3909 LLC
19. Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Year: 2018 | Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
18. Forza Horizon 4
Year: 2018 |Developer: Playground Games
17. Rocket League
Year: 2015 | Developer: Psyonix
16. Horizon Zero Dawn
Year: 2017 | Developer: Guerrilla Games
15. Inside
Year: 2016 | Developer: Playdead
14. Nier: Automata
Year: 2017 | Developer: PlatinumGames
13. Dishonored 2
Year: 2016 | Developer: Arkane Studios
12. Kentucky Route Zero
Year: 2020 | Developer: Cardboard Computer
11. Destiny 2
Year: 2017 | Developer: Bungie Inc.
20-11 Summary
Now moving into the top 20, it would be fitting to talk about Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, as Ubisoft offered a solid blueprint on how to revitalise a franchise after the underwhelming Black Flag.
Titles such as Forza Horizon 4 and Rocket League follow, both involving cars, yet vastly different. As with its two prequels, Forza Horizon 4 blended the intensity of racing and freedom of the open world brilliantly, while Rocket League showed how to perfectly execute a simple concept into a roaring success, as Psyonix made football with cars one of this generation’s most popular games.
Destiny 2 lands just outside the top 10, with the fast smooth gunplay and a beautiful balance in terms of the game's overall feel.
10-1
10. Fortnite: Battle Royale
Year: 2017 | Developer: Epic Games
9. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Year: 2016 | Developer: Naughty Dog
8. What Remains of Edith Finch
Year: 2017 | Developer: Giant Sparrow
7. Stardew Valley
Year: 2016 | Developer: ConcernedApe
6. The Last of Us: Part 2
Year: 2020 | Developer: Naughty Dog
5. Red Dead Redemption 2
Year: 2018 | Developer: Rockstar North
4. Titanfall 2
Year: 2016 | Developer: Respawn Entertainment
3. Bloodborne
Year: 2015 | Developer: FromSoftware
2. God of War
Year: 2018 | Developer: SIE Santa Monica Studio
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Year: 2015 | Developer: CD Projekt Red
10-1 Summary
Few games have as much of a love/hate feeling in the industry than Fortnite, but it’s industrial innovation, as a platform for not just gaming, but for live events, with a live show from masked DJ and producer Marshmello soon followed up by the likes of Travis Scott, pushing the boundaries of what can be done inside a video game.
The long-awaited Red Dead Redemption 2 also earns a deserved spot in the top 10, a brilliant, realistically landscaped version of late 19th/early 20th Century America is breathtaking, as is the storyline, in which you play in a timeframe set before the original, as a Van der Linde outlaw Arthur Morgan.
The Witcher 3 takes the cake as GamesRadar’s game of the PS4 & Xbox One generation. A game so good it spawned a Netflix series based on the iconic protagonist Geralt of Rivia. The end result was a title in which many players built an emotional connection to the characters and the story, as Geralt hunted for his adopted daughter Ciri, in one of the most epic adventures of recent times.
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