Sony’s PlayStation 5has been a massive success for the company after launching with some incredible exclusive games back in November of 2020. Titles likeDemon’s Souls,Spider-Man Miles Morales,andAstro’s Playroomreally showcased what the console was capable of. PlayStation consoles have always been powerful on the hardware side of things, but what always set them apart were the first-party exclusives that came with them.
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Fortunately, such has been the case with the PlayStation 5 as well. 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for Sony and PlayStation fans as many anticipated first-party games are set to hit the PlayStation 5 this year.From sequels to new IPsand even some heavy VR titles, here are thebest upcoming PS5 exclusive titles coming in 2023.
8Season: A Letter To The Future (Console Exclusive)
In Scavengers Studio’sSeason: A Letter to the Futureplayers play as a young woman adventuring across the world alone on her bike to collect and record memories of the world before a cataclysmic event can wash everything away. Players travel the world, meet people, see things, explore places, and document all that they experience while they can.
The PlayStation 5 version of the game will be an even more immersive experience for players as the game will take advantage of the console’s 3D audio and Dual Sense’s haptic feedback.Season: A Letter to the Futureis a PlayStation console exclusive indie game releasing for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on January 31st, 2023.
7Forspoken (Timed Console Exclusive)
Forspokenis an upcoming action RPG developed by Luminous Productions that follows the journey of a girl named Frey as she gets transported from the city of New York to a world filled with magic and danger, called Athia. The game puts players in control of Frey as she fights her way through enemies and monsters in this mysterious new world in order to find her way back home.
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Forspokenis a timed console exclusive releasing on the PlayStation 5 on January 24th, 2023, and will not be coming to Xbox for another two years. According to the developers,Forspokenwill take advantage of PS5’s Dual sense controller in ways that will make the game feel more immersive.
6Horizon Call Of The Mountain VR
Sony is gearing up to release their latest PSVR 2 headset in February 2023, and what franchise would be more fitting to showcase the power of Sony’s new VR gear thanGuerrilla Games’Horizon?Horizon Call of The Mountainwill see players enter the shoes of a former warrior of the Shadow Carja clan named Ryas. In pursuit of redemption, Ryas sets out by himself to investigate a new threat to the Sundom.
The game will feature treacherous mountains to climb, and wild beasts to fend against using a bow and arrows.Horizon Call of The Mountainis a PlayStation 5 exclusive VR game launching alongside the PSVR2 as a launch title on February 22nd, 2023.
5The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
Supermassive games are bringing forward something unique with their latest VR spin-off of theDark Pictures Anthologyseries, titledThe Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. The game willmake players ride a terrifying roller coaster where they would have to shoot their way out of danger as they face off against horrifying antagonists from the first season of the anthology series.
Players are in for a thrilling ride where blinking could mean the difference between life and death.The Dark Pictures: Switchback VRis aPSVR2 exclusive titlethat will be released on February 22nd, 2023.
4Stellar Blade
Stellar Bladeis an upcoming story-driven action game being developed by Korean developer SHIFT UP and is being published by Sony Interactive Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 5. The game puts players in control of Eve who is a member of a resistance group fighting off against parasites known as the NA:tives to save humanity’s last surviving city on Earth.
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Players will unravel the mysteriesof Earth’s downfall in what is bound to be an action-packed adventure.Stellar Bladedoes not have an official release date but is slated to release sometime in 2023.
3Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Square Enix exceeded all expectations with their remake of the beloved classic RPG that isFinal Fantasy 7in 2020. Part remake, part sequel,Final Fantasy 7 Remakeexpanded the first few hours of the original RPG into a full game and brought forth many new and exciting twists along the way.
The second part of the remake, titledFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, will seeCloud and the gang finally leave Midgarand will mark the return of more familiar characters from the original RPG.Rebirthwill also give players more insight into Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth’s complicated history. The game is set to release sometime in the Winter of 2023.
2Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Insomniac games set a new standard for Superhero video games back in 2018 with the release of their firstSpider-Mangame. Now, after almost 5 long years the highly anticipated sequel toMarvel’s Spider-Manis finally hitting the PlayStation 5. Like the first game,Marvel’sSpider-Man 2will be an open-world action game featuringloads of new and returning abilities for the Spider-Men.
Players are in for an incredible trip with their favorite web crawlers as, Peter and Miles work together to face off against their strongest foe yet, that being the villainous Venom. Not many details have been revealed about the new gameplay, but the game is slated to release sometime in the Fall of 2023.
1Final Fantasy 16
Square Enix’s highly anticipatedFinal Fantasy 16is finally coming out this yearexclusively for the PlayStation 5 andFinal Fantasyfans could not be more stoked.Final Fantasy 16is the sixteenth mainline entry in the long-running franchise and is set in a world called Valisthea, divided by six nations. The game stars Clive Rosefield, the First Shield of Rosaria, tasked with protecting his younger brother who is the Dominant of the Phoenix Eikon.
Like other modern FF games,Final Fantasy 16will feature real-time fast-paced combat mixed with a deep lore and a fun cast of characters. The game is set to release exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on June 22nd, 2023.