5 Games That Justify The Price Of A PS5

Gaming has never exactly been an inexpensive hobby. People used to hoard quarters and unload their weekly allowance at the arcade. Home consoles gave gamers another way to spend their hard-earned cash, and it definitely feels like those have only gotten more expensive over time. A new PlayStation 5 currently costs between $650 and $900 depending on which model you're looking at, and plenty of gamers have started asking themselves if the price of entry is really worth it.

It depends on your circumstances, but if you have the required amount of disposable income, then we would argue that owning a PS5 is absolutely worth it, and these games prove it. Gaming, and consoles in particular, might be getting more expensive, but there are still plenty of titles that justify the cost. We can't handle the budgeting side of things for you, but we can show you the games that make it worth splurging on a PS5.

Soulslike games are everywhere these days, action RPGs with punishingly difficult mechanics that rely on environmental storytelling in dark fantasy settings. Before "Dark Souls" popularized the genre, FromSoftware released a game that now looks like an outline for everything that came after it. That being said, "Demon's Souls" is more than just a historical footnote for soulslike fans. The 2009 game has all the key elements of a soulslike title, but its inventive mechanics like the World Tendency system, as well as its hubworld and stage-based structure, give it a completely unique identity. Fans spent years playing games like "Demon's Souls" while bemoaning the fact that the original was trapped on the PlayStation 3 — until the remake finally arrived.

The 2020 "Demon's Souls" remake from Bluepoint Games was a launch title for the PlayStation 5 and one of the first games that made buying the console worthwhile. Even now, at the other end of the console's lifespan, the game is still pulling its weight. The "Demon's Souls" remake faithfully recreates everything that made the original such a groundbreaking experience. The game looks the way the original does in your memory, and it plays as smoothly as you'd expect on a ninth-gen console. "Demon's Souls" is one of the best PS5 exclusives ever, and the PS5 is still the only place where you can play it. For soulslike fans, this game goes a long way to justifying the cost of the console.

Console exclusives are rarer now than they were in previous generations. Video game publishers want to reach as many players as possible, so it makes sense that more and more games are going multiplatform. Sony has even allowed some of its best PlayStation exclusives to go to PC in recent years, but there are a handful of games that players still need a console to experience. "Astro Bot" is one of those rare titles, and it also stands out as being one of the best console exclusives from any generation.

This 3D adventure has a ridiculous amount of charm and buttery smooth visuals. While Astro doesn't have the long history of other console mascots, gamers can expect to see him attached to PlayStation for years to come. In the game, which dropped in 2024 to mark PlayStation's 30th anniversary, players guide the little robot through 90 different levels filled with all sorts of challenges that make full use of the PS5's features. "Astro Bot" leans on the PS5's DualSense controller — players will be using motion controls, reacting to haptic feedback, and hearing audio cues from their controller throughout the game. As such, "Astro Bot" feels like a uniquely PS5 experience.

The PlayStation 4 had its fair share of great games, but it'd be easy to make a case for "Ghost of Tsushima" being the highlight of the PS4 generation. That game gave players a mechanically dense samurai adventure with a moving narrative and some truly memorable characters. On top of that, the game made mind-boggling use of the PS4's hardware to create some of the most impressive visuals on the console. Many people hoped that the game's sequel would pull off a similar trick on the PS5, and they weren't disappointed.

"Ghost of Yotei" continues to build on everything its predecessor did right. The game's snappy combat is just as addicting as it was the first time around, and the new weapons on offer in "Yotei" give returning players a refreshed experience. The revenge plotline is more stripped down and straightforward than the first game's war story, but that works to the sequel's advantage. "Yotei" gets out of its own way and lets players dive right into the breathtaking action. Naturally, the sequel also makes great use of the PS5 tech, and whether players experience the game on the base console or the PS5 Pro, their whole playthrough will be a feast for the eyes. "Yotei" is an exclusive that truly makes the PS5 feel worth the price. 

"Ratchet & Clank" is one of the most beloved game series of all time, and it's always called the PlayStation its home. Fans were ecstatic for their favorite duo to land on the PS5, and when it arrived in 2021, critics raved about "Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart." Today, some might argue that it's proven itself to be the best "Ratchet & Clank" game ever made. Fans of the series will feel right at home, but "Rift Apart" makes sure to update newcomers on what Ratchet and Clank have been up to in the past. Like previous games in the series, "Rift Apart" is an action adventure full of weapons to upgrade, side quests to complete, and collectibles to discover.

What makes "Rift Apart" stand out from its predecessors is the PS5 itself. The game takes every opportunity to use the console's tech, which of course means it's the best-looking "Ratchet & Clank" game in the franchise's history. The graphics are gorgeous, and they're even more impressive on a PS5 Pro. The game also pulls players into its world by making excellent use of the DualSense controller's haptic feedback. Every action moment feels physically explosive, and that's a large part of why "Rift Apart" will stick in your mind long after you've put the controller down.

Despite coming out not long after the console's launch, "Returnal" remains one of the best games on the PlayStation 5 to this day. In fact, though the game is now playable on PC, "Returnal" is one of the few titles that justifies not just the cost of the PS5 but the PS5 Pro. Fans online are quick to recommend "Returnal" to anyone who's considering buying a new PlayStation 5, as it's one of the best-looking games on the console and playing it on a PS5 Pro is an almost unparalleled experience. Unless you have an extremely high-end gaming PC, you won't get a better performance out of the game than on the PS5 Pro.

"Returnal" is a gorgeous, engrossing, and tactile experience on the PS5. All those technical elements work together to perfectly wrap players up in the story of the game. "Returnal" is a sci-fi roguelike where players need to make good use of their weapons and movement abilities in order to survive. Players control Selene Vassos, an astronaut who becomes trapped on an alien world inhabited by dangerous creatures and who finds herself seemingly stuck inside an endless time loop. The game asks players to make a lot of snap decisions, and in those moments, players will definitely appreciate the near-perfect performance offered by the PS5.