The PS3 was a console of two halves: an expensive, troubled start followed by a golden run of first-party exclusives from Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, Media Molecule and thatgamecompany, alongside a very strong multiplatform library. The list therefore mixes the defining exclusives with the games that were best played on the PS3, and it covers every genre from open-world crime sagas and shooters to Japanese role-playing games, fighting games and small downloadable experiments. No franchise appears more than twice. Where a game was later remastered or re-released, the entry says so; otherwise the original hardware remains the way to play it.
1. Grand Theft Auto IV#
Rockstar North released Grand Theft Auto IV in April 2008 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, trading the cartoonish excess of San Andreas for a grounded, satirical Liberty City and the immigrant story of Niko Bellic. Its simulation of a living city, from radio stations and television shows to the weighty, physical way cars and characters move, set a new bar for open-world design. It holds a Metacritic score of 98 on the PS3, the highest of any game on the system, and drew perfect scores from outlets such as GameSpot and Eurogamer. The heavy driving and movement can feel stiff today, and the constant phone calls from friends wanting to hang out wear thin. It is best played on the original hardware or on PC.
2. Grand Theft Auto V#
Grand Theft Auto V came out in September 2013 from Rockstar North, one of the last major releases for the PS3, and it stretched the console to its limits with a sprawling Los Santos and a story told through three playable criminals. Its heist missions, satirical tone and sheer density of things to do earned a Metacritic score of 97, and it broke sales records on release, reaching one billion dollars in revenue within three days. The PS3 version shows the strain, with a low resolution and a frame rate that dips in busy scenes, and the story's cynicism can grate. The game has since been re-released on PS4, PS5 and PC with better performance, so those versions are the better way to play now.
3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves#
Naughty Dog released Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in October 2009, and it turned a good action-adventure into a benchmark for cinematic game design. Nathan Drake's hunt for Marco Polo's lost fleet is stitched together by set pieces, including a gunfight in a collapsing building and a sequence on a moving train, that flow seamlessly in and out of play. It scored 96 on Metacritic and collected Game of the Year awards from a large number of outlets and award bodies in 2009. The shooting is competent rather than deep and the puzzles are light, but the pacing is close to flawless and the character writing is warm and funny. The game is part of The Nathan Drake Collection on PS4, which remasters the first three Uncharted games.
4. The Last of Us#
Naughty Dog's The Last of Us arrived in June 2013, late in the PS3's life, and became the console's farewell masterpiece. Joel and Ellie's journey across a collapsed United States pairs tense, scarcity-driven survival action with characters and writing that many critics regard as a high point for story-driven games of that generation. It holds a Metacritic score of 95 and won Game of the Year at the 2013 Spike VGAs, the awards now known as the Game Awards. The stealth and gunplay are sturdy rather than revolutionary, and the enemy artificial intelligence shows its age in places. The story can be played through The Last of Us Remastered on PS4 or through the 2022 remake, The Last of Us Part I, on PS5, though the PS3 original remains a landmark.
5. Red Dead Redemption#
Rockstar San Diego released Red Dead Redemption in May 2010, and it defined the open-world western for a generation. Former outlaw John Marston hunts his old gang across a vast frontier of desert, mountains and Mexican borderland, and the mix of quiet riding, dueling and a bittersweet ending stayed with players long after release. It scored 95 on Metacritic and took Game of the Year at the 2010 Spike VGAs. Some missions lean on the same escort and defend formulas, and the stretch in Mexico can feel slow before the story picks up again. The game was re-released for PS4 and Nintendo Switch in 2023, which is the easiest way to play it today.
6. Portal 2#
Valve released Portal 2 in April 2011, and the PS3 version was notable for bringing Steam features to a console for the first time. It expanded a two-hour puzzle experiment into a full campaign with new gel mechanics, a memorable villain in Wheatley and some of the sharpest comedy writing in games. It scored 95 on Metacritic and won a large number of Game of the Year awards. The single-player campaign is short by modern standards and the puzzles, while ingenious, are rarely truly hard, but the cooperative mode remains one of the best ever built. Portal 2 is available on many other platforms, and the PS3 release is the console original.
7. LittleBigPlanet#
Media Molecule released LittleBigPlanet in October 2008, and its motto of Play, Create, Share turned a charming platformer into a toolkit for user-made games. The handmade fabric look, floaty physics and endearing Sackboy gave the PS3 a mascot it had lacked, and the game scored 95 on Metacritic. The jumping physics can feel imprecise and the shipped campaign is short compared with the depth of the tools. Its greatest legacy is the community that built full games inside it, and its sequel, LittleBigPlanet 2, scored 91. The game is best played on the original hardware.
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare#
Infinity Ward released Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in November 2007, moving the series from the Second World War to a modern setting and reinventing online shooters with perks, killstreaks and a progression system. The campaign is tightly paced, with memorable moments such as the sniper mission All Ghillied Up, and the game scored 94 on Metacritic. The campaign is short, at about six hours, and the original multiplayer scene has long since moved on. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered arrived in 2016 for current platforms of that time.
9. BioShock#
Irrational Games' BioShock reached the PS3 in October 2008, more than a year after its original release on Xbox 360 and PC in 2007. The underwater city of Rapture, its philosophical critique of objectivism and the twist at its center made it a landmark in game storytelling, and it holds a Metacritic score of 94 on the PS3. The shooting and the final act are weaker than the setting and writing. BioShock: The Collection, released in 2016, is a way to play it on current consoles together with its sequels.
10. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots#
Hideo Kojima's team released Metal Gear Solid 4 in June 2008 as a PS3 exclusive, giving Solid Snake a bleak, aged send-off across battlefields in the Middle East, South America and Eastern Europe. Its blend of stealth and open combat, and its lavish production values, showed off the console's power, and Famitsu awarded it a perfect 40 out of 40. It holds a Metacritic score of 94, although Edge scored it 8 out of 10 and criticized the very long cutscenes. Those cutscenes, the mandatory installs between acts and the dense, self-referential lore remain its most divisive elements. The PS3 is the platform the game was made for.
11. Batman: Arkham City#
Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham City arrived in October 2011 and raised the standard for licensed games again by moving Batman into an open, walled-off section of Gotham run by its prisoners. Its free-flow combat, gadget-driven exploration and strong supporting cast, including Mark Hamill's Joker, produced a Metacritic score of 96 on the PS3. The map is crowded with Riddler trophies and side content that can feel like a checklist, and the story loses focus toward the end. Arkham City is available together with Batman: Arkham Asylum in the 2016 Return to Arkham collection on PS4 and Xbox One.
12. Mass Effect 2#
BioWare's Mass Effect 2 reached the PS3 in January 2011, a year after its Xbox 360 and PC release, and it was the first entry in the trilogy the PS3 received. The recruit-a-team structure, deep loyalty missions and the suicide-mission finale made it the emotional high point of the series, and it holds a Metacritic score of 94 on the PS3. Planetary scanning is a chore and the shooting is simple. Mass Effect Legendary Edition, released in 2021 for PS4, remasters the whole trilogy and is the best way to play it now.
13. Street Fighter IV#
Capcom and Dimps released Street Fighter IV on consoles in February 2009, reviving the fighting game genre after a long dormancy with a return to one-on-one play rendered in 3D. Its accessible but deep combat and its arrival at the height of the PS3's online era brought back arcade-style competition, and it scored 94 on Metacritic. Super Street Fighter IV followed and scored 92. The character art divided some fans and the single-player content is thin. The game is best played on the original hardware, or through later games in the series.
14. BioShock Infinite#
Irrational Games released BioShock Infinite in March 2013 for the PS3, moving the series from the ocean floor to the floating city of Columbia, an early-twentieth-century America in the clouds. Ken Levine's story of Booker DeWitt and the girl he is sent to retrieve, Elizabeth, is carried by a companion who tosses supplies into fights and opens tears into other realities, while the Sky-Line rails make combat far more mobile than in the original. Its setting, its companion and its ending were widely praised, and the game holds a Metacritic score of 94 on the PS3. The shooting is more conventional than in the first game and some critics found the themes muddled. It is included in BioShock: The Collection, released in 2016.
15. Persona 5#
Atlus released Persona 5 in Japan in September 2016 and in the West in April 2017, making it one of the last big exclusives for the PS3, launched alongside the PS4 version. Its stylish interface, calendar-driven school life and heist-themed dungeons made it one of the most acclaimed role-playing games of the decade, with a Metacritic score of 93 across its versions. The game is very long and moves slowly in its opening hours, and the PS3 version has a lower resolution than the PS4 one. Persona 5 Royal, the expanded edition on newer consoles, is the recommended way to play now.
16. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion#
Bethesda Game Studios released Oblivion on the Xbox 360 and PC in March 2006, and the PS3 version followed a year later, in March 2007. Its open Cyrodiil was one of the first true showcases of what a next-generation role-playing game could be, with non-player characters that follow daily routines, the freedom to join guilds or ignore the main quest, and a voice cast that included Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean. It scored 93 on Metacritic on the PS3, one point below the Xbox 360 and PC versions. The level scaling, stiff faces and repetitive Oblivion gates have not aged well, and the PS3 port was less polished than later games in the series. A remaster, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, was released in 2025.
17. Braid#
Jonathan Blow's Braid was released on Xbox Live Arcade in August 2008 and on the PS3 through PlayStation Network in November 2009. Its puzzle platforming is built around time manipulation, with a different rule for time in each world, and it helped establish the modern independent game scene. The hand-painted art by David Hellman and a melancholy soundtrack gave it a distinctive identity. It scored 93 on Metacritic on the PS3. Its story and writing divided players, especially the epilogue, and the game is short, with the optional stars and hidden puzzles adding the most challenge. It has since been remastered as Braid: Anniversary Edition.
18. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim#
Bethesda Game Studios released Skyrim in November 2011, an enormous northern province full of dragons, caves, guilds and side stories that respond to almost any playstyle. It earned a Metacritic score of 92 on the PS3 and won Game of the Year at the 2011 Spike VGA awards. The PS3 version was widely reported to suffer from frame rate problems as save files grew larger, and the combat and quest writing are simple compared with the scale of the world. Skyrim Special Edition and later releases on PS4, PS5 and other platforms are the better way to play it today.
19. God of War III#
Santa Monica Studio released God of War III in March 2010, ending Kratos's revenge against the Greek gods with a spectacle that showed off the PS3's graphical power. The Titan-scale opening on Mount Olympus, the brutal combat and the boss fights set a high mark for the genre, and the game scored 92 on Metacritic. The story is thin, Kratos is a one-note protagonist, and the puzzles are rarely engaging. The 2015 remaster on PS4 is the easiest way to play it. The earlier games were collected for the PS3 in the God of War Collection, which scored 91.
20. Journey#
Journey was released by thatgamecompany in March 2012 as a PlayStation Network download, sending a robed traveler across a desert toward a distant mountain. There is no dialogue and no combat, and players may meet an anonymous stranger for a shared, wordless trek. It scored 92 on Metacritic, won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards, and its score by Austin Wintory was nominated for a Grammy, a first for a game soundtrack in that category. The game is short, roughly two hours, and some players want more challenge or content. It is available on PS4 and PC, and the PS3 original remains a landmark of the platform.
21. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception#
Naughty Dog released Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception in November 2011, sending Drake and Sully across a desert in search of the lost city of Ubar. Its set pieces, from a burning chateau to a capsizing cruise ship, push the PS3's technology, and it scored 92 on Metacritic. The story is looser than in the previous game and the shooting sections feel more repetitive, but the sense of spectacle remains unmatched on the console. It is available in The Nathan Drake Collection on PS4, which remasters the first three games.
22. Assassin's Creed II#
Ubisoft Montreal released Assassin's Creed II in November 2009, turning a promising but repetitive first game into a rich Renaissance adventure through Florence, Venice and the Tuscan countryside. Ezio Auditore's revenge story, a friendly Leonardo da Vinci who supplies gadgets, and the upgradeable villa that funds Ezio's progress fixed most of the complaints about the original. It scored 91 on Metacritic on the PS3. The combat is easy, the stealth is forgiving and the modern-day segments are less interesting than the historical ones. It began the Ezio trilogy that continued with Brotherhood and Revelations, and all three were collected in The Ezio Collection, released in 2016 for PS4 and Xbox One.
23. Batman: Arkham Asylum#
Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum, released in August 2009, showed that a superhero game could be excellent, blending stealth, brawling and detective work in a gothic island prison. It holds a Metacritic score of 91, and Guinness World Records recognized it as the most critically acclaimed superhero game. The boss fights are weaker than the rest of the game, and its scale is much smaller than that of its sequel. It is included in the 2016 Return to Arkham collection on PS4 and Xbox One.
24. Killzone 2#
Guerrilla Games released Killzone 2 in February 2009, and its grimy, war-torn visuals, weighty gunplay and the red-eyed Helghast enemies made it the console's first true technical showpiece. The invasion of the Helghast homeworld Helghan is a heavy, cover-based shooter with a lot of atmosphere. It holds a Metacritic score of 91, and its Warzone online mode, which chained different objectives together over a match, was highly regarded. The game had been the subject of intense scrutiny since a 2005 trailer that many doubted the PS3 could match, and the finished product was widely seen as delivering on the visual promise. The controls have a deliberate weight that some players found sluggish, and the story is standard science fiction.
25. Borderlands 2#
Gearbox's Borderlands 2 arrived in September 2012, a cooperative looter-shooter with a sharp comic voice, four playable Vault Hunters and Handsome Jack as an excellent villain. Its cel-shaded look and its endless supply of randomly generated guns made it a hit in co-op. It scored 91 on Metacritic on the PS3, higher than the Xbox 360 version at 89. The story is padded in places, the random loot can be frustrating and the first hours can feel slow before the classes come into their own. Downloadable content such as Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep extended it, and the game was included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection in 2015.
26. Fallout 3#
Bethesda Game Studios released Fallout 3 in October 2008, taking the post-apocalyptic series from isometric role-playing into first-person 3D in the ruined Capital Wasteland around Washington, D.C. The game opens with a birth and childhood in Vault 101, and Liam Neeson voices the player's father. Its VATS system, which pauses combat to target body parts, its moral choices and its environmental storytelling earned a Metacritic score of 90 on the PS3, a few points below the Xbox 360 version at 93. The PS3 version was known for technical problems, including crashes, and the main story is short compared with the amount of exploration on offer. Its formula was refined in Fallout: New Vegas, made by Obsidian in 2010.
27. Limbo#
Playdead's Limbo reached the PS3 in July 2011, a year after its Xbox 360 debut in July 2010. The Danish studio's monochrome dread and clever puzzle platforming, in which a nameless boy searches a dark forest and industrial ruins for his sister, made it a landmark of the indie era. It holds a Metacritic score of 90. There is no dialogue and no explanation, and the grim deaths help set the tone. It can be completed in a few hours, some deaths feel unfair and a few physics puzzles rely on trial and error. It has since been released on many other platforms, and Playdead followed it with Inside in 2016.
28. Far Cry 3#
Ubisoft Montreal released Far Cry 3 in December 2012, and its tropical Rook Islands, its freedom of approach and the unforgettable villain Vaas, played by Michael Mando, gave the open-world shooter a strong new template. Players liberate outposts, hunt animals to craft upgrades and choose between stealth and open assault. It holds a Metacritic score of 90 on the PS3. Its second half is weaker as the pace drops, and the protagonist Jason Brody's story is uneven, with the villain outshining him. The standalone spin-off Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon followed in 2013, and the game was later released on PS4.
29. Demon's Souls#
FromSoftware released Demon's Souls in Japan in February 2009 as an obscure, punishing action role-playing game, and it grew into one of the most influential titles of its era. Its brutal difficulty, atmospheric world and asynchronous online messages, ghosts and world tendency system created the template for the Souls genre. It holds a Metacritic score of 89, and GameSpot named it its Game of the Year for 2009. The game had a low-key western launch through Atlus in North America in October 2009, and it outsold the publisher's expectations. Loading times and clumsy menus feel dated. Bluepoint's 2020 remake on PS5 is the definitive way to play it now.
30. Dark Souls#
FromSoftware's Dark Souls launched in Japan in September 2011 and in the West in October 2011, and it expanded on Demon's Souls with a single interconnected world and famously cryptic storytelling. It holds a Metacritic score of 89 on the PS3 and became a cultural phenomenon that shaped a genre. The PS3 version suffered from a low frame rate, especially in the swamp area of Blighttown, and the final third of the game feels unfinished. Dark Souls Remastered from 2018 is the recommended way to play it now.
31. Deus Ex: Human Revolution#
Eidos Montréal's Deus Ex: Human Revolution, released in August 2011, revived a classic series with a prequel starring Adam Jensen, with augmentations, hacking and multiple ways through its missions. Its golden, Renaissance-influenced art style gave the world a strong identity. It scored 89 on Metacritic on the PS3. The boss fights, which were outsourced to another studio and forced players into direct combat, were criticized and were later reworked in the Director's Cut, released in 2013. The hub cities are smaller than the sprawling levels of the original game.
32. Dishonored#
Arkane's Dishonored, released in October 2012, gave players a supernatural assassin, Corvo Attano, and multiple ways through the plague-ridden, whale-oil-powered city of Dunwall. Powers such as Blink let players teleport across rooftops, and a chaos system changed the outcome depending on how many people were killed. It scored 89 on Metacritic on the PS3. Its story is thin and the characters are forgettable, and its sequel, Dishonored 2 in 2016, refined many of its ideas. Dishonored: Definitive Edition was released on PS4 in 2015.
33. Dead Space#
Dead Space, released by EA Redwood Shores in October 2008, is a science-fiction survival-horror game set aboard the mining ship USG Ishimura, with an interface built into the world and a dismemberment-based combat system in which players cut off the limbs of the necromorphs. Engineer Isaac Clarke's health meter sits on the back of his suit instead of a menu. It scored 88 on Metacritic on the PS3, one point behind the Xbox 360 version. Its later chapters are repetitive and the story is a familiar mix of science-fiction horror ideas. A sequel followed in 2011 and a full remake was released in 2023.
34. Bayonetta#
PlatinumGames' Bayonetta was released in Japan in October 2009, and director Hideki Kamiya's stylish action game about a witch fighting angels is regarded as one of the best in its genre. Its fast, combo-driven combat and Witch Time dodge system earned a near-perfect 39 out of 40 from Famitsu, and the PS3 version holds a Metacritic score of 87. That version was a port handled by Sega and is generally regarded as technically weaker than the Xbox 360 original, with a lower frame rate. The game was later released on PC in 2017 and on Switch in 2018, which is the better way to play it now.
35. Heavy Rain#
Quantic Dream released Heavy Rain in February 2010, an interactive thriller about the Origami Killer that lets players guide four characters, including the father Ethan Mars and the FBI profiler Norman Jayden, through decisions with lasting consequences. Its cinematic direction and its willingness to let the story continue after failure, even the death of a lead character, made it one of the most discussed games on the PS3, and it holds a Metacritic score of 87. The pacing is deliberate and much of the play consists of quick-time prompts and motion-based actions rather than traditional challenges. Its voice acting and dialogue are uneven, and the plot has holes that become obvious on a second playthrough. A PS4 version was released in 2016.
36. Burnout Paradise#
Criterion released Burnout Paradise in January 2008, moving the crash-happy racing series into an open city, Paradise City, where players can start any event at any intersection. Takedowns, showtime crashes and the free-roaming structure made it feel new, and it scored 87 on Metacritic on the PS3, one point behind the Xbox 360 version. The lack of a quick restart option frustrated some players, and the absence of a traditional event menu took getting used to. Later updates added features such as motorcycles. Burnout Paradise Remastered was released in 2018.
37. Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time#
Insomniac released Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time in October 2009, and it is regarded as the high point of the series on the PS3, with a strong mix of inventive weapons, planet exploration and time-based puzzles in which Clank records and replays his own actions. It also gave Ratchet a spaceship with a small open galaxy to explore between story missions. It scored 87 on Metacritic, and its predecessor, Tools of Destruction, which launched the Future trilogy in 2007, scored 89. The space-flight sections and the puzzles are of uneven quality, and it is best enjoyed by players who know the earlier games in the Future trilogy.
38. Flower#
Thatgamecompany's Flower was released in February 2009 for the PS3 as a downloadable game, a wordless experience in which the player steers a gust of wind and gathers petals across meadows that gradually transform a gray, industrial world. It was played with the motion controls of the Sixaxis controller and scored 87 on Metacritic. It showed that the PlayStation Network could host art games and prepared the ground for the studio's later Journey. It is short, roughly two hours, and undemanding, and the motion controls can feel loose. It came to PS4 in 2015 and to PC in 2019.
39. Valkyria Chronicles#
Sega's Valkyria Chronicles reached Japan in April 2008 and North America in November 2008, and its watercolor-style visuals and hybrid of turn-based tactics and real-time third-person action made it one of the most original tactical role-playing games of the era. Players lead the militia of Gallia against an invading empire, moving units on a map and then controlling them directly on the battlefield. It holds a Metacritic score of 86. The story is a familiar war tale and the late chapters are repetitive, with a lot of dialogue between missions. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered arrived on PS4 in 2016.
40. Resistance: Fall of Man#
Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man was one of the launch titles for the PS3 in November 2006, a shooter set in an alternate-history 1951 in which the alien Chimera have overrun Europe. Players fight through England as the soldier Nathan Hale, with a large arsenal of unusual weapons and a big online mode. It scored 86 on Metacritic and was one of the strongest games available at the console's launch. It looks and feels dated now, the story is thin and the protagonist has little personality. Its sequel, Resistance 2, scored 87, and the trilogy was completed by Resistance 3 in 2011.
41. Infamous#
Sucker Punch, the studio behind Sly Cooper, released Infamous in May 2009, an open-world superhero game in which the electricity-powered courier Cole McGrath climbs across the quarantined Empire City and chooses between good and evil. Its traversal, from grinding along power lines to gliding on shockwaves, is very satisfying, and the karma system changes both powers and story outcomes. The game scored 85 on Metacritic. The city is visually drab, the morality choices are simplistic and some of the missions are repetitive. Infamous 2 followed in 2011, and the series moved to the PS4 with Infamous Second Son in 2014.
42. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch#
Level-5 and Studio Ghibli released Ni no Kuni on the PS3 in Japan in December 2011 and in the West in January 2013. Its hand-drawn look, animation by Ghibli and a score by Joe Hisaishi made it feel like an interactive Ghibli film. Oliver's quest to save his mother in a parallel world, with the help of the fairy Drippy and a roster of creatures to tame and evolve, scored 85 on Metacritic. The Western release was packaged with an in-game spell book, the Wizard's Companion, as part of its storybook design. The real-time battle system and the companion artificial intelligence are frustrating at times, and the story is gentle to the point of simple. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered came to PS4 in 2019.
43. Castle Crashers#
The Behemoth released Castle Crashers on the PS3 in August 2010 after its Xbox Live Arcade debut in August 2008, a cartoon beat-em-up for up to four players with light role-playing progression. Dan Paladin's hand-drawn art and absurd humor make it a popular pick for couch co-op, and the game scored 85 on Metacritic on the PS3, above the Xbox 360 version at 82. Players unlock new knights, animal orbs and weapons as they level up. It is repetitive by design, and it is far better with friends than alone. Castle Crashers Remastered arrived in 2015.
44. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons#
Starbreeze's Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was released in August 2013 on Xbox 360 and in September on PS3 under director Josef Fares, and it has players control both brothers at once, one with each analog stick. The two sons travel through a fantasy world to find a cure for their father's illness, and the characters speak in an invented language. It scored 85 on Metacritic on the PS3, and its ending is regularly named among the most affecting in games because it uses the control scheme itself. It is short, about three hours, and offers little challenge. A remake was released in 2024.
45. Devil May Cry 4#
Capcom released Devil May Cry 4 in February 2008, introducing the young Nero, with his demonic Devil Bringer arm, alongside the returning Dante in a stylish action game that was among the first big Capcom releases built for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It scored 84 on Metacritic on the PS3. Its combat is deep and fast, and Nero's grabs give it a different rhythm from Dante's style-switching. Its second half forces players to backtrack through the same levels and fight the same bosses, which weighs on the ending. A Special Edition, which added playable Vergil, Trish and Lady, was released in 2015.
46. Vanquish#
PlatinumGames' Vanquish, directed by Shinji Mikami and released in October 2010, is a high-speed cover shooter built around sliding and slow-motion, with the player wearing an Augmented Reaction Suit as the soldier Sam Gideon. Its combat rewards constant motion instead of hiding behind cover, and it scored 84 on Metacritic on the PS3. The campaign is short, at about six hours, and the story is a loud, clichéd blend of Cold War tropes and science fiction. It was released on PC in 2017 and on PS4 and Xbox One in 2020.
47. Final Fantasy XIII#
Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIII in Japan in December 2009 and in the West in March 2010, the first main entry of the series on the PS3. Its striking visuals and fast battle system, which lets players shift roles in the middle of a fight, earned a Metacritic score of 83. The heroine, Lightning, and her party are led along a path with little freedom to explore, and the game is criticized for its long, linear corridors, which open up only in its later hours. Two sequels followed, Final Fantasy XIII-2 in 2011 and Lightning Returns in 2013. It was released on PC in 2014.
48. The Walking Dead#
Telltale's The Walking Dead, released in five episodes during 2012, made choices and consequences the center of an adventure game, based on Robert Kirkman's comic, and won Game of the Year at the 2012 Spike VGA awards. The bond between the convict Lee Everett and the young girl Clementine was widely praised and gave the story its emotional weight. Players are told that the characters will remember decisions, and while the story stays on a fixed track more than it appears, the effect is powerful. The gameplay is minimal, mostly dialogue choices and simple puzzles. It was later collected in a definitive edition.
49. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance#
PlatinumGames and Kojima Productions released Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance in February 2013, a fast, aggressive spin-off starring the cyborg Raiden, built around a free-form Blade Mode that lets the player slice enemies and objects in any direction. The game was widely praised for its combat and boss fights and has a strong cult following, although its Metacritic score of 80 on the PS3 shows it was not universally loved. Its campaign is short, some critics found the story uneven and the camera can struggle in tight spaces. It was released on PC in 2014.
50. Catherine#
Atlus's Catherine was released in Japan in February 2011 and in North America in July 2011, and it combined a block-pushing puzzle game with an adult story of infidelity from the Persona team. Vincent Brooks, torn between his long-time girlfriend Katherine and the mysterious Catherine, climbs nightmarish towers each night while facing choices in the bar he visits by day. It was widely praised for its originality and scored 79 on Metacritic on the PS3. The difficulty is steep and the story's tone is uneven, though the multiple endings encourage replays. An expanded edition, Catherine: Full Body, was released in 2019.