The 10 Best Single-Player PS4 Games

Best Overall: God of War

The best overall single-player for PS4 is God of War, a title that is making the waves with its epic storyline, graphics, animations and cinematic presentation. The over-the-shoulder, third-person, hack-and-slash adventure is currently the highest rated PS4 title on Metacritic and comes with appropriately timed action-adventure gameplay and RPG elements.

God of War reimagines the series with an introspective Kratos, a now bearded god of war sent on daddy duty while traversing through six of the nine realms of Norse mythology. You’ll teach and fight alongside your bow-wielding eager son as you face the harsh reality of sparing no mercy against trolls, giants and orcs. God of War is one of those games you enjoy like an old wine — you won’t rush into it but will want to sit down and take your time to appreciate every hint and note that went into its multimillion-dollar making.

Best Action-Adventure: Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn, the best single-player game for action-adventure on the PS4 has players explore lush vibrant environments filled with self-replicating robot animals and machines. Horizon Zero Dawn has you playing a huntress exploring a huge, open world with day/night cycles and a dynamic weather system in forests, jungles, deserts and snowy mountain regions.

Players will figure out the mystery behind the roaming mechanical beasts while battling and ambushing them with trip wires, spears, arrows, explosives and other traps and even hacking them to become makeshift mounts or traveling companions. You’ll to forage items such as medicine, learn stealthy takedowns wildebeests and enhance your hunter prowess with brimming adrenaline to take aim against foes.

Best Platformer: Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

The best single-player platformer on the PS4 is Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. The collection remasters the original Crash Bandicoot from the 90s, Cortex Strikes Back and Warped games with updated HD graphics, unreleased levels and more. It's also rated as one of our top kid-friendly games for the PS4.

Crash Bandicoot was Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic; a marsupial party dude with Indiana Jones tendencies. The Crash Bandicoot series is challenging, punishing you for every mistake and always creating a sense of urgency. In the game, you'll run, spin and bounce off crates, skunks and crabs, avoid pitfalls and dodge Aztec wheels in the fictional Wumpa Islands of Australia. Fans provided feedback to developers in remaking Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, helping preserve the integrity and formulas from the original games to bring this classic into modern times with the same addictive and fun gameplay.

Best Remake: Shadow of the Colossus

Colossal in nature and title, Shadow of the Colossus is a fully rebuilt classic made from the ground up. In the game, you’ll ride on horseback with a sword in hand as you head for the hills toward skyscraper-sized beasts that you must take down, and it's all in magnificent HD.

You are the Wanderer, a boy set on bringing a girl back to life by defeating 16 massive beings scattered through a forbidden land. Described as a puzzle game, Shadow of the Colossus is a minimalist, third-person, action-adventure with gameplay that consists of exploring the terrain and discovering giant colossi that players have to defeat by climbing on and figuring out their weak points. Though simple, Shadow of the Colossus wows with its build-up and atmosphere, focusing on the small things like your grip endurance, for example, as you climb each towering creature trying to wiggle you off while an orchestra provides an edge-of-your-seat soundtrack.

Best Survival Horror: Evil Within 2

A psychological hell factory and the best single-player experience for survival horror on the PS4, Evil Within 2 is sure to get the hairs on your neck standing up. In the game, you’re on the path to redemption as you face off against unimaginable horrors in a nightmare realm where you’ll search to rescue your daughter who's being experimented on.

The third-person, survival-horror shooter has RPG elements that plug you into a machine called STEM where you’ll travel through a dream world gone sour. Expect horrors to emerge from blood puddles and get ready to bust through doors guns blazing with an arsenal of weapons or you can sneak up on enemies and take them down silently. But if you just run away like a coward, we won’t blame you. Collectible weapon parts all you to upgrade your firearms and crossbow range capabilities, as well as ammo types. Collecting green gel will enhance your abilities to run faster, have more health and increase your stealth.

Best for Batman Fans: Batman: Arkham Knight

Who doesn't want to be the Batman? Batman: Arkham Knight is an exciting, third-person, action-adventure video game on the PS4 that takes place in an evacuated Gotham City where the Scarecrow launches a neurotoxin attack and unites Batman’s greatest foes in an attempt to put an end to the superhero.

Batman: The Arkham Knight’s gameplay focuses on combat against multiple enemies, stealth elements, detective skills and cool Bat-gadgets. The gritty, neon-lit open world of Gotham City will have you taking on multiple missions such as rescuing hostages while colliding against thugs and unlocking new areas and content by progressing through the game’s riveting main story. Batman: Arkham Knight does a wonderful job in capturing the quintessential Batman experience with its incredible voice acting (Kevin Conroy reprises his role), compelling storytelling, visuals and action-packed fighting sequences.

Best for VR: Moss

The single-player PS4 VR game called Moss is about a little mouse named Quill. The game requires you to own both a PlayStation VR and PlayStation Camera in order to play it, which allows for maximum immersion.

Moss puts you in the role as a benevolent guardian set on to helping Quill rescue her uncle from a fire-breathing snake in a rodent-sized world fantasy land inside an old, living book. The action-adventure, first-person perspective game has you help little Quill navigate through increasingly difficult environmental puzzles and battle hordes of little enemies with a bite-sized sword. The game's 360-degree immersion, VR graphics clarity, intuitive gameplay and charming atmosphere with cute characters will delight kids and avid gamers.

Best Fantasy: Middle Earth: Shadow of War

In Middle Earth: Shadow of War, you play a ranger and have a spirit as an aid as you disrupt the armies of Sauron by either hacking and slashing or shaming and taming. The over-the-shoulder, action-adventure, role-playing game is set in a beautiful open world full of menacing and personal foes, giving it an in-depth experience unlike any other.

The game is filled with main quests that drive the game’s narrative, with numerous optional side missions that help boost up your abilities and followers. Each enemy orc is full of their own unique personality, and while you can fight them to the death, it’s fun to both shame them to tears or to recruit them and build up your own army.

Best Sci-Fi: Nier: Automata

The best single-player sci-fi experience on PS4 is Nier: Automata and it's set in the year 11945 AD on a desolate gray open world Earth inhabited by both androids and dangerous machines.

The non-stop hack-and-slash, explosive action of Nier: Automata has you playing as a combat android who fights alongside her fugitive prototype bot who aids in firing projectiles against enemies. Players will get to level up their abilities in health, defense and attack powers as they wield short swords, long swords, bracers and spears with a loadout that’ll accommodate any player’s play-style. If you like leveling up while collecting items in post-apocalyptic barren construction sites while battling in real-time against giant robot bosses, you’ll love Nier: Automata.

Most Unique: Abzu

Come take a dive in Abzu and explore the vast beautiful sea as you seek out to restore life using magical springs. The visually pleasing, single-player, PS4 title doesn’t feel like a game but rather more like an interactive aqua exploration with a perfectly timed live orchestra.

Abzu has this very minimal art and game style, you’ll pass by a massive school of fish, take in the colorful plant life, the ambient music and the endless vibrancy of hundreds of species of sea life. Gameplay is set on exploring different areas of the deep sea, interacting with your environment and solving switch and item-based puzzles. You’ll communicate with marine life using solar chimes and hitch a ride on giant fish as you find hidden collectibles and unravel the secret behind the forces of evil harming the environment.