Best PS4 Open-World Games Every Year Of Its Lifespan

Highlights

• The PlayStation 4 had an impressive lineup of open-world games showcasing the console’s capabilities from 2013 to 2023.
• Titles like
  GTA 5
  ,
  The Witcher 3
  , and
  Red Dead Redemptio
  n
  2
  made significant impacts on players and the industry.
• Even with the release of PlayStation 5, developers continued to deliver memorable open-world experiences on PS4.

While the next generation of gaming with the PlayStation 5 is now finally in full force, it is still important for players to remember the past consoles of Sony and the impressive games that were available to them. Every year of the PlayStation 4‘s life saw incredible open-world titles that tested the limits of the console, even as Sony moved on to marketing the PS5 instead.

While the PS4 console was originally planned to cease manufacturing in 2021, the incredible console continued to be made due to PS5 shortages, and therefore, these are the best open-world games for each year of the PS4’s existence as it showed how impressive it really was.

11 2013 – Grand Theft Auto 5

Metascore: 97

The PlayStation 4’s life started in one of the best ways possible. In the same year as its release, Rockstar also gave players one of the best Grand Theft Auto titles in the franchise with Grand Theft Auto 5. This title not only allowed players to control three different protagonists but also gave them one of the prettiest locations in the entire franchise to explore.

Players can then also explore Los Santos in the larger multiplayer version of the game, known as Grand Theft Auto Online, which has continued to be updated for PlayStation 4 players with new and interesting content.

10 2014 – Infamous: Second Son

Metascore: 80

Infamous is one of many PlayStation-exclusive series that players have fallen in love with. Many of the previous Infamous titles were originally enjoyed on the PlayStation 3, with the next in the franchise that starred an entirely new protagonist being the sensational Infamous: Second Son. This was one of the first of many exclusives to drop on the PlayStation 4 that proved the PS4’s capabilities by creating a vibrant game that had incredible graphics for the year 2014.

Sucker Punch, the company behind Infamous, has not yet made another Infamous title, though they have shown great promise with other titles like the critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima which was released many years later.

9 2015 – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Metascore: 92

The Witcher is another well-loved and known franchise that truly shined during the PlayStation 4’s life, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt releasing on not only the PS4 but also various other consoles, as well as PC. Releasing The Witcher 3 on PS4 saw that the console was able to compete against the others to show that players could even enjoy the detailed open-world story of Geralt as he adventured across the Continent.

The game itself was already an incredibly enjoyable experience that was only made better by the improved graphics and stability brought by the PlayStation 4, and that’s not even to mention the expansions and DLCs released, which made this title hold an incredible amount of brilliant content.

8 2016 – Watch Dogs 2

Metascore: 82

The original Watch Dogs was released on both the PlayStation 3 and 4 with this action-adventure title interesting countless players due to its hacking mechanics that made players feel they had control over the entire city. This theme continued with the second title, known as Watch Dogs 2, which was released two years later.

In Watch Dogs 2, players have an even more expanded area to explore as players are left adventuring around the San Francisco Bay Area. This was twice as large as the original game, with players being able to visit four distinct areas of the map.

7 2017 – Horizon: Zero Dawn

Metascore: 89

By the middle of the PlayStation 4’s lifespan, developers were well aware of the capabilities of the console and were pushing the limits on the sorts of open-world games they could create. Guerrilla Games, who were well-known for previously creating the Killzone franchise, took a step away from first-person shooters to instead create the open-world action RPG known as Horizon: Zero Dawn.

This game not only challenged players’ skills by defeating animal-like robots but also gave them a vibrant map to explore with various quests to keep them occupied and to encourage them to adventure further.

6 2018 – Red Dead Redemption 2

Metascore: 97

Not more than a year since the release of Horizon: Zero Dawn, another phenomenal game that looked beautiful on the PlayStation 4 was released. Red Dead Redemption 2 was a game that many players were looking forward to, ever since the release of the original Red Dead Redemption on the PlayStation 3.

Looking back at this incredible game created by Rockstar Games, it’s a surprise to see how phenomenal the game looked on the PlayStation 4 console with players taking fond trips on their horses across the open world of the Wild West. Players were able to adventure to various biomes all found within the fictional states of New Hanover, Ambarino, and Lemoyne.

5 2019 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Metascore: 90

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is another open-world title that is fondly described as being a linear open-world due to the player needing to complete various objectives on a large map before moving on to the next one.

FromSoftware is well known for its Dark Souls franchise, but they have also made plenty of other Action RPGs, such as the beauty and excitement that can be seen within this Sekiro title, which is naturally set within the phenomenal landscape of the Sengoku period of a fictional Japan.

4 2020 – Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Metascore: 85

When Marvel’s Spider-Man was first released in 2018, it unfortunately could not be deemed the best open-world game to be released on the PlayStation 4 due to it also being the year that Red Dead Redemption 2 was released. However, in 2020, Insomniac Games returned with another incredible open-world Spider-Man title as players were left to take control of Miles Morales.

Besides another incredible Marvel story, players were able to freely swing around New York City where they could fight off criminals and villains, help the innocent with their armor quests, or continue the main story of the action-adventure title. Even with the PlayStation 4 being slowly replaced by the PS5, the console could still play these open-world games.

3 2021 – Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

Metascore: 89

In 2021, Sony had planned to stop the manufacturing of the PlayStation 4. However, due to the shortage in PlayStation 5s, the PS4 continued to live on. Even if the manufacturing of the console came to an end, this wouldn’t have stopped developers from releasing games on the console, such as the open-world RPG, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut.

The game was originally released on PC in 2019 but 2 years later made its way to consoles with brand-new content. Solving a murder mystery while also getting the players’ memories back made Disco Elysium one of the most adventurous games to date. Not to forget to mention the art style of this open-world game too.

2 2022 – Horizon: Forbidden West

Metascore: 88

5 years after the creation of Horizon: Zero Dawn, Guerilla Games came back with another incredible open world for Horizon: Forbidden West that had a map that was even bigger than the original game. As the name of the title suggests, Horizon now takes players on an adventure into the west as they look for the resources needed to fix Earth.

Naturally, adventuring into the West meant players encountered new biomes as well as new robots to fight that still ran amazingly on the PlayStation 4 console, although it was also available to be purchased for the PS5.

1 2023 – Hogwarts Legacy

Metascore: 84

With the number of games being created for both the PlayStation 4 and 5 winding down, many of the games that were released for the PS4 in 2023 were remasters. However, one brand-new title outshined the remasters as an impressive open-world fantasy title.

Hogwarts Legacy allowed players to explore not only the school of Hogwarts but also the surrounding area filled with various puzzles, wonders, and quests for any budding student to complete. The sheer freedom to adventure around the forests or the nearby town meant players could finally fulfill their dream of learning at Hogwarts as well as being part of an important story.