The PlayStation 5 is the first Sony console since the PS3 that has the ability to play previous-generation games out of the box. You can play almost every PS4 game you have on the new-gen console, and many are enhanced by the new hardware’s power. Even games that haven’t received a PS5 upgrade or patch can still take advantage of the new console’s strength. Things like resolutions, frame rates, and loading times can make that old game you beat years ago feel like a brand-new experience.
As the library of PS5-exclusive games is still growing, you might find yourself looking back at your old catalog and wondering which old favorite would be worth replaying. The PS4’s library of great to amazing games is vast and we’ll tell you which of them get the best treatment by being played on the PS5. Here are some of the games you may have already played on PS4 that are more than worth a second run-through on the PS5.
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Ghost of Tsushima
This is a very recent title, so you may not have even had a chance to finish Ghost of Tsushima for the first time yet. Either way, this game feels more at home on the PS5 than it did on the PS4 — and that’s saying something. Even on the weaker hardware, this open-world samurai adventure from the acclaimed Sucker Punch studio looked and ran great. Even the load times were almost unbelievably fast. But with the power of the PS5 pushing this game, everything gets cranked up to 11. The beautiful landscapes are even more lush, the load times are essentially nonexistent, and best of all, it runs at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second (fps).
Between the giant campaign and free multiplayer mode, Ghost of Tsushima feels like it was made to be played on the PS5.
Read our full Ghost of Tsushima review
Days Gone
OK, this game did have a somewhat rough reception when it first came out, but don’t count this Sons of Anarchy meets Walking Dead open world title out just yet. If you checked out from this game early on due to lackluster performance and rough controls, you should know that Sony’s Bend Studio never gave up on polishing its biggest game ever. They’ve squashed nearly all the bugs, improved performance, and added tons of extra modes since the initial launch. Now, with the PS5, the game is the best it has ever been. Days Gone is one of the first games to get an official patch to improve performance for the PS5. What once ran at a respectable 30 fps and checkerboarded 4K on a PS4 Pro can now hit a locked 60 fps at a dynamic 4K resolution on PS5. If you dropped this one, or never bothered to get around to it, these enhancements make it one of the best showcases for what the PS5 can do for a last-gen title.
Read our full Days Gone review
God of War
There was only so long we could go beforet mentioning one of the highest-rated and most popular games of the PS4 era: God of War. This reboot is likely already in your collection, so it’s a no-brainer for a fresh replay on your new hardware. The game, like all Sony first-party titles, was already more than stunning on the PS4 and PS4 Pro, so it only stands to reason it will get even more beautifully gory on the PS5. While that’s all true, there is one wrinkle here that we will see come up again. God of War can hit the sweet spot of 4K 60 fps … but on one condition: You need the disc version of the game and must run it without downloading any of the patches. If you own it digitally, or download any patches, you can still get a locked 60 fps experience on the Favor Performance mode, but not at 4K. That alone is still a great bump from the PS4 Pro struggling to maintain an fps in the mid 40s, but it’s a little odd that the patches actually hold the game back. Hopefully, Sony’s Santa Monica Studio will address it, but until then you’ll have to do a little workaround to get the absolute best experience with this game.
Read our full God of War review
The Last Guardian
While not quite as poorly received as Days Gone, The Last Guardian was no doubt held back by its poor performance on the PS4. While the Pro did smooth things out somewhat, even then the game could never hold a solid 30 fps. Again taking advantage of your unpatched disc version of the game, you can now play this unique and heartfelt title at a full 60 fps. Just smoothing over the frame rate makes this game feel much better to play and look at, but if you were overly frustrated with the A.I. of Trico, this enhancement will do nothing for you. On the other hand, if you really wanted to connect with this story of a boy and a friendly, if sometimes stubborn, beast, then now is the time to give it another shot.
Read our full The Last Guardian review
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
While the two most recent offerings from FromSoftware are quite different in terms of gameplay, they both get similar treatment on the PS5. If you played the new Demon’s Souls remake on PS5, or are waiting to get your hands on it and want more of that Souls-style gameplay, then you’ll be glad to hear that the last two entries are even more satisfying. The fast, aggressive, and highly mobile ninja title Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was stuck at a locked 30 fps on last-gen hardware . Now, just by booting the title up in the PS5, you can enjoy the title at the high frame rate it so desperately needed. The feeling of nailing those perfect parry strings has never looked, or felt, better.
Read our full Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice review
Dark Souls 3
Right alongside Sekrio: Shadows Die Twice, we have the conclusion to the classic Souls trilogy, Dark Souls 3. While it only got a patch on the PS4 Pro that brought the fps up into the 40s at best, Dark Souls 3 now also enjoys the 60 fps treatment. While certainly a slower title than it’s younger shinobi brother, there’s no denying that DS3 is an objectively better experience the more frames it gets. The only bummer these two great FromSoftware games hitting 60 fps is the attention it brings to the lack of any improvements Bloodborne has received. As a Sony exclusive, and one with a massive dedicated fan base, it feels like a major miss for a game that could benefit so much from even just a bump in fps.
Read our full Dark Souls 3 review
No Man’s Sky
No Man’s Sky has almost become the poster boy that gamers point to when looking for examples of a game that developers were able to salvage from a poor launch. The longer this game has been out, the better it has gotten, and that remains true when you jump into your ship on the PS5. Not only does the game now run at 4K 60 fps with improved loading times, but it even takes advantage of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback. The visual improvements aren’t just superficial, either. The entire game’s textures have been updated, the environments made more dense with foliage and critters, updated animations, new lighting effects, and more to fool you into thinking this game was made from the ground up for the PS5. With all the free updates this game has gotten, the longer it’s been since you’ve visited this universe, the more you have to discover.
Read our full No Man’s Sky review
Destiny 2
I’m sure all you looter-shooter fans out there don’t need reminding that Destiny 2 only keeps getting better on your next-gen device, especially since the Beyond Light expansion hit almost simultaneously with the PS5 launch. Right out of the gate, the improvements Destiny 2 gets on PS5 might feel a little lackluster compared to the other entries on the list. Essentially, all you get are faster load times, which is by no means unwanted, and cross-gen play with PS4 players. However, after the official update to the game hit on December 8, Bungie’s evolving MMO-lite experience really rampeds up. The PS5 upgraded version promises a steady 4K 60 fps experience in the normal game and 120 fps in the competitive Crucible mode. Considering how great the gunplay feels at just 30 fps, experiencing it at double that amount promises to be a transformative experience. Speaking of transformative, one of the most unique additions we’ll mention on this list is the inclusion of an FOV slider. While this feature already existed on the PC version of the game, it marks the first time console players will be able to customize their vision.
Read our full Destiny 2: Beyond Light review
