The PS5 games with the best graphics (2024)

Recommended Videos

God of War Ragnarök

God of War was perhaps the best-looking PS4 game, so it should come as no surprise that its sequel, God of War: Ragnarok, also pushes the new hardware to the extreme. Despite the game also being available on PS4, you would never be able to guess that the PS5 version was being held back just by looking at it. Every detail on Kratos’ old, weary, wrinkled face is detailed to the point where his expression allows you to understand his emotions far better than his minimal dialogue. Environments are equally stunning in scale, as well as variety. From the snowy woodlands of Midgard to the jungles of Vanaheim, God of War: Ragnarok never sacrifices a single inch of quality. Once you tune your experience between the numerous graphics options, this is arguably the best game to show off what the PS5 can do.

Related

• Devs investigating why their games look bad on the PS5 Pro
• One of the best games of the year is coming to PlayStation
• PS5 vs. Xbox Series S

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

When you’re swinging at break-neck speeds through New York as either Peter or Miles in any of the dozens of suits to choose from, it is hard to not find your jaw agape. Spider-Man 2 somehow manages to be one of the most striking and gorgeous gaming playgrounds on the PS5 while not only maintaining a silky smooth 60 fps, but also implementing ray tracing no matter which graphical setting you choose. From the skylines of the setting sun bouncing off of the skyscrapers, to the minor details in each suit, this game is a visual treat from top to bottom. The only slight knock you could have against it is a lack of environments, though this time you get access to a much larger New York that feels as colorful and has as much character tucked away in its corners as the Spider-Men themselves.

The Last of Us Part I

The Last of Us was the best-looking game on PS3. So much so that the PS4 remaster could stand toe-to-toe with games developed specifically for the newer hardware. While it is debatable whether or not a game so readily playable really needed a remake, the one thing no one can deny about The Last of Us Part I is that it is undeniably beautiful to look at. Every character model, environment, and animation (including a few new ones) are completely remade and created to look as close to reality as possible. Despite not having any ray tracing options, The Last of Us Part I does offer two graphical modes to pick between: performance and fidelity mode. Performance puts the game at a dynamic 4K resolution at a locked 60 frames per second (fps), while fidelity lets the graphics shine at a true 4K resolution and 30 fps. Either way, the apocalypse has never looked so disturbingly beautiful.

Returnal

Returnal was one of the earliest PS5-exclusive titles made by a team formerly known for some of the best arcade-style experiences on past PlayStation consoles, including the PS4 launch game Resogun. Returnal, however, is something of a hybrid of an arcade-style bullet-hell game, but presented as a third-person shooter with rogue-like elements thrown in. The different environments you are dashing through all look great, but it’s the monsters and bosses that really steal the show. They’re all unique in design and animation — looking both horrifying and somehow beautiful in ways at the same time. The game packs in tons of particle effects that interact with the environment, and all the lighting work just pulls you into the world of Atropos and never lets go.

Horizon Forbidden West

The original Horizon was one of the best-looking games for the PS4, so Horizon Forbidden West had a lot of high expectations when it was announced. While it did get a PS4 release as well, the PS5 version is where the game world really shines. There’s no inch of Horizon Forbidden West that doesn’t feel like it was handcrafted. All the lush environments that mix together nature and ruined remnants of our world, with dynamic lighting, fog, mist, snow, and other weather effects make the world feel like an actual place that could exist. Character models are amazing, with a special shout-out to Aloy’s hair always looking amazing, but it’s the machines that still reign supreme. Each one moves with detailed, interconnecting parts that most people probably wouldn’t even notice playing normally, let alone how sharp and detailed all those metal plates and joints are up close.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut

While this is technically a re-release, there’s just no way to make a list of games with the best graphics without including Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut. The PS5 upgraded version doesn’t completely overhaul the island of Tsushima, but it didn’t need to. The art direction already made the base game perhaps the most beautiful world you could explore on the PS4, but not it looks somehow better on PS5. The diversity of the landscapes, paired with the minimal to non-existent UI, gives you breathtaking views at every turn. Whether you’re wandering through an autumn forest, galloping through the snow, or sitting in a hot spring in the rain, every horizon feels like a masterful painting.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a Pixar movie made playable — there’s no better way to describe it, really. This game isn’t trying to look like the real world, but the art direction is so on point that you can’t help but gawk at the sights you’re being shown. The fur on Ratchet, the reflections on Clank, and the alien worlds are all perfectly detailed and expressive in the same way a movie like Wall-E or The Incredibles are. Combine all that with some of the smoothest animations, and the option to lower the frame rate but add in ray tracing, and all of a sudden you’re looking at a world you could only dream of as a child.

Demon's Souls

The original Demon’s Souls is one that desperately needed a remake. Not only because it was locked to the PS3 but because the graphical power of that game couldn’t live up to the aspirations of the team’s art goals. With the Demon’s Souls: Remake, however, we see how this game was really meant to be viewed. Where the original was muddy and bland, the remake is sharp, eye-catching, and oozing with atmosphere. Almost more than any other game we can think of, the Demon’s Souls remake’s entire atmosphere, mood, and tone is far enhanced by the graphical update it received. This was a PS5 launch game, and somehow still looks better than most games coming out over a year later.

Death Stranding: Director’s Cut

Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is in the same boat as Ghost of Tsushima. Both were already pushing the PS4 to its limits, only to somehow squeeze out even more visual fidelity with a PS5 version. Also similar is the focus on nature. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut features less variety of landscapes, but every single mossy rock, creek, cliff, and patch of dirt looks like it was somehow photographed and put in the game. The lighting here really shines, to make a bad pun, and creates depth in shadows and reflections everywhere you would naturally expect. In a game where you’re almost exclusively walking from place to place, you will never mind the trip when every step is so beautiful.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (try saying that five times fast) was already a stunning game as an enhanced port of the PS4 game, but Rebirth was built for the PS5 specifically and it shows. Despite being much larger in scale, no corners were cut to make every blade of grass or spike of hair look as real as possible. When the action kicks up, all those particle effects and flashy combo are a visual treat. After the drab and dusty city of Midgar, seeing the wider world so beautifully realized adds a lot of weight in motivating you that this is a world worth saving.

Dead Space

This was a tossup for us between Dead Space remake and Resident Evil 4 remake, but we went with the former because it uses every single pixel to deepen the horror of this tightly designed environment. The original looked great at the time, but the new lighting and fog effects make the Ishimura feel more haunted than ever. If that weren’t spooky enough, the new way the flesh dynamically strips off of the Necromorph’s bodies is disturbingly detailed. Horror is one genre where graphics and art style can completely make or break the experience, and this remake makes it look easy.

Gran Turismo 7

Racing games have always pushed graphics more than most genres. Gran Turismo 7 hit the PS5 running with some of the most realistic cars and tracks ever displayed. Every inch of every single car is hand-crafted to match their real-life counterparts exactly, and the dynamic lighting on the tracks shimmers off the pavement just as it would in the real world. Plus the effects of going into a dark tunnel and back out into the sunlight mimics reality to a T. Gran Turismo 7 does offer ray tracing, but not during gameplay, which is a disappointment. However, you can still use it to take screenshots so high quality you could fool your friends into thinking you own a multimillion-dollar race car.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is in the same sphere as Ratchet and Clank in terms of not trying to be a perfect re-creation of our world, but again shows its beauty in its stylization. The characters in particular ride that line where they have realistic features, but with small exaggerations and smoothed-out edges. You won’t see anyone’s pours on their skin in Kena: Bridge of Spirits, but their eyes will shimmer with delight, or their body language shrink with fear. Despite a not over-saturated color palate, the world is expressive and a character in itself.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best video game consoles for 2024
• Death Stranding 2: everything we know so far
• Play Dynasty Warriors: Origins this week thanks to its new PS5 demo
• Your video game consoles could become much more expensive soon
• All upcoming PS5 games: 2024, 2025, and beyond