I am a sucker for a good story and PS5 campaign games deliver. Campaign games offer a captivating plot, great visuals, and, most importantly, fun gameplay.
What makes campaign games stand out from other genres is that they have one definitive protagonist. This character gives the story moral clarity and psychological intrigue.
The main objective of campaign games is to tell a fantastic story. Campaign games are successful when they can tell this great story while also providing fun, immersive gameplay.
Campaign games can be played across several different platforms, including PC, console systems like the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360, or mobile devices like the mobile iPhone or iPad.
Campaign games are the more story-focused kind of game. I have always really enjoyed campaign games over multiplayer games, as they have a lot to offer.
Campaigns allow us to get to know characters better and see their motives in detail. This is why I wanted to put together my list of the top 17 best campaign games for PS5.
1. Godfall
Godfall is an action RPG released on PlayStation 5 in November 2020. In the game, players take control of a knight who takes up arms against evil in order to save humanity.
The game is set in a realm called Aperion that features knights wearing suits of armor called Valorplates. Each of these suits confers unique abilities upon its wearer, allowing you to try different styles and playstyles throughout the campaign.
The game features 5 different Valorplates, each with their special powers: Arcane, Mystical, Ferocious, Devastator, and Divine.
All these suits have in common is a heavy focus on close-quarters combat—no ranged attacks here! And suppose you find yourself facing off against multiple opponents at once.
In that case, there are also plenty of area-of-effect skills for dealing with high damage quickly without worrying too much about accuracy (though some might require precise timing).
2. Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Chicory: A Colorful Tale is a role-playing game (RPG) released on January 12, 2021, by Humble Games and is one of the best campaign games for PS5.
It was developed and published by Greg Lobanov. This PS5 exclusive title has players taking on the role of Chicory the dog, who is tasked with restoring color to the world. Its mechanics are easy enough that anyone can pick it up, but it also offers a wide array of options to create your own custom experience.
The game’s art style is reminiscent of hand-drawn cartoons from the ’90s, and its soundtrack features licensed songs from artists like Vampire Weekend and Mitski.
If you’re interested in learning more about Chicory: A Colorful Tale, a demo will be available from January 29, 2021, through February 3 for free!
3. Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 5 and Google Stadia. The game is the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, released in 2017.
Announced by Sony during the opening conference of its 2021 PlayStation 5 showcase event on June 11, 2021, a trailer was played.
A follow-up gameplay trailer was also shown, with a scheduled release date for later in 2021 announced. This is a good addition to our list of best campaign games for PS5.
4. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
Death Stranding plays like a mix between an unusual stealth game and an open-world action game. You play as Sam; a porter tasked with delivering packages across the United States.
The game is beautiful in every detail, and it has some unexpected moments of humor that make the story even better.
Death Stranding is a very different type of game than any other you’ve played before. It’s a great example of what can happen when we think outside the box: instead of making just another “best world” or “best story” game, we get something unique.
Give Death Stranding a shot if you’re looking for something new to try on your next gaming binge!
5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2
This is a remake of the first two Tony Hawk games, and it is a must have for any skateboarding fans.
The game has all of the elements that were in the original, but it has been built from the ground up and looks amazing.
The gameplay is tight and polished, with all kinds of tricks to do on a huge variety of maps. We highly recommend this game if you are looking for something fun to play with your friends or want something that brings back some good memories from when you were younger. This is a great addition to our list of best campaign games for PS5.
6. Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is an upcoming survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is a sequel to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and was announced at PlayStation 5’s reveal event in June 2020.
The story follows Ethan Winters from the previous game, who travels to a mysterious village where he encounters its hostile inhabitants as he searches for his wife, Mia Winters.
The gameplay uses a first-person perspective, with the return of combat and resource management similar to the previous title.
A major change is that the linear progression of previous titles has been replaced by an open-world setting, which lets players explore different areas at their own pace while they complete objectives.
In contrast to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which had fewer enemies but focused more on stealth elements, Resident Evil Village takes place in a larger environment with multiple types of enemies that players need to defeat with limited ammunition. It will also feature more puzzle-solving than in previous titles.
7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
While Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a linear, story-driven game, you can get lost in it. You start the game as Cal Kestis, an apprentice Jedi who has to go on the run after the events of Revenge of the Sith.
When we first meet Cal, he’s trying to keep his head down working on a salvage ship far away from anything that remotely resembles conflict.
But when that ship is found out by Imperial forces and Cal has to use his force powers to save his buddy Prauf from certain Death, the Jedi will have to come out of exile if they want to survive.
Cal then meets up with Cere Junda (one of the few remaining Jedi) and Greez Dritus on planet Bracca where you get your first glimpse at some cool force powers.
You can collect force energy as you adventure through this vast world filled with purple flowers and mechanical monstrosities alike!
8. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Set in 873 AD, the game recounts a fictional story during the Viking invasion of Britain. The player controls Eivor, a Viking raider who becomes embroiled in the conflict between the kingdoms of England.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft.
It is the twelfth major installment, the twenty-second release in the Assassin’s Creed series, and a successor to the 2018 game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
9. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
With a release date of November 12, 2020, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is an action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. A standalone entry in Marvel’s Spider-Man series based on the superhero Miles Morales.
The gameplay focuses on traversal and combat using new abilities such as invisibility, upgrades to combat, and web-swinging.
The game will feature a cold-weather setting with ice-based puzzles that can be solved using Morales’ bioelectricity powers, including offensive and defensive capabilities.
The story follows Morales adjusting to his new life as Spider-Man and defending Harlem from a gang war between an energy corporation and local criminals while also trying to save his mentor Peter Parker from a deadly virus.
10. Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls is the first entry in the Souls series of games. Developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on February 5, 2009.
Demon’s Souls received very positive reviews from critics and is considered one of the best video games of all time.
The game features a new proprietary game engine with highly detailed environments and lifelike character animations.
It uses a unique online system where players are encouraged to leave each other messages and where Death can come at any time, for any reason, from any enemy.
11. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is an upcoming platform game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5.
The game follows Ratchet and Clank, a lombax mechanic and his robotic friend, as they traverse multiple realities to stop an inter-dimensional tyrant named Emperor Nefarious from destroying all organic life across the universe.
The game features a new playable female Lombax named Rivet, who was transported from another dimension.
The gameplay revolves around Ratchet and Rivet exploring open worlds connected via dimensional portals; when a portal is entered, players are taken to a different area in another dimension.
Players can access previously unreachable areas in their current dimension by finding Riftscopes that allow them to discover alternate routes. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is a platform game played from a third-person perspective.
12. Sackboy A Big Adventure
The Sackboy: A Big Adventure campaign game is an action-adventure platformer that is fun for all age groups.
You play as Sackboy, a cute character who embarks on an adventure to save his world, Craftworld. This campaign has four worlds, and each has its unique theme and challenges.
The gameplay involves:
- Collect items for your costume.
- Building up points.
- Breaking out of cages at the end of levels.
The game can be played by two players in co-op mode or by up to four players in competitive mode.
Sackboy is a hero with many costumes – he can be dressed as a pirate, ninja, or wizard, depending on what stage you’re playing at that time.
He also has special moves, such as flying and shooting fireballs from his hands which help him throughout the game.
13. Destruction All-Stars
Destruction All-Stars is a vehicular combat game where players participate in various multiplayer modes revolving around the destruction of vehicles by crashing into them.
It was developed by Lucid Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 5.
The game was released on February 2, 2021, and can be played online with up to 16 players (15 other human players and 1 AI character). Its launch price is $70, and it currently has a score of 75 on Metacritic.
14. Gran Turismo 7
This one has some serious expectations to live up to the first two driving games on our list.
Previous entries in the Gran Turismo series have been hailed as defining games for the PlayStation, and GT Sport was a great way to introduce the series to PS4.
Now, it looks like Gran Turismo 7 could finally push the series forward in a big way; this is a great addition to our list of best campaign games for PS5.
Here’s what we know about this racer so far:
- Sony’s Kazunori Yamauchi has said that he expects Gran Turismo 7 to be “the best [the team] has ever made.” That’s high praise from someone who also shepherded earlier entries like 2001’s influential Gran Turismo 3 A-spec.
- We don’t yet know much about how GT7 will play; we expect more details soon. However, it’ll likely include plenty of cars (and tracks) from previous games. We’ve already seen familiar faces like Keiichi Tsuchiya and Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed as returning racers—so look out for them on the track!
15. Returns
Return is an upcoming action-adventure roguelike third-person shooter; one of the best campaign games for PS5 developed by Housemarque and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 5.
It will follow Selene, a space scout who crash-lands on an alien planet after responding to a mysterious distress signal from the previous scout.
The game’s roguelike elements require the player to restart from the beginning upon Death, with each playthrough presenting new environments and scenarios.
The game was officially revealed at Sony’s September 2020 PlayStation 5 event, and it is set for release on March 19, 2021.
16. The Pathless
The Pathless is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective and is one of the best campaign games for PS5.
The player controls the Hunter, who, along with her eagle companion, must cleanse the curse from a mystical island.
The gameplay involves combat and exploration, with the Hunter using both ranged and melee attacks against enemies.
The eagle can be called in to assist with attacks and provide vision of distant objects or locations. While traversing the world, the player can use a glider to move between points quickly.
As the eagle catches air currents, it will stay aloft for more extended periods, allowing further exploration before landing. A stamina gauge limits how much time can be spent gliding before resting.
17. Death Loop
Death loop is a first-person action game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, and it’s one of the best campaign games for PS5.
It will be released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 5 in 2021. The player assumes control of an assassin named Colt, who is stuck in a time loop on the fictional island of Blackreef, trying to eliminate eight targets before midnight.
Although he can die, Colt will always respawn at a fixed checkpoint with his memories intact. Unlike many Arkane’s games, Deathloop does not have any role-playing elements; instead, it focuses heavily on movement-based combat and stealth.
You’re going to want to spend as much time with PS5 launch titles as possible, but whether you have the console on day one or not, there are some games that you definitely should try out.
If you pick up a PS5 at launch and get it connected, these titles will be available to download immediately (if they aren’t already preloaded on your hard drive).
If you don’t have the console right away, these can still be purchased cross-gen and played on your current system.
