2024 should prove to be an exciting year for the PS5. While we are expecting there to only be a small handful of first-party releases from the PlayStation Studios group this year, kicking off with The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered in a weeks' time, Sony has invested heavily in platform-exclusives from fantastic third-party developers.
So even while it looks like we'll be waiting a little longer for games like Marvel's Wolverine, there is going to be plenty to hold your attention throughout the year. We've got exciting PS5 exclusives like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Rise of the Ronin to look forward to, as well as some fantastic looking debuts from smaller studios too. We'll be covering all of those below as we outline our pick of the 6 PS5 exclusives that need to be on your radar in 2024.
The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered
Developer: Naughty Dog | Release date: January 19, 2024
PlayStation is kicking the year off in style with an expansive remaster of The Last of Us 2 for PS5. While enhanced visual fidelity is certainly welcomed, with developer Naughty Dog striving for native 4K output in a new Fidelity Mode, there's plenty else to this package that's worth paying attention to. For those of you who have already experienced Ellie and Abby's journey across Seattle you can expect a host of new features, from director's commentary on the campaign cutscenes to a set of Lost Levels which showcase playable sequences which were ultimately cut from the final experience. There's also a brand new mode called No Return, a roguelike survival mode which will showcase The Last of Us 2's stunning combat systems like never before.
Helldivers 2
Developer: Arrowhead Game Studios | Release date: February 8, 2024
The original Helldivers has long-been considered one of the best co-op games on PS5, and now developer Arrowhead Games is aiming to deliver once more for PS5. While the series started life as a top-down shooter, Helldivers 2 sees its core proficiencies re-engineered to fit a third-person shooter mold – giving you greater control over your recruit, and a more immersive perspective on the chaotic battlefields you'll be stomping across. You'll be able to team up with three other friends as you attempt to explore dangerous planets and fight off truly monstrous hordes of alien wildlife. Competing objectives and collecting natural resources of an unnatural origin will let you upgrade your equipment, which you'll absolutely need to do – death comes quick to anybody willing to risk enlisting in the Helldivers squadron.
Pacific Drive
Developer: Ironwood Studios | Release date: February 22, 2024
Pacific Drive has a wicked twist on the survival games formula. Rather than using accrued resources to build better weapons and encampments, Pacific Drive has you pouring all of your time and energy into improving your ride – an old station wagon, and your only lifeline across the Olympic Exclusion Zone that has consumed the heart of the Pacific Northwest. From the driver's seat of your car, you'll explore strange and dangerous lands, speeding through electrical storms and circumventing anomalies as you keep one eye on the fuel gauge. Any resources you're able to scavenge on a successful run can be used to repair and improve your vehicle, allowing it to travel further and faster into the unknown. Pacific Drive is a great idea with wonderful execution, and we can't wait to play more of this PS5 console-exclusive.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Developer: Square Enix | Release date: February 29, 2024
The adventure continues in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. One of the biggest surprises of 2020 was seeing just how far developer Square Enix was willing to go to reinvent one of the best RPGs of all-time – amending the timeline, pushing characters down different paths than anticipated. It means that Rebirth is something of an unknown quantity, loosely following a recognizable template while massively expanding the scope of the story and world. This sequel is also set to build on the action-focused ATB combat systems seen throughout Remake and its Intergrade DLC, with party members able to more cleanly synergize attacks with devastating results. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is going to be one of the biggest role-playing games of 2024, and it's landing as a PS5 exclusive on February 29.
Rise of the Ronin
Developer: Team Ninja | Release date: March 22, 2024
Team Ninja is working to deliver its first open world in Rise of the Ronin, a brand new samurai action-adventure game set across a war-torn 19th-century Japan. The developer is best known for the Nioh and Ninja Gaiden franchises, and is aiming to leverage that expertise to pull together a truly ambitious PS5 exclusive. Rise of the Ronin is promising deep, accessible combat which will let you slip into the fantasy of a roaming, masterless samurai – parrying powerful foes with close-quarters weaponry, or fighting at range with firearms authentic to the era. In fact, authenticity is a key aspect to Rise of the Ronin, with Team Ninja promising to deliver a faithful recreation of the "Bakumatsu" period, as well as a dynamic story to guide you through the end of the Shogunate.
Concord
Developer: Firewalk Studios | Release date: TBC
Concord is one of the most mysterious upcoming PS5 games on Sony's slate for 2024. It's set to be the debut title from Firewalk Studios, which was founded in 2018 by a group of Bungie veterans and acquired by PlayStation Studios in 2021. Interestingly, Firewalk is now collaborating with Bungie more directly as it works to get Concord out into the wild in 2024; this PS5 exclusive is a new first-person shooter with a multiplayer focus, a PvP game set across vibrant sci-fi worlds and a host of colorful characters. There's still much we need to learn about Concord, with our only look at the game so far being a CGI trailer released during the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase, but we're certainly eager to see what a new PlayStation FPS looks like – lord knows that it's been far too long since the likes of Killzone and Resistance reigned supreme.
