The best action games on PS5 2024

The best action games on PS5 are as plentiful as they are enjoyable. With a huge catalogue of exclusives and third-party titles, there are plenty of action games to sink your time and skill into on the PS5.

Our lists for the best games on the PS5 keep growing, so if you’re looking for anything else, read our list of the best free games on PS5 and the best RPGs on PS5. Without further ado, take a look at the best action games on PS5.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

It is easy to have a love-hate relationship with the Ys games since so many of them do different things well while simultaneously falling short on several accounts. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa has phenomenal gameplay, with fast-paced fun combat that will keep you coming back for more. You explore large 3D environments and battles happen in real time. Ys 8 also has a party system and brilliant music to boot. While it doesn’t hold a candle to the presentation and detail in Nepishtim, Lacrimosa still has a ton going for it thanks to the classic Falcom formula. This is a port of a Vita game, but it is one of the poorer ports made, which can lead to some glitches and bugs.

Devil May Cry 5

Are you ready for some Smokin’-Sick-Style? Then Devil May Cry must be calling your name. As one of the original hack-and-slash games, DMC has always had incredibly fun gameplay and action-focused combat. It is extremely satisfying to whack enemies into the air and juggle them with a never-ending and creative combo. DMC 5 continues the story of Devil May Cry, following Dante and Nero after the events of Devil May Cry 4. Take on missions and give the hordes of hell what for in some extremely satisfying and fluid combat DMC is famous for. In our review of Devil May Cry 5, we heavily praised the combat and stylistic approach the game takes.

Final Fantasy 16

For better or worse, Final Fantasy 16 is an action game using the Final Fantasy name. There are zero RPG elements, no job system to speak of, and a rigid lacklustre ‘party’ system that is also pretty much non-existent. With that said, Final Fantasy 16 has fun combat for the most part, if you like the sound of a DMC-style game with a heavy coat of medieval Final Fantasy vibes, then this is the one for you. The story-driven narrative can take some time, but the combat should tide you over enough and the world itself is incredibly interesting as you explore and learn more through the eyes of Clive. If you want to know more, check out our review of Final Fantasy 16 where we lay out its pros and cons.

Demon’s Souls

Demon’s Souls is the original Souls game that came well before Elden Ring and the first Dark Souls, laying the groundwork for those games. Each level is a separate location and has multiple stages to it, but your goal is simple; fight your way through to the end and beat the boss to continue. As you kill enemies, you gain Souls to level up your stats. The combat is slow, but it is extremely satisfying and the Demon’s Souls remake by Bluepoint is arguably the best way to experience this game thanks to the graphical improvements and the fluid animations. Find out more about it in our glowing review of Demon’s Souls, which left us very impressed after our time with the game.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a small indie game that looks gorgeous and has a simple premise. You play as Kena, and you have to rid your homeland of an evil rot that is slowly taking root and spreading. As you play, you are aided by adorable forest spirits who will help you in exploration and in the fast-paced combat. The game is beautiful to look at and the combat is challenging enough to keep you on your toes.

Diablo IV

Diablo IV has plenty of issues as you might expect to see from a modern Blizzard game – such as a never-ending stream of microtransactions. That aside, the core gameplay and party-focused dungeon-crawling you get from Diablo have always been incredibly enjoyable. Diablo 4 looks amazing on PS5 and it is a downright thrilling ride if you love the grind and ceaseless action. The idea is simple as with all Diablo games: create a character with a specific class and roam the lands killing every foe you come across while grabbing as much loot as you can carry. Our review of Diablo IV was full of praise, so give it a read if you’re on the fence.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins

If you’re willing to look past a veritable bucket of issues, and terrible design choices with characters, writing, story, and aesthetics, then you will be rewarded thanks to the core gameplay experience Stranger of Paradise offers. Stranger of Paradise is an action RPG – going heavy on both of these aspects – and it follows a spinoff story of the original Final Fantasy game. The story is entirely terrible and the characters and writing are some of the worst you’ll ever see in a game, but the combat-focused gameplay is thrilling and extremely satisfying to play. There is a hugely detailed Job system in Stranger of Paradise, and each level is a set stage where you fight foes on your way to a boss to get more loot, then rinse and repeat.

Sifu

Sifu is a unique roguelike experience with a heavy emphasis on brawling combat. It is effectively a beat ’em up game and the combat only gets more satisfying with every punch landed. You take on different stages and have you use your melee prowess to proceed. Dying in Sifu is handled in a fun way, whereby your character is aged up upon death. This reduces your max HP but gives you access to new moves and abilities. The idea behind it is if you die too many times, you will become too old and die permanently, which will require you to begin your run fresh.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game with gacha mechanics, but it does mean you can jump into this massive open-world action RPG whenever you like for no cost at all. The combat in Genshin is brilliant and it has an elemental system which you can use to create great team compositions that work well together. If you can ignore the gacha mechanics, which is entirely possible, you will experience an incredibly fun story-driven game that has a ton of heart and brilliant quests to get stuck into.

Tales of Arise

Tales of Arise is one of the most enjoyable action games on the PS5. As the most recent Tales game, it has the best iteration of the combat system which takes place in a fully 3D space that you can navigate around and position yourself with ease. The combat is incredibly fun, fast, and slick to play. The characters are the core of this action RPG, and you’ll come to love each of them as you progress through the vast world and take on challenging fights. It leans heavily on a bunch of anime tropes as Tales has always done, but it is well worth your time even if you don’t tend to go for that kind of presentation.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is a decent action RPG set in the world of Harry Potter. You create a character who is just starting at the Hogwarts school and there you go on quests, attend lessons, learn spells, and interact with fellow classmates. You are free to explore a huge area and tackle dungeons in a great single-player experience. Hogwarts Legacy surpassed quite a few expectations, being much more than a simple cover-shooter-style game. The magic system is detailed and extremely satisfying to annihilate your foes with powerful spells.

Hades

Hades is arguably the best of the best of roguelike games. It set the standard with its flawless designs, world presentation, style, combat, and brilliant voice acting. The gameplay loop of Hades is extremely satisfying, making dying feel like it is part of the story instead of a setback thanks to the stellar pacing of the game. The combat is devilishly fun, putting you against challenging opponents but giving you a range of ways to deal with them. It can be hectic at times, but the enhancements you get and the weapons you unlock give you plenty of different builds and runs to experience.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most stylish open-world action games you’ll ever play. The presentation of the game is next-level and the exploration is never saturated or feels like it’s wearing you down. The crowning achievement of Ghost of Tsushima is the fabulous sword-play combat, letting you engage in outrageously stylish duels and bouts with enemies. More than anything, the sword fighting and the aesthetic work in tandem giving you the ultimate samurai roleplaying experience. During our time with Ghost of Tsushima, we were incredibly impressed by the swordplay and presentation of the game.

Resident Evil 4 Remake

As with the original Resident Evil 4, the Resident Evil 4 Remake is where the series took a dramatic turn towards action-orientated gameplay over pure horror. You play as Leon as he comes into contact with a new parasitic virus, causing horrific mutations just like the zombie T-virus did in previous games. Resident Evil 4 is a third-person shooter with an emphasis on melee action, which means you can missile drop-kick and suplex infected villagers as Leon S. Kennedy to your heart’s content.

God of War Ragnarok

In what is a blissful departure from the old, ridiculously aggressive and angry-man-screaming episodes that were the entirety of God of War games, the modern God of War games are infinitely better. It follows the story of Kratos – who still might be a little bundle of rage – as a more mature character on a journey to survive with his teenage son. The combat in God of War Ragnarok is fluid and enjoyable while not being too repetitive, and the exploration of the map is great if you don’t mind some simple puzzle action along the way. The God of War game released in 2019 is the first in this series, and this is a direct sequel to it improving on many aspects introduced then. For more information, check out our God of War Ragnarok review.

That wraps up our list of the best PS5 action games for now. This article will be updated regularly with new entries, so make sure you check back.