The Best PlayStation Games of 2021

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 4, 2022

Which PS5 and PS4 games impressed professional reviewers the most during the past year? We rank the best-reviewed PlayStation titles released between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 by Metascore. Games must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible for inclusion. If a game appears on both PlayStation platforms, only the version receiving the higher quantity of critic reviews (typically the PS5 version) is eligible for inclusion. (All scores listed here are from January 2, 2022.)

3 of 14 photo by Sony Interactive Entertainment

#11-20

(#20) 85 Returnal (PS5)
(pictured above) This PS5 exclusive from Finnish developer Housemarque is a third-person sci-fi/horror shooter about a stranded space pilot caught in a time loop on a hostile alien world.

(#19) 85 Chivalry 2 (PS5)

(#18) 86 Mass Effect Legendary Edition (PS4)

(#17) 86 Yakuza: Like a Dragon (PS5)

(#16) 86 Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)

(#15) 87 Tales of Arise (PS5)

(#14) 87 Psychonauts 2 (PS4)

(#13) 87 Chicory: A Colorful Tale (PS5)

(#12) 87 Guilty Gear -Strive- (PS5)

(#11) 87 The Nioh Collection (PS5)

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