10 best PS4 games for under £20
In an age of bloated 100-hour, £60 games, cheaper titles are more important than ever. Here are the 10 best PS4 games for under £20!
Note: Prices are taken from the UK PSN store. Correct as of 27/06/21.
10. Furi
Furi is as beautiful as it is chaotic. The pandemonium of its boss fights is broken up only by slow walks through the gorgeous landscape that connects them. A boss rush first and foremost, Furi is a game that asks a lot of the players. Understandably, its often crushing difficulty could be a turn-off to some players. One of Furi’s strengths, however, is its commitment to making each of its unique boss fights feel completely fair. Combat is responsive, hitboxes are tight, and movement is always fluid. Furi is a must-play for any fans of creative combat and crushing bosses.
Furi – Definitive Edition is available now for £17.99
9. Snake Pass
Snake Pass is the most creative 3D platformer of the last ten years. Sure, some of the usual genre trappings are here – bottomless pits abound, colours are vibrant and the characters are cute. Our main character Noodle fits every checkbox for any Banjo or Spyro successor, but one thing is different. He has no legs.
Snake Pass is a 3D platformer without any jumping at all, instead, focusing on Noodle’s strengths, wrapping around the winding obstacles he finds himself overcoming. This new style of platforming definitely has a learning curve, but once you’ve spent an hour with Noodle, you’ll be slinking around with the accuracy of any other platforming mascot’s jumps. Snake Pass is a sometimes challenging, always charming 8-hour adventure through the most vibrant of modern gaming’s worlds.
Snake Pass is available now for £15.99
8. Yoku’s Island Express
Yoku’s Island Express and its adorable mix of platforming and pinball is another unique idea that the PS4’s ever-growing indie market has going for it. The two genres meld perfectly, creating a new way to traverse through a Metroidvania world. And what a world it is! Creating buckets of charm in the way only a game about a post-delivering beetle on a quest to save the day can. The characters are constantly lovable, and the pinball-fueled platforming refuses to go stale for the whole of Yoku’s 10-hour adventure. Yoku’s Island Express shouldn’t be missed by any platforming fan who needs a breath of fresh air.
Yoku’s Island Express is available now for £15.99
7. Ghostrunner
Set in a dystopian Cyberpunk tower city, Ghostrunner tasks you with John Wick-ing your way through a legion of gunmen on your ascent to freedom. Armed with cybernetic enhancements and a single katana, Ghostrunner challenges you to kill or be killed, with only one hit, one split second reaction, deciding the outcome of the battle.
Taking the visceral fury of Hotline Miami’s one-hit-one-kill combat into the 3D space, Ghostrunner shows off the most fluid movement of any game in recent memory. You’re free to run, climb, dash and grapple at ludicrous speeds, all whilst teleporting and deflecting bullets back at your foes. The rush of Ghostrunner’s combat outdoes even the modern Doom games, making the only downside to its combat the fact that you might need to go and lie down after playing it.
Ghostrunner is available now for £13.74
6. Dead Cells
A rogue-lite Metroidvania with a lot of style and even more difficulty, Dead Cells is a must-play for those who seek a challenge. Each run takes strategy, planning and unfiltered combat ability to complete. The game’s unique boss cells system keeps repeat playthroughs fresh, opening new areas and final bosses for you to take on, keeping the amazing combat fresh long into the 30-hour mark.
Dead Cells’ art style is unique too, with 3D rendered pixel art sprites being squashed into a 2D side scroller, creating a blend of dimensions that we rarely see in the modern-day. If you’re up for a challenge, don’t miss Dead Cells.
Dead Cells is available now for £19.99
5. Salt and Sanctuary
Salt and Sanctuary is a gritty, visceral Soulslike that faithfully adapts the FromSoftware formula into 2D. Still my favourite Soulslike 5 years on, the bosses, world design and art style of S&S keep it in a league of its own, transcending past the legion of copycats that cling to Dark Souls’ enormous coattails. The incredible art direction of Salt and Sanctuary’s decaying island may be familiar to fans of Ska Studios’s earlier works such as The Dishwasher series, with this newest release only propelling James Silva’s distinctive style to new heights.
This unique art direction leads to everything taking a step up. The bosses, whilst excellent on their own merit, are made even more menacing by their grotesque, disturbing forms. Each area brings with it more disgusting sights. And this, mixed with the immense difficulty that Salt and Sanctuary can put you through, adds a crushing amount of horror to a game that otherwise could have been an above-average Dark Souls clone.
Salt and Sanctuary is still the best souls like out there, and it looks like it’ll stay that way until its sequel, Salt and Sacrifice, comes out next year.
Salt and Sanctuary is available now for £14.99
4. Sonic Mania
Sonic Mania isn’t just a return to form for our favourite hedgehog. Mania blasts through even the best games in his catalogue, taking its place as the best Sonic title ever. With it’s development being led by Sonic superfan and modder Christian Whitehead, it’s not hard to see why Mania is such a wonderful celebration of all that makes Sonic great. The game is chocked full with new content, multiple playable characters, and the largest amount of levels ever in a 2D Sonic game.
Old fan-favourite zones are re-imagined, and all-new zones come along for the ride too. The new Mirage Saloon Zone and Titanic Monarch Zone are amongst the series all-time best levels and bring new ideas with them. The game’s soundtrack is also at an all-time high, with its best tracks sitting alongside Sonic 2’s classics. Mania exceeds every other Sonic game in almost every way and is a must-play for any fan of classic Sonic.
Sonic Mania is available now for £15.99
3. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight needs no introduction. This generation’s Super Meat Boy, the inescapable popularity of gaming’s newest indie darling has propelled it to mainstream success. And it’s no secret why. The world of Hallownest is one of the best Metroidvanias of the modern age, and Hollow Knight’s combat is just as stellar. Combine these two elements with a huge roster of excellent bosses, and you’ve got a modern classic.
With the upcoming (eventually) sequel, Silk Song, on the horizon, now is as good a time as any to experience Hollow Knight, with all of its DLC included, on PS4.
You can check out our full, comprehensive thoughts on the amazing Hollow Knight here.
Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition is available now for £11.59
2. Celeste
Celeste beats out some stiff competition to claim its throne as the best indie precision platformer of all time. A near-perfect experience, Celeste follows Madeline as she battles with inner demons on her ascent to the summit of Celeste Mountain. Mixing tough but fair platforming with an endearing story and lovable cast of characters, Celeste manages to deliver one of the most breathtaking experiences of the generation.
Celeste expands on its amazing core controls in every chapter, daring the player to go further and beat the hardest optional challenges to unlock harder remixed versions of the main story. If you decide to go down this route, some truly bonkers platforming waits for you. The final remixes even teach you speedrunning tricks, as they’re the only way to get through the gauntlets alive.
Celeste is a transcendental platformer that shines as a beacon of what the genre can and should be.
Celeste is available now for £15.99
1. Iconoclasts
Iconoclasts is a game beyond proper description. Mixing puzzles, shooting, Metroidvania exploration, and incredible story, it easily takes the top spot for my favourite game ever. One of only a handful of truly perfect games, Iconoclasts is the best deal on the Playstation Store. Its ten-hour adventure alone being worth full AAA price. Its art style is world-class, taking modern pixel art to its highest possible level.
The combat is streamlined yet satisfying, with protagonist Robin wielding inventive weaponry to take down a cast of even more inventive boss encounters. The music is charming and fits the varying tone of Iconoclast’s story perfectly. The story itself is also a joy to experience, following Robin and her friends during their fight against a totalitarian government that governs every aspect of their lives.
Iconoclasts is a true masterwork by developer Konjak and should be played by just about everyone.
Iconoclasts is available now for £15.99
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