Sony's PlayStation 5 has been a massive success for the company after launching with some incredible exclusive games back in November of 2020. Titles like Demon's Souls, Spider-Man Miles Morales, and Astro's Playroom really showcased what the console was capable of. PlayStation consoles have always been powerful on the hardware side of things, but what always set them apart were the first-party exclusives that came with them.
Fortunately, such has been the case with the PlayStation 5 as well. 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for Sony and PlayStation fans as many anticipated first-party games are set to hit the PlayStation 5 this year. From sequels to new IPs and even some heavy VR titles, here are the best upcoming PS5 exclusive titles coming in 2023.
8 Season: A Letter To The Future (Console Exclusive)
In Scavengers Studio's Season: A Letter to the Future players play as a young woman adventuring across the world alone on her bike to collect and record memories of the world before a cataclysmic event can wash everything away. Players travel the world, meet people, see things, explore places, and document all that they experience while they can.
The PlayStation 5 version of the game will be an even more immersive experience for players as the game will take advantage of the console's 3D audio and Dual Sense's haptic feedback. Season: A Letter to the Future is a PlayStation console exclusive indie game releasing for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on January 31st, 2023.
7 Forspoken (Timed Console Exclusive)
Forspoken is an upcoming action RPG developed by Luminous Productions that follows the journey of a girl named Frey as she gets transported from the city of New York to a world filled with magic and danger, called Athia. The game puts players in control of Frey as she fights her way through enemies and monsters in this mysterious new world in order to find her way back home.
Forspoken is a timed console exclusive releasing on the PlayStation 5 on January 24th, 2023, and will not be coming to Xbox for another two years. According to the developers, Forspoken will take advantage of PS5's Dual sense controller in ways that will make the game feel more immersive.
6 Horizon Call Of The Mountain VR
Sony is gearing up to release their latest PSVR 2 headset in February 2023, and what franchise would be more fitting to showcase the power of Sony's new VR gear than Guerrilla Games' Horizon? Horizon Call of The Mountain will see players enter the shoes of a former warrior of the Shadow Carja clan named Ryas. In pursuit of redemption, Ryas sets out by himself to investigate a new threat to the Sundom.
The game will feature treacherous mountains to climb, and wild beasts to fend against using a bow and arrows. Horizon Call of The Mountain is a PlayStation 5 exclusive VR game launching alongside the PSVR2 as a launch title on February 22nd, 2023.
5 The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
Supermassive games are bringing forward something unique with their latest VR spin-off of the Dark Pictures Anthology series, titled The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. The game will make players ride a terrifying roller coaster where they would have to shoot their way out of danger as they face off against horrifying antagonists from the first season of the anthology series.
Players are in for a thrilling ride where blinking could mean the difference between life and death. The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is a PSVR2 exclusive title that will be released on February 22nd, 2023.
4 Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade is an upcoming story-driven action game being developed by Korean developer SHIFT UP and is being published by Sony Interactive Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 5. The game puts players in control of Eve who is a member of a resistance group fighting off against parasites known as the NA:tives to save humanity's last surviving city on Earth.
Players will unravel the mysteries of Earth's downfall in what is bound to be an action-packed adventure. Stellar Blade does not have an official release date but is slated to release sometime in 2023.
3 Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Square Enix exceeded all expectations with their remake of the beloved classic RPG that is Final Fantasy 7 in 2020. Part remake, part sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Remake expanded the first few hours of the original RPG into a full game and brought forth many new and exciting twists along the way.
The second part of the remake, titled Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, will see Cloud and the gang finally leave Midgar and will mark the return of more familiar characters from the original RPG. Rebirth will also give players more insight into Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth's complicated history. The game is set to release sometime in the Winter of 2023.
2 Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Insomniac games set a new standard for Superhero video games back in 2018 with the release of their first Spider-Man game. Now, after almost 5 long years the highly anticipated sequel to Marvel's Spider-Man is finally hitting the PlayStation 5. Like the first game, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be an open-world action game featuring loads of new and returning abilities for the Spider-Men.
Players are in for an incredible trip with their favorite web crawlers as, Peter and Miles work together to face off against their strongest foe yet, that being the villainous Venom. Not many details have been revealed about the new gameplay, but the game is slated to release sometime in the Fall of 2023.
1 Final Fantasy 16
Square Enix's highly anticipated Final Fantasy 16 is finally coming out this year exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and Final Fantasy fans could not be more stoked. Final Fantasy 16 is the sixteenth mainline entry in the long-running franchise and is set in a world called Valisthea, divided by six nations. The game stars Clive Rosefield, the First Shield of Rosaria, tasked with protecting his younger brother who is the Dominant of the Phoenix Eikon.
Like other modern FF games, Final Fantasy 16 will feature real-time fast-paced combat mixed with a deep lore and a fun cast of characters. The game is set to release exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on June 22nd, 2023.