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What are the best single-player, narrative-driven ps4 exclusive games?

Deleted member 29691

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I'll be honest, I have only been playing online shooters and MMOs and games with no "ending" for YEARS now. Last year I beat two games, FFX and Tokyo Mirage Sessions and that was a huge accomplishment for me.

I don't think I've actually played any of the ps4 exclusives from last gen/the ps3 remasters. So which are your favorites? I'd prefer games I could beat in a few days/a week, Horizon and Spiderman look great but I also get lost in open-world games that take dozens of hours to complete and never really finish them.

Some games I am considering are:

Uncharted Trilogy
The Last of Us
God of War (I've heard this is pretty long though?)
Infamous (I think despite this being an open-world it's a bit shorter?)
Ratchet and Clank
The Last Guardian


ps I have played A LOT of Bloodborne already and have a tattoo of the Shadow of Yharnam on my arm so... I'm good there. Though just saying that makes me want to play it again
 
vixolus

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Spider-Man PS4 is a must. It's an open world, but you can just only do the story without needing to do any side activities. It's nothing like Odyssey or Valhalla with loads of side quests to do.

Uncharted 4 and the Lost Legacy if you haven't played those (you only mention the original trilogy).

With 5 uncharted games to play through, you can easily get burnt out on the formula. Uncharted 1 is fine, but definitely has some rough patches that get ironed out.

The Last Of Us 1 and 2 are also both great games to play. TLOU 1 is a decent length but like half the length of TLOU 2.
 
Betty

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The Last of Us is a good 'start' if you plan to play more of Sony's first party titles.

Spider-Man isn't really that long either.
 
Cactuar

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Too many to mention. But from your list you're missing Persona 5, Ghost of Tsushima, Until Dawn, etc.
 
TradedHats

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If you're talking console exclusives: you said games you could beat in a few days, but you also said you love open worlds, so let's say that Death Stranding cancels each other out and you should be happy ;)

Though not particularly the biggest "story-focused" of games, Gravity Rush is also great.
 
dancingphlower

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My favorite is Ghost of Tsushima (naturally lol) but it's very much an archetypal open world game so ymmv on if it would hold your interest. But I did see streamers like Maximilian Dood (who doesn't normally care for open world games) really take to it so there's that!
 
Big G

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Based on what you're asking for in terms of length, the Uncharted games are your best bet.
 
Tyaren

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God of War is the all-round best, most polished of them all. Just its length should not deter you. It has to be sizable, you are having a big adventure in a vast and beautiful fantasy world after all.
It's also not that much longer than Horizon. It's pretty comparable actually. 30 hours story, double that if you do much exploring and sidequesting.

The Last Guardian is one of the less polished games, it launched with lots of technical issues, but it is something wonderful and very special in its own right. It should also not be missed.
 
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ArmGunar

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If you like slasher, you can take a look at Until Dawn

If you like narrative with choices, you can consider Detroit Become Human

Don't forget Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy if you play Uncharted trilogy (the first one didn't age that well so if you are disappointed by this one, skip it and go directly with Uncharted 2)
 
EggmaniMN

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Odin Sphere Leifthrasir I guess technically since it's much improved over the PS2 version. 13 Sentinels fits too. Both like 35-40 hours?
 
LeMillion

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Uncharted Trilogy and God of War are must-plays from that list OP! Though I do recommend skipping Uncharted 1. It just doesn't hold up as well and you can find a 5 minute summary of what happens on Youtube.

Uncharted 2 is still a masterpiece that I just started re-playing last night and man... the pacing is fantastic.
 

Deleted member 91227

Feb 4, 2021
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noisetank3000 said:
I'll be honest, I have only been playing online shooters and MMOs and games with no "ending" for YEARS now. Last year I beat two games, FFX and Tokyo Mirage Sessions and that was a huge accomplishment for me.

I don't think I've actually played any of the ps4 exclusives from last gen/the ps3 remasters. So which are your favorites? I'd prefer games I could beat in a few days/a week, Horizon and Spiderman look great but I also get lost in open-world games that take dozens of hours to complete and never really finish them.

Some games I am considering are:

Uncharted Trilogy
The Last of Us
God of War (I've heard this is pretty long though?)
Infamous (I think despite this being an open-world it's a bit shorter?)
Ratchet and Clank
The Last Guardian
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All those are great. I'd add Spider-man. It's not a long open world game. I spent 20 some hours on it doing nearly everything. Miles Morales is even shorter.

Horizon is also great, as is Ghost of Tsushima, but those are longer open world games so maybe skip those given your comment.

If you need an order, God of War was my favorite game of last generation. It is a longer game, but not terribly so and not open world. If you want shorter, more focused games the Uncharted games fit that bill. The first 3 are in the 8-10ish hour range and 4 took me like 18 I think. TLOU was about that long and TLOU2 around 30 for me.
 
TheSpaceBetween

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Jan 11, 2018
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God of War and Part 2. There is a sizable gap between those two and the rest on that list. I'd also recommend Horizon. I didn't expect the story to be as interesting as it was.
 
Cactuar

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noisetank3000 said:
Loved Until Dawn! Def deserves a few more play throughs esp with all the endings

Left out Persona because of how long it is. Is Ghosts long if I'm not trying to 100% it?
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A lot factors into that? What do you consider long? In the OP you mention things you can beat in a week, that depends on how much you play per day, which we don't know. Also, what difficulty will you be playing on? If you're just looking to experience Ghost straight through and are playing on an easy difficulty, you should be able to beat it relatively quickly if you B-line everything. One week is possible.

Be warned though, seeking "narrative-driven" games and not experiencing Ghost's side stories is counter-intuitive, because it's those side quests that help make the narrative what it is. They are very well-written. I believe you give Ghost a shot, and once you get into it you'll forget about the length. (Though like I said, it can be finished "quickly" as well depending on different factors).
 
Fromskap

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I second 13 Sentinels. It's one of the best games of its type, and a veritable treat for the eyes. It's also a game where everything you do advances the plot, so you have a steady progression towards the end.
I also really liked the new God of War, though it has a elements of an open world with sidequests and such that make it easier to get sidetracked. Keep that in mind if you want to avoid that.
 
brenobnfm

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The best are Uncharted 4 + Lost Legacy, Horizon and Spider-man.

I would skip God of War, it's not a good game.
 
Bish_Bosch

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P5R
13 Sentinels
Death Stranding(Will just ignore that it's on PC)
Everyone's Gone to the Rapture
The Last Guardian
 
Nameless

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Bloodborne, The Last Guardian, 13 Sentinels

For my money it doesn't get better than that if we're talking PS4 exclusives. Three GOTYs.
 
TransEuropaExpress

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Death Stranding is one of my personal favorites of the gen and especially in that vein...however, many people can't fucking stand it so I'm never sure whether to actually recommend it.

I mean it's on PC but uh, PS4 exclusive as far as consoles are concerned at least.
 
OP
OP

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iverdawg said:
If you're talking console exclusives: you said games you could beat in a few days, but you also said you love open worlds, so let's say that Death Stranding cancels each other out and you should be happy ;)

Though not particularly the biggest "story-focused" of games, Gravity Rush is also great.
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oh did I mention my other tattoo is The Fury from MGS3? I am a hopeless Kojima fanboy and def need to spend more time in Death Stranding. Something about end of the world games when the world is ending is actually comforting. Love how gorgeous and surreal that game is
 
Gunny T Highway

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I never played any of the Unchartered games till last year. They are one of the best single player narrative games Sony platforms has ever had.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 29691

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Gunny T Highway said:
I never played any of the Unchartered games till last year. They are one of the best single player narrative games Sony platforms has ever had.
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helll yeah think i'm going to alternate between uncharted and last of us games so I don't get burned out

thank you so much for your responses everyone!

also sony if you are reading this bring back syphon filter you cowards
 
beelulzebub

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Oct 25, 2017
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Gonna push back AGAINST the 13 Sentinels recs. If you have a low tolerance of anime tropes, you may have an issue with it like I did, as the characters are paper thin generic anime archetypes. Beautiful game, complex yarn, dull as rocks characters.

The Last of Us Part II, God of War, and Horizon: Zero Dawn are the best Sony's internal teams have made this gen. You really can't go wrong with any of them. Considering you're looking for a more focused, guided experience, it sounds to me like you should start with what Naughty Dog has to offer first, then move onto those other two if you want to see what else Sony's devs are capable of. I generally feel overwhelmed by open world games, but this wasn't the case at all for Horizon or GoW. If you can, play the first TLOU if you haven't before moving onto Part II.

If your eyes cross when you see a Ubisoft open world map like mine do, or you feel like all that amounts to a busywork checklist, you may want to skip over Ghost of Tsushima for now. It's been called an Assassin's Creed set in Japan, and for better and worse I'd say that's accurate.

As of late, they're not exclusive anymore, and they're lengthy games with a lot of side activities which may not be what you're looking for now, but you really can't go wrong with anything the Yakuza team has made. Either Yakuza 0 or Judgment are great starting points. Unlike open world games, I never feel lost with these games despite the gigantic volume of things to do. I'm quite content picking at these slowly, months at a time.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 29691

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beelulzebub said:
Gonna push back AGAINST the 13 Sentinels recs. If you have a low tolerance of anime tropes, you may have an issue with it like I did, as the characters are paper thin generic anime archetypes. Beautiful game, complex yarn, dull as rocks characters.

The Last of Us Part II, God of War, and Horizon: Zero Dawn are the best Sony's internal teams have made this gen. You really can't go wrong with any of them. Considering you're looking for a more focused, guided experience, it sounds to me like you should start with what Naughty Dog has to offer first, then move onto those other two if you want to see what else Sony's devs are capable of. I generally feel overwhelmed by open world games, but this wasn't the case at all for Horizon or GoW. If you can, play the first TLOU if you haven't before moving onto Part II.

If your eyes cross when you see a Ubisoft open world map like mine do, or you feel like all that amounts to a busywork checklist, you may want to skip over Ghost of Tsushima for now. It's been called an Assassin's Creed set in Japan, and for better and worse I'd say that's accurate.

As of late, they're not exclusive anymore, and they're lengthy games with a lot of side activities which may not be what you're looking for now, but you really can't go wrong with anything the Yakuza team has made. Either Yakuza 0 or Judgment are great starting points. Unlike open world games, I never feel lost with these games despite the gigantic volume of things to do. I'm quite content picking at these slowly, months at a time.
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Thanks for all of that info wow!

That has been my concern with ghosts. I have such high fatigue for open-world games like that that I can't even bring myself to play the good ones like Ghosts and Red Dead. I actually barely played MGS5 despite being hype af for it which is crazy to me. And that was years ago...
 
beelulzebub

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noisetank3000 said:
Thanks for all of that info wow!

That has been my concern with ghosts. I have such high fatigue for open-world games like that that I can't even bring myself to play the good ones like Ghosts and Red Dead. I actually barely played MGS5 despite being hype af for it which is crazy to me. And that was years ago...
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Yeah, I frequently suffer from open world fatigue too. Although I've found it's usually just the ones that follow Ubisoft's approach to them (which is a lot of them).

I REALLY loved MGSV but totally get why people bounce off it, particularly since the story isn't really there. Always worth giving it another shot if and when the itch strikes just to see if it clicks. It's a wonderful stealth sandbox.
 
MrFox

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TLOU1/2 are almost mandatory for any playstation gamers, I can't recommend them enough.

I thought Horizon Zero Dawn had the best story of any open world games. You can play on Easy and focus on the main story without the side quests if you're worried about the story pacing or length. The main story is still relatively linear for an open world game,.

All the mainline Ratchet games are really fun action/platformer, short enough, but it's much more action than story (as platformers are).

The entire Uncharted series need to be played in order. First game is short and a bit old, but the series sports some of the best character development leading to a story that wraps up in Uncharted 4. It's a must play. At least play the first one to see if you like it.

Death Stranding is one of my favorite games of all time. It's a bit long. It's still difficult to recommend to others because it's such a weird game. It's one of those games that some people love, some hate.

The Last Guardian is another that's not for everyone. But in terms of story, the entire third act is the most rewarding finale of any game I played in my life. It's not very long unless you get stuck on some puzzles, but you can always look up a walkthrough if you get stuck. I strongly recommend watching one of the spoiler-free youtube clips like "10 things I wish I knew before playing TLG" to avoid some frustrations in the beginning.
 
Flevance

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Apart from everything that's already been mentioned, there's Final Fantasy VII Remake and it's exactly what you're asking for
 
jayu26

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Horizon and Spider-man aren't that long for open world games.

All of those games are amazing. I would also add Ratchet games.

You can also look outside Sony for AAA games with good narratives, such as Mass Effect trilogy, Fallout: New Vegas, Bioshock 1 and 2.
 
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Alecs27

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Play all the Uncharted games first, the trilogy, 4 and lost legacy. Then play The last of us 1 and 2. God of war, then Horizon and Spiderman.
 
Rover_

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i mean... almost all? hahaha

The Last Guardian, TLOU and God of War, please... play them.
 

Deleted member 3017

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There are so many great single player exclusives on PlayStation 4, but when I think of "narrative driven" single player games, nothing tops The Last of Us Remastered and The Last of Us Part II. Seriously...nothing. I cannot recommend these two games enough.
 
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