In this particular case, 2021 is set to be a big year for Sony’s latest-gen console, the PlayStation 5. Scroll down below if you want to learn more about the release dates of all the PS5 exclusives in 2021, in no particular order.
Destruction All-Stars
Release date: February 2021 Destruction All-Stars was the first PS5 exclusive to release in 2021 and will forever go down as a largely forgettable title. Even though it came free for all PlayStation Plus subscribers in February, not a lot of people tried the game out. Gameplay-wise, Destruction All-Stars is a multiplayer arena title that pits teams of players against each other inside an enclosed arena that’s filled with vehicles and power-ups while in control of ridiculously athletic and acrobatic avatars.
Nioh Collection
Release date: February 5, 2021 After two very successful demon-slaying titles in Nioh and Nioh 2, Team Ninja is set to re-release both titles in a single package for the next generation. The Nioh Collection features up to 4K resolution graphics or 120fps framerates, as well as faster loading screens, as it releases both Nioh and Nioh 2 on the PlayStation 5. This edition also comes complete with all the content released for both titles post-launch. For those who already own Nioh or Nioh 2, the next-gen remastered version is available for free. The game also lets you transfer your progress from the PS4 to the PS5.
Returnal
Release date: March 19, 2021 Housemarque is one of those developers that pride themselves in taking something classic but putting a near-blasphemous twist to it. In particular, they seem to have an affinity for shoot-em-up games. Outland, Super Stardust, and Resogun, are all well-beloved but underrated titles all made by Housemarque. However, while most of their previous showings have been more on the indie side, Housemarque seems intent on breaking into the mainstream with their latest game, Returnal. An action-horror title with roguelike mechanics, Returnal puts players in the shoes of an astronaut named Selene who finds herself stuck in a time loop. She must then try to battle through grotesque alien creatures in an ever-changing foreign world as she tries to remember who she is and what she is there for. The success of Returnal and its confusing ending all led to Housemarque being picked up by Sony as its 13th studio under the PlayStation Studios banner.
Terminator: Resistance
Release date: March 26, 2021 Have you ever wondered how the war between humans and machines in the Terminator franchise played out? Seriously, we’re all for John Connor surviving and all, but we didn’t really get a good glimpse of what happened during the war between John Connor’s resistance and Skynet’s robotic army. Well, apparently, Terminator: Resistance aims to answer that question. Set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles between the years 2028 and 2029, the game puts players in the shoes of a resistance soldier named Jacob Rivers with a plot that follows closely the original future war depicted in the first two Terminator titles. The enhanced version of Terminator: Resistance for the PlayStation 5 will feature numerous improvements. This includes all the patches the game has received on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC so far. Other notable additions include a new “Infiltrator” mode where players can play as a T-800 series Infiltrator unit with four times faster loading times, a slew of visual improvements, as well as new narrative content in the form of paid DLC to be released sometime during the Summer of 2021.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Release date: August 2021 Kena: Bridge of Spirits was one of the new IPs that Sony showcased last year and judging by the look of things, it’s quite an interesting one. This third-person action-adventure title is set in a magical forest world and follows an adventurer named Kena as she works to try and protect her village from enemies. In doing so, she’ll have to venture far and wide as she learns how to work with the spirits around her as she solves puzzles and uses the very environment to her own advantage. Bridge of Spirits was initially slated to release in March 2021. However, the developers have since pushed its release date back to August 2021.
Guilty Gear Strive
Release date: April 9, 2021 Initially announced with the working title, “New Guilty Gear”, Guilty Gear Strive was finally confirmed. It will see the popular fighting game franchise use English dub just for the third time in its long and storied history. Guilty Gear Strive will serve as the first main entry release for the franchise since 2015’s Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator.
Deathloop
Release date: September 2021 Just before Microsoft could snatch up Zenimax, taking Bethesda along for the ride, Deathloop was able to retain its one-year exclusivity deal with Sony’s latest console. Set for a May 2021 release date, Deathloop is an intriguing first-person shooter that follows a very interesting plot where assassins are set out to kill each other while being stuck in an endless cycle. The game’s protagonist, Colt, will try to free himself from the loop by taking down specific targets scattered all throughout Blackreef. However, as challenging as this task is, the game ups the ante by involving some multiplayer gameplay into the mix. Basically, at any point in the game, other players could join in as Julianna, a rival assassin tasked to stop you at all costs. If that’s enough to pull you into this endless loop of death, then we don’t know what will. Deathloop was delayed from its May 2021 release date to September 2021.
Solar Ash
Release date: 2021 Hyper Light Drifter was one of the more unique games to release this past decade and it’s looking like the developers, Heart Machine, are set to release yet another equally unique title in the form of Solar Ash. So far, we don’t have a lot to go on with Solar Ash outside of its mesmerizing introduction trailer and some gameplay footage from Summer Game Fest 2021. Solar Ash is still slated to release this 2021.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Release date: October 2021 Ghostwire: Tokyo plays on a what-if scenario where everyone around you suddenly vanishes and is replaced by terrifying creatures taken straight from local folklore and legends. Set in a virtual version of Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, Ghostwire: Tokyo puts you in the shoes of someone with the power to rid the streets of the evil spirits littering around all the while cleansing the shrines so that they may return to whence they came from. With Shinji Mikami’s Tango Gameworks behind it, the game’s exciting premise holds a lot of promise. We’re hoping that the game has put its development snags behind it so it sees a 2021 release date.
F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch
Release date: Sometime in 2021 F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is one of the weirder titles expected to release on the PlayStation 5. We say weird because that’s exactly how you’d describe a plot where you’re essentially a former war veteran living in seclusion forced to seek revenge for a friend who fell victim to the injustices of the world. However, what starts as a story of a man literally fighting against the powers that be turns into a discovery involving numerous supposedly opposing factions. And, oh, did we mention that you’re going to be playing as a grizzled bunny? Yes. We’re not joking.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach
Release date: Sometime in 2021 Just as most of us were expecting the hype surrounding Five Nights at Freddy’s to have died out already, Steel Wool Studios and ScottGames come out with Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach. This timed-exclusive on both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 will bring the band back together and ups the ante by taking advantage of the added grunt that comes with making it available on Sony’s next-gen console. Unfortunately, Security Breach isn’t expected to release until late 2021 if not even later.
The Next God of War Game
Release date: Sometime in 2022 What do we know about the next God of War game? Nothing, really. Expect from the fact that God of War: Ragnarok will come in 2021, as per the first teaser trailer, we don’t really know anything much about the follow-up to 2018’s God of War. After the beating that Kratos gave his kin, Odin will definitely be out for blood. It will be interesting to see what the rest of Norse mythology has to offer for our slightly more mellow angry baldy. But, for now, all we can do is wait for the game after it was confirmed to release in 2022.
Goodbye Volcano High
Release date: Sometime in 2021 This upcoming narrative adventure title will feature a group of high school students from Volcano High who are about to graduate as they reminisce about what they went through and prepare themselves for a future in a world that’s inhabited by dinosaurs. How well teen drama will mix with dinosaurs is a question that we’re eager to find out the answer to ourselves. We’ll know how it goes sometime in 2021 when Goodbye Volcano High is released for the PlayStation 5.
Heavenly Bodies
Release date: Sometime in 2021 Already out for the PlayStation 4 and PC, Heavenly Bodies will make its way to the PlayStation 5 sometime in 2021 and bring with it the joy of discovering what it feels like to live in a world without gravity. Featuring space cosmonauts in 70’s visual style, Heavenly Bodies will let you push and pull, as well as twist your way into completing sometimes seemingly mundane tasks made difficult and complicated with gravity no longer in the picture.
Horizon: Forbidden West
Release date: Sometime in 2021 After finding out that she is a genetic clone of the woman essentially responsible for helping save mankind from extinction in Horizon: Zero Dawn, Aloy now must travel westward through the titular “forbidden west”, which will take her through reimagined future versions of United States regions such as San Francisco and Utah, among others. In her new travels, Aloy will encounter numerous new tribes and machines, as well as uncover even more mysteries. Based on the trailers that we’ve seen up until now, Horizon: Forbidden West is a much bigger and better-looking game than the first one. Whether or not it will tug at our heartstrings just as the first one did will be something we’ll find out soon enough.
Jett: The Far Shore
Release date: Sometime in 2021 Jett: The Far Shore was initially set to release in 2020. However, due to certain reasons, it was delayed to 2021, and if that means the game receives extra polishing, then we’re all for it. This interstellar open-world adventure title uses its first trailer to introduce us to a young character carrying the hopes and dreams of his home village as he hops on a rocket ship and docks into what looks like a space station. Then, the trailer transitions to a hundred years later where people have apparently discovered other alien worlds, which we, no doubt, will have a chance to explore ourselves. With no actual gameplay trailer available as of yet, we can only speculate what Jett: The Far Shore will play like. Luckily, it won’t be too long before we find out as the game is set to release some time this 2021.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Release date: Sometime in 2021 After the 2016 remake of the classic PlayStation franchise, Ratchet and Clank will make their way to the PlayStation 5 with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The game will have the duo chasing after Dr. Nefarious as they travel from one dimension to another with all-new Lombax in Rivet as a playable character. Rift Apart was highly praised upon launch. Many consider it as the best game available on the PS5 right now after it brought the same standard platforming and third-person shooting that the franchise has been known for but with a more next-gen twist. We ranked Rift Apart as one of the best games in the Ratchet & Clank franchise.
Stray
Release date: Sometime in 2021 Just when you thought you couldn’t introduce an entirely new concept these days, BlueTwelve Studio comes up with a game that lets you play as a cat. No, we’re not joking. In Stray, you’ll play as a cat that finds itself separated from its family. You’ll then have to take control of the stray, and with the assistance of B12, a small droid, you’ll adventure through a foreign city as you try to look for your home. The game combines a gorgeous environment with a healthy dose of stealth mechanics and platforming to create what could be the best cat game we’ve seen in years.
Oddworld: Soulstorm
Release date: April 6, 2021 Oddworld: Soulstorm stands out as one of the more underrated games to release on the PS5 this year. Although it’s hard to miss every exclusive that is released on the PS5 given how much marketing each one gets, Abe’s latest adventure fell through the proverbial cracks due to mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike. For what it’s worth, Soulstorm is a great platformer that treated fans to multiple endings, including one that paves the way for a sequel.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade
Release date: April 10, 2021 Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade is the PS5-exclusive version of 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It adds multitudes of next-gen enhancements to the already beautiful game, allowing gamers to dive even deeper into Midgar for the second time around. However, Intergrade adds more than just aesthetic enhancements to the game. In addition to the improvements, Intergrade also comes with a PS5-exclusive DLC for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, INTERMission. The expansion revolves around a fan-favorite character, Yuffie Kisaragi, and is set during the events of the main Final Fantasy 7 Remake game. It also adds a couple of new scenes towards the end of the game, including one where Zack successfully returns (as opposed to dying) and prepares to greet Aerith. Intergrade a great way to re-experience or experience Final Fantasy 7 Remake for the first time on the PS5, especially as we inch closer to Part 2.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
Release date: N/A Following on the steps of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade comes what is essentially a PS5-enhanced version of Kojima Production’s Death Stranding but with additional content. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut was confirmed at Summer Game Fest 2021 by Hideo Kojima himself with a full reveal coming in a few weeks. It’s only a matter of time before we find out more about what kind of additional adventures Sam Bridges will go on in the Director’s Cut. Some believe that it will incorporate more stealth-action gameplay into Death Stranding, as well as cut content that was originally planned for the game at launch.
Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut
Release date: August 20, 2021 Ghost of Tsushima was one of the biggest games to release on the PS4 in 2020. It’s become so successful as a game that its developers have become official ambassadors of the game’s real-life island. Not to mention, a movie based on Ghost of Tsushima is currently in the works with the director of the John Wick films tapped to direct it. Fast forward to almost a year after it was launched and Sucker Punch Productions confirmed that a Director’s Cut of Ghost of Tsushima is coming. Unlike Death Stranding’s Director’s Cut, Ghost of Tsushima won’t have PS5-exclusive content. The Director’s Cut will be available on both the PS4 and the PS5. However, to avail of the upgrade on the PS5, previous owners of Ghost of Tsushima on the PS4 will have to purchase a copy of the Director’s Cut for the PS5.
Abandoned
Release date: Q4 2021 Abandoned has got to be the most speculated game in recent memory. Thankfully, now that Bloober Team has all but been announced to be working on a Silent Hill game, the conspiracies have died down a bit. For those that don’t know, Abandoned is a first-person cinematic survival sim that takes place in a sprawling wilderness. Judging from the trailers we’ve seen so far, Abandoned is going to be one hell of a debut title for BLUE Box Game Studios. We can expect to see more of Abandoned in August during its PS5 app launch.
