There are plenty of reasons not to be a fan of the PS5 right now. The biggest reason that most games cite is that while there are some “big hits” on the platform, they don’t come out frequently enough, and Sony has a bad habit of promoting the wrong games instead of the ones that should get more of a focus. If you look at the PlayStation 5’s overall sales, you’ll see that they’re a bit behind the PS4, and that could grow in distance as time goes on. So, what is there to be happy about with the system? Well, after a certain review embargo drop, they have one accolade they can celebrate.
If you go to Metacritic’s top games of 2024, as of right now, you’ll find that the two best-reviewed entries of the year that are full titles are PS5 games. Those titles are Astro Bot, with a score of 94, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, with a score of 92. Yes, if you’re wondering, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree does rank higher than them, but that’s a DLC, so it’s not a direct comparison.
The fact that these two games are at the top of the list is both fascinating and curious all at the same time. For example, going into 2024, many expected Square Enix’s remake entry to be up there as one of the “Game Of The Year” contenders, and that prophecy came to pass. As for Astro’s new game, which was rumored for a while but wasn’t announced until May, clearly, the team put a lot of work into it to make reviewers melt with joy as they played it.
The ”curious” part about it, though, is the context that goes along with these titles. For example, while Astro Bot has a great review score, it remains to be seen how well it sells. That brings us to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which was one of the most hyped games around but, by all estimates, hasn’t even sold what the previous entry in the “Remake Saga” did, which was a big blow to Square Enix. In fact, it was one of the reasons that they did its “restructuring” earlier in the year. Not to mention, while that RPG was exclusive to the PS5, it wasn’t a 1st party entry, so that softens the “success” of this all happening on the PlayStation 5.
There are even statements about Sony lamenting that it “doesn’t have enough IPs” to work around, which makes gamers furious because they know that’s not true. Hopefully, seeing this single-player success will encourage them to do more in this arena.
