Take a trip down memory lane with the best retro games on PS5!
No matter how many new games drop on the PS5 or other next-gen consoles, all we really want to do is play old games that made us feel good but with better graphics.
Heck, it’s why so many of you search for the best retro handhelds on a daily basis!
From PS1 greats to the best PS2 games ever made (and a few wild cards thrown in), we’ve compiled a list of the best titles to have been given a new lease of life thanks to the PS5 and its abundance of teraflops.
10.3 to be exact.
So, without further ado, let’s crack on see which retro games you can relive on Sony’s powerhouse!
Table of Contents
10. Quake (1996)
The legendary Quake kickstarts our best retro games on PS5 article!
A brutal enemy from another dimension, a nameless hero trying to avenge his fellow soldiers who have died at the hands of Quake, and a teleporter into a realm brimming with killer creatures.
Quake and Doom have always felt very similar to me, and I’m excited that they’re both in this list. The PS5 just got an injection of retro gore!
Unlike the Doom title below, Quake on the PS5 has had a noticeable update. It feels super polished and looks much more like a modern release.
And the remastered edition available for next-gen consoles comes with a whole bunch of bonus features.
You don’t just get the original game; it also comes with two mission pack expansions and the ‘Quake 5 – Episode 5: Dimensions of the Past’ expansion.
9. PaRappa The Rapper (1996)
You might not have bought your PS5 specifically to play a game about rapping, but PaRappa the Rapper is definitely worth checking out if you’re into beat-driven games.
Remember Donkey Konga? How about Guitar Hero? Well, PaRappa was killing the beat-button matching scene back in the the ’90s, dressing like Eminem and dancing with colourful characters.
A guy that looks like a walnut, a drunk-looking frog, and many other characters crop up along PaRappa’s journey. The remastered version looks so slick that you’ll be mesmerised in no time.
Dont worry; there’s no actual rapping involved… though I guess you could rap along if you really wanted.
Rap in time with your mentor in each different stage and score enough points to progress. Players must get to the front of a bathroom queue and then rap their feelings for a love interest.
Weird, right?
If you like your PS5 games a bit bizarre and fancy a nostalgic rap sesh, then grab a beanie hat and get playing!
8. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy (2018)
The Spyro Reignited Trilogy takes the 8th spot in this list of the best retro games on PS5.
It’s also the first 3-for-1 in our list too, allowing gamers to play the three best Spyro games for the PS1 on Sony’s new machine.
If we’re talking about iconic retro titles, you just gotta include Spyro, Sparx, and the gang into the mix. And if you thought the ignited trilogy looked good on the PS4, wait till you slot it into the PS5!
Everything from the first three games (That’s Spyro the Dragon, Ripto’s Rage, and Year of the Dragon) has been beefed up and enhanced. The characters look super smooth, the levels slick and polished
Heck, you can even count the blades of grass and the cracks in the boulders now!
Like Solid Snake and Crash, Spyro is a Sony staple character, and I’m glad there’s a way of getting his adventures on the PS5. Until you can get your hands on the new fan-made Spyro title, this is the best and most up-to-date Spyro adventure you’re going to get.
7. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (2017)
Speaking of Crash, here’s another 3-for-1 title, the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy!
I’ve got to be honest: this is one of the best Crash Bandicoot games out now because, like the Reignited Trilogy, it enhances three of my favourite games of all time.
Seeing Crash 1, Cortex Strikes Back, and Warped dripping in PS5 goodness on my TV just never gets old. If you can compare it side-by-side with the original PS1 version, you’ll be amazed!
So what’s changed?
Well, all the gameplay and the techniques Crash used in the original titles return once more. Collect Wumpa Fruits, dive into battle with an Aku Aku mask by your side, and smash as many boxes as possible.
All that sweet sweet audio from back in the day has been remastered, and let’s not forget the level enhancements. Man, Crash doesn’t know how lucky he is.
These games look how we imagined they did 20 years ago, finally! If you’re the ultimate Crash fan, then this needs to be in your life.
6. LocoRoco (2006)
LocoRoco takes the 6th spot in our best retro games on PS5. The original PSP game has been remastered on the PS4, giving fans a chance to slot it into their PS5 and receive some proper loco graphical treatment.
The LocoRoco are a loving and, let’s face it, pretty chilled people. Or at least they were until the Moja Corps started getting lairy and causing havoc.
It’s up to the player to take the LocoRoco through some puzzling levels akin to Super Monkey Ball-style courses (but 2D).
Slip-n-slide over precarious platforms and mazes as you work with the landscape around you to progress through 40 different levels.
And even though this is a bright, cutesy game with no real graphical wonder, the remastered version twinned with the PS5 still manages to blow us away!
5. Doom 64 (1997)
Yes, you read that right; Doom 64 on the PS4 and PS5!
Thanks to Limited Run, Doom Guy’s legendary Nintendo 64 adventure is available to play on the PS4. It’s also one of the best retro games on Nintendo Switch too, if you were interested!
The updated port is a bit brighter and has a more polished feel, but the graphics remain true ti the original. It looks just like you’ve managed to cram your original N64 cart into your PS5 via some third-party cartridge reader!
I know that if you think about all the best Doom games that there are more impressive looking titles, but this is still one of my personal favourites. I mean Doom III supercharged with the number ’64’ after it is always going to be a winner, right?
Grab your PS5 controller and blow the hell out of undead monsters and demons. These guys are relentless and pretty scary, even if they do look like plasticine models.
30 levels, brutal weapons, and a mission to survive. GAME ON!
4. Alan Wake Remastered (2020)
Alan Wake takes the 4th spot in this list of the best retro games on PS5. If you haven’t checked out the remastered version, then make it the next thing you do. It’s an absolute tour de force and looks stunning on the PS5!
BBC thriller drama fans will be all over this game. It’s exciting, jaw-dropping, and leaves you wanting to find out what’s going to happen next and on the edge of your seat.
The scene; Bright Falls. Players take author Alan Wake on a mission to solve how his wife disappeared.
The odd thing is that all the things that happen to Alan are things that have occurred in a book that he can’t remember writing. That’s some creepy stuff right there!
Alan Wake has a very strong Silent Hill vibe about it, but that’s not exactly a bad thing. run away from shadow monsters called The Taken (nothing to do with Liam Neeson) as you try to stay alive and figure out what the heck is going on!
3. Resident Evil 3 (1999)
It’s time to turn the scarefest up a notch. Resident Evil 3 was one of the scariest titles in the series, especially thanks to the Nemesis running after you every now and again!
What with him and Pyramidhead in Silent Hill, I’m surprised I didn’t have a nervous breakdown as a kid.
Now simply titled ‘Resident Evil 3’, the game has had a major graphics overhaul and looks disgustingly sick (or ‘amazing’ in normal language).
If you’re the kind of person that enjoys wandering through prisons while Zombie actors chase after you, then this is the game for you. It was always one of the best survival horror games of our time, but now it has graphics to match that accolade!
And that crusty mess with rubes sticking out of it that charges you and tries to eat your skin… a.k.a The Nemesis still makes me mess myself.
With multiple endings dependant on actions that you take in game, you won’t have any problems playing it again and again…and agARRGGGGHH.
Sorry, I just thought about The Nemesis again…
2. Final Fantasy VII (2020)
The Final Fantasy VII remake takes the silver medal in our best retro games on PS5.
Like Resident Evil 3, this was already one of the best PS1 games ever made. The remastered intergrade version takes one of the most in-depth and beautifully made stories and gives it the graphics it always deserved.
Can you tell I’m a massive fan?
How many of you wanted to be an eco-terrorist like Cloud Strife after playing this game? I mean, his mission to stop corporations from destroying his planet is one that we should all be able to connect with!
Gone are the 3D characters in a 2D world, making way for a gloriously textured, immersive, 3D world with stunning 4K graphics. My mate Nathan constantly bangs on about how amazing this game is, and for once, he’s not wrong.
The map is massive, the characters and swords are larger than life, and the battles are so much slicker than they were in the PS1 days.
All in all, it’s a seriously impressive work of art!
1. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
the results are in, the Retro Dodo team has voted, and Shadow of the Colossus is officially the best retro game on PS5!
Remember how amazing it was the first time you saw those enormous giants the first time you played this on the PS2? Now, with the might of the PS5 and the updated game, it all looks more impressive than you could have ever imagined.
I’m not gong to lie; I’ve died so many times playing this game. The bosses make the Divine Beasts in BotW look like child’s play things, and you’ll have to be quick to find their weakspots and bring them down.
There are 16 Colossus… Collossi to defeat. The weird thing is that there’s no real level format, more an open world to roam as you defeat each giant and try to save a girl in a temple.
I’d be hoping that she can at least see how big these guys were once she wakes up. We’re going through a lot to keep her alive here!
Explore the land with your horse and sword, basking in just how amazing this game looks now!
Also, if you’re looking for guides, be sure to check out our friends over at Blueburries.gg, they have guides on Destiny 2 Nightfall Weapons, and all things Destiny related!
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 33 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
