It’s been a great year for PlayStation owners. As we approach the end of this generation of consoles, it’s become clear who’s going to take the crown. The PS4 has seen some massive hits come and go throughout this generation, including this year as well. Starting with the masterful remake of PS2’s Shadow of the Colossus, and ending with a heap of exclusives like God of War & Spider-Man, it’s been a crazy year for gamers.

And so, to celebrate the holiday spirit of gaming, we’ve compiled a list of the very best exclusives that you need to play come this Christmas. But then again, you’ve probably gone ahead and platinum-ed them haven’t you?

God of War

Of course we gotta start out with God of War: the franchise which keeps on giving. 2018’s God of War is a followup the original trilogy which spanned across the PS2 & PS3, and follows a now older Kratos and his son on a journey across the Norse realm. We didn’t get a chance to review the game when it came out, but boy is it a wonderful game. As brutal as the entries before it, but now with a beating heart at its core, this PS4 exclusive is the be-all & end-all system seller.

With excellent combat mechanics, a rich lore and interesting characters, not to mention all of it being captured in one take of camera motion, make sure you play the game if you haven’t yet. If you’re hesitant about joining the franchise because you haven’t played the previous ones, don’t worry. God of War (2018) is the series’ most approachable entry yet, being the quasi-reboot that it is.

Spider-Man

Marvel’s resident wall-crawler finally got a good game this year. With Spider-Man, Insomniac Games has delivered an excellent game which recognizes and respects the Spider-Man lore from the comics. With an amazing combat system and the best traversal we’ve ever experienced in the wall crawler’s foray into video games, Marvel’s Spider-Man is a must own for any die-hard fan of the character, as well as for any self-respecting PS4 owner.

I mean, there’s a reason it became the best-selling game on the PlayStation. Everybody loves Spider-Man!

Red Dead Redemption 2

Okay, okay I know it’s not a PS4 exclusive per se, seeing that it is available to play on the Xbox One consoles. But seeing as the game’s not available on any other platforms, I figured I might as well add this to the list. After all, Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best games to have come out this generation, and it did just come out in October.

The prequel is set 12 years before the events of the original Red Dead Redemption, where you play as Arthur Morgan, Dutch Van der Linde’s right-hand man. Set across a vast open world, with an extreme level of detail put into it, RDR2 is probably the one game which feels next-gen. Perhaps that’s why the game takes nearly a 100 GB of space on the consoles. Either way, you’ll have a fun time with RDR2.

Bloodborne

If you hate the happy feeling of swinging across rooftops in Spider-Man, then you might love falling off of them in Bloodborne. Arguably the PS4’s hardest game, From Software really outdid themselves with this game.

Taking the best parts of the Dark Souls series, adding a tinge of Victorian England, and a few of H.P Lovecraft’s designs into it, Bloodborne takes the cake for being the console’s darkest exclusive. It might frustrate you in its opening hours, but once you’ve mastered its mechanics, the blood-starved city of Yharnam will feel like home for all the wrong reasons. You might wanna buy an extra DualShock controller. You know, for the rage quits…

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Nathan Drake’s final adventure is one hell of a ride. Ranging from the prisons of Panama to New Orleans, to lavish parties at Italy and the jungles of Madagascar, this final adventure is quite unlike any other. The signature gameplay combining cinematic sequences with exploration based traversal has been perfected by Naughty Dog. Plus, the game looks absolutely stunning on the PS4, not to mention even better on the PS4 Pro. It’s as they say, you haven’t had the full PlayStation experience if you haven’t played Uncharted (or God of War for that matter).

Horizon Zero Dawn

Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn was in all ways a surprise hit. Coming off of the Killzone franchise, everybody knew the studio to have had an experience in crafting masterful exclusives for the PlayStation brand. However, with Horizon the studio delivered upon something that no one was expecting. With a massive open world and interesting gameplay, and an equally interesting twist to the post-apocalyptic genre, Horizon Zero Dawn is a welcome addition to the PS4’s library.

Honorable Mentions:

Rachet & Clank

It’s funny. It’s cute. It’s made by Insomniac. It’s a remake of a classic.

Shadow of the Colossus

It’s serious. It’s gorgeous. It’s timeless. It’s a remake of a classic.