Shopping guide in which we recommend 12 of the best games (triple A and indies) that can serve as a Christmas gift.
Another year is leaving, a year that we can hardly forget. 2020 has been marked by the coronavirus epidemic, although COVID-19 has not prevented new generation consoles from going on sale. PS5, like Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have arrived with very limited units, so the few waves of reservations that have been launched have not allowed the demand to be met. Throughout the year, yes, users of Sony consoles have received high quality games. Taking advantage of the Christmas season, and taking into account that many have not yet bought the gifts, at FreeGameTips we do not want to leave aside our traditional shopping guides. Next, we offer you 12 options to consider on PS4 and PS5, both for high-budget video games and independent products.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
It was at E3 2015 that Square Enix finally made the dreams of many gamers come true. Final Fantasy VII Remake went from being a wish to becoming a reality, at least on paper, since its launch did not materialize until April 2020. Change of studio in between (Cyberconnect 2 was in charge of the project initially) , the team led by Tetsuya Nomura has taken the original story and reimagined the play. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aeris and company return in their fight against the evil Shinra, but Square Enix abandons the classic turns to offer a combat system focused on action, which however does not forget its strategic component. The argument expands and offers new perspectives, although as they say in the Japanese company, this is only the beginning: several more deliveries are coming in the future. Sefirot’s challenge is not over. The surprises? They are yet to come.
- Buy Final Fantasy VII Remake
Ghost of tsushima
Sucker Punch, one of the many developers at Sony Interactive Entertainment, triumphed on PlayStation 3 with the launch of her InFamous series, which was then continued by InFamous: Second Son on PlayStation 4. However, for their next project, the team decided to put aside his saga of heroes and villains to focus on a new intellectual property. Although they decided on the sandbox and open world style, Ghost of Tsushima is a stealth action game set in medieval Japanese times. Jin Sakai, a former samurai, is forced to abandon the ways of bushido, all he believed in, to face a threat that endangers his home. Only as a ghost can he defeat the Mongol invader and save his people from destruction. Although it is a title for PS4, the game works better on PS5, since backward compatibility enables 60 fps in this particular case. Get ready to master the art of the katana and save your loved ones. Tsushima Island needs you.
- Buy Ghost of Tsushima
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
After immersing ourselves in the ancient world, the saga of the assassins advances a few centuries, specifically until the 9th century AD. Ubisoft Montreal continues to delve into the RPG formula, although this time with the Vikings as protagonists. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla tells the story of Eivor, a warrior (or warrior, you can choose your gender) who leads the Raven Clan and who sets out on a journey to a new home. He leaves his native Norway to settle permanently in England. Of course, at that time, after years of Viking invasions, not all Christians are out to offer hospitality. However, Eivor closes alliances and devises strategies in order to achieve the best for its people. How could it be otherwise, the study represents combat in a brutal way, with some of the stereotypes typical of the Vikings. And yet, it shows a diplomatic and artistic side to these warriors. Many of the mechanics come from Origins and Odyssey, but the developers have been able to build a quality product that is worth playing.
- Buy Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
It is not an expansion nor is it a sequel itself. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was born as a standalone product for PS5. At first it was said that it was exclusive to the new generation, but Insomniac Games, the also creators of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, worked on an adaptation for PS4. Of course, the visual improvements are appreciated on PlayStation 5 (the game was recently updated to work with ray tracing and 60 fps), but the story is the same and the mechanics do not differ between versions. As its title indicates, Peter Parker is not the protagonist of the adventure. We follow in the footsteps of Miles Morales, who dons his wall-crawler tights to fight villains and move around buildings with his spider webs. If you purchase the Ultimate Edition, you will have the opportunity to enjoy Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered for PS5, a revamped version of the original video game. Time to save the world? It depends on you.
- Buy Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS4
- Buy Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales on PS5
Demon’s Souls
This is the only game on the list that is exclusive to PS5, so you won’t be able to play it if you only have one PS4. Bluepoint Games, experts in developing remasters and remakes of classic games, has been the studio responsible for this adaptation. Hidetaka Miyazaki’s work returns with a deep facelift, but the developers have approached the project with respect. At the time they considered offering a lower level of difficulty, although they have finally kept the spirit of FromSoftware and have left things as they were in that sense. With an RPG structure and a Gothic-style visual style, this proposal invites you to master the mechanics, improve the character and learn the patterns of the different bosses to master the technique and advance to the end. In the vein of other FromSoftware productions, all enemies are dangerous, so one must be vigilant at all times, not forgetting that a rickety skeleton can lead you directly to the grave.
- Buy Demon’s Souls
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
Like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this Sumo Digital title has come out on both PS4 and PS5. Sony thus recovers one of its star characters, the friendly Sackboy from Little Big Planet. Although the protagonist was born from the hand of Media Molecule, the creators of Tearaway and Dreams, the third installment of the saga was also developed by Sumo Digital, also in an intergenerational context. This time they have not opted for a Little Big Planet 4, but have decided on a spin-off focused on the character. Sackboy: An adventure in a big way is an ideal proposal for all audiences, a platform video game that takes us through wonderful and creative worlds. Despite being a product that at first glance may seem like “the bottom of the closet”, Sumo Digital has shown that it is a highly recommended video game. Without a doubt, a gift to consider for Christmas.
- Buy Sackboy: A Big Adventure on PS4
- Buy Sackboy: A Big Adventure on PS5
DOOM Eternal
The success of DOOM (2016) already heralded a sequel to match, something that Bethesda and id Software have amply offered. DOOM Eternal is one of the best action games of the year, a title that makes you dance to the sound of the loader as you shoot over and over again. The demons have returned and the hunter holds the weapons ready to strike them down once and for all. The studio has once again struck a near-perfect balance, combining shooting and platforming in a frenetic shooter that doesn’t leave a second of respite, especially at higher difficulty levels. As if that were not enough, the title will continue to offer new content in the form of expansions, which by the way, are independent (that is, it is not necessary to have the base game to enjoy them). The first part of The Ancient Gods has already been released, but there is still Part 2 left, which has no set release date yet.
- Buy DOOM Eternal
The Last of Us Part 2
The great winner of The Game Awards 2020 has also won the GOTY at the Titanium Awards of the Fun & Serious Game Festival. Naughty Dog, the creators of Crash Bandicoot, Jack & Daxter and Uncharted, have brought back the most iconic characters from The Last of Us. This second installment follows the guidelines of the original game, but presents an even darker story. A few years have passed since the events narrated in the original game, so Ellie is no longer a child. The girl has grown up and lives in community, but the relative tranquility will soon be truncated. The team led by Neil Druckmann has built the plot based on the concept of revenge and hatred, although love also has a lot to say in the story of The Last of Us Part 2. This second chapter, more brutal than ever, draws a consumed world, where the only dangerous creatures are not the infected, but also humans. We are faced with a story in which there are no good or bad, but rather characters that move in the gray scale.
- Buy The Last of Us Part 2
Bugsnax
Announced during the event in which the first PS5 games were revealed, Bugsnax is a game that starts from a very curious premise. The protagonist receives an invitation from Elizabert Megafig to go to the island of Snaktooth. However, when he puts his feet on the ground, he discovers that the woman has disappeared without a trace, as have her followers. The camp is in ruins and he soon discovers that the inhabitants are the strangest beings, the Bugsnax. They say that you are what you eat, and in the case of this production, this reality is taken to the last consequences. When consuming any product, the different parts of the body mutate and adopt the forms of the food they eat. The Young Horses title is available on PS4 and PS5 and was one of the games included in November’s PlayStation Plus.
- Buy Bugsnax on PS4 and PS5
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
There are games that you don’t see coming, that become a success almost without knowing why. That has happened this year to titles like Among Us! o Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, the work that we recommend today to players of all ages. What’s new in Mediatonic is a competitive multiplayer game, a Yellow Humor-style battle royale that leads us to tests that are as hilarious as they are fun. In the end, the objective is not to be eliminated, so everything possible will have to be done to destabilize the opponent and not succumb in the attempt. The arrival of winter leads us to Season 3, Winter Knockout, which, as its name suggests, comes with winter as its central theme: cold, coats, penguins and many other challenges. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout went on sale in August, although it was available free to PlayStation Plus subscribers. It cannot be found in physical format, so below we provide you with the link to PlayStation Store.
- Buy Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Streets of Rage 4
Nostalgia is a double-edged sword, because everyone is happy that a known saga that has been fallow for years is back, but at the same time, it is a responsibility for the studio that is going to bring it back. The French DotEmu (Wonder Boy) and LizardsCube had a clear idea of how to develop Streets of Rage 4, so they presented the project to SEGA and they approved it. The result has been fantastic, a game that draws on its more traditional roots to revive one of the great beat’em up sagas in SEGA’s history, which does not mean that it does not provide its own hallmark. It is a brilliant ‘me against the neighborhood’, which takes up the history of some classic characters and introduces new protagonists. In addition, they have had the participation of Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima, original composers. Almost nothing!
- Buy Streets of Rage 4
Spiritfarer
The Thunder Lotus Games game is one of the surprises of the year in the field of independent video games. It successfully combines several different genres: the management is reminiscent of titles like Stardew Valley, while the gameplay mixes adventure and platforms to form a beautifully made video game. At Spiritfarer we manage Stella, a character on whose shoulders rests an important responsibility. It is his turn to guide the souls of the dead, to lead them to their resting place. To do this, the player must manage the ship that will be responsible for transferring all those unfortunates to their new destination. We can grow our own food, distribute it among the crew and manufacture and improve elements of the boat. The action takes place laterally in open environments, different islands that we can visit to soak up their beauty.
- Buy Spiritfarer
