The PlayStation 5 has been a massive success for Sony, despite a rocky start. The PlayStation consoles have always been powerful when it comes to their hardware, but much of their success can be traced back to the impressive line-up of first and third-party games that the consoles have to offer. The PlayStation 5 seeks to continue this trend by offering players many big-budget exclusives to delve into, along with continuous support for third-party titles.
Even though the PlayStation 5 is still a fairly new console, it still has a massive library of games thanks to it being backward compatible with the PlayStation 4. Among the various options available are some truly stand titles due to their bizarre gameplay and mind-bending narratives. These games tend to mess with the player's perception of reality in one way or another, leading to some very intriguing experiences.
5 The Evil Within 2
Developed by Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within 2 is a third-person survival horror game. It sees the return of detective Sebastian Castellanos as he dives into the world of STEM once again to save his daughter. The Evil Within 2 is a tense and brutal game that can be very confusing at times. It improves upon its predecessor in both the graphics and gameplay departments. Each section of the game feels like a nightmare characterized by gory monsters and torturous asylums.
The game does a great job of keeping a tense environment by constantly thrusting players into new horrific dangers which hardly ever make sense. Players can choose to sneak past monsters or face them head-on if they have the heart to. The story of the game undergoes many twists and turns along with the game's world itself, making The Evil Within 2 one of the most Bizarre games out there. It has a score of 77 on Metacritic.
4 SOMA
SOMA is a survival horror game developed by Frictional Games. This game is an easy one to play, but its narrative is sometimes very hard to grasp. The game stars a guy named Simon Jarrett who finds himself waking up in an abandoned facility after going in for a brain scan following a car accident. Players then take control of Simon as he struggles to find out what happened to him and how he ended up in a ravaged underwater facility.
The game makes some very dark revelations later on, which both Simon and the players may find difficult to come to terms with. SOMA has deep philosophical questions woven deep into its narrative which present themselves in a truly mind-bending fashion. It has a score of 79 on Metacritic.
3 Observation
Observation is a puzzle-adventure game developed by studio No Code. It follows Dr. Emma Fisher as she tries to unravel the mystery surrounding an accident with her space station and find her missing crew members. Players take control of the ship's AI S.A.M., who aids Dr. Emma in her search for answers. The game starts with what seems like the aftermath of a typical space incident, but the plot soon thickens as Emma starts to realize that something unnatural is afoot.
Observation offers a decent gameplay experience mixed with an intriguing story that builds up to a truly mind-bending climactic final scene. The voice acting and dialogue also do a tremendous job of enhancing the overall experience and help to make the game a must-play for fans of the genre. Observation holds a score of 75 on Metacritic.
2 Bioshock Infinite: The Complete Edition
Bioshock Infinite is a narrative-driven first-person shooter developed by Irrational Games and the third installment in the Bioshock series. Bioshock Infinite is still regarded as one of the best games in the first-person shooter genre, solidified even more by its compelling plot. The game follows Booker DeWitt, who is tasked with venturing to a mysterious flying city named Columbia in order to pay off his debt by retrieving an imprisoned woman.
The game explores the concepts of multiple universes and the consequences of one's own actions. It keeps the players on edge for its big twist, which, although expected, still manages to sneak up on its audience. The game was originally released in the era of the PlayStation 3, but a complete edition was later released for the PlayStation 4 which is now also playable on the PlayStation 5. The PS3 version of Bioshock Infinite has a Metacritic score of 94.
1 Returnal
Returnal is a third-person shooter that may very well be the defining game of the mind-bending genre. Developed by Housemarque, Returnal is one of the earliest exclusives to hit the PlayStation 5, being released in April of 2021. The game stars an astronaut named Selene Vassos who lands on a mysterious new world named Atropos searching for a mysterious signal known as White Shadow. Upon landing on the deathly planet, however, Selene finds herself stuck in a time loop.
Isolated and in danger, Selene must find a way to escape the time anomaly keeping her entrapped. Every time Selene dies, she finds herself at the beginning of her journey and is forced to restart her quest for survival. The game truly shakes up the mind-bending genre, as every time Selene wakes up at the start of the loop, the planet around her changes. Playing Returnal is like playing through a well-put-together nightmare, and fans cannot get enough of it. The game has a score of 86 on Metacritic.