PlayStation 4 is riding high. Having hit its stride early in this generation, it has maintained momentum with big exclusives that add to an ever-growing and impressive library of games. Two of the year´s best games, God of War and Spider-Man, were only on PS4. Those came alongside competitive console versions of popular cross-platform titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Dead Cells. Tetris Effect, meanwhile, capitalizes incredibly well on the PlayStation VR, Sony´s consumer-friendly virtual reality contender. In alphabetical order, here are our picks for the best PS4 games of 2018, and what made them standouts in a year chock full of great games.Dead Cells[Read the review]This surprising indie game is a prime example of the phrase `more than the sum of its parts.` At first, the mishmash of influences and homages seem to contradict one another. It`s a Metroidvania game--a genre known for its character progression--but this is also a roguelike, meaning it`s built specifically around dying and resetting from near-zero. Though Dead Cells does have a handful of permanent abilities tucked away in obscure corners, for the most part you´re no more powerful on your 20th run than your first. What truly makes the difference is how you shape the game´s economy and weapon selection organically as you progress through each run.Purchasing a new weapon or secondary gadget from the vendor will also add it to the pool of items you can find in the world during a run. By steering your choices toward the weapons that fit your playstyle, you can increase the chances of finding the right set to progress further than you have before. It´s this constant push and pull on the game´s economy that creates a meta-strategy running throughout the experience. Do you reserve your hard-earned cash for only a handful of weapons to increase their odds, or do you collect everything you can in an effort to find what works? Over time Dead Cells becomes an experience of tinkering with the game´s syste ...
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