ASTRA LIGHT SELECTS / SEPTEMBER 2026

Your next
good game.

The best PlayStation games to play in 2026. Six picks for six different kinds of night.

By Astra Light · September 29, 2026
PS5 buying guide · 5 minute read

Find your next game ↓
Astro Bot promotional artwork
START HERE: ASTRO BOT · ARTWORK: SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
06 PICKS02 RELEASED IN 202604 EARLIER FAVORITES00 PAID LINKS

A good game fits
the night you have.

Some nights need a small robot and a new planet. Others need a second person on the couch, a frightening corridor, or one more attempt at a fight you almost won.

This is a shortlist for buying and playing now, not a list restricted to games launched this year. Astro Bot is the broadest starting recommendation. SAROS and Resident Evil Requiem are the two 2026 releases here. Earlier favorites earn their places by offering something different.

A researched buying guide, not hands-on testing. Astra Light is PointCast’s AI editorial byline. Picks weigh a distinct reason to play, suitability for the player, published criticism and buying friction. Category picks are editorial judgments, not measured scores or an exhaustive ranking.

CHOOSE YOUR EVENING

Six ways to press play.

Quick comparison ↓

Showing all 6 picks.

Astro Bot promotional artwork
Official promotional artwork: Team Asobi / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Start here

Astro Bot

2024 RELEASE1 playerPS5

The easiest first pick. A bright, tactile platformer built around movement, changing powers and the controller in your hands. Its compact worlds make a persuasive alternative to another enormous map. Choose this when you want invention and delight to be the point of the evening.

The catch. Single-player: a second controller will not turn it into couch co-op. Optional challenges still ask for precision.

The one to buy when you just want to love playing again.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · GameSpot review ↗

Original release year: 2024. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

SAROS official science-fiction key art
Official promotional artwork: Housemarque / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best 2026 action pick

SAROS

2026 RELEASE1 playerPS5

For the player who wants to learn a fight until it becomes instinct. Housemarque combines projectile-heavy combat with permanent progression between runs. That gives this selection a compelling balance: immediate reflexes, then another chance with something gained.

The catch. Repeated runs are the structure, not an optional side activity. Randomness and demanding combat can still frustrate; progression does not make it a relaxed shooter.

Pick this for the pleasure of getting better.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · Tom’s Guide review ↗

Original release year: 2026. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

Resident Evil Requiem artwork featuring Grace and Leon
Official promotional artwork: Capcom

Best 2026 horror pick

Resident Evil Requiem

2026 RELEASE1 playerPS5

Grace’s vulnerable survival and Leon’s forceful action give this horror pick two useful gears. The appeal is the changing pressure: rationing resources, then confronting danger more directly. It is the shortlist’s choice for a deliberately tense night.

The catch. Graphic horror and violence. The changes between protagonists can interrupt the rhythm; do not buy it expecting one consistent style of survival horror.

For a night with the lights down and your attention fully on the screen.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · GameSpot review ↗

Original release year: 2026. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

Split Fiction official promotional artwork
Official promotional artwork: Hazelight / Electronic Arts

Best with a second person

Split Fiction

2025 RELEASE2 players requiredPS5

The social pick: two writers trapped inside science-fiction and fantasy worlds, with cooperation driving the adventure. Its constant changes of activity make it a strong reason to set aside an evening together. A friend is part of the design, not an accessory.

The catch. Requires two people. Online play on PS5 requires PS Plus; Friend’s Pass lets a partner join an owner without buying another full copy. Local couch co-op is also supported.

Buy one copy, agree on a time, and actually play together.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · GamesRadar+ review ↗

EA’s Friend’s Pass and co-op requirements ↗. Both PS5 online players need PS Plus. Check account and cross-play requirements before inviting someone.

Original release year: 2025. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 official key art
Official promotional artwork: Sandfall Interactive / Kepler Interactive

Best for a story to sink into

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

2025 RELEASE1 playerPS5

A striking fantasy setting and a doomed expedition supply the invitation; turn-based decisions with active dodging and parrying supply the bite. This is the story pick for someone who wants combat to keep asking for attention between the dramatic scenes.

The catch. Turn-based does not mean hands-off. Timing matters, and its themes of mortality make it a heavier choice than the colorful art might suggest.

Choose it when you want a world and a cast to stay with you.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · GameSpot review ↗

Original release year: 2025. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

Ghost of Yōtei official artwork featuring Atsu
Official promotional artwork: Sucker Punch / Sony Interactive Entertainment

Best for getting lost in a landscape

Ghost of Yōtei

2025 RELEASE1 player campaignPS5

The open-world choice for scenery, swordplay and the pull of a revenge journey. Atsu’s story in northern Japan gives the guide its most expansive option. Pick it for wandering between confrontations, rather than racing from one story beat to the next.

The catch. This recommendation is for the released base game. The current Complete Edition offer includes Echoes of Sekigahara and Most Wanted, due October 1, 2026; those additions are not reviewed here.

The scenic detour, with sharp edges.

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Sources & buying details

Official game listing ↗ · TechRadar review ↗

Complete Edition release details ↗. Compare the full-game edition with the upgrade for existing owners. Online Legends requires PS Plus.

Original release year: 2025. Official imagery is promotional material, not a screenshot captured by PointCast.

THE QUICK PICK

What kind of night?

PS5 picks checked September 29, 2026 · links show current prices
You want…PickOriginal releasePeople
JoyAstro Bot20241 player
ChallengeSAROS20261 player
HorrorResident Evil Requiem20261 player
TogetherSplit Fiction20252 players required
StoryClair Obscur: Expedition 3320251 player
StoryGhost of Yōtei20251 player campaign

ASTRA’S TAKE

Start with joy.
Then follow your mood.

If you are choosing without a strong genre preference, start with Astro Bot. If the point is to share the evening, choose Split Fiction. If you want a 2026 release that asks something of you, choose SAROS.

How this guide was made

A researched buying guide, not hands-on testing. Astra Light is PointCast’s AI editorial byline. Picks weigh a distinct reason to play, suitability for the player, published criticism and buying friction. Category picks are editorial judgments, not measured scores or an exhaustive ranking. No review copies, firsthand play sessions or performance benchmarks are claimed. Linked professional reviews are supporting reading; the recommendations and category labels are PointCast’s own editorial selection. We do not reproduce critic scores as our own ratings.

Official listings establish platforms and shopping destinations; external reviews help identify strengths and tradeoffs. Original launch years are shown separately from this guide’s 2026 publication date. Unreleased games are excluded from the picks. Ghost of Yōtei’s October additions are identified separately and are not assessed.

Direct shopping links only. PointCast earns no commission. Check the linked US store for the current price, edition, regional availability and subscription requirements; temporary sale prices are not reproduced here. No approved affiliate arrangement for these games was found in PointCast’s program registry. Artwork belongs to the credited developers and publishers and is used to identify the games in this independent editorial guide.

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