Housemarque made its name putting out some of the best arcade games of the modern era. However, in recent years, developers have pushed themselves even further, giving players new experiences that add more emotional storytelling to the crisp gameplay. Up next is Saros, launching in early 2026, starring Rahul Kohli as he investigates an off-world colony. It’s sure to be another massive hit for Housemarque, but while you wait, you might consider jumping into one of the studio’s older games.
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If you need some help deciding which one, here are the six best games from Housemarque.
6) Dead Nation
Dead Nation was part of Sony’s make-good package after the PlayStation Network outage in 2011, which hopefully shows how well-received it was when it launched the year prior. Sony knew it needed to make fans happy, and giving them some good, old-fashioned zombie-killing action was the perfect way to do it. Dead Nation takes Housemarque’s flair for arcade combat and puts it in the zombie apocalypse. It’s a perfect mix that became a stone-cold classic on PSN.
5) Alienation
Alienation is an isometric twin-stick shooter set in Earth’s future. Aliens are invading, and it’s up to you to stop them. Whether that’s on your lonesome, in local co-op, or diving into online multiplayer with three friends, the action is always frenetic. Granted, the levels are a little bland, and the weapons lack variety, but the core combat is good enough to overcome any shortcomings, keeping players hooked for days on end.
4) Nex Machina
Nex Machina is another great twin-stick shooter from Housemarque. The developer certainly has a gimmick. This one was met with critical and commercial success, and cleaned up at the year-end awards. Grabbing spots on several “Best-of” lists and winning Game Informer’s “Best Indie Action Game” award. One of the reasons it was so beloved might be because Housemarque brought in legendary arcade shoot ’em up developer Eugene Jarvis as a creative consultant. Having that pedigree behind the team surely helped push them to another level of quality game development.
3) Matterfall
Matterfall is still a shooter, but it takes the combat to a 2D plane with sidescrolling action. You play as Avalon Darrow, who puts on an armored combat suit, giving them access to all kinds of powered-up abilities. That includes the ability to create platforms to help with exploration and make shields that deflect enemy attacks.
Toss in an excellent soundtrack, and you have one of the better PS4 games of 2017. In many ways, it feels like a side-scrolling version of Nex Machina. With that in mind, I wouldn’t be too upset if someone wanted to swap their places on this list. That said, for my money, I prefer the slightly less twitchy action in Matterfall. Plus, you can’t deny that this one features much more inventive level design and weapon selection.
2) Resogun
Resogun came out at the perfect time. It’s heavily inspired by classics like Defender and serves as a spiritual sequel to Super Stardust HD and Super Stardust Delta. And while that means great shoot ’em up gameplay, the real reason Resogun was such a success is that it came out during the PlayStation 4’s launch window.
That system was begging for games at launch. Unfortunately, Knack just wasn’t cutting it. Thankfully, Resogun was right there to eat up hours of gameplay until Sony could get more games out the door. Don’t take that to mean Resogun isn’t a great game. It’s one of the best in the genre, mesmerizing players with a steady drip of techno and gorgeous, voxel-based visuals. Housemarque smartly included several optional challenges, giving players plenty of reasons to jump back in.
1) Returnal
Some fans might quibble with my ranking of the rest of these games, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have Returnal at the top of the Housemarque list. The developer decided to leave its arcade roots behind to create something genre-changing. While Returnal still has elements of classic Housemarque, this is the studio making an evolution into something greater.
Returnal mixes third-person shooting, bullet hell, and roguelite elements to create a compelling gameplay package that’s taken over the top with best-in-class control. There aren’t many games that feel better than Returnal on the PS5. Add in a compelling story about Selent Vassos, and you have what many still see as the PS5’s best game. Sure, some players bristled at Returnal‘s difficulty, but Housemarque’s masterpiece doesn’t have many flaws.
Of course, the developer and its fans are hoping this is just the start for Housemarque. Saros is looking to take everything fans loved about Returnal and make it even better. Here’s hoping that it’ll take the top spot when it launches soon.
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