Two PS5 Exclusive Games Officially Rank Among Best Games of 2026 So Far

Not one, but two PS5 console exclusive games officially rank among the best games of 2026 so far. A console-exclusive game, for those who do not know, refers to a game only available on one console platform, but also available on PC. This is many modern exclusive games. Meanwhile, neither game is from PlayStation itself, but third-party developers who presumably worked out some type of deal with Sony involving PS5 exclusivity. Whatever the case, the end result is the same: two of the top 10 best games so far this year can not be played on Nintendo or Xbox platforms.

Excluding DLC and ports from the ranking, the sixth and eighth-highest-rated games this year are PS5 console exclusives. The former is Nioh 3 from Japanese developer Team Ninja and publisher Koei Tecmo. Nioh 3 was released back on February 6, and like its two predecessors, it was released as a PS5 console exclusive. And with an 86 on Metacritic, it is currently the sixth-highest-rated new game of 2026, so far. The other game is Cairn from French developer The Game Bakers, which was released back on January 29 as a brand new IP. Upon release, it earned an 85 on Metacritic.

Nioh 3

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For those unfamiliar with Team Ninja, they are best known for the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series, traditionally. In the modern era, they are best known for the Nioh series, the developer’s unique take on the Soulslike genre.

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Nioh 3 costs $70 on the PlayStation Store. For this, it offers about 25 to 50 hours of content, the latter including side content. Completionists, though, may need more like 60 hours with the samurai action RPG. Meanwhile, for those curious, it is PS5 Pro enhanced.

Cairn

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The Game Bakers, for those who have never heard of the studio, are best known for 2016’s Furi, and also partially known for 2020’s Haven. While some may hold that the former is the studio’s best game to date, Cairn is officially the studio’s best-rated game to date.

Cairn costs $30 on the PlayStation Store, and offers up roughly 10 to 20 hours of content, with the former representing a mainline playthrough and the latter a completionist. Meanwhile, it does not have any PS5 Pro enhancements.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.