It’s no secret at all thatPlayStationhas had a prettystellar collection of exclusive titlesthroughout the brand’s long and storied history. Yes, we are going through a bit of a lull right at this very moment, but that doesn’t change the fact that from Jumping Flash all the way to the current day, Sony has had its fair share of exclusive bangers.
10 Best All Killer, No Filler Indie Games
In a time of bloated AAA titles, indie games can offer a way to showcase a killer idea to its fruition without all this filler.
Of course, there’s also been the recent reputation that a lot of these first-party PS games end up being emotional, narrative-driven, third-person action games. You’ll get no argument from me here; PlayStation seems to have a type.
Still, it hasn’talwaysbeen this way, and there are plenty of games to highlight in the PlayStation catalog that have no problem throwing you into the action early and keeping you there.
Below are ten games that cut the fat and simply give you the meat — not even the potatoes, because there’s no time to stop and peel them. All of these are titles that are focused on gameplay, devoid of massive exposition dumps, don’t bog you down with side content, and are just plain fun from start to finish.
Some of the titles below have since made their way to other platforms, but all ten started off as PlayStation-only exclusive offerings first.
10The Unfinished Swan
Short, And Incredibly Sweet
The Unfinished Swan
Let me preface this entry by saying that I know most wouldn’t consider The Unfinished Swan “all killer,” but hear me out. This PlayStation exclusive wraps up tightly in under three hours, and really doesn’t waste any time getting you from start to finish. But it doesn’t simply qualify for this list because it’s a short game.
What’s here is a totally unique and well-paced, lovely puzzle-type game, and yet it doesn’t waste much time waiting around for you to stop and think about solutions for extended periods of time. It’s just the right amount of thought required to get you throughout the game as you hurl globs of paint around the world to build your next path forward.
There is some narrative here, but it’s all told from a children’s bedtime story-type perspective and never bogs you down. For the vast majority of this one, it’s just you getting to the end of the book in a brisk, tight, gameplay-centric journey.
9Puppeteer
Exit Stage Left
Puppeteeris a game that bums me out a bit to talk about, simply because it’slocked on the PS3 despite desperately deserving to still be relevant today. If you don’t know this game, watch a trailer, and you’ll immediately get LittleBigPlanet, Tearaway, and Astro Bot vibes (for good reason).
And yet, Puppeteer has long been forgotten, which is a pity for anyone craving another PlayStation platformer that’s all action from start to finish as you guide Kutaro through each subsequent act of a stage play come to life. This isn’t a short platformer by any means, but it’s still deliberate in its design and keeps you in the action throughout.
You’ll have to either dust off your old PS3 or find some other creative means to play Puppeteer if you’re interested, but this is a character platformer worth going back for if you have the means.
Peak Soulslike
Fextralife Wiki
Getting out of our trend so far of mentioning games light on the “killing” aspect of this list,Niohis anything but. Upon release, there was a lot of buzz around this game being one of the first true FromSoftware/Soulslike contenders, and it’s not hard to see why. In fact, if you’re like me, you might even consider Nioh more difficult than its inspiration.
10 Best All Killer, No Filler FPS Campaigns
Nothing like a video game where the only language is bullets.
Of course, there is some story setup within a game as lore-rich as the typical Soulslike, but as is also likely expected from the genre at this point, Nioh is all about the action. There’s not much more to this game than progressing levels, mowing down grunt enemies, then getting crushed over and over by a collection of mega-challenging bosses.
True, Nioh leans a bit more into the loot grind of a FromSoftware title, which Isupposecould be argued as a bit of filler. Still, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, if you want nonstop action, Nioh is a super-safe bet.
Swipe And Slash
Oh, how I miss the PlayStation Vita. Sure, it’s mostly Sony’s fault that this lovely handheld was practically DOA, but that doesn’t minimize my love for the system at all. This is an all-time great handheld, andSeveredwas one of my favorite experiences on it (and also my favorite Vita platinum trophy).
Made by DrinkBox Studios of Guacamelee fame, Severed was a dungeon crawler that used the Vita’s touch screen to perfection. All enemy encounters feature the gimmick of swiping in certain directions on the screen to simulate your blade cutting them to pieces, and it works tremendously well.
This is a nonstop, action-packed title where you’ll only ever be standing around long enough to try to suss out an enemy’s weakpoint to exploit. For anyone that wants to check this wonderful game out but is sadly Vita-less, the game has since made its way to iOS and Switch, too – just without the Platinum.
Launch Day Legend
The launch of the PS4 was… not great. As much as I am an advocate for games like Knack, I can’t pretend that it was really worth going out and buying a console for. Thankfully though, we still hadResogun, the de facto best launch game for the PlayStation 4.
If you’re familiar with any other games in the Housemarque lineage of top-tier arcade-style games on console, you’ll get why Resogun is on this list. This game is solely fast-paced action as you pilot your little ship, dodge incoming projectiles, and save as many civilians on the ground as you possibly can.
There’s not much else to say about this one. It just rules. If you grew up playing arcade games or simply love chasing a high score, Resogun is my pick for best PS exclusive game of this ilk, and it doesn’t mess around with any extra fluff.
5Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Guns And Grinds
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Sure, there is a narrative inRatchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and yes, it also has more cutscenes than anything else on this list. But let’s be real. I don’t think anyone is ever playing a Ratchet game for the story, as charming and funny as the characters and writing may be.
Like essentially every other game in the series, Rift Apart is about guns, and shooting them nearly nonstop, with breaks in between only for fast-paced platforming and grinding on miles of rails. Truly, there aren’t many games in the Sony catalog that focus quite as heavily on constant combat and frenetic gameplay.
There is amildlevel of exploration in Rift Apart too, in fairness. Still, the narrative is mostly throwaway, there’s not much side content to get tied up with, and it’s simply a blast from beginning to end.
Suboptimal Groundhog’s Day
Housemarque representative number two on the list,Returnalmarked a bit of a departure from the studio’s typical arcade-y, high-score-based gameplay loop. But that didn’t mean the focus on pure gameplay went away one iota.
Returnal is a Roguelike, and by definition is the type of game that’s focused on replaying and retrying over and over. As such, you’re not going to want to spend much time messing around with any extra filler content, and the game is designed around this. Sure, there areoccasionalnarrative dripfeeds, but 95% of your time here is dedicated to blowing away hoards of aliens.
This onecame to PClater on, but started off exclusive to the PS5. Heck, it’s so good that Sony even bought Housemarque and added the team as a true first-party partner after Returnal’s release. If you’re good with a little (a lot) of bullet hell goodness, Returnal rarely lets you catch a breath from the action.
3Bloodborne
It’s A Hunter’s Moon
Bloodborne
FromSoftware has a special formula of simply throwing you into a hostile world and not explaining a dang thing about it.Bloodbornemay be the best example of this. Yeah, there is atonof lore here like any other Soulsborne title, but you’re mostly going to be out there staggering terrifying Lovecraftian monsters with your blunderbuss before saw-cleavering them all to bits.
9 All-Killer, No-Filler JRPGs
Probably the most contradictory topic I’ve ever written in my life.
Boss fights in Bloodborne are insane, and you’re once again going to be thrown into FromSoftware’s nightmare gameplay loop of nonstop, tough-as-nails action with nary a quest log to keep track of. It’s challenging to think of any other game that’s a better example of fulfilling the “All Killer, No Filler” subject of this list, to be honest.
While Bloodborne isn’tquiteat the same level for me personally as DS1, DS3, or Elden Ring, it’s still freaking awesome, and is probably the coolest-looking FromSoftware game out there. Well, except for still being locked at 30 frames per second (Sony, please do something).
2Shadow Of The Colossus
Oops, All Bosses!
Shadow of the Colossus (2018)
I will contend that the journey between encounters inShadow Of The Colossusmayfeel like filler as you ride on horseback around a desolate map, but stick with me here. Boil it down to the action, and SOTC is simply a boss rush. It doesn’t get much more “All Killer, No Filler” than that.
The lead-ups to each battle with a colossus are just tension-building exercises. They’re a boxer making their way to the ring, or a skier traveling to the top of a slope. Afterward, it’s just good, old-fashioned claw-grip combat action, baby.
Truly, there’s nothing else to this game, and I don’t say that negatively. Find a boss, kill a boss, and repeat until you… win? The interpretation of your actions is up to you, but the fact remains that Shadow Of The Colossus is only about spectacle-style boss fights from the title screen to the credits.
1Astro Bot
Try Hovering
I love platformers, andAstro Botis quite easily in my personal Top 5 of all-time for the genre. This is an experience that is simply joy in video game form. It’s Christmas morning magic. It feels like going to Disney World for the first time as a kid.
What’s best about Astro is that every single level and challenge included in the game slaps. There’s not one section of this game that feels like an afterthought, or like something you desperately want to skip to get to something else. This is even more impressive when you factor in the sheer amount of content that is present here.
Despite 300+ bots to rescue and a hub world to thoroughly flesh out and explore, nothing feels like filler. Ever. Start to finish, Astro Bot is a platforming masterpiece where you’ll never feel like a second of your time is wasted on something frivolous.
10 Best All Killer, No Filler Open World Games
These are some open worlds you wouldn’t mind getting lost in.
