In the wake of E3 2014 there is a general murmuring of concern about Sony’s presentation, in particular, the lack of titles that they showed on stage that would be arriving in 2014. The vast majority of titles that took to the stage along side Andrew House and Adam Boyles would not be seeing the light of day this year. As amazing as 2015 is shaping up to be, the Sony faithful were beginning to worry what they would be getting to play for the rest of 2014. Admittedly, Sony didn’t do the best job of advertising the plethora of Playstation exclusives that were arriving during the rest of the year – so we thought we would do it for them with this list of 40 PS4 exclusives (platform, console or timed) you can play in 2014.
Moto GP 14
The Moto GP series has been through peaks and toughs of varying quality over the years, with a successful simulator followed by an arcade mess the year after, but Moto GP 14 on the PS4 looks set to introduce almost photorealistic graphics and is going back to basics with fast paced, skilful racing at its core. Moto GP 14 will be released on June 20th and is a Playstation exclusive.
The Last of Us Remastered
The “Citizen Kane” of gaming is getting another day in the spotlight. Naughty Dog’s “other masterpiece”, The Last of Us, is getting re-released with updated graphics which will make the most of the power under the hood of the PS4. The development team are trying to push it past 60 fps, which in and of itself is an amazing feat based on the PS4 hardware, but when it looks as beautiful as it does, it’s a breathtaking achievement. The Last of Us Remastered is releasing on the PS4 on July 29th.
Jamestown Plus
Jamestown won awards and admiration when it released on the PC. Now the Mars based 4-player shoot-’em-up is gearing up towards an exclusive release on the PS4 with new ships, levels, story chapters and a reworked soundtrack. Look out for Jamestown Plus in the summer.
The Swapper
Puzzle games don’t get much better than The Swapper. The game challenges you to create clones of yourself in order to solve increasingly more difficult puzzles in an atmospheric space setting. The Swapper will definitely challenge your grey matter and will have your scratching your head in bemusement when it releases in a few weeks on the PSN.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive
If there is one thing that the PS4 is missing right now it is a 2D side scrolling beat-em-up but Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive is soon going to fill that gap. The game has a brutally cute art style allowing upto 4 players to team up and take down suited villains. Look out for this PS4 exclusive later this year when it lands on PSN.
Deep Down
Deep Down was one of the first PS4 games the world ever laid its eyes on and it certainly whet the appetite. The free-to-play dungeon crawler was aiming to release along side the PS4 in Japan but missed its target but is still scheduled to release in 2014 as a PS4 exclusive.
N++
The sequel to N+, N++ is set to bring fast-paced action-puzzle platforming to the PS4 later this year. Set in the distant future, you play as a ninja tasked with collecting gold and taking down nefarious robot enemies. N++ comes complete with co-op and multiplayer modes and will be releasing as a PS4 exclusive later this year.
Loadout
Loadout has already attracted 3 million users on Steam but will soon be bringing its own unique blend of cartoony fire fights to the PS4 as a free-to-play console exclusive. The game focuses on Team Fortress-esque frantic multiplayer action with as much character customisation as you can possibly ever need. Loadout is set to hit the Playstation 4 later this year.
Axiom Verge
You wake after a fatal accident in a mysterious, ancient but technologically advanced world. You have no idea where you are or how you got there. This is the premise that Axiom Verge is built around, focusing on exploration of this new world and its inhabitants. Originally set for a Xbox 360 and PC release, Tom Happ is now bringing Axiom Verge exclusively to the PS4 in 2014 with a Windows PC release to follow.
H1Z1
The deffinately-not-a-DayZ-clone H1Z1 is Sony Online Entertainment’s attempt to break into the sandbox zombie survival genre and the initial reactions have been positive. The free-to-play game is not too far away from an early-access release on PC and the developers are confident it will arrive on the PS4 by the end of the year.
LittleBigPlanet 3
Probably the best kept secret of E3 2014, LittleBigPlanet 3 took us all by surprise when it appeared on stage. New levels, new creation tools and new characters are building the next Sackboy adventure into a must play game. LittleBigPlanet 3 is a Playstation exclusive and will arrive in November 2014. We can Play, Create, Share all over again.
Nidhogg
Sword fighting. The sport of kings. Or is that Pirates? I can never remember. Anyway, Nidhogg is a stylistic 2D sidescroller which pits 2 players against each other in a sword fight to the death. Do not let the pixelated graphics put you off – Nidhogg is one of the best couch multiplayer you will ever own and is releasing on the PS4 this summer.
Akibas Trip: Undead & Undressed
Eastern sensibilities do not often play very well here in the West but fans of the Akibas Trip series are getting pumped for the latest game which releases on July 3rd in Japan. Scantily clad ladies will obviously be present.
Pavilion
Pavilion is set to introduce something quite unique to gaming – “Fourth-person puzzles”. It is a game without explanations or tutorials and relies on the players intelligence to solve the mysteries presented to you – something quite refreshing that will be landing on the PS4 this summer.
Hohokum
Honeyslug previously created the weird but wonderful Frobisher Says for the Playstation Vita but now, with the help of Sony Santa Monica and Richard Hogg, they are set to release Hohokum on the PS4 on August 12th. The game features a wacky graphical style similar to Honeyslugs previous title, but this time you play as a serpent creature in a relaxed open world adventure of exploration.
CounterSpy
2D side-scrolling and Stealth are not words that are not normally spoken in the same sentence but CounterSpy is bringing both in bucket loads. The game takes place during an alternative cold war period setting where you are on a top secret mission to prevent the U.S. and USSR from going to war with one another. The art and game play are bold – think Stealth Inc meets James Bond – and it is due to land on Playstation platforms later this year.
Apotheon
Greek mythology combines with a stunning art style to bring Apotheon to life. Styled like the murials and tapestries of the age, Apotheon tells the story of humanities last champion as he travels through the land of the dead, infiltrates Mount Olympus and takes on Zeus and Co. Apotheon is due out as a timed PS4 exclusive later in 2014.
Race The Sun
You had better pack some factor 50 sun screen when Race The Sun arrives on the PS4 later this year. The idea is to attempt to out run the sun by staying out of its rays for as long as possible. Race the Sun has already had a very warm (perhaps more appropriate to say hot?) reception on Steam thanks to it’s aesthetics and fun gameplay.
Blast ‘Em Bunnies
Blast ‘Em Bunnies will also be arriving on the 3DS when it is released but the only home console it will be appearing on in 2014 is the PS4. The aim is to protect your burrow from a horde of evil bunnies using a variety of rabbit-related weaponry, such as the Carrot Rifle or Watermelon Pip Machine gun. Add in your own rampant rabbit joke here.
Hotline Miami 2
It will soon be time to don the jacket and mask once again as Hotline Miami 2 is set to beat its way onto Playstation platforms in 2014. If you have played the original, you know exactly why you should be excited about the sequel – twitch game play, vivid palette and ultra violent gore. The official Hotline Miami twitter account recently tweeted that HM2 will feature 60 mps (murders per second) on the PS4. Can. Not. Wait.
Spelunky
Get ready to die, die, die and die again. Spelunky is coming to the PS4 as a current-gen exclusive in 2014. Need I say more?
InFamous First Light
InFamous Second Son introduced to us an array of interesting characters but the stand out character was Fetch. The neon-fuelled drug-dealer-hating smart mouth is set to get her own stand-alone adventure, detailing the events before Second Son which will be a PS4 exclusive.
The Talos Principle
Almost everything that Devolver Digital get involved with turns to gold, so when The Talos Principle was announced on stage at E3 2014 as a timed PS4 console exclusive, we knew it was something to get excited about. A first person puzzle game, The Talos Principle is a non-linear brain teaser complete with lasers and crates. The game is due to see its release on PS4 before the end of 2014.
The Witness
Coming from the enigmatic developer Jonathan Blow and his team, The Witness first broke cover at the PS4 unveiling event. Even then it looked like something quite special but it seems to get more and more appealing every time we see it. Amazingly, the games secrets have yet to be revealed but we don’t have long to wait as the game is set to release as a timed PS4 exclusive in the Fall.
DriveClub
DriveClub has a torrid time in development. Initially a launch title, the social driving sim has had delay after delay and seen several members of its development staff leave Evolution studio – but the finish line is in sight. October 8th. Put it on your calendars.
Helldivers
There can never be too many top-down shooters, amirite? Helldivers is set in an apocalyptic future on a randomly generated map where up to 4 players must complete tasks while trying to survive. The game will also feature a difficulty level called “Hell Dive” – obviously this will not be a walk in the park.
Aaru’s Awakening
Aaru’s Awakening was originally a school project but after it started to win game awards, developers Luminox decided to release in for the PC. If you do a quick Google search for the game, I think you will agree that it looks bloody gorgeous and it features an interesting teleportation mechanic where the main character shoots out his soul.
Onigiri
This free-to-play MMO was a bit of a mystery to me when I first started this list but the more I have read, the more it sounds interesting. If you ignore the fact that the game seems to be populated entirely with almost-naked women, it is a fast action MMO with an interchangeable weapon system and even though it is an MMORPG, you can travel with up to 8 NPC’s (which, for a predominantly single-player gamer like myself, is a nice touch).
Planetside 2
The PC smash hit shooter Planetside 2 is coming to the PS4 in 2014. The lucky folk who got to get some hands on time at E3 2014 have had some glowing reports of its progress and it looks like the PS4 version is to look similar to the PC Ultra graphics setting.
Rogue Legacy
Rogue Legacy is described as a “Rogue-LITE” rather than a “Rogue-like” game with some very interesting mechanics. The main aim of the game is to explore randomly generated dungeons with your character, but each time you die, your characters child will take your place. Each child is different and has their own particular traits – such as colour blindness (where the game changes to black and white).
Skulls of The Shogun: The Bone-A-Fide Edition
Skulls of the Shogun has already seen successful launches on the Xbox 360 and Windows Phones, and the Bone-A-Fide edition, with additional levels, multiplayer maps, characters and progression systems is coming the PS4 this Summer.
Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty
JAW recently confirmed that the ground up remake of Abes Odyssey will eventually come to the Wii U and Xbox One – but the first place to play New ‘N’ Tasty on a console in 2014 will be on Playstation platforms. Get ready to save those Mudokons all over again in July.
Natural Doctrine
Natural Doctrine has already seen a PS4 release in Japan but is coming to the West this Autumn. It is a role playing game with strategy at its heart, but should not be played by anyone with a faint heart. Natural Doctrine often makes Dark Souls look like a cake walk – it is that difficult.
Secret Ponchos
This Wild West themed twin-stick shooter is aiming to bring the hee’ing and haw’ing to PS4 later this year. There are multiple characters to choose from, each with their own abilities and has a unique multiplayer bounty aspect to boot.
Chasm
Procedural generation is one of the more interesting things to come to the fore in game development over the past few years and Chasm is leading the charge. You play a young soldier called Daltyn who stumbles upon some nefarious supernatural forces who trap him in a mine. Your job? Explore the mines and find the source of the evil forces terrorising a town.
Home
Home is a short but excellently executed horror game set in a spooky pixel world. The aim is that you play the game is one sitting, headphones plugged in and in the dark to get the most out of its incredible atmosphere and immersion.
Mousecraft
Coming from Curve Studios, the PS4 port of Mousecraft is set to quiz us all in 2014. You play as a group of mice who have to outwit a mad cat scientist by twisting blocks and avoiding pifalls. Sound easy? It’s not.
Escape Goat 2
The title is not the only thing about Escape Goat 2 that is intelligent. Brutal puzzles. Vicious traps. Fire balls. All this and more awaits you and your goat friend in this fast action, twitch platformer.
Velocity 2X
I saved the best till last. The original Velocity won more game awards than I have fingers and toes and rightfully so. Its quick, intelligent game play was a breath of fresh air and demanded that you “show thumb respect”. Futurlab are now working on the follow up, Velocity 2X, which expands on the origins amazing game play and introduces new platforming sections outside of the Quarpjet. Velocity 2X is set to release later this year.
