Sony’s varying boxes of wonder have gone from strength to strength over the decades. At first, they attracted exclusives like the Tekken series or the mainline Final Fantasy games. Now, both of those series and others have gone multi-format. However, the PlayStation still has a few exclusive franchises, like the Jak & Daxter games, or LittleBigPlanet.
Most franchises have at least one embarrassing entry in their oeuvre. Jak and his Ottsel friend have Lost Frontier, and Sackboy has LittleBigPlanet Karting. But some are lucky enough to stay golden, or green in this case as these franchises’ games have either stayed on or well over the 75% mark on Metacritic thus far.
5 Wipeout
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Wait, Wipeout? Were they Sony-exclusive? Not originally, as the Sega Saturn got a port of the original Wipeout, and the N64 had a version of Wipeout 3 called Wipeout 64. So, why is it here? Because Sony MADE it exclusive when they bought original developers Psygnosis in 1999. After that, the series never made it to rival consoles. Even before then, the PlayStation entries were touted as the best versions of each game.
So, call this an honorable mention entry, as every Wipeout game recorded on Metacritic has scored over 79%, with Wipeout 2097 (aka Wipeout XL) being the series’ peak at 93%. If it weren’t for those dalliances with other machines, it would be Sony’s most successful franchise based on Metacritic scores alone. Not even Sony-exclusive racers like the Gran Turismo games managed its full green streak (Gran Turismo on PSP fell short at 74%).
4 Astro Bot
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If we were adding franchises with just two games to their names, there would be more entries like the Horizon and Tearaway games. But that’s a bit scanty for a series. So, why is Astro Bot here? He only has Astro’s Playroom and Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, right? They got a 90% and 83% score retrospectively. So, where are these other Astro Bot entries?
It’s true that Astro wasn’t named until he got his own Playroom on the PS5. However, the first appearance of the little white bot and his friends was in the PS4 ARG The Playroom. It first appeared as a mini-game collection in 2013, then got a VR port in 2016. The original game has a ‘TBD’ ('to be determined') on Metacritic, but the VR version has a respectable 77%. Since the first Playroom hasn't been 'determined' yet, the Astro Bot series is still in the green...for now.
3 The Last of Us
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The original game was a surprising treat when it first came out in 2013. Sony certainly liked it enough to give it both a Remaster and a Remake for the PS4 and PS5 respectively. The Last of Us Part II was a shakier prospect due to behind-the-scenes shenanigans and fights among fans. Still, excluding ports, the original PS3 and PS4 titles for both games were 95% and 93% each, earning a ‘Must Play’ badge as well.
But again, if we’re excluding ports, where’s the 3rd entry? Well, remember that DLC pack for the first game? The Last of Us: Left Behind? That was eventually made a standalone title that could be played without its parent game. As a result, it got 88%, keeping the series going strong.
2 Sly Cooper
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If only InFamous: First Light hadn’t fallen short with a 72% rating. Then original developers Sucker Punch could’ve had two franchises on this list. Instead, their animal mascot-based stealth game series about the titular thieving raccoon has stayed in relatively good nick. Granted, the games didn’t reach the heights of The Last of Us, with Sly 2: Band of Thieves being the series’ best rated entry at 88%.
Yet they’re all good scores, with Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time narrowly keeping the side up with 75% for both its PS4 and PS Vita ports. Maybe with this record, Sony could give the series a new entry, given Thieves in Time came out in 2014. Alongside Astro, Sly and his friends are perhaps the most unlikely franchise front-runners on this list to get ahead.
1 God of War
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Kratos might be Sony’s most successful exclusive lead character, as all his main games have ranked high on Metacritic. Nathan Drake from Uncharted would’ve rivaled him if Uncharted: Fight for Fortune on the PS Vita didn’t let the side down with a 67% score. Sure, it was a card game spin-off, but it still counts. While the God of War games have all ranked above the 80% mark.
Only God of War: Ghost of Sparta and God of War: Ascension let the side down with 86% and 80% scores respectively. Though that’s only a let-down compared to the 90%+ scores and ‘Must Play’ badges the other entries got. The top dogs are the original PS2 game and the 2018 PS4 game with 94% each. Will God of War: Ragnarök live up to expectations, beat them, or be the first to break the streak?