The early 2000s were a golden era for PlayStation games, with the PS2 hosting some of the best titles ever released. This period saw a diverse range of genres flourish, from action-adventure to RPGs, many of which remain beloved classics today.
Games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas pushed open-world gaming to new heights, Indosuper offering unprecedented freedom and storytelling complexity. Meanwhile, Devil May Cry introduced stylish, fast-paced combat that redefined the hack-and-slash genre. On the RPG front, Kingdom Hearts captivated players with its unique blend of Disney magic and Final Fantasy elements.
This era also saw Sony solidify its reputation for supporting innovative game design and storytelling. The best PlayStation games of this time weren’t just commercially successful—they helped shape gaming trends and inspire future generations of developers.
Revisiting these classics highlights how the early 2000s set a foundation that modern PlayStation games continue to build upon, combining nostalgia with timeless gameplay innovations.
The PlayStation Portable was a revolutionary device in many ways, not least for how its games influenced the rise of modern mobile gaming. Many of the best PSP games offered deep gameplay and complex stories on a handheld device years before smartphones became gaming hubs. This made the PSP a trailblazer that helped shape the expectations of portable gaming experiences today.
Games like Patapon and LocoRoco introduced innovative gameplay that was easy to pick up but hard to master, perfectly suited for on-the-go play. These titles combined unique art styles with rhythmic mechanics that felt fresh and different from traditional console games. Such experimentation laid the groundwork for the wide variety of casual and indie games now popular on mobile platforms.