Best Noir Games for PS5 & PS4

Why it's here: The purest noir on PlayStation: 1947 Los Angeles, a war-haunted detective, and a city rotten all the way up to his own department. Facial-capture interrogations make reading a lying suspect the actual game, and Steam reviews still single out the period detail and the performances. Their recurring complaint is a repetitive case-to-case rhythm. Rated Mature, 4.66 from about 10,500 players. The one I would start with if you want the genre played straight, fedora and all.

Why it's here: Noir after a bender: an amnesiac cop, a hanged man behind a hostel, and a broke harbour district where every faction wants the case to break its way. There is no combat; your skills argue inside your head and the solving happens in conversation. Steam reviews rank the writing among the best in the medium and warn of a slow, text-heavy start. Rated Mature, 4.67 from 12,000 players, about 33 hours on a normal run. Pick it if you read crime fiction for the prose.

Why it's here: The best-looking game on this list, set in an alternate New York of 2329 where immortality is for sale and murder has become a class question. Detective James Karra rewinds crime scenes with time-bending tech, and Steam reviews praise that reconstruction loop and the sound design while agreeing the path is linear and the endings rushed. Rated Mature, 4.44 from 4,100 players. Go in for the mood and the case work, not for branching choices.

Why it's here: The bleakest thriller here: four leads, four days, one Origami Killer, and any of the four can die without the story stopping. Steam reviews still remember the twists and the score, and still complain about awkward controls and a few plot holes. Rated Mature, 4.44 from over 50,000 players, roughly 11 hours, and included with PS Plus Premium. If you already have Premium, this is the no-cost first stop on the list.

Why it's here: Gangster noir told as a rise and fall: a Depression-era cab driver pulled into a crime family, and the bill that comes due. It is linear and mission-led by design, and its Steam sentiment is the strongest on this list, built on the writing, the 1930s city and the remake's polish. The repeat complaints are fussy period driving and shallow gunplay. Rated Mature, 4.41 from 28,000 players, about 10 hours. Choose it when you want noir you live through rather than a case you solve.

Why it's here: Film noir run through the Day of the Dead: Manny Calavera, a travel agent for departed souls, works a four-year conspiracy through a hard-boiled underworld. Double Fine's remaster keeps Tim Schafer's script and adds a re-recorded orchestral score. Steam reviews love the writing and humour but flag clunky controls, obscure puzzles and the odd softlock, so keep a guide open. Rated Teen, 4.36 from nearly 35,000 players: the funniest noir on PS4.

Why it's here: Hardboiled buddy-cop noir with animal heads: Sonny Featherland and Marty MacChicken, two washed-up detectives, take one last case in crime-ridden Clawville. It plays as a visual novel with interrogations and light puzzles. Steam reviews single out the art style, the voice cast and jokes that fit the genre instead of mocking it, and the common gripe is how little you steer. Rated Mature, 4.39 from 633 players, on PS4 and PS5. The lightest pick here.

Why it's here: The adaptation of the celebrated comic: private eye John Blacksad, 1950s New York, and a corruption scandal around a missing boxing star. Steam reviews praise the writing, the character art and the jazz score, and your choices genuinely shape who Blacksad becomes. They are just as clear that it is buggy, slow to walk around and heavy on fiddly quick-time events. Rated Mature, 3.87 from 1,100 players, the lowest score here. Worth it for comic fans who can live with rough edges.

Why it's here: Neon noir from the patrol car, not the detective's desk: a rookie cop in a rain-slicked 1980s city, booking offenders by the book until a traffic stop becomes a full pursuit. Steam reviews rate it highly for the mix of police procedure and arcade chases, and flag glitchy AI and a thin story. Rated Teen, 4.32 from about 5,000 players, roughly 12 hours for the story with patrol work past it. Pick it to police the noir city rather than read it.

Why it's here: Cyberpunk noir with a horror streak: a detective who hacks into suspects' minds, voiced by Rutger Hauer, working one long night in a decaying tenement under corporate rule. Steam reviews praise the oppressive setting, the sound and Hauer's performance, and warn that the mind-dive sequences drag and confuse. It plays like a walking simulator, not a shooter. Rated Mature, 4.02 from 2,500 players, and included with PS Plus Extra. The darkest pick here.

Why it's here: Quantic Dream's first thriller and the template for Heavy Rain: a murder in a New York diner, and you play both the man who did it and the detectives hunting him. Steam reviews still credit that cat-and-mouse premise and the score, but quick-time events, dated controls and a story that loses its footing late are the standing complaints. Rated Mature, 4.41 from 2,900 players. Play it after Heavy Rain to see where the formula started.

Why it's here: A 1950s hotel mystery from below stairs: Sophie, a chambermaid at the Clarington Hotel, snoops through guests' rooms while she cleans them until their secrets connect. Steam reviews praise the period setting, the characters and choices that branch into different endings. The trade-offs are a three-to-five hour run and unskippable scenes on replays. Rated Mature, 4.43 from 1,000 players. The most intimate noir here, sized for a single evening.