Best Action & Combat Games on PS5 & PS4

FAQ

What counts as an action game here?

A game whose main loop is fighting — timing, positioning and reading an opponent — rather than exploring, building or managing. That covers everything from a four-button brawler to a soulslike, which is why this shelf splits the genre by how each game fights instead of filing it all under one tag.

What is the difference between hack-and-slash and beat-em-up?

Hack-and-slash is combo-driven character action in 3D, graded on style and built for replaying an encounter better. Beat-em-ups are side-scrolling brawlers with a shorter move set, usually built around local co-op. They share ancestors but almost nothing about how they play now.

Are these games on PS5 or PS4?

Every list on this shelf covers PS5 and PS4, with each entry marked for the platforms it actually runs on. Unlike some other shelves on Game-Scout, there is no PC-only list here.

How are the lists ranked?

By aggregated PlayStation Store player ratings and review sentiment, with catalogue data from RAWG — not by store placement or publisher. Each list links its own sources.

Where are the soulslikes and the shooters?

On their own shelves. Soulslikes and FromSoftware games sit apart because the difficulty contract makes them a different purchase, and shooters are a separate cluster entirely. Both are neighbours of this one rather than part of it.