Danial Norjidi
The PlayStation Blog recently announced the most downloaded PS5, PS4 and PS VR games on the PlayStation Store for 2021 in North America.
PLAYSTATION 5
Sports games occupied multiple places in the top 10 list of the most downloaded games on Sony’s next-gen console, with the top spot being taken by NBA 2K22, the latest release in publisher 2K’s long-running basketball simulation series.
Taking second place in the rankings was first-person shooter Call of Duty: Vanguard, the latest title in the ever popular Call of Duty series, which, as described on the PlayStation Store, sees players “experience global combat through the eyes of heroes of World War II and the fateful events that brought them together”.
PlayStation exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales took the third spot on the list. This action-adventure title sees players take on the role of teenager Miles Morales as he adjusts “to his new home while following in the footsteps of his mentor, Peter Parker, as the new Spider-Man”.
Fourth in the rankings was Madden NFL 22, the latest release in EA Sports’ long-running series of American football games, followed by fifth-placed Battlefield 2042, EA’s first first-person shooter set in a near-future world.
In sixth place was Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, an action-adventure platformer that sees intergalactic adventurers Ratchet and Clank go dimension-hopping as they take on an evil emperor from another reality. The game also introduces Rivet, a brand new playable character to the series.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, a first-person shooter that puts players into the depths of the Cold War’s geopolitical battle of the early 1980s, was seventh, followed by baseball simulation game MLB The Show 21 in eighth.
The last two spots in the top 10 went to Capcom’s survival horror game Resident Evil Village in ninth and Ubisoft’s first-person shooter title Far Cry 6.
PLAYSTATION 4
The most downloaded game on the PS4 for 2021 was publisher Rockstar Games’ ever popular open world action-adventure title Grand Theft Auto V, which first released back in 2013, followed by the PS4 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War in second.
Open world sandbox game Minecraft was the third most downloaded game on PS4 last year. In Minecraft, players “explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles”, and can opt to play “in creative mode with unlimited resources or mine deep into the world in survival mode, crafting weapons and armour to fend off the dangerous mobs”.
In addition to topping the list on PS5, NBA 2K22 took fourth spot on the PS4 rankings, with Call of Duty: Vanguard occupying fifth, ahead of American football title Madden NFL 22 in sixth, while the previous edition of 2K’s basketball simulation series, NBA 2K21, earned seventh place.
The eighth most downloaded PS4 title was Rockstar Games’ open world action-adventure Red Dead Redemption 2, set in a fictionalised version of America in 1899 and is described as “an epic tale of honour and loyalty at the dawn of the modern age”.
Rounding up the top 10 were baseball simulation game MLB The Show 21 in ninth along with fighting game Mortal Kombat 11 .
PLAYSTATION VR
Emerging as the most downloaded game of 2021 on PlayStation’s virtual reality (VR) headset was rhythm Beat Saber, a title set in a futuristic world in which players swing virtual sabers to slash and match the colours and direction of cubes, all while keeping in time with music.
Taking second place was Job Simulator. Set in a world where robots have replaced human jobs, this title sees players “relive the glory days of work by simulating the ins and outs of being a gourmet chef, an office worker, a convenience store clerk, and more”.
The third most downloaded PS VR title was Superhot VR, a first-person shooter in which time moves only when the player moves, while VR gladiator simulation game Gorn took fourth spot, followed by fifth-placed Swordsman VR, a story-driven, physics-based medieval combat game.
VR boxing game Creed: Rise to Glory punched its way to sixth place in the list, with seventh spot going to Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series, an adventure game where the players hone their “lightsaber skills, navigate dangers and even come face to face with Darth Vader himself”.
Free roaming survival horror adventure title The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners was the eighth most downloaded PS VR game, followed by adventure game Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality in ninth.
Taking the final spot in the top 10 list was The Walking Dead Onslaught, a title in which players assume the role of characters from AMC’s The Walking Dead TV series, embarking on scavenger runs, gathering supplies and confronting the horrors of an apocalyptic world, while also getting to experience an original campaign story.
