Shuhei Yoshida first joined Sony back during 1993 before the first PlayStation shipped. Now, over three decades later, he’s taking his leave, after helping ship dozens of legendary games and bringing many, many more to the platform from developers big and small throughout the rest of the world. His parting gift to PS5 and PS4 players is a list of 22 personal favorites for fans to dig into during the January release calendar lull.
Yoshida was a producer on the first Crash Bandicoot back in 1996 and received a special thanks in the credits of Astro Bot for “contributing to the creation” of the 2024 GOTY winner. During the PS3 and PS4 eras he was center stage, promoting the platform as it transformed from just a disc-playing machine into a massive distribution network for digital downloads and online gaming. His last day at Sony is January 15, though he promises he’s not retiring from the games industry entirely.
His departure will, however, mark the end of a friendlier, more fan-facing PlayStation brand. While the PS5 is more dominant than ever, the company that powers it has all but faded into the background. Gone is the era of E3 press conferences and live fanfests. Yoshida was the last familiar face from that epoch, and now he’s gone too.
To mark the occasion, January’s “monthly picks” on the PlayStation Store were personally chosen by the Sony veteran to celebrate some of the platform’s past legacy, its best exclusives, and recent indie hits from new generations of game makers. Here’s the full list of 22 recommended games:
- Nine Sols
- Hades
- Dead Cells
- The Binding of Isaac: Repentance
- Super Time Force Ultra
- Doki Doki Literature Club
- Sifu
- Before Your Eyes
- Inscryption
- Persona 4 Golden
- Genshin Impact
- Fall Guys
- Let It Die
- Nioh 2
- Ape Escape
- Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy
- Ghost of Tsushima
- Returnal
- Bloodborne
- Sound Shapes
- Journey
- Shadow of the Colossus
Let’s note a few standouts. One is Before Your Eyes, a PS VR2 game about a person reflecting on their past as they make their way into the afterlife. The scenes shift every time the player blinks, underlining the fleeting nature of time and our fragile grasp on our own memories. Let It Die, Grasshopper Manufacture’s 2016 cult-hit survival action game about climbing a tower, is another underrated shoutout. Sound Shapes also deserves more love. The 2012 music-based platformer doesn’t get talked about as much these days, but it speaks to how much more diverse Sony publishing used to be in the past (its creator is quietly working on a new game).
Most of the other names on the list are well-known at this point. If you haven’t already checked out Nine Sols, it’s a Metroidvania Souls-like in the vein of Hollow Knight that was one of 2024’s best games. Super Time Force Ultra, meanwhile, is a retro shoot ‘em up in which the ghosts of prior failed runs help you out. It’s neat, pretty, and totally deserves a sequel. Yoshida’s also playable in it.
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