The 20 BEST PS Vita Games

“Assassin's Creed III: Liberation” (2012)

With Assassin’s Creed Liberation, Ubisoft managed the seemingly impossible: shrink the classic AC formula down for an on-the-go handheld experience that players can easily pop in and out of, and shockingly, they succeeded. Liberation recounts the story of Assassin newcomer Aveline and her battle against the Templars in 18th century New Orleans. Ubisoft was somehow able to bring all the AC staples into Liberation with a detailed world to explore full of side objectives and missions, the series’ trademark combat and stealth mechanics and signature assassinations. Naturally a handheld AC game can’t reach the same high bar set by its console counterparts, but Liberation is still a solid AC experience that shouldn’t be missed, especially by fans of the old school Assassin’s Creed formula.

“Motorstorm: RC” (2012)

Motorstorm was a showcase series for the PS3, but for their portable entry, Motorstorm took the concept of smaller scale quite literally. Forgoing the series outlandish vehicular mayhem for smaller tracks, smaller cars and smaller stakes, everything about Motorstorm RC makes the most of its new diminutive stature. The faster pace of the races make Motorstorm RC perfect for jumping in for a quick race or one more try for the top of the leaderboards, and the simple controls and action make it approachable for anyone looking for a good time. Motorstorm RC might not be the best looking racer on the Vita, but its clever reinterpretation of the series means even fans of the over-the-top action of the series console entries will have a good time zipping around the track in their little RC car.

“Lumines: Electronic Symphony” (2012)

Tetris is easily one of the most imitated video games of all time, so naturally it can be difficult to find a game that does something fresh and new with the formula. The simple mechanic of aligning blocks is made all the more enjoyable with the game’s instantly catchy and thumping soundtrack that makes the game worth playing all on its own. Along with creative uses of all the PS Vita’s features, Electronic Symphony will easily lull you into a zen-like state with its meditative mixture of puzzles, gorgeous and oftentimes trippy visuals, musical score, and easy pick up and play mentality.

“Little Deviants” (2012)

Some of the best games on the go are the ones just focused purely on you having a great time with the little time you have to play, and that’s exactly what Little Deviants nails without question. A collection of ridiculous minigames similar to Warioware, Little Deviants makes liberal use of all of the Vita’s many unique ways to play and focuses on players' repeated attempts for better times in each of its 30 minigames. Although it would be easy to overlook Little Deviants as nothing more than a tech demo for the Vita’s capabilities, those who stick with it will find a fun little distraction that isn’t focused on deep mechanics, just on having fun.

“Resistance: Burning Skies” (2012)

Even though the Resistance storyline had ended the year prior, there was still one story left to tell, focusing on a new protagonist and location, acting as a side story to the main conflict in the console trilogy. Burning Skies does an admirable job condensing the Resistance experience onto Sony’s handheld with all the Resistance staples present, in particular the inventive over-the-top weaponry the series is known for. Telling a tale of an appropriately smaller conflict, players battle the Chimera through the streets of New York, desperately trying to reunite with their family. Burning Skies was never going to rival the set pieces of the base trilogy, so the smaller scope of the narrative works perfectly for the handheld while still continuing the series legacy of intense combat and creative weaponry.

“Tales of Hearts R” (2014)

JRPG fans have always had it good on Sony’s consoles and the Tales series is one of the most consistently solid franchises that has been going strong for almost 3 decades. While there have been portable entries in the franchise over the years, Tales of Hearts R is one of the few to make it out of Japan and has the gameplay and scope of one of its main console entries. The Tales series has always been known for its colorful cast of characters and surprisingly deep real time combat and Tales of Hearts R maintains everything fans have come to expect from the series on Sony’s little handheld that could. With other beloved entries like Tales of Symphonia getting re-releases, it would be disappointing to see this entry trapped on the Vita for good.

“Freedom Wars” (2014)

Given the success of the Monster Hunter franchise, it’s surprising we don’t see that formula in more games, and with no Monster Hunter game made available for the Vita, Sony’s own Japan Studio took up the challenge of creating their own. Freedom Wars is very much a Monster Hunter style game and thankfully that’s its greatest strength. The gameplay of Freedom Wars is so much fun that even the dystopian world that would make 1984 look tame by comparison doesn’t affect the overall experience. Much like the series that obviously inspired it, players will be combating enormous foes in large arenas and can then use the materials from the fight to upgrade their weapons and equipment to take on even more challenging foes. Battles can get extremely chaotic, but the intuitive camera and surprisingly competent AI companions keep up with the action and help this title stand on its own rather than in a monster shadow.

“Modnation Racers: Road Trip” (2012)

Mario Kart will always be the king of kart racers, but ModNation managed to stand out with its inventive and player creator driven content and nearly the entirety that experience players loved on the PS3 transfers well to the Vita version Road Trip. While the touch controls can be finicky, the racing itself is still as solid as ever, and has even made some improvements over its console big brother. The heart and soul of ModNation is allowing players to create everything from their racer, their kart, and even the tracks themselves and all that imagination is here in spades, even if the touch controls can get in their own way. Road Trip is perfect for exactly that, a quick couple races while on the go and a deeply customizable experience when sitting at home with time to spare.

“Touch My Katamari” (2012)

The Katamari Damacy series has long been one of the most beloved and weird cult classics ever since its debut back on the PS2 and is one of the few niche series to continue even to this day. While “Touch My Katamari” doesn’t do too much to differentiate itself from the tried-and-true formula fans are familiar with, it does make use of the Vita’s touch screen and rear touch pad in clever ways. By pinching or pulling on the screen, your little Prince can stretch out his ball of random junk to collect even more items or make your ball narrower for faster movement. Although Katamari has been ported to other handheld devices like the Switch, “Touch My Katamari” is still worth your time for its inventive use of the touch controls and absolutely bonkers story. Plus, well, it’s not gonna touch itself.

“Odin Sphere Leifthrasir” (2016)

Without a doubt Vanillaware creates some of the most visually stunning JRPGs in the industry and the updated version of their PS2 classic Odin Sphere remains one of their best. Beyond upscaling the visuals, Leifthrasir makes substantial changes to the gameplay including improvements to combat and especially the previously chunky menu navigation. Leifthrasir acts as more of a “Director’s Cut” than an updated remake, adding new enemies, boss encounters and even new locations to explore while making the game more approachable for players on the go with new difficulty options. The multiple characters are all brilliantly written and exploring the gorgeously hand painted world never ceases to impress. Leifthrasir is a must play for not only those who missed the initial PS2 release, but fans of classic JRPGs.

“LittleBigPlanet PSVita” (2012)

Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet series has always been one fueled by the imagination of its audience and manages to recapture the magic of this assembled world, featuring some of the best uses of the Vita’s many extra features. Just like its console brethren, LittleBigPlanet Vita allows players to create and customize everything about their characters and build their own worlds and levels using the same tools as the developers. However, thanks to the Vita’s touch controls, players can pick up objects using the touch screen and even use the touch controls to solve puzzles in the main game’s storyline. Unfortunately, due to Sony cutting off support for the Vita, all your creations will remain your own as there’s no longer any way to share with other players, but having the magic of LittleBigPlanet at your fingertips is still worth taking on the go for fans of the series.

“Tearaway” (2013)

Media Molecule are hands down some of the most talented and creative developers in the medium and Tearaway never really got the recognition it deserved like the studios LittleBigPlanet series. With everything in the adorable platformer being made of paper and papercraft, Media Molecule made use of nearly every one of the Vita’s features, seamlessly integrating them into the experience. Utilizing everything from the Vita’s touchscreen, both front and back, to even the camera, Tearaway crafted (get it) an experience that allowed players to create their own ways to play while unfolding the many layers of the world around them. Tearaway represents the untapped potential of the Vita and remains one of the handheld’s best games and most charmingly enjoyable experiences.

“Unit 13” (2012)

One of the greatest benefits of the Vita was undoubtedly the second analog stick and it was absolutely one of the driving factors that makes Unit 13 stand alongside its 3rd person shooter console counterparts. Fans of the SOCOM series will find a lot to love about Unit 13 with its cover-based shooting mechanics and objective-based gameplay suited perfectly for the Vita with many missions only lasting a few minutes for those quick pick up and play sessions. Unit 13 routinely switches up the mission structure by debuffing the player with no regenerative health or no checkpoints during certain missions but also encourages experimentation allowing players to approach objectives stealthily or with guns blazing. The story might be nothing more than the thread that stitches each mission together but it’s the gameplay that makes Unit 13 replayable even today.

“Killzone: Mercenary” (2013)

The Killzone series might not have been the “Halo Killer” Sony was hoping for but the series remained one of the most solid PFS series in PlayStation’s catalog and Killzone Mercenary’s approach to its familiar formula fits perfectly on the Vita. Instead of playing as the ISA, players take on the role of freelance mercenaries taking advantage of the war and are looking to make as much money as possible while doing it. Melee attacks are mapped to the Vita’s touch screen giving players an up close and personal feel to each kill and Killzone Mercenary rewards players with money for upgrades like new weapons and armor for literally ANYTHING they do in the game, giving this entry more of an arcadey feel as opposed to the console entries’ objective based gameplay.

“Severed” (2016)

We’re cheating a bit with this entry because it was later ported to the Nintendo Switch, but for fans of Drinkbox Studios' masterful Guacamelee! series, this is one that shouldn’t be missed no matter the platform. Anyone who’s played the Fruit Ninja games will instantly be familiar with the game’s mechanics and combat. Using the Vita’s touch screen, players need to furiously swipe at the enemies as they explore the many dungeons with enemies becoming more resistant to your attacks the deeper you go. Severed has a surprising amount of depth for what initially appears to be simply slashing blindly at the screen as enemies will require you to nullify their debuffs or shields before you can deal any damage and we’re not gonna lie, the swiping can get a little taxing during longer play sessions. However, the game’s gorgeous art style and dark story still make it worth checking out nonetheless.

“Wipeout 2048” (2012)

The Wipeout series has been part of PlayStation since its earliest days as a launch game with the original PS1. Taking place at the start of the Wipeout timeline (I had no idea there was lore either), 2048’s tracks have a much more urban and grittier feel to them than other entries' neon-soaked Tokyo skylines which helps set it apart in the long running series. Series mainstays such as power pads and weapons are all accounted for, and the game prioritizes car combat more than any other entry making races more strategic as players need to choose what type of power ups to focus on depending on their place in the pack. 2048 is unfortunately the last original release in the series - Wipeout Merge doesn’t count - so it’d be great if this entry could be ported to the PS5 and given a speed boost.

“Muramasa Rebirth” (2013)

Originally released for the Nintendo Wii, Muramasa the Demon Blade was resurrected for the PSVita as Muramasa Rebirth and was arguably the superior way to experience this 2D action RPG hack and slasher. Combat is incredibly fast and fluid and in between combat encounters you’ll be interacting with any number of interesting and quirky characters as well as dining on some beautifully delicious meals to upgrade equipment. Muramasa allows players to customize their loadouts with up to 3 different blades giving players more options to approach combat whatever their preferred playstyle but also be mindful of their sword's durability. Vanillaware’s gorgeous hand drawn art style pops on the Vita’s vibrant screen and Muramasa features some of the developer’s best character and enemy designs. Anyone who’s a fan of the developer’s previous games like Odin Sphere or GrimGrimoire will find a lot to love about Muramasa Rebirth.

“Uncharted: Golden Abyss” (2012)

The Uncharted series is synonymous with PlayStation, so naturally there was an entry on the PSVita and Bend Studio taking over for Naughty Dog managed to create a worthy entry in the venerated franchise despite the hardware limitations. Complete with motion capture like its big brothers, Golden Abyss follows Nate, Sully and some newcomers before the events of Drake’s Fortune. Everything fans have come to expect from the series from its cover-based shooting and climbing work well on the Vita thanks to the second analog stick, even if the game shoehorns in a lot of the Vita’s numerous features to make use of the touch screen, but thankfully these can be turned off for a more traditional experience. While you’re not missing anything major in Nathan’s overall arc by skipping this entry, it’s still another fun adventure with everyone’s favorite treasure hunter.

“Gravity Rush” (2012)

Video games are always attempting to give players new ways to explore their worlds, and none have managed such an inventive mechanic as manipulating gravity to do so as Kat in Gravity Rush. One of the most creative takes on the open world superhero genre, Gravity Rush uses the Vita’s built-in gyroscope to manipulate Kat’s exploration around the environment, easily turning the sides of buildings into sidewalks or sending her careening across the city scape. The game’s gorgeous anime-esque art style pulls you into its world and the game’s narrative remains much more light-hearted than traditional superhero tales. It’s truly a shame the game didn’t reach a bigger audience as it's not only one of the Vita’s best games, but also one of the most inventive uses of the system's mechanics. As long as you don’t easily suffer from motion sickness that is.

“Persona 4 Golden” (2012)

Fans of the Persona series have very passionate feelings about which is the best Persona game of all time, and arguably Persona 4 will always land at the top of the list. The re-release of the late PS2 title, Golden not only updates the visuals but also gave fans additional content such as new characters, storylines, new Personas, as well as gameplay improvements across the board. Following some of the best written characters in the series as they investigate increasingly grisly murders, the game is full of memorable moments, intense battles and difficult player driven choices. Coupled with its ridiculously catchy and banging soundtrack, it’s all too easy to just leave the game running and get lost in the game’s soundtrack as your real-world playlist. Persona 4 isn’t just one of the best games on the Vita, it’s one of the best JRPGs of all time.

What was your favorite game on-the-go with Sony’s ill fated handheld? Share your picks in the comments.