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With all the talk about Sony’s decision to end physical discs, which you can read an article that inspired here, Downs and I decided to talk about some of our favorite Playstation 3 games. Keep in mind, these are our opinions and may vastly differ from your own. Let’s get started.

Dante’s Inferno

Dante’s Inferno (paid link) fell under some controversy when it launched and it still does if you bring ot up to a certain group of people. The story is adapted from (paid link) The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and shows our main character, Dante, going into Hell after his beloved wife Beatrice. Now, why he had to go after her is a spoiler so I’ll leave that out but the game plays a lot like (paid link) God of War.

It features a lot of Christian lore and names from history we may notice. Dante has to absolve or punish these individuals for EXP in either Holy or Unholy. As you gain EXP, your level increases in these areas and allows for new skills to be leaned by consuming souls that Dante pickups via defeating enemies.

Tokyo Jungle

This is definitely a game that you can’t find anywhere now. It’s unfortunate because the idea behind it was just so cool and unique. You play in a version of Tokyo that has been deserted. Animals are reclaiming the land and you are there to see it unfold as well as take part in it. There is story mode or survival. Most of my overall playtime has always been in survival where you choose to be a specific animal and then see how long you can survive while also completing missions and trying to lay claim to districts in Tokyo. This game does come bundle with a few other titles in (paid link) Best of Playstation Network Vol 1.

Alice Madness Returns

What type of Playstation 3 list would this be without (paid link) Alice Madness Returns? Anyone who likes Alice in Wonderland already know it’s weird. It just is. It’s a weird, crazy story but that’s why it’s so beloved. So when they created a more mature, darker themed older Alice story, of course it would take off. If you have not played this title, you owe it to yourself to see Wonderland in all its creepy glory.

Dead Nation

Dead Nation is one of the games I received for free when PSN got hacked many, many years ago. To my surprise, it was a great game that I really liked and found myself playing multiple times. Even going back to it now in 2026, I see why I liked it so much.

The entire game is a top down zombie shooter. There are plenty of zombies to maul with your guns and a nice variety of guns to choose from and upgrade. Now once the gun is yours, through a purchase, it is yours. You just have ti buy the ammo for it at checkpoint stations. You also can purchase upgrades for all the weapons, so it makes the game very fun and engaging because do I buy this ammo upgrade or buy this new gun? Choices can make a difference when you’re surrounded and you don’t have the right weapon.

Dead Space 2

While the original (paid link) Dead Space is very much worth playing, you can get the Remake on Steam (paid links) Playstation 5 & Xbox Series X which is arguably the better version. However, the PS3 version of (paid link) Dead Space 2 is a treat. Not only for the game itself, because it’s simply just a fun, horrific experience, but it also contains Dead Space Extraction on the disc. Now, Dead Space Extraction is actually a (paid link) Wii title that’s available but the PS3 version offered a fun way to play the game outside of the Nintendo console.

Downs

Left on PS3

On this episode of Hoarding with a Purpose, we’re taking a look at the PS3 library.
The PS3 is an interesting system when it comes to game preservation. It came out during a weird transitional period in the industry. Games were starting to become more connected, but they weren’t yet completely dependent on online services, patches, season passes, and digital storefronts.

For the most part, you could buy a game, put the disc in your console, and just play it.
Because of that, the PS3 ended up with a surprisingly large library of games that haven’t received modern rereleases. Some games have been remastered, some have been remade, and others have been ported to newer systems. But there are still plenty of PS3 games that are either stuck on the platform or have something unique about their original release.

This is especially interesting when you consider how many games from this generation were designed around the PS3’s hardware, accessories, or online infrastructure.

So, if you’re going through your PS3 collection and wondering “Do I really need to keep this?”, here are a few games that I think are worth hanging onto.

Portal 2

When it comes to third-party games on the PS3, the system is often remembered as getting the “lesser” version.

That wasn’t necessarily because the PS3 was less powerful than the Xbox 360. The problem was that developing for the PS3 was… complicated.

The infamous Cell processor architecture could be extremely difficult for developers to work with, especially early in the system’s life. As a result, plenty of multiplatform games suffered from lower frame rates, reduced resolutions, visual differences, or various technical problems when compared to their Xbox 360 counterparts.

And when I say lower resolution, remember that this was the late 2000s. “Sub-HD” could mean the game wasn’t even rendering at 720p.

One of the most infamous examples is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The PS3 version developed a reputation for performance problems and some genuinely nasty bugs, particularly as save files became larger.
This wasn’t an issue with every game, of course, but it was common enough during the early years of the PS3 that the phrase “PS3 version” could sometimes make people nervous.

Which makes Portal 2 particularly interesting.
Instead of being the inferior version, the (paid link) PS3 release is actually a very good version of the game. In some comparisons, it even has advantages over the (paid link) Xbox 360 release.

That’s pretty unusual for a third-party PS3 game from this era.

But Portal 2 is also worth keeping simply because it’s one of those games that represents an important part of the PS3 generation. It’s a great example of a developer successfully taking advantage of the hardware rather than fighting against it.
And let’s be honest: Portal 2 is also just an amazing game.

Even if you’ve played it elsewhere, the PS3 version is one of those releases that is still worth having around.

Killzone Trilogy

Sony wanted a Halo killer. Luckily for Sony, Microsoft decided to do it for them with the atrocious Halo 5. Jokes aside, that was basically the pitch behind Killzone.

The original (paid link) Killzone was positioned as Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Halo franchise, and as the series progressed, Sony continued pushing it as one of the major showcases for PlayStation hardware.

By the time we got to (paid link) Killzone 2 and (paid link) Killzone 3, the series had become one of the biggest visual showcases on the PS3.

And honestly, they still look pretty good.
Obviously, you’re going to notice the age of the graphics when compared to modern games. But what’s more important is that the games remain fun to play.

The campaigns are the real reason to keep the trilogy today.

The online components are a different story. Multiplayer was a major selling point for these games when they were new, but those experiences aren’t really what you’re buying the games for anymore.

The campaigns, however, still provide a pretty good snapshot of what Sony was trying to do with first-person shooters during the PS3 era.

Killzone 2 in particular is worth experiencing if you missed it the first time around.
There was a time when people were constantly comparing Killzone and Halo. Today, that conversation isn’t nearly as important.

What matters now is that Killzone is one of those franchises that helped define the PS3’s identity.

And considering the series hasn’t received the kind of modern revival that some other PlayStation franchises have, the original games are worth keeping around.

Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

This is probably one of the more interesting HD collections on the PS3.

Not simply because it contains two excellent games, but because it preserves versions of those games that aren’t necessarily identical to what you’ll find elsewhere.

The (paid link) collection includes Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, two of the most influential games from the PS2 era.

Bluepoint handled the ports, and this wasn’t simply a situation like now where Sony took the PS2 games, increased the resolution, slapped trophy support and called it a day.
Both games received significant visual improvements while attempting to preserve the original artistic direction.

For Ico, there’s another important reason to own this particular release.
The collection provides access to the international version of Ico, which includes additional content compared to the original North American release.

That alone makes the collection interesting from a preservation standpoint.
Then there’s Shadow of the Colossus.
The original PS2 game was already impressive, but it had technical limitations. The PS3 version improves the frame rate and enhances the visuals while still attempting to maintain the distinctive look and feel of the original.

That’s an important distinction.

The goal wasn’t to completely redesign Shadow of the Colossus. It was to make the original game work better on modern hardware while retaining the art direction that made it memorable in the first place.
There’s also the wonderfully strange fact that the collection supports stereoscopic 3D.
Yes.

The PS3 had 3D games.

No, I’m not sure how many people actually used that feature either.

But if you happen to be one of the few people who still has a 3D television sitting around, this is one of those games that can take advantage of it.

And that’s exactly why I think this collection is worth keeping.

It’s not simply a collection of two PS2 games. It’s a specific version of those games with additional content, technical improvements, and features that make the PS3 release historically interesting.

Demon’s Souls

Before Dark Souls became a phenomenon, there was (paid link) Demon’s Souls.

And while the game certainly has its flaws, there’s no denying how important it became.
Demon’s Souls established many of the ideas that would eventually become associated with the “Souls” genre.

Punishing combat.

Careful exploration.

Death having consequences.
Learning enemy patterns.

And the wonderful feeling of finally defeating something that had been destroying you for the last hour.

One of the things that makes Demon’s Souls particularly interesting is that it doesn’t completely follow the formula that later Souls games established.

Instead of having one giant interconnected world, the game uses a level-based structure. You return to the Nexus and select different areas to explore.

The bosses are also particularly interesting.
A lot of modern Souls-style bosses are essentially massive combat encounters where you need to learn their attacks, recognize openings, and eventually defeat them.
Demon’s Souls has plenty of that, but several of its bosses also revolve around gimmicks, environmental mechanics, or puzzles.
That gives the game a very different feel compared to some of its successors.
Of course, there’s now a remake.

And the remake is excellent in its own right.
But like the Shadow of the Colossus Remake is significantly different visually.

The remake modernizes the graphics and changes a lot of the game’s presentation and the biggest mistake; the art direction. For some ignorant people, those changes are improvements.

For others who care about the meaning, they fundamentally alter the atmosphere and identity of the original.
And that’s where the PS3 version becomes important.

If you’re interested in seeing Demon’s Souls as it originally existed, the PS3 version is the version you want.

It’s an excellent case of why the remake doesn’t make the original obsolete.
If anything, having both gives you an interesting opportunity to see how the game evolved from its original presentation into a modern remake.

House of the Dead: Overkill

Okay, this is where the list gets weird.
House of the Dead: Overkill technically isn’t exclusive to the PS3. The game originally appeared on the Wii.

But the PS3 version is a particularly interesting release.

For starters, the (paid link) PS3 version is presented in HD and includes two additional levels compared to the Wii release.

But that’s not even the biggest reason to keep it.

The PS3 version supports the (paid link) PlayStation Move.

And this is one of those situations where you have to remember just how strange the PS3 generation could be.

Sony wasn’t only competing with Microsoft and Nintendo on traditional console hardware. During this period, Sony was also experimenting with motion controls, 3D, the PlayStation Eye, Move controllers, and a bunch of other accessories.

The PlayStation Move was Sony’s attempt to compete with the Wii’s motion-control craze. Aka getting your grandma to buy a PS3 over the Wii. Especially since bluray players didn’t take over the way Sony thought it would.
And House of the Dead: Overkill is actually a pretty good showcase for what the Move could do.

Instead of using a traditional controller, you can use the Move like a light gun, pointing at the screen and blasting away at zombies.
It’s a goofy arcade-style shooter with an intentionally over-the-top grindhouse presentation, and honestly, that makes it a perfect fit for the Move.

The Wii version is still worth playing.

But if you’re collecting PS3 games, the PS3 release has enough differences to make it worth keeping.

It’s also exactly the kind of game that could easily disappear from people’s collections because someone looks at it and says:
“Oh, I can play this somewhere else.”
Technically, yes.
But the PS3 version has its own reasons to exist.

Why Keep These Games?

And that’s really the point of this list.
I’m not saying that every PS3 game needs to be preserved on a shelf forever.

There are plenty of PS3 games that have been rereleased on newer systems, and if the modern version is better in every meaningful way, there’s probably not much reason to keep multiple copies unless you’re a collector or it’s your favorite game of all time.
The PS3 generation has a weird amount of software that falls into the opposite category.

Some games haven’t been rereleased.
Some have been remastered but lost features.
Some have been remade with significant changes.

Some rely on accessories that modern consoles no longer support.

And some are simply interesting because they represent a particular moment in gaming history.

That’s what makes the PS3 worth holding onto.

The system sits right in the middle of a major transition in the industry. Physical games were still the norm, but digital distribution was becoming increasingly important. Online multiplayer was becoming standard, but games weren’t yet completely built around live services. Developers were experimenting with motion controls, stereoscopic 3D, downloadable content, and all kinds of new ideas.

The result is a library full of games that can sometimes feel like they’re from a completely different era. It’s not quite modern yet it’s not quite retro.

And that’s before you even get into the exclusives.

So when you’re going through that dusty old PS3 collection and asking yourself whether you really need to keep that copy of Demon’s Souls, Killzone, Ico & Shadow of the Colossus, or some weird PlayStation Move game…
Maybe you do.

Because sometimes keeping that old PS3 isn’t hoarding.

It’s preservation……it’s atleast something that you can tell your therapist lol