10 PS2 Games Fans are Still Divided About

2 weeks ago 8

Published Mar 17, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Adam is a lifelong gamer who enjoys RPGs, action adventure games and a healthy helping of VR to boot. He has written for countless sites in the gaming medium, and you can find him playing the newest souls-like or JRPG.

The PS2 is a polarizing console, despite how well it sold. So many ideas were thrown into the mix as far as its games, and the result was several incredible titles, but also some games that are fun but messy at the same time. It was really the first console that could support the ambition in the game industry we still see today.

There are a handful of games on the PS2 that people claim were the best in class, and then there are others who can't get past the obvious shortcomings of that era. This has resulted in many different opinions on PS2 offerings in the modern gamer's experience.

We're going to check out some games on the PS2 that nobody can agree on, that seem to exist somewhere between "Hidden Gem Masterpiece," and "Game that should be left in the past."

10 Rygar: The Legendary Adventure

Before the Blades of Chaos

PCSX2-Emulator-1.5.0-1674-_-Rygar_-The-Legendary-Adventure-1080p-HD-_-Hidden-Gem-Sony-PS2-8-11-screenshot

Developer

Release Date

Platform

Koei Tecmo

November 24th, 2002

PS2

Before Kratos set the character action scene on fire with God of War, there was a different scantily clad super soldier on an epic quest. Rygar has action startlingly similar to God of War and does a ton of interesting things with its combat; namely, the use of a shield that's attached to a whip-like device that you can unlock a host of different attacks for and use around the environment in different ways. Nothing about the story stands out all that much, but back then, fun was the paramount thing to have in a game. Rygar had boatloads of it.

It was also a brutally tough game at points, and was somewhat unforgivable in its challenging nature. But at a time when the genre was very much in its infancy, with really only Devil May Cry as the other big name out there, Rygar was a darn fun experience.

The polarizing fact about it is it's not God of War. Within a year, it was overshadowed by the massive hype of the Santa Monica Studios juggernaut. It was unfair, but also understandable. However, no matter how many "we have God of War at home" statements about this game get thrown around, it doesn't change the fact that before the genre blew up, this was near the top of the class.

9 God Hand

A Matter of Taste

God Hand is one of the best action games ever. It's completely stupid, with modest graphics and uneven level design, but despite that, the combat is top-notch. It's wildly challenging and reeks of that mid-2000s edgelord syndrome, but as far as action games go, it's a tough task to say there have been better games than God Hand in the genre.

But a lot of people didn't get it. They refused to learn the admittedly complex combat system, and plenty of reviewers didn't think much of it. So many wrote it off as just a failed game in a rough time for the PS2. But those who actually gave it a chance know that it had some of the best combat on PS2 and did everything it set out to do, and did it with a style that few other games have.

8 Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

What Could've Been

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

When I think of the PS2, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is the game I think about. It's so darn good, and should've been an incredible new franchise. I'm not sure what went wrong. To me, this was easily one of the best games on the platform, and yet, despite good to great reviews, it just didn't hit. Games that would come after, such as Control, for example, take everything from this game's playbook. The psionic powers were revolutionary for the time and gave this otherwise typical-feeling third-person shooter a whole new identity.

To me, it felt like the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided of the PS2; a great game that did things better than the competition at every turn that just didn't stick the landing. There is clearly a setup for future games that happens here, and it just didn't go anywhere. It's possible players didn't connect with the rather generic protagonist, but the gameplay should've spoken for itself. And it did for a select few, but many others just shrugged it off when it deserved so much more.

7 Prince of Perisa: Warrior Within

Down with the Sickness

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within is just a phenomenal action game from start to finish. It's brutal, flashy, and most of all, fun as heck to play. So what's the problem? Why is there such a divide with the fans on this one? Well, it's because the tonal shift from the first game is absolutely crazy.

The first game had this ancient, sort of mystical feel to it, almost like a Disney movie grown up in a way. The Warrior Within, however, is... a Godsmack music video. It's full of roaring metal riffs, cursing, and violence that is a bit shocking coming fresh from the first game.

But if you lean into the early 2000s nonsense, where everything was edgy and violent with muted colors, you'll have yourself one of the best action games around. So many fans hated the direction the franchise took at this point, but others embraced the ridiculousness and loved the game for what it was, which was a start-to-finish thrill ride with some really good combat that would pave the way for the Assassin's Creed series just a few years later.

6 The Suffering

Your Horror is in My Action Game

The Suffering is a really unique game for the time, as it didn't sit under the umbrella of either the action shooter genre or the horror genre. And that in itself was the reason it didn't go on to the success it probably should've. It's a genuinely chilling horror game with an oppressive atmosphere that makes you dread every step you take.

But then, it weirdly turns into an action game at times that kind of takes away from the type of Resident Evil vibe that it initially has. That's where the disconnect happens, I think. It immediately becomes a polarizing game once that initial survival horror shroud is dropped. As an action title, it's serviceable, and as a horror title, it's brilliant. But the mix of the two didn't quite sit well with everyone, so you have your crowd that believes it's one of the true old school classics and others that look at it as what could've been.

5 Drakengard

Not Your Typical Fantasy

Drakengard is quite the experiment. Initially supposed to be an Ace Combat game of all things, it turned into one of the most twisted and original fantasy stories ever made. However, as gripping as the story is, the combat is just rough. Some people say that's the point though, endless, monotonous killing of the same looking enemies over and over while this droning music slowly makes you want to mute your TV. But that's part of what Yoko Taro wanted. He wanted you to hate to play as this murderous character.

Drakengard and NieR series cover photo containing Emil 9S 2B A2 Caim and Zero

Every NieR And Drakengard Game, Ranked

Each NieR and Drakengard offers something unique in terms of story or gameplay. Here, we have ranked every game in these franchises.

And when you push through it all, you get the craziest endings any game has ever had. It's mind-blowing, insane, and somehow it makes the hours of treading through a plot full of cannibalism, incest, and crimes against children somehow feel worth it. I don't feel good about that previous sentence, and I didn't feel good upon beating this game. But it's an experience you'll never forget, so bad, good, or something that's hard to really label, isn't that what a masterpiece is?

4 Manhunt

A Brutal Achievement

Manhunt is a game where you sneak around and kill people. That's a lot of games, so why was this one different? The tone, the atmosphere, and the story all made people awfully uncomfortable in 2003. It was Rockstar's golden era, and they thought they could do no wrong. And they were sort of right. This game is a vibe, if nothing else, and it's both terrifyingly realistic and disturbing.

And it's incredibly well-made, as expected. The combat is brutal, messy, and violent in a way that would make GTA blush. But the level design is just oppressive, with very little feeling of accomplishment and more of a feeling of "when will this end?" It's essentially a playable snuff film, which to some, might be what they're looking for in a game. It's a masterpiece to certain players, and to others, one of the worst things ever introduced in the gaming world.

3 Driver

The Wheelman Cometh

Driver was such a cool game when it released, and as far as driving games go, this one is easily one of the best for the time. However, there was a massive hurdle that so, so many players never got past: The tutorial. It is notorious for being one of the worst and most frustrating tutorials to ever exist.

It's a terrible segment with vague directions, finicky controls, and some of the most boring and mind-numbing gameplay imaginable as you're stuck in this empty garage in a never-ending driving lesson. Once you actually get out into the missions though, it's a great game, with some really interesting ways of making nothing but driving a car feel as cool as possible. It went on to influence the driving in many games that would follow.

2 The Bouncer

Not Final Fantasy, But Still Fun

Square Enix was a machine in 2001, and they thought they could get away with anything. Enter The Bouncer, a game that looked like Final Fantasy, talked like Final Fantasy, but was most certainly not Final Fantasy. And that was the big problem for many. They couldn't get past the fact that this really darn good brawler was not their favorite series.

It was unfair to the game, but understandable as Final Fantasy was literally in the midst of its all-time unstoppable run of games. To give something so different and so much smaller in scope, well, it just didn't sit well with a lot of people. It's a simple game, but one with a lot of replay value, unlockable characters, a ton of attacks to master, and even a pretty cool story to back it all up. Some see it as a classic, others a disaster, and the beginning of Square Enix's downfall. Pick a side, there's an army to back you up either way.

1 Final Fantasy 12

A Clash of Genres

Final Fantasy 12 is a great entry in the series, but for some, it's a sacrilegious mess with an atrocious main character and an uneven plot that loses its way a few times. The biggest point of contention is the combat. It's very close to an MMO system, and that is just something that fans of the series didn't really get behind. "It plays itself" is something that was commonly said about the combat due to the gambit system that let you program tons of behaviors into your party during a battle.

There are still a lot of defenders of this game though, as the mature tone, story, and characters are very much an outlier from some of the other games, and it feels distinctly more adult and complex because of it. But the game came at a weird time, towards the end of the PS2 life cycle, so while it got a lot of praise and great reviews, it felt oddly off base with the rest of the genre evolutions we witnessed at the time.