The PlayStation 3 marked a turning point for console gaming, pushing cinematic storytelling, physics-based gameplay and HD graphics into the mainstream. But it also came with a notoriously complex Cell processor that made development a nightmare – and porting games from it even worse.
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Because of this, a significant chunk ofits best titlesnever made it to newer platforms. They remain trapped in Sony’s monolithic black box, playable only through original hardware or spotty streaming via PlayStation Now. From technical masterpieces to forgotten experiments, these games still haven’t been freed, and with every passing year, their absence feels more like a loss.
7Motorstorm
A Dirt-Filled Symphony of Speed that Never Got a Tune-Up
Motorstorm
Before Driveclub and GT Sport, Sony’s flagship racing series on the PS3 was Motorstorm – a brutally chaotic off-road racer where motorcycles, ATVs, rally cars and trucks all tore through the same mud-splattered tracks at once.
The game was developed by Evolution Studios, who created a custom physics engine tosimulate real-time track deformation. That meant every lap would get messier, as the terrain got churned into ruts and ditches. AI would adjust to the new conditions, and players had to adapt on the fly, navigating unpredictable paths while trying not to get wrecked.
Even the presentation was cutting-edge for 2006. The crowd density, dynamic camera angles and debris effects were a visual showcase for what the PS3 could do – and a major reason why Motorstorm became a day-one title that people bought the console for.
But the game’s engine was tightly bound to the PS3’s hardware. The asynchronous SPU threads were used heavily for terrain streaming and vehicle handling, and that’s made it notoriously difficult to emulate or port.
While later entries like Motorstorm: Apocalypse added weather and destruction, the original still feels the most pure. There’s no remaster, no port and not even a mention of it in backward compatibility – making it one of Sony’s most glaringly abandoned first-party legacies.
6Puppeteer
A Curtain Call that No One Was Around To Applaud
Puppeteer came out late into the PS3’s life in 2013 – at a time when the PlayStation 4 had already been announced. That might explain why so many missed it, because what lay beneath its wooden stage and paper cutout aesthetic was one of the most creative platformers Sony Japan Studio ever made.
It follows a boy named Kutaro who gets turned into a puppet and wields a magical pair of scissors called Calibrus. With them, he snips his way through the environment itself – not just enemies or obstacles, but parts of the level like vines, clouds and curtains. The game’s entire navigation system is based on clever “cutting” mechanics, where players traverse by slicing through everything in their path.
Everything is presented as a stage play, with dynamic scenery changes and a narrator commenting on the story in real time. Bosses include the likes of a giant moon bear king and an evil spider queen, and every fight plays out like a mini theatrical performance.
Despite universal praise from critics and even a BAFTA award nomination, Puppeteer never got a second life on PS4 or PS5. Its reliance on the PS3’s SPU structure for rendering and scripting likely made it a low priority for remastering, especially with Japan Studio now dissolved.
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5Heavenly Sword
The Precursor To Hellblade that Time Forgot
Heavenly Sword
Before Ninja Theory madeSenua’s Sacrificeand found a new home at Xbox, they created Heavenly Sword – a third-person action game with cinematic storytelling and motion capture far ahead of its time.
It starred Nariko, a red-haired warrior who wielded the Heavenly Sword – a cursed weapon that drained the life of its user. The game was full of large-scale battles, stylized combos and cinematic set pieces that leaned heavily on quick-time events. But it was the facial animation that stood out the most.
Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, provided performance capture for King Bohan and helped direct the game’s scenes. The result was a level of expressiveness rarely seen at the time – a precursor to what would become industry standard years later.
Heavenly Sword was sometimes compared to God of War, but it played very differently. It used stance switching mid-combat, parry-based systems and projectile deflection. There were even sections where players could guide arrows and cannonballs in slow motion using the Sixaxis controller.
But as with many early PS3 exclusives, it was built around a very specific hardware setup. Its performance was never great – often struggling to maintain 30 FPS – and emulation remains tricky. With no sequel and no port, it lives in limbo.
And now that Ninja Theory is under Microsoft, the chances of Sony reviving it are virtually zero.
4Resistance 3
The Last Stand that Showed What The Series Could’ve Been
Resistance 3
By the time Resistance 3 launched in 2011, the franchise had taken a darker turn. Gone were the patriotic tones of the first game and the military bombast of the second. This one played like a survival shooter, as humanity was scattered and broken, and protagonist Joseph Capelli just wanted to protect his family.
Set in a post-apocalyptic America, Resistance 3 ditched the series’ previous super-soldier tropes and focused on grounded combat, desperation and scavenging. The campaign leaned into horror elements, with abandoned towns, swarms of Chimera and eerie lighting that made it feel more personal than epic.
It also brought back the weapon wheel – something that Resistance 2 controversially removed. From the mutator that caused enemies to vomit acid to the Auger that shot through walls, every gun had a secondary function, making the combat system feel more creative and unpredictable.
Resistance 3 is widely considered the best entry in the series, but it never made it to PS4 or PS5. Despite Insomniac’s current success with Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank, there’s been no word about bringing Resistance back. And with Sony’s focus shifting away from first-person shooters entirely, it’s unclear if the franchise will ever return.
The third game was the most refined, most narratively mature and most technically polished. And it’s locked on a console that few still keep hooked up.
3Killzone 2
The Warzone that Still Has No Equal
Killzone 2
Even now, Killzone 2’s graphics hold up. Released in 2009, it was the game that finally delivered on Sony’s promise of a next-gen shooter, with dynamic lighting, volumetric smoke and destructible cover systems that were ahead of their time.
The war on Helghan was more than just a spectacle. The game’s gritty tone, aggressive AI and weighty weapon handling gave it an identity separate from Call of Duty or Halo. Recoil was punishing, movement had inertia, and the camera would shake violently with every explosion. It felt like being in a real battlefield – dirty, disorienting and dangerous.
Its online multiplayer was equally well-regarded. The “Warzone” mode constantly changed objectives mid-match – from assassination to search and destroy to capture and hold – keeping every session unpredictable. Classes had distinct roles, and map design made use of verticality and choke points without falling into symmetry.
Killzone 2 was developed by Guerrilla Games at a time when the studio had full creative freedom and was pushing the PS3 to its limits. But it was also developed on an engine so specifically tailored to the PS3’s Cell processor that remastering it has been a technical nightmare.
While Killzone: Shadow Fall made it to PS4, it lacked the punch of its predecessor. And so, the best Killzone game remains trapped on a dusty console.
2Infamous 2
A City of Superpowers that Deserves More Than a Flashback
inFAMOUS 2
Infamous 2 gave players full control over Cole MacGrath’s electric abilities as he roamed the city of New Marais. Inspired by New Orleans, the city was more vibrant than Empire City from the first game, and filled with both beauty and chaos – jazz music, flooded streets, bio-terrorists and all.
The morality system returned, giving players the choice to be a righteous savior or a reckless force of destruction. But this time, the choices had more weight. Depending on how players progressed, Cole’s abilities and even his ultimate fate would dramatically shift.
The game also introduced user-generated missions, allowing for a surprising amount of community-created content. This, along with its improvedtraversal mechanicsand upgraded visuals, made Infamous 2 a leap ahead of the original in nearly every way.
But it was never brought forward. While Infamous: Second Son released on the PS4, it starred a new protagonist and had no connection to Cole’s story arc. Infamous 2 remains stuck in the past, unplayable outside the PS3 unless streamed.
And with Sucker Punch moving on to Ghost of Tsushima – and openly stating they have no plans to revisit the series – Cole’s electrifying saga might remain forever short-circuited.
1Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
The One Game Kojima Can’t Even Re-release
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4 was the swan song for Solid Snake – a cinematic epic that pushed the boundaries of what storytelling in games could be. Released in 2008, it combined stealth gameplay with lengthy cutscenes, branching paths and systems that changed depending on player behavior.
Snake, now aged and dying due to his accelerated cloning, travels the globe one last time – from the Middle East to Eastern Europe to Shadow Moses. It’s a farewell tour that ties up every loose thread in the series. And it does it with the kind of scale and drama thatonly Hideo Kojima could deliver.
The game used the PS3’s hardware in ways no other title did. Assets were loaded dynamically in real time, resulting in install segments between chapters – where Snake literally smokes while data decompresses. Its engine was a bespoke creation built entirely for the Cell processor, and no version of it was ever used again.
To this day, Metal Gear Solid 4 has never been ported or remastered. Even Kojima himself has acknowledged the challenge of bringing it forward. And with Konami’s rights to the series in flux and no confirmed plans for a remake, MGS4 remains a PS3 exclusive in the truest sense.
It was the end of an era – and the fact that it’s locked to a single platform makes it feel even more final.
