10 PS3 games to buy before Sony shuts down the store

Nothing lasts forever, with the possible exception of microplastics. So it was inevitable that, at some point, Sony would shut down the PlayStation 3 online store. And, as disappointed as I am by the news that from 2028, PlayStation is binning physical discs, I’ve spent so, so much money on the PS3 store. Every sale was an opportunity to discover a new gem. Sometimes I didn’t even wait for a sale, especially if a game was digital only.

Now, alongside the aforementioned digital-only announcement, Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita stores will be closed by July 2027, potentially sooner depending where you are. You’ll still be able to download your games (for the foreseeable future) but new games? Sorry, shop’s shut.

With that in mind, I’ve taken one last teary-eyed look around the PS3 store (to my shame, I never owned a Vita) to bring you ten PlayStation 3 games to buy before they’re gone.

1. Siren: Blood Curse

As with some other titles in this list, there are other ways to play Siren: Blood Curse, streaming included, but when a physical copy costs £50, this is a steal at a fraction of the price. It follows the story of an American film crew who, investigating a strange Japanese village, witness it warp into a bizarre otherworld, where rivers run red and the populace are murderous shells of their former selves.

A superb remake of the original Siren/Forbidden Siren, structured into 12 episodes, it’s guaranteed to give you the chills. It’s downright criminal that Sony never went on to remake the second Forbidden Siren game, and I hope the success of the new Silent Hill games will give them cause to revisit the franchise.

2. Tokyo Jungle

Only released digitally outside of Japan, Tokyo Jungle is a tale of one Pomeranian against a post-apocalyptic world, where humans are a distant memory. Okay, that’s not entirely true, you can play as a range of characters from the aforementioned pom to a T-Rex and even a Japanese Businessman.

With shades of The Incredible Journey, you command a selection of animal pals, with many more available through DLC. Tokyo Jungle is a shamelessly silly game but it’s not short on heart and unless you speak Japanese, this is your last chance to play it legally.

3. Prince of Persia Trilogy

The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake was canned last year, but you can still enjoy this brilliant, timey-wimey platformer, remastered for the PlayStation 3. It might not be new and shiny as the remake promised to be, but it’s still an excellent game that deserves your attention.

Sands of Time is available on its own, but I’d recommend picking up the Prince of Persia Trilogy, which also bundles in Warrior Within and Two Thrones. And at a penny shy of £12, it’s an absolute bargain

4. Lemmings

A semi-sequel to the original Lemmings from the 90s, this PlayStation-exclusive puzzler has you controlling a group of cutesy creatures that, while they in no way resemble real lemmings, have a range of talents at their disposal. They can climb, build, explode and more.

The catch is that, unless they’re performing a task, they’ll keep on walking, whether that’s over a cliff, into lava and so on. Plus, you only have a finite number of roles to dole out, so there’s some serious thinking required.

5. Pain

Want a PS3 game that will tax your brain every bit as much as Lemmings? Pain is not that game. Instead, it’s a gloriously daft physics game where you fire people out of a catapult around a series of weird and wonderful levels.

The more pain you inflict, the higher your score. And with purchasable guest characters like David Hasslehoff and George Takei, voiced by their real-life selves, what other reason do you need to play? You won’t spend hour after hour immersed in Pain, but this is the perfect game to pick up when you need five minutes’ stress relief.

6. God of War Collection

The first three God of War games are getting remade, but in the meantime you can enjoy these remastered versions, casting you as the Son of Sparta’s more violent incarnation. The original games may be worlds away from Sony Santa Monica’s more recent take on the franchise, but they’re still very much worth your time.

And if you want more Kratos (why wouldn’t you?) there’s also second compilation available, which includes the two God of War PSP games.

7. ICO

Shadow of the Colossus may have already had a full remake back in 2018, but ICO was, for some reason, left behind. The two games were bundled together physically for PS3, but you should definitely consider picking ICO up by itself if you’ve not yet played it.

You’re tasked with protecting a mysterious girl from an army of shadowy creatures in this remaster of the game. It’s showing its age by now, but it’s still a very pretty action adventure game.

8. Jet Set Radio

Graffiti skating game Jet Set Radio has a character all its own and is just a joy to play, due in part to its snazzy soundtrack. We’ve had spin-offs and a brand new game is in the works, but if you want the original, you might want to head on over to the PS3 store, where you can pick up a 2012 remaster of the original Dreamcast game.

Strangely, this remaster has been delisted from every platform except the PlayStation store. This isn’t just your last chance to get it on PS3 or PS Vita, it’s your only chance to buy it.

9. Resident Evil Chronicles HD Collection

Ported from the Nintendo Wii, this collection includes Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Between them, they re-imagine Resident Evil 0 through to Resident Evil: Code Veronica as an on-rails shooter.

While it’s probably not going to take the place of your favourite Resident Evil game, they’re still very much worth a play, particularly if you miss classic arcade shooter games. It’s a cool way to experience Capcom’s classic survival horror series, and if you’ve got a PlayStation Move controller to hand, even better.

10. The Last Guy

The Last Guy is a true casualty of the PlayStation 3 Store shutdown. This top-down action game has you collecting survivors and leading them to safety all the while monsters run rampant around the city.

It’s one of the first PS3 games I bought and I can still remember the joy of successfully guiding my snake of survivors to the evacuation zone (and the fury of watching a monster smash through them). However, once the PlayStation 3 Store is gone, this gem will be forever robbed of new players.