5. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
Quite possibly the biggest game on PS4 in terms of sheer map size and available content (not to mention file size), The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited is so gigantic that it'll take you weeks, if not months just to make your way through the title's core storylines. Building your character is a rewarding process as you decide on skills and stockpile equipment, and once you're done, there's a whole grind-heavy endgame to enjoy. A near endless adventure that's well supported, especially when it comes to meaty expansions.
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4. Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn
The overall best MMORPG on PS4, Final Fantasy XIV will hold you in its silky embrace for days, weeks, months, even years if you let it. A masterfully crafted experience, there's so much to see and do in the gorgeous world of Eorzea -- and there's always something to grind for. What's more, you can easily join up with some friends and explore A Realm Reborn's smorgasbord of endgame content, which features some breathtaking boss fights.
3. Fallout 4
Unlike many of the other games on this list, there's no multiplayer aspect to Fallout 4, but it's difficult to ignore the dangerously addictive gameplay loop at the heart of Bethesda's open world adventure. Thanks to an expansive crafting system, every piece of junk in post-apocalyptic Boston has a purpose, and the title's dense and dynamic map constantly rewards your curiosity. Randomised legendary loot and the lack of a level cap mean that you can easily stick with Fallout 4 until the actual bombs drop.
2. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Capcom struck pure gold with Monster Hunter in Japan, but only with the release of Monster Hunter World has the series really resonated with a vast global audience. The core gameplay loop of Monster Hunter is pretty much perfect. World offers just the right ratio of grind versus reward, and the whole thing is tied together with one of the most engaging, satisfying combat systems in gaming. As if that wasn't enough, the title's Iceborne expansion essentially revitalises and refines the entire experience. With or without friends, grinding for loot simply doesn't get much better than this.
1. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition
Arguably the originator of loot-based RPGs as they are now, the Diablo series is incredibly hard to top when it comes to grinding in its most addictive form. Diablo III is a masterclass in tight, satisfying, and rewarding game design. From top to bottom, it's a polished and devilishly moreish experience, sprinkled with fantastic character progression systems and an endgame that always seems to offer something that's worth your time and effort. Diablo III is everything that you could want from a loot-based grind and more.
What games can you simply never stop playing? Did we miss out one of your favourites? Grind for some lovely loot in the comments section below.
Comments 57
Don't want to think about how many hours I've put into the games on this list.
@ShogunRok Honestly, i don't know how you do it. It would drive me mad playing even half the games you sink triple digit hours into lol
Diablo and Destiny were enough for me. I was really impressed with Diablo actually, with it being the first loot driven game I'd ever played. I'd play another expansion or a 4th instalment for sure.
Also isn't Destiny 1 arguably better than 2? I'd say VoG alone makes it the better game frankly!
@kyleforrester87 If (when) Diablo IV gets announced my life is basically over.
@ShogunRok Killing goatmen in the Southern Highlands was fan-bloody-tastic.
EDF4.1
Agreed with Diablo 3 taking the top spot, even in solo it's great fun and the story is pretty good fun as well.
For me, Fallout 4 was a shell of its former self and the least interesting Fallout I've ever seen. But can't please everyone, right?
Monster Hunter ♥️
No Disgaea 5?
Do you even grind, bro?
Also I thought this was about the most addictive Loot box games at first😂.
That would be an interesting feature.
Fallout 4 is great, but loot based affairs, its not in the same realm as the others. But I do agree with the top 2 spots. I want to try toukiden 2. I have played the rest besides ff14. Just bought eso for 7 bucks at gamestop's, the main story is rather dull. Might give ff14 a try, I think it's free until level 35. I love loot games, but none can out do diablo in that respect. Maybe grim dawn or Poe if they ever come.... titan quest should have made this list.
@kyleforrester87 They added and added and keep adding to Diablo III and it's way different and better than the original release. But I'm with you on the grindy-games; sometimes they are just too much work. And these days, I like my gaming to be more escapism than a second job
Although, I did get sucked back into NMS this weekend. Tidied up that questline and tried to figure out how to play again before NEXT.
@starhops I've got the urge to play some Diablo 3 and NMS, maybe this weekend once I've unpacked
@Fight_Teza_Fight
Fair point, swap Disgaea 5 for Fallout 4 using the power of sardines, sorted.
@NathanUC
A very good shout a much overlooked game.
I always found Diablo 2 the most satisfying for loot especially when you could use the horidric cube for rune words and make them even more powerful. But I do have fun with 3 even though the story has let me down a bit
I lost 6 month of my (gaming) life playing diablo 3 coop with my friends lol.
Also dragon crown adventurers guild quest is addicting since the quest is interesting enough (like opening treasure quest without waking up the orc guard).
Shutter to think how much D3 I've played on PlayStation.
The game is so seductive to me in terms of atmosphere and loot.
I still boot up the PS3 original and blow hours looking for Lv 60 Demon Skin Plan...maybe someday I'll find it.
I have never played Diablo. True fact.
I also only played the Borderlands Pre-Sequel earlier this year and remembered how much I love that series (Telltale game included). I still have BL2 to play on this gen but know how much I'll get sucked back in when I do..
My guilty grind pleasure is GTA Online.
So. Many. Hours..
Great list! So much of my life was lost instead of increasing real career and spending more time with real people...
@LieutenantFatman
I'm an old-school racing gamer, where I had to grind up credits through racing in order to buy new vehicles. So my first votes go to Gran Turismo Sport and Ride 2 as far as enjoyable grinding goes.
In most of my racing games, grinding is a key requirement if I want to do well in the game. You have to learn the tracks by heart and tweak your vehicle to near-perfection before the actual race. With this perspective in mind, Project Cars 2, F1 2017 and MotoGP 18 should also be on my list.
I am.just waiting for the next expansion for Diablo III. They will more then likely announce it at this year's Blizzcon.
1. Monster Hunter
2. Diablo
3. The Division
I have put an insane amount of time into these three.
destiny 1 is vastly better than 2. according to destiny tracker i had 192 hours on just VoG and crota's end alone. that was a lot of raid runs... i enjoyed diablo iii, but didn't really feel the need to grind once i'd beaten the story, and some of the random generated dungeon stuff.
Monster Hunter World is the best one for me
I really like Diablo 3, the sequel will be day one for me.
Monster Hunter: World is a great game too.
Haven't played the top 2 so Fallout 4 for me. It has to be mentioned that the attention to detail on objects in Fallout 4 just like Skyrim is better than half of the games that makes people believe they look better with their fancy colors. An average person would think Titanfall 2 or Battlefield 1 looks better judging by the characters, but just compare the texture on robots in the former to Fallout 4...miles ahead.
Borderlands should be in the top 3 IMO. Gameplay is tight and fun, plenty of humour and you can play for ever. You never get the same gun or stats as everyone else, unlike Destiny where everyone 2nd person is running around with the same sniper rifle and abilities. Gotta agree on Diablo as top spot though.
@ShogunRok I wish Diablo 3 kept track of time played. I would really like to know how many hours I have lost to that game. I got the Platinum trophy for both PS3 versions and the PS4 one.
It's such a great game...
@kyleforrester87 Huzzah!
I wish I wasn’t so much into futuristic games recently. Loved Diablo 3, but just can’t get back into the old RPG settings.
But NMS NEXT update coming out now should give me more satisfaction.
Maybe soon I get back to feeling to play Diablo. I would definitely instabuy a D4 or new expansion
This is the reason i liked No Man's Sky so much at its original launch.
I wasn't hard just took time it max out your suit and multi-tool along with finding that ship you wanted to stick with. I love to earn my loot as a reward not PAY for it in loot boxes!!
I put back in NMS this past weekend just to see if it still worked after 2 years of being a coaster for my cold drinks. It worked alright, and I was so confused as to what all that junk was that I had collected. All kinds of elements and electronic parts. Not sure I have the patience to try to learn what all that rubbish is good for when NEXT releases tomorrow.
Does the Ultimate Team in EA Sports games count? I've not played any of the listed games except for one hour on Fallout 4.... Injustice 2 on the other hand....many hours in the Multiverse.
@MattyHammo i agree.borderlands should be number 3.amazing series.word up son
Diablo 3 is a great game .i wasnt sold on it until i tried the demo.wow glad i did.its a legendary series and game.i play as a sorcerer.love the magic in that game.word up son
Path of Exile! I can't believe that got overlooked. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP4781-CUSA11924_00-GGGPS4GAMEFULL01
It's basically Diablo but even more addictive, and it's F2P (with minimal F2P BS). If you're craving more Diablo, look no further.
I don't typically play the grind/loot loop style of games. Monster Hunter World is the exemption and is the clear #1 on this list for me. Granted, I haven't played any other games noted so it's technically #1 by default but I ❤ that stinkin' game
We will be adding to this list, so please feel free to throw some recommendations in the comments!
@ShogunRok EDF EDF EDF!!
@bindiana EDF! EDF! EDF!
My new guilty pleasure is Red Dead Online. I can't believe how much a different experience this is from GTA Online. It's nice to be greeted by a friendly wave instead of a rocket from a flying bike!
This reminds me that I really need to try Monster Hunter World
MHW especially with Iceborne offers near endless content, i've just reached The Guiding Lands last night and that's come after around 45 hours of the "story" part of Iceborne. Its brilliant but the downside is i'm just not playing anything else haha.
@Fight_Sora_Fight disgaea 2 was the only one I played, (hoping to rectify that soon!) but my gosh, did I spend some hours upgrading all my weapons by entering their dungeons, creating character classes I wasn't sure if I'd ever use and so many other, seemingly senseless but entirely enjoyable plights- without ever getting through the main story! Such a huge game, with a great amount of grind...
Diablo would be a good October ps + game 🤔
@kyleforrester87 I put MHW down about a year and a half ago to get back to all my other games, sitting at about 100 hours played, and that's just after beating nergigante- so still not in the 'uber' game, but man, did I enjoy it. The recent changes, post ice-borne have got me wanting to swing my giant sword again...
Would have to agree about the 1st destiny being a generally better game than the sequel! I really enjoyed it, it's just a shame there's no community to it now, so the online component is basically dead. Didn't even bother to complete the campaign in D2, when I realised that the weapon upgrade mechanics and even class system seems to have taken a step back, although, admittedly, gunplay is tighter.
Maybe when I'm bored of my 2nd trip through the handsome collection, I'll pick it up again!
Diablo 3, Borderlands (all of them) and The Division 2 are my time sinkers...
Got bored of Destiny 2 pretty soon, the amount of grind simply does not justify the loot for me.
I don't agree with Borderlands 3 ranking higher then Handsome Collection mainly cause you can't play the game how it's suppose to be meant to play. Other then that pretty much the same for me
Path of Exile...Diablo like RPG with 3 month economy resets with new League Mechanics. Gives you something to come back to over and over again...and F2P.
Fallout 4 and Skyrim, i muuuuust loot, loot, loot, everything possible. Cool too is that we are able to loot defeated npc's clothing, to wear or sell, along with the items they have. Yep, leave them right there in their underware.
I find your lack of VICTOR VRAN disturbing...
Does the Persona series count? I'm almost done with P3 and between the Personas, their evolution and attacks, physical weapons, armor, charms, and what have you, I'm bloated with gear and swimming in money. I imagine the rest are the same and that P3 and P4 could join P5 on PS4 eventually.
+1 Titan Quest
I have both Fallout 4 and Diablo 3 on my trophy list and will have to attend to them eventually. I beat one playthrough of Diablo 3 and it was great fun, but it didn’t set its hooks in me. I played as a Witch Doctor. Maybe a different class will suit me better.
Fallout 4 definitely got its hooks into me, never played a fallout game and loved the setting and loot. Running around with a naval cannon is as awesome as it sounds! Got new vegas and will give it a go and check out what the hype is about
@Tasuki 'I am.just waiting for the next expansion for Diablo III. They will more then likely announce it at this year's Blizzcon.'
That was an awful prediction last year Taz. I'm pretty sure at Blizzcon they announced the mobile Diablo with the infamous 'you all have mobiles right?' line. Here's hoping the proper full phat D4 comes along soon.
Rogue Legacy is my favourite grindy game. Don't know if it fits the specification mind.
I did not like the Division and Destiny and any Ubisoft games these games feel like busy work not gaming. I played MHW for 700 plus hours but for some reason i cant play Iceborne im sick of it maybe later. And i need to get used too the controls again. 😋
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