The PS Vita may not be selling gangbusters, but it’s safe to say that the Vita is an impressive portable gaming device. From its ever growing list of high quality games, to the boatload of remarkable indie titles, the Vita should not be underestimated. This is my personal top 10 Vita games.
10. Hotline Miami
Hotline Miami is an insane top-down shooter by Dennaton Games. It’s set in the 80’s and is completely, and utterly ball-to-the-walls fun! I have never died so many times in a game and been so eager to try again. It is pure adrenaline from start to finish, and a must play on Vita.
9. Tearaway
Tearaway blended together the charming and convivial spunk of LittleBigPlanet with unique gameplay mechanics that unitized the Vita’s unique features perfectly. It was the first time that using the rear touchpad felt completely natural. The platforming elements great, the collectables are fun to get, and the world is memorable. There is no game quite like Tearaway.
8. Gravity Rush
From the second I saw Gravity Rush I knew this game would be special. This third-person action title has some of the most iconic gravity shifting mechanics I’ve seen to date. The game uses an impressive cell-shaded art style that looks beautiful as you “fall” over the cities below. Gravity Rush is a unique experience you can only find on Vita.
7. Muramasa: Rebirth
Muramasa: Rebirth is arguably the most visually impressive game on Vita. The game doesn’t push the hardware like Killzone: Mercenary, but showcases a rather gorgeous 2D art style that will have you in awe from start to finish. Graphics aside, Muramasa: Rebirth is equipped with an action packed adventure, with tons of areas to explore, and even more secrets to find.
6. Killzone: Mercenary
Seeing Killzone: Mercenary for the first time was so surreal. With a smooth frame rate, great controls, and breathtaking visuals, this Vita game is the killer app that first-person shooter fans have been clamoring for. It’s undeniable, Guerrilla Games successfully brought the Killzone series to a portable device–it is every bit as great as what you’d find on a home console.
5. Guacamelee!
Guacamelee! had me hooked from the second I started playing. The comedy in the game is so well done and the platforming is damn near perfect. This game is the definition of what a great platformer is. Don’t “jus’ walk away” from this game!
4. Sound Shapes
It’s no mystery that the guys at Queasy Games know how to make a platformer. But Sound Shapes is not just a platformer; Sound Shapes puts a lot of emphasis on music and rhythm, challenging you make it through areas with perfect timing and tempo. Toss in Cross-Save and Cross-Buy functionality with the PS3, and you have so much bang for buck it’ll make your head spin!
3. Telltale’s The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead: Season 1 was one of the most critically praised games of all time. Not only that, it adds a true gem to Vita’s growing software lineup (along with Season 2). Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 1 & Season 2 are storytelling at its finest. In the first season,you play as Lee Everett when all hell breaks loose; it’s up to you to protect your group from flesh eating walkers… among other things…. The Walking Dead is a truly remarkable game. In fact, it’s more than a that, it’s an experience that will not be forgotten.
2. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Uncharted: Golden Abyss set the bar for what mobile games were capable of. As one of the Vita’s signature launch titles, Golden Abyss looks absolutely stunning. Sony Bend somehow managed to give Golden Abyss its own individual flavor without changing Uncharted’s core mechanics. In short, Golden Abyss is a grand adventure in the palm of your hands, full of treasure, parkour, puzzles, and of course, Sully.
1. Persona 4: Golden
Persona 4: Golden was my favorite game of 2012. That’s saying a lot considering the major franchises that hit store shelves that year. From its charming characters, to its phenomenal take on high school drama, P4G is a turn-based strategy game that will have you lost in hours of Persona dueling madness. Persona 4: Golden is a game that JRPG lovers and Vita owners need to own.
So what do you think of my list? Do you agree with my choices? If not, what are some of your favorite Vita games? Leave it in the comments!
Brett Medlock is one of MONG’s Editors, and obsessed with Pokémon lore. You can follow him on Twitter to hear about how lame he is!
Middle Of Nowhere Gaming 
I haven’t put Borderlands 2 down, not sure why it didn’t make the list, especially after the first patch. I have had my Vita since release and have played Borderlands 2 for more time in total than all my other games put together.
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Sadly, I haven’t gotten to play Borderlands yet
I heard it was good but ran poorly.
Happy to know you’re enjoying it, I’ll prolly pick it up soon!
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For what its worth, Borderlands 2 for the Vita is reduced notably from the PS3 version in pretty much every aspect. It has some performance issues (occasional framerate drops, audio glitches, and texture pop-ups, mostly) that need to be addressed. Its worst problem is that it occasionally freezes up, but it auto-saves so often that that’s more of an annoyance than a game breaker, and nothing else really reduces the playability of the game notably.
Borderlands 2 for the Vita is definitely the worst version of the game, which still leaves it as being, by far, one of the best handheld games bar none, with very few portable games even coming close to it in terms of graphics, audio and scripts, and with probably none matching it in terms of content, including Cross Save with the PS3 and tens of dollars worth of DLC for free, including 2 entire character classes.
If it manages to patch the serious issues noted above (and since they have been releasing performance enhancing patches as recently as this week, they don’t seem to be planning to abandon it), it’d be a shoe in for a top 5-10 list of portable games, ever, period. Especially considering the vast deserts which are the FPS and open-world genres on handheld consoles.
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I loved Hotline Miami, but I played it on the ol’ PC.
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