The latest PS2 game to get re-released on PS5 and PS4 platforms is a must-play if you haven’t experienced it before. Over the past few years, we’ve seen more and more games from the PlayStation 2 era make the jump to modern platforms. As a huge fan of the PS2, this has been particularly exciting to me as it has more easily allowed me to revisit games like TimeSplitters, Siren, Jak and Daxter, and the Sly Cooper trilogy. Now, another such PS2 game from the PS2 has returned, and it’s one that I’ve been singing the praises of for over two decades.
As of this week, War of the Monsters has landed on PS5 and PS4. Originally released in 2003, War of the Monsters was developed by Incognito Entertainment, which is the same studio that created games like Twisted Metal: Black and Warhawk. It was eventually shut down by Sony in 2009, but throughout its brief lifespan, War of the Monsters was arguably the best game it ever released.
If you’re unfamiliar with War of the Monsters, it’s essentially a fighting game where players can select one monster from a vast roster and duke it out with one another in sprawling cityscapes. It’s similar in nature to other kaiju fighting games of the era, specifically that of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth. While these Godzilla games obviously only featured monsters tied to the Godzilla IP, War of the Monsters featured a roster of combatants that were wholly original, even if many were still based on recognizable monsters from film history.
As for what this new version of War of the Monsters brings with it, Sony has added the typical array of improvements on PS5 and PS4 that players have come to expect. Improved visuals, quick saves, and a rewind function are the primary upgrades that have now come about on new PlayStation hardware. Additionally, War of the Monsters has immediately joined the “Classics” lineup of games for April 2025 that are accessible to those subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium.
Games like War of the Monsters aren’t made much nowadays, which isn’t much of a shock. The age of couch co-op/multiplayer games is far in the rearview mirror and doesn’t seem like it will be returning anytime soon. Still, that doesn’t mean that War of the Monsters doesn’t remain hugely enjoyable in 2025. Controlling a monstrous gorilla that has the ability to hurl cars and other objects at a giant praying mantis is the type of dumb fun that I wish we saw more of in video games that were released in the modern age. Even if some of its gameplay mechanics and visuals are dated by today’s standards, War of the Monsters being re-released has me itching to reunite with my brother and clash like we used to some 20 years ago.
If you are at all like me and have enjoyed checking out some of these throwback PS2 games as they’ve slowly arrived on the PlayStation Store, I cannot suggest enough that you give War of the Monsters a look. Its tight gameplay, bombastic soundtrack, and nostalgic presentation make for an experience that is still a ton of fun and has me longing to get a War of the Monsters 2. Even if that’s unlikely to ever happen, I’m at least pleased that the original game is now easier to play than it has been before.
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