If you can afford the baggage space, not that it's huge in the first place, PS Vita is the luxury handheld to complement a serious gamer's lifestyle. Five years after release, the standard of presentation is only just being equalled by smart devices, while the versatile interface will take a while longer to be surpassed. Here are some of the most outstanding offerings.
1. Persona 4 Golden
The standard against which all other entries to the series are judged. Persona 4 (PS2, 2008) was adapted for PS Vita and earned its Golden handle in 2012, essentially the same terrific turn-based RPG but with tweaks to such things as its cool take on character development. You're the new kid fitting in at high school in present-day Japan. This situation isn't ideal - a year living with your uncle in a no-name town. It gets worse too as a series of grisly murders remain unsolved. The mystery leads to a spooky TV show and a bizarre alternate dimension.
2. Gravity Rush
When PS Vita launched, Gravity Rush seemed like a try-hard attempt at capturing attention for the sleek new handheld. As it turned out, the protagonist earned iconic status, while the sensational flight-oriented gameplay led to demand for a glorious sequel. Kat, our heroine, is a spectacular fighter, with a combat system that's fun to explore. Kat's story is built upon her state of amnesia, a kind of anime Bourne Identity, which helps to explain her ability while she pieces together the past, and her place in the town of Hekseville. The gameplay is hypnotic and everything looks gorgeous.
3. Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Golden Abyss almost single-handedly sold gamers on the concept of PS Vita, by presenting a fully-fledged home-console experience on a handheld. Produced by Sony Bend (Syphon Filter), overseen by series creators Naughty Dog, Nathan Drake's pursuit of ancient Spanish treasures makes practical use of the touch screen, while elsewhere gameplay builds on the series' strengths. There's roughly a dozen hours of quality adventuring here, featuring thrilling gunplay and fluid navigation, dressed in witty one-liners throughout a true Hollywood-style spectacle. All the hallmarks of Uncharted are in evidence, with ancient temple ruins and tumble-down towns. It's pacey, always with business to attend.
4. Guacamelee!
Oozing style from every corner, DrinkBox Studios' colourful homage to Mexican Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) tradition is a 100% perfect platform-hopping adventure. Owing to its other central theme of a charismatic Luchador in pursuit of a kidnapped bride to be, there's a heavy emphasis on combat too, which includes learning to perform the world's biggest combo that requires hundreds of individual hits. It's our hero Juan Aguacate's ability to switch between dimensions that provides the additional, defining gameplay delight, which doubles the intensity of tricky sections. You'll perform feats you never knew you could.
5. Lumines: Electronic Symphony
Club music is the driving force behind the match-'em-up challenge in store here, with Chemical Brothers and Faithless among the artists featured. However, there's more to this than simply nodding your head while vanishing descending glowing blocks like disco Tetris. The greatest combos are performed by matching blocks along to the rhythm, and the mix responds accordingly. Play cleverly and often to amass XP points used to acquire cool skins to customize how the game looks, and to some extent how it plays. Four gameplay modes vary the challenge enough, with local versus multiplayer an added bonus.
6. Wipeout 2048
2048 is often regarded as the most challenging installment in the series, though recommended as a challenge that all should take. The look and feel is unusual, owing to this being a prequel to the very first Wipeout, meaning that races take place through the streets of New York as opposed to dedicated circuits worldwide. It is also reported that the development of Wipeout 2048 influenced the design philosophy of PS Vita, which is another way of saying that this is the game that PS Vita was made for. Certainly, the degree of connection required between player and machine is frightening.
7. Tearaway
The work of British studio Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet) stretches the notion of what a video game can achieve, playfully appealing to all ages. Tearaway is yet another beguiling example of what bright, optimistic and kind-natured thought can achieve through gaming. The experience makes full use of the PS Vita's user interface, including the camera which captures the player's face to appear as the sun in the sky of lead protagonist Iota or Atoi. There are many more amazing ways in which your presence is recognised; scratching at touch pads or tapping buttons, and we strongly everyone to discover them.
8. Dragon Quest Builders
Amidst an avalanche of Minecraft-influenced adventures, this Square Enix masterpiece will take some beating. The familiar break-and-build formula is wonderfully tailored to suit the storytelling excellence of the Japanese studio. A huge, authentic JRPG adventure lies ahead, with the crafting theme as its focus that never gets tiring. Of course it helps that the blocky world is populated by some of the famous monsters from Dragon Quest history. However, the menagerie seems almost made for this novel adaptation, and the series' distinctive line in humour elevates the mood. An online build-and share mode is excellent too.
9. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Popular board game Cluedo meets the most outlandish aspects of Japanese comic books to deliver a visual-novel that's definitely not for kids. Teenagers (and teens at heart) will adore Danganronpa, though! The Japanese high-school setting is a prevailing theme with manga, serving relatable scenarios given a bonkers twist. In Trigger Happy Havoc, hipster students are locked inside school, and challenged to kill each other, Hunger Games style, in exchange for release - but only after identifying the perpetrator (who is subsequently executed). It is very grim. And yet, this is engrossing in a way that games seldom achieve.
10. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Maybe it's just us, but the title should be enough to convince most gamers to prioritize this purchase. As the name makes clear, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a remastered batch that includes Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. You'll notice that the 1998 PlayStation classic Metal Gear Solid is absent, but the rest more than makes up for it. Should you need reminding: Metal Gear is the pre-eminent stealth series. A must on PS Vita.