Just got a Ps4 in preparation for quarantine. What are the essentials that I should get?
The Last of Us (Remastered). Character-driven survival horror. I've played through 3 times. There's really no incentive to do so besides that it is a perfect game.
Everything else is secondary.
OK, that's a little dramatic, but that's a can't-miss for most gamers.
AAA Must-Haves (For people with my taste, at least):
Horizon Zero Dawn is a great open-world action RPG with a killer story and decent sense of pacing. Make sure you get the complete game to get the Frozen Wilds DLC, which adds a little more challenge, but is awesome.
God of War: Seriously epic combat. It has RPG elements with some interesting choices re: skill trees, but the combat is incredibly satisfying, beat 'em up.
Nier: Automata: A smaller world where you play an Android trying to restore Earth for humans to come back post-robot apocalypse. Again, an action RPG with satisfying combat that perfectly mixes distance and up-close combat. Great for sci-fi fans.
Persona 5: Do you know the MegaTen games? This is a great one, a turn-based RPG/high school social sim. Very long, but awesome if you like this type of game. There's a Royal version out now that has another playable character and dungeon. Might as well.
From what I gather, Sam is much better at games than I am. All of the above are at a mild-to-moderate difficulty level. Leveling up is just right to progress fairly smoothly through the game with not too many deaths. God of War has some really fun challenges that had me pulling my hair (what little I have) out, but were worth it. With that said, I see Sam recommending Bloodborne. If you like challenging, and I mean really challenging, go for it. I didn't finish it. I had it about a week - when I was buying physical games - then traded it back in at Game Stop toward something else.
I don't have lots of experience with the indie games, but I'd suggest browsing them. Lots of 2D side-scrolling challenges, some pretty artsy stuff as well. Then, the walking sims with all story and no death.