Well, we gotta populate these google results with Lemmy as well, so which games do you recommend from PS3 era? Any hidden gems that we might have missed?
These are just some of my personal favorites. They 're all first-party exclusives and I also skipped over remasters. I may come back to add more later. Also do note that the servers for both LittleBigPlanet games and ModNation Racers are gone, meaning you'll have to rely on your own creativity, since both series had a big focus on player created content.
Most of the Ratchet and Clank games are great.
Given how Konami did such a poor job with the MGS Collection Vol 1, MGS 4 is probably still safe on PS3 (and the Legacy Collection is great if you've never played MGS games before, but it's getting really pricey nowadays).
In terms of "hidden" gems, Puppeteer and 3D Dot Game Heroes are at the top of my list, but those can be pricey as well.
One racing game I think is overlooked is Split Second. I always describe it as, "What if Michael Bay created a television racing show". It's racing around different locations where the environment can be used to change the layout of the track or smash into your opponents.
For example, a crane could drag its tipper bucket across the track or at the other end of the scale, the air traffic control tower could collapse onto the airport track and create a completely new route.
It was developed by Black Rock Studios who also made another really good racing game called Pure which is all about quad bike racing. Unfortunately, Disney who owned the studio, shut them down after Split Second was released.