The PlayStation Plus relaunch has been out for over two months now. Some of you may be wondering, what is worth checking out on the service? While I haven’t played every game on it, there are some great titles you may want to prioritize if you plan to pick up a subscription. Here are 10 of them.
10 Games To Play on PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium
Let’s start with
All of the Obvious
I’m lumping this together, because I could fill this list easily with things like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, Final Fanatsy 7 Remake, Returnal, and the likes. Nearly all PlayStation first party titles that have been raved about, except Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part 2, are on the service. So let’s get to other games that you should check out.
1) Shadow of the Colossus
This is a game I admittedly have not played, but know is beloved by those who have. The one on the service is the PS4 remake of the game which improved a lot of the clunkiness of the original to make it more modern and enjoyable. The game holds a 92 score on OpenCritic so you know it will be a fun time. If you’d rather just buy the game instead of subscribing to PS Plus, it sells for $19.99. But if you subscribe, you have other games on this list to play after you finish this one.
2) South Park The Fractured but Whole
I love this game. I am a big fan of the South Park RPGs. Stick of Truth is also on the list, and another great game, but I’m giving the edge to Fractured but Whole on this one. This game features all the South Park casts as super heroes and they all bring crazy skills in a grid tactical battle system. It holds an 82 on OpenCritic and will satisfy you for hours. Seriously this is a title you don’t want to miss for the combat and laughs. However, if you want something a bit more unique you don’t want to miss the next one.
3) Gravity Rush Remastered & Gravity Rush 2
So this is cheating a bit, but I feel it’s worth it. Gravity Rush Remastered is an upgraded version of the 2012 vita title. You use Kat to navigate the world and fight using the motion controls of the controller. A unique system that first utilized the hardware of the Vita that bluepoint brought to the PS4. Gravity Rush 2 is a sequel bringing back Kat and adding another traveler, Raven, to your squad. Both titles didn’t sell very well and PlayStation basically neglects these titles exist. But you can certainly acknowledge them and have a blast with the unique systems the game offers.
So let’s say you want a story, but something a bit straightforward than Gravity Rush.
4) Last Day of June
This interactive tale centers around love and loss. You play as Carl and June working to solve puzzles that could end up saving June’s life. It’s one of the lower reviewed games on the list, with an OpenCritic rating of 73, however many of them agree the story and emotions are touching. The gameplay suffers a repetitive loop according to most, but I feel that can be set aside to experience this one and the unique art direction it took. It’s a short one, taking you about three hours to beat. So why not try it out?
The classics catalog is admittedly lacking. So those on the PlayStation Plus Premium tier may feel a bit jaded at the moment. I really hope PlayStation works to beef this up in the coming months. But there are some good ones to check out.
5) Wild Arms & Wild Arms 3
Both of these are old RPGs. Wild Arms came out on the PS1 and Wild Arms 3 on the PS2. However, both have ports to where you can download these and play on your PS4/5. Media Vision and Sony developed these RPGs, which they hoped would rival Final Fantasy. While great games, they never sold like Final Fantasy and have been shelved for years. I really hope these return one day, but the two on the service are great. So if you have the top tier, you should try them.
In the meantime, the creators of Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts announced a double Kickstarter to create spiritual successors of the games. They reached their initial goal already with the gamest estimated to release in 2025. Go check out the page if you’d like to support the project too.
6) Soul Calibur 6
So I felt it was important to add a fighting game on here, because I love fighting games. While it’s not my favorite on the service, I think Soul Calibur is one of the easiest fighting games to pick up and just have some fun with it. This is not to mean the game is simple or that you will be a master at it quickly. I just remember as a kid playing the other Soul Calibur games and not caring how long my combos were. Only caring that I could smash some computer faces in with my weapon of choice. I personally really enjoyed my time with this Soul Calibur and I think you will too, even if it doesn’t include all the DLC.
If you want something a bit on the scary side, you can’t go wrong with the next entry.
7) Until Dawn
Now I started off by saying the obvious, but Until Dawn may not be an obvious if you don’t know about it. Until Dawn is a PlayStation title by way of Supermassive games. The same people who made The Dark Pictures Anthology and the recent hit The Quarry. The game plays out like a movie where you have choices you need to make and these choices impact the story. I absolutely love Until Dawn and I actually reviewed the game on the Press Start YouTube channel way back in 2015. I’ll link to it if you want to see the early stages of Press Start. Don’t miss this one.
8) Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy
This title surprised many upon release in my opinion. A number of those on the internet crapped all over this game when it was shown off and then it released and was actually good. Getting an 82 on OpenCritic and even winning the Game Award for Best Narrative. Now that doesn’t mean grumpy ol Square Enix was happy with the game and it’s sales, but you can be. Go try it out. It’s also on Xbox Game Pass if you have that.
Now I’m an RPG guy, but I haven’t played the next entry, but reviews alone say go play it.
9) Ys 8 & Ys 9
Now I was surprised when these two were announced for the PS Plus relaunch because both are excellent games. I’ve only played the demo of both, but loved what I experienced. I plan to dive into these once my backlog settles. Don’t laugh at me. It might eventually. But you shouldn’t wait to try them yourself. Ys 8 has a rating of 84 and Ys 9 with an 80. Both have excellent story and combat. These are fun action games and you don’t need to play the other to understand the story as they are self-contained. So give them a shot.
10) Red Dead Redemption 2
This one might surprise you that its on the service. The game in fact was on PS Now and then left on November 1, 2021. The game came back and it’s not showing a date of when it will leave again. So who knows if it will be a few months or not, but you don’t want to miss this. It comes with both the full game and Red Dead Online, which recently got put into a legacy status. Basically Rockstar won’t be doing full updates anymore so they can focus on GTA Online and GTA 6. Either way, fantastic open world wild west game here with lots of fun to be had. You can also play the first entry, Red Dead Redemption, if you have PS Plus premium.
There you have it. Ten games I’d recommend checking out. If you want more suggestions let me know and I can make a part two. Also, let me know what games on the service you’d recommend. I’ll also look at upcoming games as they get announced. I also plan to dive into an JRPG focused version at some point since that is my favorite genre.
