How things have changed! It doesn’t feel like that long ago when I was giving PlayStation Plus the verbal equivalent of waterboarding (as evidenced here, here and here) for the lackluster free monthly game offerings. Of course, the games are not ‘free’ as the emphasis of the subscription service is on multiplayer accessibility with the free games thrown in as the proverbial cherry on top.
For years the games Plus provided to pissed off players ranged from boring to outright cheap. It appears 2021 is the turning point for this however, as I must admit all four months so far have been incredible.
For January we had Maneater on PS5, my favourite game of 2020, as well as Greedfall and Shadow of the Tomb Raider on PS4. I had purchased Shadow around launch for the Xbox One but never got round to actually playing it, and so am very happy to have the opportunity to play it on my console of choice. Respawning don’t make me say that but on an unrelated note if somebody could pay my cats ransom it would be appreciated.
Greedfall is a game I had always wanted to play but hadn’t spotted it for a price I was willing to pay. Having experienced the rollercoaster that was Luke while he reviewed it with what felt like a daily changing score, I was keen to jump in and judge it for myself. I have so far sunk around five hours into it and can confidently state that it’s…..ok. Nothing special so far but the world building and developing story have me intrigued enough to continue as I want to see where it is going. More on this story as it develops.
February continued building on the momentum from January with Concrete Genie and Control: Ultimate Edition, a game I had already paid for but not bloody played yet, but that’s on me. Similarly to Greedfall I had always intended on buying Concrete Genie eventually but had not found it for a price I wanted to pay yet, so getting it for free was a very welcome surprise.
The PS5 February offering was Destruction AllStars, which I am keen to play whenever I get a PS5. I really like what I have seen of it so far, and making it free for Plus subscribers on its release day was a great idea. It worked wonders for Rocket League and will likely be the foundation on which a consistent fanbase is built over time.
My reaction when the March free games were announced went something like this: ‘Holy shit! Final Fantasy VII Remake??!! A Plus game within a year of release??!! Love it, love it, love it!’
I must admit despite the sudden gush of frantic fanboying I never actually finished my playthrough of it, as I made the mistake of starting it right before the release of Ghost of Tsushima which ended up occupying every waking moment of my time for how addicted I became to it immediately.
For the third month in a row, with the other free game being Remnant: From The Ashes, I find myself being given a game for free that, you guessed it, ‘I had always wanted to play but hadn’t spotted it for a price I was willing to pay’. Never had to copy and paste my own opinion for an article before.. I have every intention of playing Remnant with Luke at some point and who knows, we might stream it, let us know in the comments if that’s something you want to see!
We have just had the announcement of the PS Plus games for April, and my oh my what an offering! First up is Days Gone which I purchased on Black Friday last year and played for 50 mostly enjoyable hours, and second is Zombie Army 4: Dead War. I confess I’ve heard of the Zombie Army games but had no idea there was a fourth entry. I might get round to playing it at some point, but despite my lack of enthusiasm towards installing it I think it looks like a great choice for a Plus game (backhanded compliment).
The April PS5 game is Oddworld: Soulstorm and very much like Zombie Army 4 I have no intention of ever playing it as I’ve never played an Oddworld game before and don’t yet see the appeal. At this stage it seems PS5 offerings can do no wrong as I know a few people who would likely have paid full price for Oddworld had they not been given it for free! Another gold star for Sony!
In conclusion, within just a third of the year, PlayStation Plus has paid for itself for the full twelve month subscription in my eyes. I am so excited to see what other free games will pop up later in the year, though that won’t stop me buying games, forgetting I own them and then only getting round to playing them once they are made free and shoved in my face.
Let me know in the comments what PS Plus month has been your favourite so far. Mine is August 2017 for Just Cause 3 and Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry, but I am a firm believer this will be beaten at some point this year. Thanks for reading and I’ll speak to you again soon.
