PlayStation Plus is Sony’s monthly subscription game catalogue service available on PS5. It offers a range of tiers, each with their own games. The tiers, along with the free monthly games, can get quite confusing, but good on Sony for providing options at various price points, I guess.
Regardless of tier, you will get access to a bunch of games to either download to your console and play or stream directly from Sony’s cloud servers. The latter is an especially important note these days, as the PS Portal can directly stream these games.
PlayStation Plus has been in a bit of a tough spot, historically, given the most obvious comparison point; Xbox’s GamePass. PS+ never wanted to compete with GamePass, but the comparison is too easy so it is always going to be there. Mainly, it does not offer first party PlayStation releases day one. It will occasionally grab an indie game for a day one PS+ release, but “playing the latest games” is not the primary draw of this service.
Criteria
Any game that is currently available through any PlayStation Plus tier. Basically, if you can play it with a PS+ Premium subscription, it is eligible for this list. It’s tough to find an exact number, especially since games come and go on a regular basis, but the total pool of games is somewhere in the 600 ballpark.
First, Some Others…
No Need For Explanation
These games are certified classics and don’t need much more said about them.
Assassin’s Creed – There are a bunch of them, 13 in fact. Some are good, some probably aren’t, but they’re here.
Bloodborne – Many people’s favorite FromSoft game.
Cyberpunk 2077 – Ignore the rough start, this one is a classic.
Death Stranding – Is this a classic? Hard to say, but it’s Kojima!
Demon’s Souls – This the PS5 remake of the FromSoft classic.
Doom (2016) and Eternal – These are great FPS games.
Fallout 4 – Post-apocalyptic first-person RPG fun!
Final Fantasy VII Remake – Wonderful action-oriented remake covering the early parts of the PS1 classic.
God of War III Remastered, 2018, and Ragnarok – Three classics, play these if you haven’t.
Grand Theft Auto V – This one comes and goes from PS+ on a regular basis, just as a warning.
Hollow Knight – A classic Metroidvania.
Jack 1/2/3 – The classic 3D open world series from PS2.
LEGO games – There are a bunch of them. Star Wars, Batman, Marvel, Horizon, etc…
Resident Evil 1/2/3/8 – These are all the originals, not remakes. All worth playing today.
Sly Cooper 1/2/3 – The classic PS2-era action-stealth trilogy.
Tekken 2/3/6 – Not sure how these three, specifically, were chosen, but they represent the classic fighting series well. 3 is my favorite.
Twisted Metal 1/2/3/4 – Warning that these are PS1 games, but they still hold up, 2 and 4 in particular.
Honorable Mentions
Games that I have heard great things about but either not played to the end or not played at all.
Cat Quest I/II/III – Action RPG series that I’ve heard great things about, an adorable art style is a good place to start.
Cities: Skylines – The best city building simulator available, or so I’ve heard.
Citizen Sleeper – A text-based adventure game which throws you in a dystopian future.
Crow Country – An indie survival horror game which looks like a PS1-era SquareSoft game.
Dead Cells – An action-platforming roguelike
Dredge – A horror fishing game?
Eiyuden Chronicle – The spiritual successor to the Suikoden series.
Gravity Rush 1&2 – Highly regarded action-adventure games.
Wolfenstein (a bunch) – I hear great things about these FPS games where you kill Nazis.
The List
Ape Escape
This game for the original PlayStation was an early 3D platformer about catching a bunch of rogue apes being manipulated with mind-control helmets It makes unique use of the thumbsticks, almost a twin-stick-shooter style, and is generally a fun, early 3D platformer. It has trophies for any platinum hunters out there.
Blue Prince
A rogue-lite puzzle game that was released to rave reviews just last year. The people who can buy into the premise and become invested in solving the puzzle it presents absolutely love Blue Prince.
Celeste
A brutal 2D platforming game about perseverance. You must climb the mountain, both literally and figuratively. Each room is a new platforming puzzle to solve, with a satisfying difficulty curve. Simply getting to the end is difficult but far from impossible. However, collecting all of the optional items and tackling the extra areas crosses into the territory of true pain. The best part of this game is that a death will instantly transport you back to the beginning of the room to try again. You will die hundreds of times in this game, and the instant retry ensures you can do so seamlessly.
Concrete Genie
A delightful throwback to when Sony wasn’t afraid to experiment a bit with their first party titles. You must utilize your magic paintbrush to rid the world of darkness. The game offers a unique experience and does not overstay its welcome.
Control Ultimate Edition
A 3D Metroidvania from the Alan Wake team? Yes, please! This game gets expectedly weird, which is a massive positive. Combat and movement are fun and fluid. The game features a massive amount of optional content, much of which are some of the best parts of the game. Dive into Control and explore everything.
Detroit: Become Human
A story-driven narrative game from Quantic Dream, Detroit: Become Human takes place in a world where robots are sold as personal assistants. You control a few of them in the game and make choices which have branching effects on yourself and the city around you.
Dishonored 1, 2, and Death to the Outsider
I reviewed the second entry in the series here. You should play the Dishonored games if you have any interest in the action-stealth genre.
Disney’s Toy Story 2
Another PlayStation 1 game updated with trophies. This is a 3D platforming collect-a-thon that compares in the very best ways to classics such as Banjo-Kazooie. I review it here.
Ghost of Tsushima
Can most likely just put this one in the classics section at this point, but for the uninitiated this is an open world game set in thirteenth century Japan. The combat and traversal, in particular, earn high marks for the genre. Every enemy encounter is a good time, with some visual flourishes that leave a lasting impression. The story and graphics also shine, tying together a wonderful first party PlayStation experience.
Gris
Gris is an absolutely gorgeous puzzle-platforming game that can be finished in just a few hours. The visuals will wow you from the start, but the tight controls and light puzzles will keep you entertained as you explore the world of this linear side-scrolling game.
inFamous Fight List
This is a really fun, small scale inFamous game. It’s an open world in a small area and can be beaten in a few hours. The full series is on PS3, but this smaller take provides a lot of the fun in an extremely condensed form.
Intelligent Qube
This is a puzzle game in which you maneuver a person while blocks slowly “roll” towards you. Eliminate them before they fall off the edge if you want to advance. This is a PS1 game that absolutely holds up as a unique entry in the pure puzzle genre.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
This is a really fun action game with a touch of real-time strategy. Run around with your group of Guardians as you control Star Lord and direct your teammates to perform special attacks. The combat is very good, frustratingly short of being great, but the story and writing carry the game.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 1/Miles Morales/2
These don’t need much explanation. They are among the best superhero games in existence, each being open world games with strong stories and amazing Spider-Man action. Personally, I prefer Mile Morales, but they are all great.
Neva
From the developers of Gris, Neva follows a similar pattern of being a beautiful side scrolling platforming game. Neva adds the wrinkle of combat, as your character has a sword and the titular Neva, a wolf you will watch grow over the course of the game, also helps fend off enemies.
R4 Ridge Racer Type 4
There may be a trend here, but this is another PS1 emulation I’m recommending. Shocking! R4 is simply one of the best racing games of its era and one that absolutely holds up today. It leans more towards the arcade side of the genre, but there are big differences between the cars, each with their own learning curves
Raji: An Ancient Epic
A very fun action game with a unique setting and theme. This is likely not going to blow you away, but it is a delightful way to spend five hours or so and is worth calling out as a good example of “try a random game, you never know how it’ll turn out!”
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
One of the earliest PS5 exclusives, Rift Apart remains one of the best years later. The series is a 3D platforming-shooter with an emphasis on fantastic cartoon visuals and a wild array of weapons to choose from. Rift Apart acts as a bit of a tech demo for the console with some amazing no-load-time transitions and stunning visual effects.
Returnal
A wonderful 3D bullet-hell rogue-lite. Returnal has perhaps the best 3D shooting gameplay I have ever experienced. This is among the best games of the generation and is absolutely worth the play.
Sand Land
An open world vehicular combat game based on Akira Toriyama’s manga. This is another game that is far from revolutionary, but provides a very fun experience to those interested in the concept.
Shadow of the Colossus
Simply one of the greatest gaming experiences ever crafted. This is the 2018 remake originally released on the PS4.
Silent Hill 2 Remake
An outstanding remake of the survival horror classic.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
A great, modern take on the beat-em-up genre. All of the classic side-scrolling fighting with modern controls and conveniences. A wonderful co-op experience.
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
An irreverent adventure game, this only lasts a few hours but if you buy into the humor it offers, you’ll find a lot to enjoy in that short time.
The Last of Us (All of them)
I Remastered, Left Behind, II, I Remake, and II Remastered are all here. Part II is among my favorite games of all time, and most people prefer the first! If you haven’t played them, PS+ is a good excuse to try them out.
Uncharted (All of them)
1, 2, 3, 4, and Lost Legacy are all here, with 4 and Lost Legacy also getting a PS5 remaster version in the Legacy of Thieves Collection. These are classic action-adventure games that tell great stories and have the gameplay to match.
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