PS Plus may still pale in comparison to Xbox Game Passwhen it comes to day-one releases. But you have to say that Sony has provided a more worthy competitor than many would have expected them to, and this is down to the wealth of awesome games that players can enjoy with the subscription.
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Many will be drawn in by the promise of AAA Playstation exclusives, and the veritable treasure trove of classic hits. However, the real meat on the bone is the slew of outstanding AA hits that often go under the radar.
There are some sublime mid-budget titles that deserve your love and attention, and to help you find them, we have listed some epic AA games that currently live on the PS Plus catalog.
10Ghostrunner
Samurai Speedrunning
Ghostrunner
As someone who loves the very few parkour-based games we have had over the years, with Mirror’s Edge being a prime example, I have a lot of love for the Ghostrunner series.
This is a game that effectively sees you taking a knife to a gunfight, asking you to play as a very agile cyber-samurai as you work through a futuristic dystopian city, evading the bullets of cronies that would much rather you stopped wallrunning and making them look like fools.
It’s a game that is less about being a skilled assassin and more about being a dexterous and lightning-quick ninja as you make this city your playground with your abundance of parkour skills.
It’s one that is easy to dive into, but ramps up the difficulty steadily, demanding you move with precision and grace, or die trying. It’s a blast and one that Mirror’s Edge fans need to check out.
9Sniper Elite 4
Slow Motion Carnage
Sniper Elite 4
I’ve been known to bang the same drum when it comes to modern FPS games, effectively saying that, outside of the boomer shooter sub-genre, there has been little to no game that has pushed the genre forward or offered something unique. But, Sniper Elite is an exception to that rule.
This game effectively plays like a Hitman game blended with a Medal of Honor campaign, allowing players to navigate densely-packed open-world segments, and using their marksman skills to complete their objective.
With unique features that define the series like the heart rate monitor and the slow motion x-ray killcams, there is so much to love about this series, and Sniper Elite is one of the best outings of all, perhaps just falling short of themost recent SE game, Resistance.
It’s perfect for players that prefer to take the sneaky approach to combat, and it’s also a love letter to those that miss dedicated single-player FPS campaigns. So, if you’re tired of the same old Call of Duty crap, this is the perfect antidote.
8South Park: The Stick of Truth
Wonderfully Crass
South Park: The Stick of Truth
To say that many were skeptical as to whether South Park: The Stick of Truth could deliver around the time of launch would be an understatement, as the IP had a terrible track record in the gaming industry.
However, with such strong source material to work with, it was only a matter of time before someone made something of substance, and that’s exactly what Obsidian did.
Using their RPG development know-how and their humorous writing chops, they crafted a turn-based fantasy hit with an abundance of South Park gags to punctuate the experience.
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The world is great, and jokes land perfectlyto mirror the brilliance of the show, but it’s the actual RPG systems and combat that shine brighter than anyone could have imagined, making for a game that ticks every box from start to end.
Sure, some of it will be deeply inappropriate and unpalatable for some, but it wouldn’t be South Park if it wasn’t. The original far outperforms the sequel, The Fractured But Whole, so be sure to play what is probably the first and last truly great South Park game.
More Blood, Less Glitter
It’s been a long time since the Twilight franchise made vampires popular and pretty, and thank goodness for that, as with the absence of this unfortunate cultural phenomenon, vampires have returned to the forefront of media, and we have seen some great vampire-fuelled video games as a result.
One of which is Vampyr, an outstanding RPG that perhaps doesn’t get the props that it deserves, as it’s an RPG that takes big swings with a karma system that actually incentivizes being the bad guy, and a riveting story in a gritty setting.
The combat is solid, the side content is just as engrossing as the main questline, and while few of the systems and mechanics are perfectly implemented or really push the boat out. As a sum of its parts, Vampyr is a spectacular game well worth playing if you long to play as a creature of the night.
6Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Your Choices Matter
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
If you’re a fan of the Life is Strange series but, like me, feel that the series was in desperate need of a reboot, then you’re in luck. Lost Records is a completely different IP, but in a lot of ways, it’s just the new dawn of the Life is Strange series.
It’s a typical Don’t Nod game where your choices matter, and story is king. But this one has a bit of a Stranger Things vibe, only in this game, it trades the 1980s aesthetic for more of a nineties look and feel.
It’s a little more punchy and edgy than Life is Strange, but it will still tick all the boxes for fans looking for more of the same, and the characters here are a delight to get to know.
At the time of writing, we are still waiting to see if tape two can match the appeal of the first, but things look promising. So be sure to hop into this one and carve out your own story.
5Overcooked All You Can Eat
Cooking Up A Storm
Overcooked! All You Can Eat
Here’s another game that loves to call itself an indie darling, but seeing as Team 17 is a pretty major player in publishing, it’s one that doesn’t quite fit the scope and scale of the AA game producer.
That said, Overcooked retains all the quirkiness and charm of a classic indie game, offering what is still one of the finest co-op experiences on the market all these years on, due to the accessibility of the gameplay, and the need for incredible synergy and teamwork for players to succeed.
With the constant need to work efficiently, check tickets to get orders out in the right sequence, and avoid the perils that each map provides as you do it, Overcooked is about as chaotic as co-op gaming gets, and we are here for it.
It’s the kind of game that can ruin relationships, as arguments are bound to ignite. But, if you can’t stand the heat, you shouldn’t be in the kitchen!
4Remnant 2
Gunfire’s Finest Outing
Gunfire Games was always on the periphery when it came to Soulslikes. The nearly-men who produced Remnant: From the Ashes, a good game that didn’t quite break through into the zeitgeist, and Chronos: Before The Ashes, a game that serves as one of themost disappointing Soulslikes in existence.
However, Remnant 2 came along and changed everything, offering Souls gameplay with guns that blew everything like it that came before out of the water. All thanks to tight gunplay, and a clever use of procedural generation that made every excursion outside of Ward 13 feel fresh and new.
This, coupled with the fact that it has seamless three-player co-op that makes the game more accessible for beginners, makes Remnant 2 one of the best Souls sequels on record, and one that is perfect for any curious fan wanting to ease their way into the unforgiving genre.
Welcome to Hell-A
Dead Island 2
While I have a deep loathing for the modern Farcry series and any game that uses a similar FPS-meets-Ubisoft open-world formula, I have to say that Dead Island 2 bucks that trend and truly surprised me.
Despite having one of the most difficult development hell periods on record, this game managed to make it out the other end in a better state than anyone could have ever imagined, offering amazing visuals, bombastic zombie-killing action, and a semi-open world that is a joy to explore.
The game doesn’t take itself to seriously, embracing B-movie comedy in the best way possible, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is deeply satisfying thanks to the tight combat.
It does all get a little bit stale by the end, as the novelty wears off, and the game fails to expand on the ideas packed into the front half of the experience. But all in all, this is one of the finest zombie games on the market and a game truly better than it ever had any right to be.
2Dave The Diver
Dive Into Adventure
Dave the Diver
Whilethe cute, pixel visualswould have you initially think that Dave The Diver is a little indie darling, due to the fact that this game is a product fully backed by the gaming juggernaut Nexon, this one absolutely fits on this list; don’t be fooled.
But, origin story aside, Dave The Diver is a cozy game that definitely offers all those quintessential cozy indie game vibes, with a ‘one-more-day’ gameplay loop where you fish and dish in your local restaurant, but really, that’s selling the game short.
The underwater fishing and restaurant management are the solid spine of the game, but it’s also packed with lots of humor, a wealth of mini-games to break up the action, and refreshingly, this is a cozy game with an actual end-point so you can walk away satisfied having squeezed all the juice out of this title.
It’s delightfully silly, offers varied gameplay at every turn, and it’s cute as a button. So, if you love cozy games with fishing, this will tick pretty much every single box.
1Frostpunk
Winter Is Coming
While I will always say that This War of Mine is my favorite 11-bit survival strategy game, it does come with the caveat that the Frostpunk series runs it very close, indeed.
Frostpunk shares a lot of similarities with city-builders and automation games within the sub-genre. However, at the core of this experience is the very real threat that comes with freezing temperatures, and there isn’t enough central heating in the world to make you feel comfortable in this game.
It’s all about trying to carve out an existence and build a society against the odds, which requires planning, persistence, risk-taking, and a whole lot of luck. And even if you have all these things nailed, you’ll still have to make plenty of impossible decisions for the greater good.
Saying that Frostpunk is ‘fun’ is not something I can do. But, it’s the inherent struggle that makes the experience so gripping. Just bring a coat and a few extra layers; you’ll need them.
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