12 January 2023 , 17:43
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Another serving of delicious content is being added to the game’s catalogue for PS Plus Premium and Extra members on Tuesday, January 17.
First up on the PS Plus Premium buffet of post-apocalyptic delights is Back 4 Blood. The spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead sees a squad of four team up to try and make it to each stage's safe room while avoiding becoming lunch for hordes of mutants controlled by the world's most Machiavellian AI. Familiar but legally distinct, if you have fond memories of getting satisfaction bashing infected over the head with a cricket bat while listening to the silky smooth sounds of Clutch, you should certainly give this a whirl.
Next on the menu is a light strawberry sundae of a game – Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition. The enhanced PS5 port of Dante and Nero's latest romp through the streets of totally-not-London is a game every brawler and action game fan probably already has in their collection. But if you missed it and want another great brawler to beat after finishing Bayonetta 3, now is a perfect time.
The last dish on this all-you-can-eat menu is one for the emo kids. Don’t Nod’s Life is Strange is a weird beast; part teen drama, part supernatural thriller, with a soundtrack packed full of the kind of indie tunes that even Zach Braff would think was a bit much. If you remember spending your Sundays hungover and finding solace in the melodrama of Dawson’s Creek but wish Pacey had psychic powers, this one’s for you.
Other titles coming to the service for PS Plus Premium and Extra members on Tuesday, January 17 include Dragon Ball FighterZ, Jett: The Far Shore, Just Cause 4: Reloaded on PS4 and PS5, Omno, and Erica.
PS Plus February 2023: free games lineup includes a groovy treat for subscribers
The following trio of PS1 games are also being added to the ‘classics’ catalogue for PlayStation Plus Premium members – Syphon Filter 3, Star Wars Demolition and Hot Shots Golf 2.
I’m starting to wonder why Sony even bothers with Premium
Another banner month for PS Plus Premium and Extra members. Sorry I meant Essential members who get Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, one of the best Star Wars games since Shadows of the Empire to play, for almost half the price in their PS Plus January lineup.
Yes, I know that Extra and Premium members get them too, but when you look at the lineup, it's another month of scraps from Xbox Game Pass. Xbox owners have had access to Back 4 Blood since its launch. Devil May Cry 5 hit and left the service years ago, while Dragon Ball Z and Life is Strange have been on Xbox Game Pass for months.
I signed up for PS Plus Extra when Stray launched because the upgrade fee was less than buying the game outright. If I was joining the service fresh I just wouldn’t have bothered. I guess the thing I’m getting at is that if Sony is going to try to compete with Microsoft’s all-you-can-eat, Netflix-of-gaming approach, it needs to take it seriously, or just not bother.
Sony started this whole ball rolling when it introduced PS Plus back in 2010. Online play was free, and so the perks of the service simply included a clutch of new games to play each month. Offerings included exciting new indies, hidden gems, and critical darlings. The same thing Xbox is doing right now with Game Pass. Sony wrote the playbook on this; the least it could do is read it.