Best PS Plus Games: Mass Effect and Kingdom Hearts

PlayStation Plus leans into older and more cultish games for its end-of-year releases. After recently adding The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (still great, even at more than a decade old), the service also now has several Kingdom Hearts games. Entries from that Disney-based RPG include Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts 3 and Kingdom Hearts 2.8. Yes, the naming conventions are that confusing if you’re not a dedicated follower. 

The addition of indie critical fave What Remains of Edith Finch and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint offer a nice contrast of emotional narrative and, well, shooting. 

PS Plus Premium subscribers (as opposed to Essential and Extra tier subscribers) have recently gotten access to a series of Ratchet and Clank games originally released on the PS3. This includes Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked, and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. 

Here are some notable PlayStation Plus inclusions so far: 

There are some notable games on that list, but it also lacks the blockbuster Day 1 vibe of Xbox Game Pass, which has big debuts like Halo Infinite. Extra costs $15 a month, $40 for three months or $100 for a year. (In the UK it’s £11, £32 or £84, respectively, and in Australia it’s AU$19, AU$55 or AU$135.)

The more expensive Premium tier ($18 or £13.49 a month) also includes download and streaming access to about 500 older games, mostly from pre-PS4 consoles, most of which will run at 60 frames per second. It also includes access to game demos. You can try games like Horizon: Forbidden West, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Hot Wheels Unleashed. (Note: In Australia the Premium tier is called Deluxe and costs AU$22 a month.)

One of the better aspects of the new PS Plus is there are plenty of cult and indie favorites in the Extra/Premium tier. 

Here are some older or lesser-known picks so far:

• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
• XCOM 2
• Greedfall
• Uncharted: the Lost Legacy
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker
• Pillars of Eternity 
• Tetris Effect 
• Outer Wilds

Read more: Best Game Subscription Services

One odd but interesting thing I noticed is there are a lot of Warhammer games included. I know next to nothing about Warhammer lore, but appreciate that it’s so deep and wide-ranging. And I’ve enjoyed games like Inquisitor (like a sci-fi Diablo) and the recent Chaos Gate (like XCOM with space marines). If you’re interested, the PS Plus list includes:

• Chaosbane
• Space Hulk: Deathwing
• Inquisitor 
• Necromunda: Underhive Wars
• Space Hulk Tactics 

I’ll update this list as more games are added, and as my colleagues remind me of top-tier classics I’ve missed. 

Read more: PlayStation Plus vs. PlayStation Now

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