Blimey oh riley, these PlayStation Plus updates seem to come around quick, don't they? It only feels like yesterday that we were getting our collective knickers in a twist over the outrageously addictive Rocket League, but now there's a brand new batch of software ready and waiting to float our free boats. You've no doubt already seen the lineup elsewhere on the site, but in punctual Push Square fashion, we like to drop a little extra intel on the offering. Without further ado, then, here's what will be joining the Instant Game Collection next week.
PlayStation 4
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
PS4's consolation prize for Rise of the Tomb Raider's timed console exclusivity, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris takes the titular tank-topped heroine on another isometric tour through a range of ancient ruins, with an Egyptian God tagging along for the ride. A four-player sequel to spin-off Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, this boasts plenty more grey matter mashing puzzles with a hearty helping of dual-joystick shooting on the side. Plus, Keeley Hawes.
The indie that put the puzzle platformer back on the map, Limbo is the quintessential side-scroller. With a sumptuous art style and some serious 'ah-hah' moments, this monochrome masterpiece meanders from one cunning conundrum to the next. Having featured as a freebie before, there's chance that you'll have seen this one through in the past – but that spider deserves its legs pulling all over again.
PlayStation 3
You'll see Kratos at his least shoutiest in God of War: Ascension, the slightly unnecessary prequel to Sony Santa Monica's slick Greek God slaughtering series. While it whiffs of franchise fatigue, we'd still recommend whipping out your Blades of Chaos one more time – especially seeing as this won't cost you a single red orb. The single player looks stunning, but the multiplayer's a surprise highlight here, even if the novelty wears off relatively fast.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones – Cross-buy with PS4 and Vita
From Wii U exclusive to freebie in less than a year, Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones hasn't exactly taken the subtlest of paths to Sony's machines. Still, tight platforming and enjoyable stealth-lite mechanics mean that Curve's sneaky sequel may take you by surprise – especially seeing as it expands upon all of the features that made its equally witty predecessor, A Clone in the Dark, such a sleeper hit.
PlayStation Vita
Sound Shapes – Cross-buy with PS4 and PS3
Part digital audio workstation, part platformer, part level creation tool: Sound Shapes is Super Mario Maker for people that pair tweed jackets with Beats headphones. With a constantly evolving visual style, Jonathan Mak's seminal sidescroller is actually way more enjoyable than it sounds, even if its Death levels will fill you with suicidal thoughts. The star of this package, though, is the Beat School, which tasks you with using your ears to recreate riffs.
CastleStorm Complete Edition – Cross-buy with PS3
There are games that adopt ambiguous names, and then there are games that don't beat around the bush. CastleStorm is one such title, as it sees you creating strongholds that inevitably get stormed. While this has a hint of tower defence, the game is really about how you construct your fortress; different wings unlock access to medieval artillery, giving you the upper-hand against your aggressors.
So, what's hot and what's not, then? Which games will you be putting onto your hard drive as soon as possible, and which will be consigned to the purgatory of your download list? Scream and shout in the comments section below.
Which PS Plus title are you most looking forward to in August? (74 votes)
- Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
- Limbo
- God of War: Ascension
- Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones
- Sound Shapes
- CastleStorm Complete Edition
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 33
Can't wait to play god of war ascension, was about to buy it so this news is great!
@hYdeks Pretty good game to be honest. I know people are down on it 'cos of franchise fatigue, but it's still a quality entry with some jaw dropping moments.
Lara Croft, who's that? Never played GoW: A ,so that's the one I am most looking forward too.
I thought we can't get the same game twice.
We already got LIMBO for the Vita with PS+.
Sure it is for a different system (not our fault that it's not cross-buy).
However, it's still technically the same game as last I looked it never got not an enhancedgame of the year edition like say CastleStorm did that's also not a cross-buy for every system.
I might have to dust off my PS3 for some GOW. It's the only game in the series I haven't played.
The only one that interests me is Lara Croft.
Meh gives me an excuse to play GOW.
Nope nothing interests me this month again
GoW wins, but Lara Croft and Castlestorm are both on my to pick up list st some point.
Lara Croft looks good. So does Steath Inc.
Ooooooo Awesome month!
Limbo for me.
Pretty sure Sound Shapes has already been given away free with Plus. It's the best game on Vita and top three on PS4 (easily). Made up it will get more exposure and hopefully a sequel one day.
The rest? No thanks. Again, I'm sure Limbo has been given away free on one of the other two consoles.
Am I the only person who think Sony are having trouble convincing companies to give away 'bigger' games? Maybe they find the Microsoft equivilant more appeasing (financially) than Plus? Can't be a coincidence that in the last year they've had the much better 'bigger' named games. Personally I couldn't give a toss if it's big, retail, indie or a classic oldie - a good game is a good game. Sound Shapes apart though, I honestly can't remember the last good Plus game. Maybe inFAMOUS First Light in January.
@get2sammyb I absolutely love God of War games, but for some reason I could not play more than an hour or so of Ascension. Nothing I could pin down, but it just wasnt nearly as enjoyable as the first three. It kind of feels like a half hearted attempt to keep the franchise alive after GoW III. Again nothing specific, just an overall feel. Maybe I'll revisit it if they make a PS4 remaster.
@rastamadeus I think they're reaching the point where they maybe need to ditch the PS3 and Vita only stuff and focus on the PS4 as that's where I imagine the majority of subs are.
I don't buy the narrative that Games with Gold is notably better at all, though. I'd also say that Rocket League is one of the best things I've played in a long time, and that's was last month's flagship.
I dunno. I think there'll always be a sub-set of people who are unhappy whatever's given away. That's just a reality of everyone being different - you can never please all tastes.
And I JUST bought Limbo on my iPad as well :/
Oh well. It was only a dollar. At least I get to play it with decent controls now.
I already have Stealth Inc 2 for Wii U from Humble Bundle. Maybe I'll get Sound Shapes? I've never heard of it before.
Sony seriously needs to start pumping AAA games on PS Plus for PS4 again though. It's already been almost 2 years since the console debuted, and they already have enough games.
Stealth Inc 2: A Game of Clones & Sound Shapes say they are not compatible with a Vita/Playstation TV leaving just CastleStorm Complete Edition for that system.
I guess if a person had just a Vita TV a PS+ subscription would be a hard sale as they would have even less out of it than most.
I also don't understand why Sound Shapes would not work as it works on a PS3 & PS4 (must not want to patch some code that says it's ok to run).
Don't know about Stealth 2 but is says it uses a touchscreen for the vita.
Also are we getting Sound Shapes Ultimate Bundle or just the normal edition?
Limbo was awesome, but as I have already played it I am looking forward to Lara croft.
Finally, Sound Shapes and Limbo!
Didn't know there was a PS4 version of Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris either. Bought the PS3 version and it was pretty fun.
@get2sammyb It's not a question of better, it's the names. People moan about there being no AAA games on Plus (there never has been, it's been very very rare AA at best) and people moan about the moaners. GWG does seem to be getting much more bigger names than Plus though. Has been happening for a while now. Doesn't mean they're better games but a large amount of Plus users are gamers who want the big names, not indies. They're not right nor wrong to want that and, at the moment, GWG has gone ahead in that aspect. As I said in my first comment, a good game is a good game. But is Casual Joe going to want Rocket League (no matter how good it may be) or an Assassin's Creed? Sound Shapes or MGS: Ground Zero?
With both companies now offering 'free' games with a subscription Sony need to be much more aggressive and have at least one 'shit the bed that's good' title, something they haven't done on Plus since early last year with DMC and Borderlands 2 in January 2014 and Bioshock Infinite with Metro in March 2014 (I think). They're not doing it because there's not the games on PS4 - Sleeping Dogs, Last Of Us, inFAMOUS, Killzone could all be on Plus - but because they now have you anyway. Plus is a necessity if you want to game online and Sony don't have to court you into getting it with B-AA games, they'll just throw the odd B or A at you as a scrap. It's no coincidence that since PS4 arrived the quality has dropped. But with Microsoft now doing their version and consumers on the fence seeing both 'give away' games Sony need to be doing much better. Not resting on their laurels, something they seem to have been doing since the moment PS4 got this huge lead over a year and a half ago.
People, certain people, will say I'm moaning but as someone who has become utterly disillusioned with gaming I'm seeing it from an outsiders view looking in. Also I've wanted out of Plus for a long while as it's just not worth the £40 for me as I've said before. I'm only still on it as Sony kindly ignored me not letting them renew the subscription charge and doing it again anyway.
As for Vita, it should have been stopped a year ago. There's only, what, five 'big' games to have not come on it. LBP, Killzone and Freedom Wars won't ever appear as Sony don't seem to want to give their games away while Tearaway is another, especially with the PS4 version around the corner. That leaves Persona 4 Golden - the one defining must own game on Vita. That will never be given away. So why keep the service? Just sack it off.
On PS3 it will last til Christmas, stopping either shortly before or afterwards.
@rastamadeus You make some good points regarding Sony knowing that most people subscribe to PlayStation Plus for MP access, so they don't need to entice us with top games.
I also feel like I get more for my money with GWG on XBOX. I've had Rayman Legends & Assassin's Creed Black Flag on XB1.
Im also aware that Microsoft have to work for my money as PS4 is smashing the XB1 in units sold.
I must admit that this months PlayStation Plus pleases me as I only own Castle Crashers, a game I got months ago on my XB1. To be honest, most months Plus games don't get me very excited and I now let my subscription lapse from time to time.
The main reason I renew my PlayStation Plus is to play ESO, other than that its not needed as I play alot of F2P games on my PS4, something you can't do on the XB1 without Gold. Infact, you can't even join a party without a Gold subscription, something that Sony is pretty good about.
I guess there's pro's and con's to both subscriptions.
One thing I like about games with gold over ps+ is even if you stop paying for gold you can still access and play the games, I certainly don't think it's better but I have been happier with the selection of games on gwg lately. This month's ps+ is slim pickings for someone that already had ascention 😕
Solid month but nothing super-spectacular for me. The Tomb Raider is co-op though and I've been wanting a good co-op for a while so that's probably my pick of the bunch. Haven't played a God of War since the first one either so I'm sure I'll give that a go! Aside from that still got plenty of things keeping me busy so pretty happy.
Oh and actually, I'll play through Limbo again, got in on 360 originally but fancy getting back into that again once the nights are getting darker!
Nowt for me i'll try tomb raider simply because i've not played it, pretty good month though just nothing tickle's my fancy is all. Was kinda hoping for Helldiver's but i'm gunna bite the bullet and buy it, £15.99 can't grumble I spose
Hey all Pushsquare staff. Been a very long time reader but this is my first post.
I just would like to say that playstation does their subscription service right. I am not arguing that xbox does theirs wrong as I have never owned and never plan to own an xbox, however, I dont think giving away assassins creed black flag a AAA game almost 2 years after it was made makes GWG better. Anyone interested in the series would already have it and I also just saw it for sale at my walmart for $10 CDN. But they dont really have any games for xbox one so what else are they going to give away?
Nope much more interested with some of the better AA or indie games that I thought looked interesting but would never have bought on my own. Like rocket league last month...cant even imagine not owning that game now but I would have never bought it on my own. Black flag...I already own it.
I tried Rocket League purely on the fact it wasnt a side scrolling platformer.
Which many of the games have been in recent months.
My problem is this: I only own a PS4, and Rocket League, although not nearly as good as people make out was the first game since Apotheon Ive downloaded.
I already owned MGS, and First Light was about Fetch and I wasnt interested in her as a character.
And many of the others just flat out dont interest me at all.
There are plenty of games that could easily be on PS plus now, the library is large enough with the likes of Tomb Raider, Metro, Devil May Cry etc.
If a game is good then its good, but Im certainly not one to sit here and assume that a game is "worth it" based on the fact its free.
Theres likely a reason I didnt buy it to begin with and I guarantee its not the cost.
A game needs to interest me to even consider trying it, as in my experience in 20 years of gaming, I never enjoy something AFTER playing it a while, I either want to play it or I dont.
And as a result I dont feel the selection is eclectic enough for my specific tastes.
Hmm not bad, weakest I've had so far, more down to owning Lara Croft and Limbo already.. Despite owning all three machines that appear on PSPlus, even i feel they should remove the Vita now.. Keep the ps3 a bit longer though...
I can see why people have the reservations regards Plus and the quality debate that goes on, but I have to say its a decent service in all honesty.
It is still difficult to change my 30 year mindset of "i'm not interested in this" to "lets give it a go, it wont cost me anything" but i think that's more to do with not having this luxury of content thrown at me in earlier console generations like now.
Don't Starve never appealed at first, but i gave it a go and have loved it.. so it can happen..
@dellyrascal Personally Im yet to try a game Im not interested in and start enjoying it.
Same as Ive never bought a game I dont have any interest in.
If I watch a trailer and it doesnt appeal there and then I will avoid.
As mentioned I tried Rocket League and hated it.
I saw games like Apotheon and Strider and thought they look good, Ill enjoy them, and lo and behold I did.
Just my mindset I think.
@ToOGoodOfAPlaya
Fair play mate, one thing i have seen over the years, is how we gamers are so different.
Maybe i should take a leaf out of your book in all truth, the times i've played something i had interest in and then faded on, i've lost count of.. May do me some good to stream line my habit
@dellyrascal Well I think the old school equivalent would be something like your mom or dad taking you to rent a game as a treat. You don't really have anything in mind (or you do but they don't have it) so you end up with something you don't know anything about. Or just going to your friend's house and playing whatever games they had. I mean, I personally wouldn't have asked my parents for Micro Machines on the Mega Drive, I was never really into cars or racing games. I played it at a friends house in 4-player (it had 2 controller ports on the cartridge itself) and loved it, though. Not to mention the monthly demo discs you'd get with the Official Playstation Magazine from the PS1 onwards.
Voted Limbo, but to be honest this is the second month in a row I haven't found anything to get excited about. Another month of wasted subscription [sigh!]
Sony are tight wad's with their money, the server's suck even though they dominate the market and make million's and million's off the back of their customer's however £5 a month is more than reasonable for the service and game's we get, i've never begrudged that and never will. Maybe it's my mindset but the fact that I was an xbox live subscriber for over 10 year's before this gen so i've alway's paid to play online help's. Voted Osiris btw simply because I know I will have a blast on the coop.
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