Earlier this week, we heard that the next batch of games is coming PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Sony’s new-look subscription service rating. At first glance, this isn’t a bad product — for PS Plus Extra owners, you’ll be able to choose from three different Yakuza games (including the best of Yakuza 0) — but otherwise, there’s Some glaring issues with the month’s launch.
Of course, these three AAA RPGs are an excellent entry point for anyone trying to get into the series for the first time. You can even go to the first floor, play Yakuza 0, and learn about underworld heartthrob Kiryu Kazuma and his Kabukicho. For the title at the top of this post, that’s fine.
Being able to play the first three full chapters of the Yakuza series (and the promise of other saga coming to PS Plus later) is objectively good. There’s nothing bad, or indeed ugly, about that. It’s moves like this that make PS Plus a worthy competitor to Xbox Game Pass and stave off criticism of the service, calling it “a disaster.”
But – I’m sure you’ve put it together by now – it’s not all wine and rosé. There’s an elephant in the room that’s in its 20s and we need to fix it, it’s very polygonal and maybe a little unoptimized. That’s right, I’m talking about PlayStation Classics. I’ve already revealed the lack of PS1 Classics on the platform, and now I feel like I’m right considering there are no additions to the PS Classics catalog in this month’s update.
this is not good. The last time I complained about this was general feedback from the perfectly impartial PS mascots because their profile pics told me to “calm down” and that “there’s no way Sony can drop all PS1 games at once”. Actually, I think that’s a fair answer to my impatience, after all, maybe a game or two a month might actually be a reasonable pace. Maybe dropping No Heroes Allowed and LocoRoco Midnight Carnival in July means we’re more likely to get Resident Evil and Gran Turismo in August. This is sound logic, right?
Obviously not. For PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers, that’s great: there’s been a ton of big games using the service lately. You definitely get what you pay for. But with advanced subs, well, it’s starting to look a little worrisome. A cursory glance at forums and social media shows that I’m not the only one wondering what’s the point of Premium subs. Some select quotes from this Resetera thread include:
- “At this point I’ll be asking for a refund of the premium, but I’m worried Sony will ban my account.”
- “Yeah, for the top (I am) disliked this, it seems like they really have little or no incentive for this.”
- “Haha why the fuck would I pay for the top level if Sony isn’t going to add games?”
- “Bruh, that senior deal is getting worse every month lmao.”
Maybe at some point there will be a plethora of games that will justify all our spending habits and provide us with a wealth of classic games (with some trophies to support, please). Maybe I’ll live out my years of fantasizing about reruns of digital demon saga, but on a modern platform, and not through more nefarious means. Maybe the world will finally experience that no one can stop Mr. Domino! Via that weird PS1 emulator on the PS5.
Finally, there is the ugly. Ghost Recon: Wildlands has actually been a quiet success for Ubisoft – although it’s been replaced by the sequel, Breakpoint, since its launch. Wildlands is known for its deep gun customization, responsive vehicle handling, and some incredible terrain work by Ubi’s art and tech teams, but it’s also been ridiculed for its bland story.
Once again, being able to add PS Plus Extra subscribers to their accounts is a nice little bonus, but the fact that Sony hasn’t even launched for a new game in the Ubi RPG shooter series says a lot. As Xbox Game Pass continues to swell with its first day of release, PS Plus, by contrast, appears to be patching the cracks.
It’s still early days — exposure to some real PlayStation hits like Ico, The Last Guardian, Bloodborne, Death Stranding, and Stray will surely be worth it for low- and mid-range players.
It’s just that the whole advanced level starts to feel very, very unadvanced.
