The new year is just days away. Christmas has come and gone. Presents have been opened and gift cards are burning holes in our pockets. In my hometown, a new snow has fallen. It’s the perfect day to cuddle up with a good video game (which is just what I plan to do when I’m done writing.)
It’s also very nearly time for a fresh lineup of free PlayStation Plus games. If you subscribe to Sony’s premium online service, each month you can download a batch of new games free of charge. These include two PS4 games, two PS3 games and two PS Vita games. That all changes in a couple of months when Sony does away with the PS3 and Vita titles.
But for now, all three platforms still get free releases each month. Let’s take a look at what’s coming beginning next Wednesday.
PS4
- Steep (71% on Metacritic)
- Portal Knights (71% on Metacritic)
PS3
- Zone of the Enders HD Collection (73% on Metacritic)
- Amplitude (No Metacritic consensus)
PS Vita
- Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion (No Metacritic consensus)
- Super Mutant Alien Assault (67% on Metacritic
Of these I’ve only ever played Steep, which I thought was pretty fun but nothing too special. At the time, I remember wishing it was a game about skiing and other winter sports but with machine guns and SMGs and so forth. Then Tencent released Ring of Elysium which is pretty much the battle royale version of Steep, so prayers answered. Definitely worth the free download, though.
Portal Knights has been on my bucket list but as with so many other games on that list, it’s fallen through the cracks. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: There are simply too many video games to keep up with everything. Sigh.
I’m slightly ashamed that I’ve never played Hideo Kojima’s Zone of the Enders games, but back in the PS2 days when these were first released I had a fairly strict gaming budget and missed quite a bit of content. I played the Metal Gear games instead, and I have no regrets.
As for PS Vita games, well, let’s just say the PS Vita was basically a Persona 4 Golden machine as far as my time with it was spent. I never really got into very many other Vita titles, but I adored Persona 4 Golden. Still one of my top games ever. It needs a PS4 re-release (though Persona 5 is also delightful.)
You still have a few days before the December free games go away. You can see which titles are still available here.
