Rating the First 6 Months of Playstation Plus on PS4

Playstation Plus, launched almost 4 years ago, is Sony's subscription service offering players numerous rewards for their subscriptions of up to £39.99 for 12 months. Perks include online multiplayer for Playstation 4 titles, exclusive discounts, Full Game Trials (timed trials of fully installed games that you can proceed to buy) and early beta access. The most notable benefit of the service however is the 'Instant Game Collection'; a selection of free games that are updated each month which are yours to keep and play so long as you have an active PS Plus subscription. This has included PS3 games, PSOne and PS2 titles, and Minis, before branching out to Playstation Vita games from the end of 2012. Notable games offered in the past have included Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arham City on PS3; as well as Gravity Rush, WipEout 2048 and The Jak & Daxter HD Trilogy on Vita. It's a subscription serivce that has earned a reputation for top value among Playstation fans, and with the launch of the Playstation 4 it has entered the new-generation of consoles. So with the first 6 months of the service passed on its new avenue, just how has it held up?

[Kingthrash360]

No matter how you put it, ps+ having day1 free games is outstanding. 2 free games at launch hasnt been done since nes with supermario and duck hunt.
This is something you cant even rate...because you are gettin games free at launch ONLY ON PS+. All are new to console games btw.

[MEGANE]

i am not gonna say is bad, but I have been spoiled with Plus for PS3

[Transporter47]

Well that's an unfair comparison as when PS+ Launched for PS3 there were already tons of titles available and there aren't as many for the PS4 yet. Just wait for more and more games to release.

[Omegasyde]

If you compare the first 6 months of playstation + on ps3 to that of PS4, you would be shocked at how good the ps4 version has been running at.

Ps+ for PS4 will continue to evolve just like PS3. The Only different is that you NEEED PS+ on Ps4 to play online.

(Perhaps that is why Sony is not trying so hard? If games for Gold becomes better, then PS+ will become better.)

[GribbleGrunger]

give it a year, when there's a decent backlog of older games, and we'll start seeing bigger budget games hitting PS+ on the PS4. I'm not too bothered though. If they give me Indies from now to the end of my subscription fee, I'll be more than happy.

Even when they do start offering bigger budget games, many people won't be satisfied because it's likely they'll have already played them. This is the problem you face when you launch a new console and always will be. We could see Knack or killzone at the end of this year, but like I said, many people will have played them and only those late adopters will be satisfied.

[xilx]

Sony's said the plan is AAA games on PS4 PS+ before the end of the year, which is just crazy to me. I'm expecting the first one to be Knack. I wonder if they'll bump up the number of games per month once more become available.

I'm honestly shocked that we've been getting so many games for free the day they release so far.

I do think it's unfair to compare anything to PS3's PS+, though, especially in a "new" service's early days. Anyone taking advantage of that has been spoiled to death by it.

[GribbleGrunger]

I didn't expect PS+ to come to the PS4 immediately to be honest. I thought they'd wait 6 months to a year.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

I would Love knack as a plus game.

[avengers1978]

Resogun, contrast, don't starve, outlast, mercenary kings, stick to the man,and dead nation, have all been free so far, my guess is before the end of the year, knack and possible AC4 will be on plus... It's been pretty good so far, and will continue to get better over time.

[DunDee910]

I like the points in this article and agree with them. The problem with these games is they were either too short or they didn't keep my attention long enough to complete.
Resogun - didn't complete
Contrast - too short
Don't Starve - didn't play
Outlast - too short
Dead Nation - didn't complete
Mercenary Kings - didn't complete
Stick It To The Man - too short

[Lowsnamebrand]

How did you not complete resogun? And you should go and play don't starve that game was entertaining

[thorstein]

Honestly, I didn't complete Don't Starve and I probably won't. Just not my cup of tea. It is a good game, well made and I can see why people like it.

The only disappointment I had was Mercenary Kings because the co op didn't use the screen well. And what better way to play that game than with friends on the couch.

All of the other games are awesome. I replay Resogun even though I beat it. Dead Nation is a blast.

What I find disappointing in the article is that it doesn't cover any of the other F2P games that you can play on your PS4.

Where's Warframe, DC Online, Pinball Arcade & Zen Pinball, etc.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

Mercenary Kings had waaaaaay too many bugs at launch when playing Co-op. I should check it out again..see if they fixed it.

[DunDee910]

I think I explained that in my comment. It didn't keep my attention long enough to complete.

[VforVideogames]

RESOGUN is fun for like 15min.

[PeaSFor]

lolwut?

[SuperBlunt]

I started it back up the other day and burned my eyes into oblivion for two hours. Stop trolling

[FITgamer]

If all you put into is 15 minutes, then obviously you weren't having fun.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

And then its fun for the next 15....and the next....and the next....and the next... You see where this is going

[Omegasyde]

I play it time to time. It can get frustrating but that not due to design..it's due to me sucking at playing the game.

Personally I preferred Stardust over Resogun.

[HugoDrax]

Literally just finished playing RESOGUN, no less than 15 minutes ago. I just have to complete the game on veteran! and master difficulty to score a few more trophies. I'll definitely acquire the platinum trophy in a few days :-).

[RiPPn]

I wonder if you've spent more time with these games than say a single retail game. Because you got to play all that for $50 and we're not even halfway through the year yet. I swear people feel so entitled these days.

[Npugz7]

For the PS4 it was shit! Crap indie games and a couple decent short games.

[fenome]

What did you expect, Infamous SS? lmao

The system just launched, you have to give it time before the big games start coming to the service.

[Npugz7]

I at least expected some decent games!

[fenome]

I get what you're saying, but that's goin to take a little while, once the game library starts to mature so will the game collection.

This always happens with games during the initial launch of a console, it takes a while to build up and grow. There's never been a service like this or so many free to play games available on a console launch before though, so we should be thankful for what we have :)

[Majin-vegeta]

Damn spoiled kids have no respect for nothing!

[nosferatuzodd]

And what did microsoft give you for the xbone zip quit ttolling

[Npugz7]

I don't have an Xbone so I'm not trolling! It's just my opinion on the games so far. There's some good titles coming up though.

[BitbyDeath]

The only two titles I haven't really gotten into are Contrast and Stick it to the man.

Otherwise PS+ has been a blast.
Currently working through Mercenary Kings and Outlast.

[Transporter47]

Stick it to the man is pretty sweet love the comedy in it, and contrast is pretty cool love the Noir setting

[DigitalRaptor]

Contrast is good, not great.

Sick it to the Man is an excellent game. Can 100% recommend it for the humour alone.

[AntsPai]

For me it was more like the following, with trophy completion so you can know how much I bothered to play.

Resogun - 100% - Absolutely loved this gem
Contrast - 47% - Pretty meh tbh
Don't Starve - 28% - Really enjoyed
Outlast - 18% - It was good
Dead Nation - 24% - Played through it before on PS3 so only played a little on PS4
Mercenary Kings - 0% - Seems like it would be more fun co-op but I haven't really given it a chance
Stick It To The Man - 19% - Honestly, I don't think I like this game but it's ok I guess

I'm happy with PS+ so far considering how long PS4 has been out, hoping for more games I wouldn't buy otherwise and hopefully they turn out great, that's what I loved about PS+ at launch.

[Omegasyde]

I didn't like deadnation that much for the same reason I Didn't enjoy it on PS3.

The later levels are way too dark. Having to constantly rotate my thumbstick to illuminate the area is BS.

Sure you can throw a flare, but even then you have only so many. Game was challenging for all the wrong reasons.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

You guys have to understand that ps+ for the ps4 is going to be kind of lacking for a while because all its retail games are still brand spankin' new. what made ps+ on ps3 so great was the fact that it came out in the middle of the ps3's lifecycle. so of course you had YEARS worth of great, cheap retail games that could have been released.

give it a little bit of time. the ps4's library will be just as massive soon.

[Baka-akaB]

plus the first retail are , unless big surprises" , going to be lame stuff like NFS rivals , or game that already pretty much fullfilled their lifetime sales (maybe tomb raider ?) then the "weakest" sony game from the like , potentially Knack .

I have a feeling PS NOW will be very needed for those that care about retail games freebies , for a while

[GribbleGrunger]

What we may see before we see bigger titles is Sony offering two Indies instead of one.

[Relientk77]

I enjoyed Contrast at launch

[incendy35]

So far I have enjoyed Resogun. So basically I paid 50 dollars for a 15 dollar game :D. That is ok though, I know more games will eventually come. I hope.

[Spotie]

Is that the only game you played? If it isn't, then that's not what you spent fifty on, even if it's the only game you enjoyed.

[incendy35]

I also downloaded Dead Nation, but the bugs made me stop playing. The rest of the games offered so far I already own on Steam.

[evolutionbeats]

Free Games Expire Even With A Ps Plus ACcount...I Love Playstation But When You're Working On A Game Then It EXpires Out Of Nowhere It's A Little Upsetting

[BitbyDeath]

First world troubles. Does your electricity/water expire out of nowhere too?

[Omegasyde]

Not to be a d*ck, but Sony is a business not a charity.

Always remember that.

[nope111]

PS4 just launched, so it's very understandable at the lack of interesting games.

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

Ik PS4 doesn't have much games so that's why they don't have much to offer. With that being said Resogun and Outlast are the only must haves.

[McScroggz]

Resogun and Contrast were available day 1. Resogun is still probably the second best game on the system (inFamous: Second Son is the best in my opinion), and Contrast was a really nice puzzle platformer that had its issues but was a nice couple hour experience.

Don't Starve is a good game that helped fill some time after I had played a decent bit of Killzone: Shadow Fall and platinumed LEGO: Marvel Superheroes. It's not a great game, but if you put some time into it, it can become a little addictive and overall I think it is a very solid game.

Outlast is actually pretty awesome. A fairly short but pretty intense horror game is a really nice change of pace and offers variety that I personally really appreciated. There aren't a ton of horror games being made today, and even fewer that are worth playing - Outlast is absolutely worth playing and I got it for free.

Dead Nation is a game that I played on PS3, so I haven't gotten around to playing it on PS4, but it's a quality title for sure.

Mercenary Kings is really fun, and has a pretty addictive quality to it. In fact, it exemplifies the perfect PS+ type of game to me in that it's a game I somewhat knew about but might not have thought to purchase it; but through plus I got to play it for free and it's really good.

I've only played a handful of chapters of Stick it to the Man, and while I really enjoy the comedy of it, it's not special. But like so many of the PS+ games for the PS4, being able to play it for free makes it that much easier to appreciate what it does well. It's a simple platformer with really basic "puzzles", and if I payed $15 for it I would be a little disappointed (similar to Contrast), but I didn't so my impression of it is positive because of the humor.

So overall I'm very satisfied with PS+. Anybody who expected full retail games in the first six months are just unreasonable. In my opinion there hasn't been a single bad game, and even the couple relatively mediocre games have elements that are highly enjoyable. That's the beauty of PS+!

[Omegasyde]

I 100% agree with your comment.

People forget that you also get discounts, cloud saving, and other perks i.e. starting packages for free to play games.

[tulholdren]

Liking the server on the 4 I know sony will have it just as good as the PS3 and Vita soon as they can

[DualWielding]

I have a PS3 and a Vita and no PS4 yet, so I don't care as I still getting my money's worth on PS3 and Vita games and being able to 'purchase' for free the indy PS4 games so they are waiting for me when I finally get one is only added value.....

I do understand how people who traded their PS3 to pay for a PS4 (seriously bad idea, as I think the PS3 still have some legs to itself)and do not own a Vita may feel a bit ripped off now

[Funky Town_TX]

Other than 3 party game U dont see very many exclusive coming on PS3.

[Smokeeye123]

Im hoping we get something like Knack for June. All the games they were going to give us and keep us keep thinking Plus is super awesome were delayed.

(Driveclub and secret ponchos both got delayed)

[Phoenix76]

Proberly closer to Xmas for knack. As well as killzone as both were launch in-house titles.

[MasterofMagnetism]

No complaints from me since these are games that I normally wouldn't buy.

[Funky Town_TX]

Im more upset with the crappy social features that I get with a paid online service. PS4 online that cost money is somewhat broken.

[Phoenix76]

I'm wondering if the writer for this article actually ever had ps+ when it was first launched on ps3. If you were to compare ps+'a first six months on both co se you'd see that ps4's version has been far stronger with much better offering of games. Where as the ps3 version was filled with nothing but really old ps classics (robo-fish James pond 3) and ps mini's (which IMO weren't worth bothering with).

[Knushwood Butt]

In Japan we're getting an 80% discount on Fifa 2014 to tie in with the World Cup, which is a pretty good deal if you like footy.

So far it has been a bit lacking in Japan, but I love Resogun (have played it a ton) and enjoyed Contrast while it lasted.

Got Don't Starve too but I haven't fired it up yet.

[monkey602]

Outlast is one of my favourite ps4 games so far. I've rather enjoyed the selection too with the exception of mercenary kings. I hated that one but hey can't win em all!