We’re rolling into the final month of the year now and with that PS Plus is back again with a nice selection box of goodies to keep you busy if you’re waiting on that latest game for Christmas. We’ve got six games to be playing through this month, 3 of which are playable on the PS4 and like always all of them can be downloaded on the first Tuesday of the month so you’ll only be waiting a couple of days to get your hands on them.
Soma
First up this month is Soma, a science-fiction, survival horror game, perfect for a good scare on these dark winter nights. Soma was realized in 2015 and has you trying to survive against all manner of hideous monsters, some enhanced with futuristic tech with the odd few jump scares here and there to keep you on your toes. Soma’s first-person perspective really doesn’t help with them. The game is said to be similar to the likes of dead space in terms of atmosphere but the fact you cannot fight back and are forced to run and hide for your life gives me a more outlast feeling. Soma was praised by critics with the likes of 8 and 9’s out of 10 and it has a pretty gripping story to boot. Will you be giving this one a try? Don’t worry we won’t judge you if you’re too scared.
Onrush
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, our next game is Onrush is a bright, fast, explosion filled, over-the-top fun-fest which is only a few months old. This arcade racer is all about wiping out the opposition at ludicrous speed with all sorts of wonderful power-ups. There’s action, stunts and a plenty of game modes from 6v6 teams to a racing version of battle royal. If that hasn’t sold you on Onrush then nothing will. Despite fairly good reviews, Onrush’s terrible sales figures are probably the reason we’re getting this so soon after launch and if Soma didn’t quite take your fancy, Onrush might be more up your street. Will you be trying out Onrush this Christmas season?
Steredenn Binary Stars
The first of our PlayStation 3 titles now and we have Steredenn, a charming retro style side-scrolling shooter. The art style, as well as the fantastic soundtrack, is what really stood out to me for Streedenn but as for gameplay its pretty standard if you’ve played anything remotely similar. Take down anything in your path with the help of power-ups, until you reach a final boss. Destroy it and rinse repeat. Nothing spectacular but a nice little way to kill some time in the run-up to Christmas.
Steins; Gate
Next up on PS3, we have Stein’s; Gate, a visual novel which is all about changing the past to create new futures and stories. With it being a visual novel there is less actual player interaction than most other games, as to be expected but if you pay close attention and don’t mind a bit of light reading there’s various different outcomes and stories for all the characters to experience. For better or for worse. Stein’s; Gate has piqued my interest but what about you, willing to give this a try?
Iconoclast
The first Vita game of the month and the final game playable on the PS4 is Iconoclast, a beautiful little platformer/puzzler with a fair bit of action thrown in and an absolutely fantastic art style to make everything look pretty as you blow it to bits. Iconoclast was surprisingly yet another game released this year and has you playing as a mechanic named Robin who is fighting against an evil religious group. I’m not sure either but this looks like an absolute blast so you can sign me up to give it a try.
Papers Please
The final game this month and the last vita game for the month is the absolutely incredible Papers Please. If you know what Papers please is then you don’t need me to tell you to pick it up and if you don’t then do yourself a favor and go and check out some gameplay. It’s not the prettiest game, or the most action packed but its seriously cool and I can’t recommend it enough. You are put in the role of an immigration officer at the border to fictional country Arstotzka where you must decide you can enter and who must be sent away. Some seriously intense story moments, an overall fantastic message and a real challenge in the later game there is no reason not to pick this up if you own a Vita. This might as well be a Christmas gift from Sony all by its self so thank you Sony. Thank you.
Deals and Offers
That wraps it up for this month’s free games but its the Christmas season and with that, we have Christmas deals so if you’re looking to treat a friend, family member, or even yourself here are some goodies to look out for. We’ve got new deals every weekend so be sure to keep checking but right now we have Battlefield V with 33% off, Call of Cthulhu with 33% off, and Uncharted: Lost Legacy at under half price for just £12.99. Some great bargains there. If you’re a PS Plus member there are some absolutely fantastic deals on right now with up to 75% off some great games. Whitcher 3 is only £12.49 with 50% off, Battlefield: Anniversary collection which includes Battlefield 1, Battlefield 4, and Hardline with all the season passes and extra DLC for only £21.24 when it should be £84.99. Seriously worth checking out especially because Battlefield 1 and even 4 still have pretty alive player bases and there’s a Doom and Wolfenstein bundle for only £16.04 with 70% off. Might even have to pick that up myself. To finish off this month we have a few games under £9, with Tomb Raider: definitive edition, Metal Gear: Solid V at £2.49 and Need for Speed Rivals at £3.99.
Overall not the strongest month in terms of free to play games but that is to be expected this time of year with so many big releases hitting us, and Sony wanting us to buy more than play freebies but there was still some strong players such as Onrush and Steins; Gate which I would recommend checking out. Plus, there are some incredibly good deals right now leading up to Christmas which I would highly recommend you look into if you haven’t yet but want to play any of the game’s I’ve just mentioned. So what are you planning on playing over Christmas and will you be playing any of these games mentioned here? Let us know over on Twitter.
