In June Sony rolled out a revamped, tiered version of its long-running PlayStation Plus subscription, combining the benefits of the existing service — free monthly games, cloud saves, online multiplayer access — with an expanded version of its PlayStation Now game library. That library, an ever-growing catalog of nearly 400 PS4 and PS5 games, is available to subscribers of PS Plus’s top two tiers: Extra ($15 USD/month) and Premium ($18), the latter of which also included a Classics library from earlier consoles.
We know it can be hard — stressful even — to sort through that many games and determine which may be worth your time. And so we’ve curated this list of what we consider some of the 33 best PlayStation Plus games available to subscribers of the Extra and Premium tiers, listed alphabetically. (We’re not including those Premium-tier Classics only to focus on the more recent games available to a wider group of PS Plus subscribers.)
For a full list of games that you can use to create your own custom lists and manage your backlog, check our PS Plus Premium Games and PS Plus Classic Games lists on IGN Playlist.
*How long to beat (HLTB) estimates courtesy of IGN sister site How Long to Beat. The lowest number represents the average time required to mainline the story; the higher represents the average time required to earn 100% completion.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is Ubisoft’s biggest, boldest take on the series to date. A Viking tale set within England’s Dark Ages, Valhalla “walks a fine line between historical tourism, top-shelf conspiracy theory, and veiled mysticism against the backdrop of a grounded and focused story,” according to IGN’s review. With its campaign clocking in around 60 hours, it’s the longest game to mainline on this list.
Bloodborne
What may have been the general consensus pick for best Soulsborne game before Elden Ring, Bloodborne takes the Dark Souls formula (including its punishing difficulty) and adds faster-paced moment-to-moment combat, allowing for a more aggressive playstyle. This, along with its dense, eerily gorgeous world, make Bloodborne stand apart from — and arguably above — its Dark Souls brethren.
Celeste
Celeste is one of the best modern platformers, thanks to its tight controls, excellent level design, heartfelt story, and Lena Raine’s dynamic soundtrack (which is well worth listening to whether or not you end up trying Celeste). Celeste is the first of three games on this list that IGN awarded a coveted review score of 10.
Concrete Genie
Concrete Genie comes from one of the smallest studios in the PlayStation first-party suite, but Pixelopus’ latest creation packs as much heart and ingenuity as bigger first-party games. At the heart of what makes it so special is a painting mechanic that prioritizes expression over precision. Don’t worry about being the most exacting artist in the world, or even having all that much artistic talent to begin with — Concrete Genie encourages you to paint scenes and animate the environment with only a few guidelines of what to include, but it never judges you for how you approach those goals. With challenges built around art as a means to success, you literally paint a world back to life and along the way experience a beautiful story, make some genie friends, and try out some pretty clever mechanics that make Pixelopus’ next adventure one to anticipate. - Jonathon Dornbush
Control Ultimate Edition
Control is the full realization of Remedy’s vast potential. An engaging premise, mind-bending story, clever level design, top-tier voice acting, rich storytelling, and an ever-expanding arsenal of abilities that ultimately turn protagonist Jesse Faden into a superhero worthy of the MCU are just a few of the reasons we named Control our 2019 Game of the Year. Taking inspiration from “new weird” literature, creative director Sam Lake has created something truly Lynchian — a work of fiction with an implacable dreamlike quality that inevitably turns nightmarish. The Ultimate Edition bundles the base game with Control’s two excellent expansions: The Foundation and the Alan Wake crossover AWE.
Death Stranding Director’s Cut
The latest game from Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding Director’s Cut largely plays out like a 40-hour series of fetch quests given your role as a delivery person. That gameplay loop may be a non-starter for some, but within those quests, Death Stranding strings together stunning vistas, haunting sci-fi mystique, and a story that walks the line between captivating and convoluted. It’s a Kojima game through and through, and one worth checking out whether or not you plan on committing to seeing it all the way through.
The PS5-exclusive Director’s Cut adds graphics options, quality-of-life improvements, DualSense support, a firing range, and some new weapons, alongside some new missions. But PS4 owners can also download the original Death Stranding as part of their subscription.
Demon’s Souls
Demon’s Souls, a PS5-exclusive ground-up remake of FromSoftware’s 2009 action-RPG, “plays significantly better than it did on the PS3, not only thanks to the graphical power of the PlayStation 5, but because of smart quality-of-life changes and light touches that modernize some frustrating aspects of the original, without ever sacrificing the relentless challenge, puzzle-infused boss battles, and style that made it such a landmark game in the first place,” according to our review. If Souls games aren’t your thing, Demon’s Souls won’t be the one to convert you, yet as part of the PS Plus library, it’s worth booting up as a technical showcase for PS5.
Fallout 4
Bethesda Game Studios’ Fallout 4 is a massive RPG set in a faithful recreation of post-apocalyptic Boston and its surrounding areas. All the staple characteristics of a Bethesda RPG are here — eccentric characters, memorable quests, an immersive atmosphere rich with environmental storytelling — along with the introduction of an intuitive base-building system and vast improvements to gunplay.