On May 20th, a flurry of new games will be added to the PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra game catalogs. May’s batch of titles features a solid mix of titles from a variety of different genres. Games like Soul Hackers 2 and Gloomhaven should appeal to RPG fans, while titles from series such as Battlefield, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Story of Seasons broaden the appeal of this group of new PS Plus titles.
It can be tough to decide what to check out when ten new titles are presented to you as a PS Plus subscriber on the same day. To help, I’m ranking every game coming to the PS Plus Extra and Premium game catalogs this month so you know what to expect as you sift through these newly added titles.
10. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted – Full Time Edition (PS4, PS5, PSVR2)
For those who own a PlayStation VR2 headset and enjoy horror games, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted is worth checking out. It taps into this series’s creepy, jumpscare-fueled horror expertly in VR, immersing you in its frightening world better than any other game in the series. I’m not a particular fan of horror, though, and don’t think Help Wanted is as effective if you are playing it in a non-VR mode, which is why I ranked it lowest on this list. However, no bad games are coming to PS Plus Extra or Premium this month.
9. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is a remake of a GameCube and PS2 Harvest Moon game with the same subtitle. It closely follows the expected playbook of farming and life sims, as players slowly build up a farm and endear themselves to nearby townsfolk over time. In my opinion, Stardew Valley remains the king of this genre, and no other farming and life sim can top it anymore. Still, if you have nostalgia for the original or are tired of staring at Stardew Valley’s pixel art, Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life offers a pleasant alternative.
8. Battle Engine Aquila
This month’s retro addition is Battle Engine Aquila, a cult classic PS2 game where players control the titular battle engine to fight the forces of an evil military called Muspell. If you like the MechWarrior games, then Battle Engine Aquila should offer up a similar power fantasy. Keep in mind that this PS2 game may have some odd control quirks that prevent it from playing as smoothly as more modern releases in this genre. It’s always great when PS Plus Premium can shed some light on lesser-known parts of PlayStation’s history, though.
7. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy
Although S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is still not on PS5, this collection of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games is. It features the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and its spin-offs Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat. It’s a must-play collection for those who want to get into this series. That said, know the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games do feature quite a bit of jank, and this PS4 and PS5 collection does not have access to all of the mods the PC version has to improve the experience. Still, if you want to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. on PlayStation, this is your best (and only) choice.
6. Battlefield V
If you’re eagerly awaiting the next Battlefield game, consider checking out this underrated entry. Battlefield V is the latest game in the series to be set during World War 2, and I think it’s a bit better than the game that came next, Battlefield 2042. Its fortification system, which lets players build up defenses in the middle of a firefight, is a particularly interesting gameplay feature that I don’t think gets the love it deserves. If you haven’t played Battlefield V since it came out in 2018, consider giving it another shot now that it’s part of the PS Plus game catalog.
5. Gloomhaven: Mercenaries Edition
You might have heard of the board game Gloomhaven, but did you know it got a video game adaptation of its own? This tactical RPG transitioned quite smoothly into digital form, providing a deep strategy-RPG experience that doesn’t sacrifice any of the charm or challenge of the tabletop version. It’s obviously not as ambitious or complex as something like Baldur’s Gate 3, but if you enjoy Larian’s games, I think Gloomhaven will also be up your alley.
4. Sand Land
RELATED: Sand Land The Game Review: Coarse But Fine
Sand Land is one of the most underrated stories from the late and great Akira Toriyama, and last year, ILCA and Bandai Namco Entertainment adapted it into an ambitious open-world action RPG experience. While it gets a little repetitive, Sand Land looks fantastic as it directly realizes the manga’s art style in 3D, and its vehicle-building systems add a layer of novel creativity to the whole adventure. If you’ve never read Sand Land before, you should check this game out as it shines a light on one of Toriyama’s better works.
3. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
Granblue is one of those franchises, like DNF, that you might not have heard of but is much bigger than you think. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising takes the characters from this franchise and pits them against each other in a pretty hardcore fighting game. It’s gorgeous to watch because of its visual style that’s similar to games like Dragon Ball FighterZ, and features some helpful gameplay customization options for fighting game newcomers. If you have the time to pick up and learn a new fighting game, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is worth your time.
2. Humankind
Humankind is an excellent 4X strategy game that did the Ages system several years before Sid Meier’s Civilization VII did. Players slowly and strategically have to guide a civilization through history, and with each new age, adopt a new historical culture to define them and direct their gameplay style throughout that age. It is a compelling alternative to Civilization VII, as it’s always fascinating to see how two games from different developers tackle a similar idea. While 4X games tend to play better on PC than PS5, I still think you can have a great time guiding a civilization through history in Humankind on console.
1. Soul Hackers 2
It’s not often that a relatively new Atlus RPG ends up on a PS Plus service. While Soul Hackers 2 isn’t quite as beloved as its Persona and Shin Megami Tensei counterparts, I really enjoy this one. I like how it puts a sci-fi twist on several core concepts from Atlus RPGs, like turn-based battles, demon recruiting, demon fusion, and dungeon-crawling. If you only check out one new PS Plus game from this month, make it Soul Hackers 2.
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