The PlayStation Plus Essential game lineup for June 2025 isn’t just three games this time. To celebrate Days of Play, PlayStation’s annual big summer sale, PlayStation is including one extra title in the lineup. These games are NBA 2K25, the Alone in the Dark remake, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and Destiny 2: The Final Shape.
Here’s what to expect from each when they come to PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers on June 3rd. The Final Shape was made available on May 30th (and requires players to own the base Destiny 2), but all four titles will be available until June 30th.
1) NBA 2K25
NBA 2K25 is, obviously, a basketball game, the (current) latest entry in developer Visual Concepts’ long-running series. It received decent reviews and earned an average score of 75, which is an 11-point bump over its widely panned predecessor.
Many of its features will be familiar to those who have played NBA 2K in the past and likely won’t appeal to those who aren’t fond of basketball, but, as with many sports games, it’s got more than a handful of tweaks. Its ProPlay system uses real-world NBA footage to allow for smoother, more lifelike animations for everything from dribbling to a player’s signature shot. These signature shots sit right alongside the Shot Timing Profile and Pro Stick Rhythm Shooting features that take getting used to since they yield different ways to shoot the ball, but can yield more player choice on offense. These can also be further tweaked in the options, too, so players can find what works for them.
Like past entries, NBA 2K25 has a handful of different modes. The MyNBA mode lets players live through the “Steph Era” after the Golden State Warriors’ point guard Steph Curry and follows the team through its championship-winning 2016–17 season. MyGM has players managing a team with its own share of stale dialogue that takes place in a strangely empty office. MyCareer is about giving players the chance to build their character from the ground up, while Heart of the Dynasty sees wannabe ballers build up a character in story-based matches. The City is the online multiplayer hub that has smaller pick-up games and is more centered on the community.
Of course, most of this is drenched in microtransactions. It’s not at all new for the series, but those who want to compete at a decent level or at least not be anchored by mediocre stats will be heavily encouraged to spend real-life money or grind currency for an unreasonable amount of time.
The virtual currency can also be spent on a completely new and surprising Rocket League-esque mode called Gravity Ball, which is located in The City and costs $7.99. Gravity Ball is a futuristic form of basketball and can be played three-on-three or five-on-five. It pits two teams in a dome and has them using power-ups to leap around and fire the ball into the goal.
2) Alone in the Dark
The Resident Evil 2 remake kicked off the modern era of horror game remakes, and this is precisely what 2024’s Alone in the Dark can best be compared to. It’s a modern remake of the 1992 original and has some elements in common with that title, but has been radically overhauled for the modern era. Reception was somewhat soft, though, as it received an average score of 64.
The Alone in the Dark remake, like its inspirations, is a puzzle-focused horror game with third-person, over-the-shoulder shooting. Many of its puzzles fittingly require a bit of thinking, exploration, and use of the journal, so it’s not always as simple as aimlessly plugging the right key into the right door. Combat, however, is much more stiff and was heavily criticized at launch for its repetitive nature, questionable controls, and lack of impact. There is a decent amount of fighting, too, so these headaches pop up rather often. The monsters are, at least, rather grotesque and not just stereotypical zombies.
Its mystery-laden story uses the original as a template but builds on it quite extensively. There’s a lot going on, but it’s too dense for its own good and is often extremely hard to follow along. David Harbour (Stranger Things, Hellboy) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, Free Guy) play the two leads and their performances were praised. Like Resident Evil 2, players can play the campaign with each one to see their point of view, but unlike Capcom’s acclaimed horror game, these two scenarios don’t change much, making two runs rather unnecessary.
Alone in the Dark was also developer Pieces Interactive’s first and last game, as Embracer Group closed down the team shortly after this title’s disappointing launch. However, while there is no paid DLC, the studio at least released one major update before biting the dust. Photo mode and New Game Plus were the main features of the update, the latter of which unlocks all guns from the start, rebalances fights to make them harder, and adds a handful of new scares and enemy placements. And while those were the big marketable features, this update also made a ton of changes to the combat and user experience that range from speeding up Emily’s dodge animations, making Edward’s melee attacks more reliable, and rebalancing various areas with new weapons, ammo drops, or checkpoints.
3) Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
There’s no two ways about it: Bomb Rush Cyberpunk is heavily inspired by Jet Set Radio to the point where it looks like a Kickstarter title made by the original creators. It’s not that — it’s from the studio behind multiplayer game Lethal League — but it’s got the spirit of the Dreamcast classic. Bomb Rush Cyberpunk was released in 2023 to solid reviews, garnering an average score of 78.
Like Jet Set Radio, players navigate a futuristic cel-shaded world through rollerblading, skateboarding, or biking. Locomotion is the main focus and was the most applauded part of the experience. Players are meant to flow through the environment by doing tricks and going for long combos. This kinetic type of gameplay is supported by a thumping soundtrack, which also has some tracks from famed Jet Set composer, Hideki Naganuma. This tone, along with the ability to spray paint graffiti around the levels, further reinforces its street aesthetic and tone that is closely associated with the late 1990s and early 2000s. There is also combat and a story, but both were criticized for their simplicity, even if fighting an authoritarian police force is a noble cause that fits the rebellious theme.
Bomb Rush Cyberpunk has seen some updates since its release, but they’ve mostly fixed bugs or smoothed out some minor issues. There is at least a new collectible counter now, an option to shuffle the music, and a new phone mini-game for the player’s in-game flip phone. It has one piece of premium DLC in the form of the $4.99 Base & Jay add-on that adds two playable skaters to the already decently sized roster, both of which are references to characters in Lethal League.
4) Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Destiny 2: The Final Shape is a bonus title for the PlayStation Plus Essential lineup and is the 2024 expansion for Bungie’s premier looter shooter. It was heavily praised upon launch and received a high average score of 91.
The Final Shape is like NBA 2K25’s inclusion in this PlayStation Plus Essential lineup, as it is aimed at an incredibly specific niche and clearly won’t be for everyone. However, The Final Shape’s quality is likely to be appealing to those who want an excuse to jump back into Destiny 2.
This expansion was received well for a litany of reasons. Many loved its surprisingly touching narrative that finally concluded the “Light and Darkness” arc that had been going on for a decade and brought the menacing villain called The Witness onto the main stage. The new prismatic subclasses that combine certain light and dark abilities were also lauded for the build variety they bring to the game and how they deepen Destiny’s combat loop. The Final Shape also added a new enemy type (who are called the Dread) for the first time in quite a while, allowing for more variety and surprises during firefights. This all caps off in the new and widely beloved raid, Salvation’s Edge, a tough-as-nails gauntlet that requires strict communication and that everyone pulls their own weight.
Destiny 2 also just received its Rite of the Nine update, which is a prologue for the next expansion, The Edge of Fate. The Edge of Fate is slated to come out on July 15th, meaning this drop on PlayStation Plus Essential gives users just enough time to catch up.
The post PS Plus Essential Games for June 2025, Explained appeared first on ComicBook.com.
