For the past couple of weeks, the video game world has obsessed over Rocket League, a game that became popular because A) it’s about cars playing soccer; and B) it’s totally free for a whole lot of PlayStation owners.
See, every month for the past couple of years, both Sony and Microsoft have offered a selection of complimentary games to customers willing to pay for their respective premium services, PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold. Selections vary drastically: one month you might get two big AAA third-party shooters for Xbox 360; another month you could get a moody Vita indie and a PS3 platformer. (You can see the full list of PlayStation games that have been offered to date here and the Xbox list here.)
Next month’s list, for example:
PlayStation: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (PS4), Limbo (PS4), Sound Shapes (PS4, PS3, Vita), Stealth 2 (PS4, PS3, Vita), God of War Ascension (PS3), CastleStorm (PS3, Vita).
Xbox: Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (XB1), How To Survive: Storm Warning Edition (XB1), Metro 2033 (Xbox 360, August 1-15), Metro: Last Light (Xbox 360, August 16-31).
We’ve been following these programs with some interest in recent months, and I’m curious: what do you guys all think of the selection we’ve seen from Microsoft and Sony to date? Too many indies? Not enough third-party games? Perfect selection? Give me your feedback. (We may use it for articles in the future.)
Comments
43 responses to “What Do You Think Of PlayStation Plus/Xbox Live Gold Games So Far?”
I’m too picky to really appreciate it.
I think the most I got out of it was the chance to confirm games I was unsure of weren’t worth my time.
There was a couple of games in my year of PS+ that I enjoyed.
If this were a service 10 years ago I’d have been all over it, but I have trouble finding the time to play the games I already bought.
I grab the XBox Live Games with Gold every month. Mostly I play around with them a little then ignore them. Though recently I grabbed AC: Black Flag on XBone. Played it through from start to finish and enjoyed it thoroughly. Would have skipped it without GWG as I haven’t touched AC since the second one.
So for me it’s thumbs up!
MS have notably upped their game the past 2 months. It looks like we’ll be getting something retail (or close to it) every month from now on.
ACIV was an awesome game to get for free if you didn’t already have it. It might not have a huge retail value anymore but there’s a lot of hours of high-quality fun. The other above average games that were given away have been Rayman, Child of Light, Worms and Massive Chalice (apparently, I haven’t played it yet).
Massive Chalice rocks…. Xcom with bows and swords. So many me is pretty good this month – some of the puzzles are insanely hard…
For $50 a year getting 24 games for free now is stupidly good value.
I only just tried Chalice after downloading it a while back and i love it to be honest.
I have two xbox’s and one Gold account so I get to double up on all the games, I especially like the fact we can co-op them off one account 🙂
This month will be the first X1 title that I already bought (Ground Zeroes) but that’s cool cuz everyone should get to play it – it’s awesome!
So far for me the highlights have been Rayman, IDARB, Super Time Force, So Many Me, Guacamelee and incredibly Volgarr the Viking which reminds me of an Arcade game I used to play and is completely mental – I can’t even get past the first level yet I keep trying and trying!
Haven’t tried D4 or AssCreed4 or Massive Chalice yet on account of time
The only real downside to the program (even Strike Suit Zero was good when I gave it a night of my time) is the fucking pool game – why does a pool game take up 12GB of space – that must have some crazy reflections!
havnt bothered much with any of the PS4 Ps Plus games.
Loved it on PS3 and Vita, hoping the PS4 PS Plus eventually steers away from the influx of random indie games it currently gives every month.
some are cool. i like seeing the indies there so i can give those a go. also massive chalice was pretty awesome on XBL and this month has black flag which is pretty awesome definitely one of the best AC games to come out… though most people will have played it by now.
PS+ used to be awesome but i havent used it in over a year now. and i dont have a ps4.
I cancelled my PS+ subscription pending the purchase of a PS4.
I don’t have time to play the free PS3 games, and don’t have a Vita so it was money going to waste. If they start releasing full retail titles on the PS4 store I might get it back so I can start stockpiling games.
Overall PS+ on PS4 has been very underwhelming, a few exceptions (Rocket League, MGS: GZ, Infamous First Light), and a number of indy games have been good. But yeah generally underwhelming.
In saying, rocket league is just ace.
ROOOOOOOCKET LEEEEAGUE!!!
PS+ was unbelievably good on PS3 back in the pre-PS4 days. These days it’s a bit meh. They need to start including at least 1 full-scale retail product on each platform every month. It’s not that the (mostly) indie games you generally get are bad, but they just don’t really feel like you’re getting anywhere near as much value for money as you used to.
I’m guessing that’s going to start happening soon now the console has a solid library and Microsoft have started to include full-scale retail XBOX One games every month.
Yep. I’ve already got disc copies of ac4 and mgs gz that are now seemingly “surplus to requirements”.
The fact I’ve got a massive 360 full game library thanks to gwg – it keeps nagging at my noggin that now they’ve enabled external storage, I have to grab a 1tb external drive and just absolutely cram it with 100 or so full games. Just so they’re there. And since my internal 500gb had is full of xbla games and DLC.
Yeah I guess I’m pretty happy with the subscription model!
Well, PS+ just isn’t the same for me any more (personally).
Nothing is more ‘meh’ inspiring than getting games like LIMBO on PS4 this month after already having gotten it on PS+ for PS3 in May last year.
I’m not putting my nose up at it or anything, just that I used to be really excited for the new months games to be announced on PS3, but on PS4 it’s just meh.
Just seems like there’s less value now. I was happier subscribing on PS3 for the games alone than I am now on PS4 for online play and a handful of arguably lesser games.
I’m pretty amused at the constant complaining over PS+ every month. I barely play my PS4 online, I don’t play every free game, but i still believe it’s unbelievably good value for money. The games aren’t free, but you effectively get long-term (i.e. until you unsubscribe) rental of 3-4 games for a dollar or two each a month. Sometimes I own the games, but there are so many over the year that that’s not a huge issue.
I’ve had it for less than a year, and have enjoyed (so far):
Dust
Spelunky
Steamworld Dig
Binding of Isaac
Injustice
Infamous First Light
The Swapper
Rogue Legacy
Transistor
Oddworld
Guacamellee
Valiant Hearts
Unfinished Swan
Ground Zeroes
Entwined
Rocket League
AND I’m really looking forward to Temple of Osiris, Stealth 2 and Soundshapes next month.
Looking back on this list, that’s 18 somewhat-enjoyable to outright-amazing games that I effectively own (considering I’m renewing my subscription), some of which I never would have tried otherwise. I just don’t see how you can argue against it value-wise!
It still offers value, but I think most people point out that it offers debatably less value than it used to on PS3, when online was free and PS+ was pretty much just for games and we saw less of an indy focus like we do now that online is the primary selling feature of PS+.
Personally, and your feelings may well differ, I couldn’t refuse PS+ on PS3. It was just so much value it was mandatory, a no-brainer.
I’ve been a PS+ subscriber since the games program started, I cancelled the auto renew on my subscription about 6 months after getting the PS4. I rather take the subscription fee and buy Steams deal of the week (Or something of similar value to the PS+ fee, elsewhere) for what I perceive to be better value for my taste. If I had done that when PS+ was in (what I consider to be) full swing on PS3, I would have had a hard time finding better or equal value the way that I do now.
It’s all subjective and, like I say, there’s still value there. But the type of value has changed, which is good for some users and bad for others. You can’t ‘really’ blame the users when a company adjusts it’s focus for a product.
PS+ = Perfect
XBOX Live Gold = Ok
I like how people champion indies as true, original, fresh games, but when they’re given away for free over AAA titles, people lose their minds and say it’s unfair…
I only have experience with PlayStation Plus, but I love it! I usually end up downloading, and at least trying, all of the games each month. So far my favourites have been: Rocket League, Apotheon, Rogue Legacy, Spelunky.
Are they the same people though?
And are fans of indies likely to have already purchased them before they were “free” on these services?
That’s a good point! It wouldn’t be all, but there must be some. Getting games for “free” should be awesome enough, regardless of indie or AAA. I think it comes from a similar sense of entitlement people use to justify downloading movies or music illegally.
And not everyone can afford every indie. For example, I enjoy them a lot, but there are tons I want and don’t have. I was about to buy Limbo last week, waited, and by some miracle it’s free this week!
I definitely understand preferring big expensive AAA titles over $10 indies. Hell, I do too. I just think complaining about it is a little silly.
Well, for me. When a game I really wanted comes up, it’s 99% of the time too late, because I bought it.
That’s my biggest ‘problem’ with PS+: I’ve usually purchased half the games that are offered each month. That being said, I do sometimes hold off on purchasing because I think something will hit PS+ later on. Vindicated with Lara Croft this month.
I’m not a big fan of indie games so the PS+ titles haven’t really been worth my money yet. On paper there’s all this value there but the few games that I would have went out of my way to play I owned before they hit PS+. 24 $10 games is only $240 worth of value if I was actually planning on paying full retail price for them to begin with.
Stuff like Resident Evil Zero HD put me in an awkward position. I know it’ll be on Games with Gold/PS+ sooner or later. I’d rather get it on day one but I’ll continue paying for Gold so I’ve effectively paid for the ‘free’ copy of the game already. I get the same way with Steam now. I feel like a chump paying more than $2 for a Steam game because I know sooner or later it’ll be on sale for 99% off.
Good point, especially at the end there. Something that keeps being said is that it’s still value, but it’s not the amazing, melt your face value it used to be.
You made me think: It’s Becoming harder for us consumers to rationalise value in a way that I would consider fair to developers. Not sure if it’s the consumers fault though. At the end of the day we just want the most value for our money and we’ve been shown what we ‘can’ get at times and it’s hard not to base our purchases off that.
I like to pay full price for the games I really love because it’s a vote with my wallet, the only vote that really counts.
The bad side is, yeah, it diminishes the value of stuff like PS+, especially when I never do multiplayer.
I really like it. Most of the indie stuff I’d pass over anyway unless it’s had some coverage beforehand. With the amount of time I have to play games these days, I generally find myself with something new to play whenever I sit down, even if the game was a freebie from six months ago.
I’m looking forward to the AAA influx (fingers crossed) but until then I’m happy with the backlog I’ve already got.
Feeling a bit let down for buying current gen – last gen gets awesome games (God Of War, Metro 2033), current gen gets some really average stuff, mostly arcade. There have been some awesome drops, and even some amazing arcade gems (Rocket League on PS4, #IDARB on XBone) – but feeling like I’m getting punished for trading my older consoles in.
I have them both for entirely separate reasons. I have XBL to game with my mates (had it for almost 8 years) and have PS+ for the free games. Playing online is just a bonus from ps+ for me, while it’s the entire point of Live (of course I get the licenses for all the “free” games I can).
Been a slow burn this gen. Both good enough though.
I’m sorry, but despite how much Xbox LIVE Gold has been trying to catch up, PSN+ is still miles ahead. Even Gold now still falls behind PSN+ years ago.
Funny, I’ve felt like PSN has been playing catch-up for the last 8/9 years.
Was a subscriber to Xbox live until I got the ps4, got a few games with gold on the 360 but never really played them.
Didn’t subscribe to PS+… Two days ago I bought destiny for $34 (price match target at JB). Figured what the hell I’ll just play the single player. Get home, realise it is online only. Fuck, sweet comes with a 30 day ps+ Trial. Fuck, code doesn’t work. See 14 day trial on PSN, ok, fuck it. Subscribe to PS+. Destiny still downloading update… Fucken…. Scrolling through free games on PS+ oh sweet drive club I’ll try that and hey there’s that ROCKET LEAGUE game everyone is talking about, fuck it, I’ll try that too, hey it’s free.
Later that evening, try rocket league. Hooked as fuck.
Do you think you’ll renew the sub?
Mmm, yeah I think I will, probably on 3 month cycle for $20. I want to give destiny a fair go, and I also feel like I need to try BF:Hardline multiplayer at some point soon. Then later on StarWars Battlefront will come out and I hope to play it if Fallout4 is broken or sucks or gets delayed or something.
Xbox 360? Awesome, except the 250gb I have on my Xbox 360, I don’t have enough space to download all the good GWG!
Xbox One? Well pretty much every good game on GWG I bought new 🙁
PS+ is great, I love getting new games to try out every month. I always see a lot of complaints about them all being indies, but I love me some indie games! Can’t wait for Limbo and Sound Shapes this month.
I get every gold game and to be quite blunt I’m sick of the indie shit that gets offered. Install, play once, and then uninstall. At least ac is a step in the right direction and also mgs coming tomorrow is a step in the right direction. Just wish I could get the 360 games on offer as well from xbone store
Since I joined PS+ in Sept 2014 (to play Destiny), PT and MGS: Ground Zeroes are the only games that are still kept in PS4. I just can’t get into any indie games… :\
PS Plus has been really underwhelming for PS4. I got Injustice at the start of the year, and that was cool. Rocket League is good. I’ve downloaded a bunch of the indie games and didn’t like a single one.
At this stage, I don’t renew my subscription regularly. Only when there’s a game worth checking out for the month at ten bucks.
The Playstation offering seems to have gone downhill lately & i seriously do not want any indie games.
I’m not saying this necessarily applies to you, but I find that people who say that they don’t want indies games are like people who say that they won’t watch a black and white film. Indie games can have amazing gameplay and design, but generally look and sound ‘worse’ than a game with AAA production values. I say, give them a chance. Play the PS+ indies for 10 minutes each and if you don’t like them, fine. Judge them on merit rather than the medium.
i’ve played them. i don’t really like them. some are more enjoyable than others (n+). they’re great for about 10 minutes, then they remind me why we eventually moved on from the snes.
I LOVE PS+ but then I own and use all 3 PS systems (not so much PS3 anymore).
So far I’ve gotten AC Black Flag and Tomb Raider definitive edition on Xbox one Live Gold & EA Access gave me Madden NFL 15, Dragon Age Inquistion, FIFA 15, Battlefield 4, Need for Speed & Titanfall. Awesome selection. I played them and bought the ones I really liked. Plus they give you awesome AAA discounted games such as Batman etc With EA Access you also get 10% off any in store EA game. What that’s done for me is help me get Deluxe versions for the same price as the standard version. Very, very disappointed with Sony feel cheated.
On my PS4 got nothing but crap, junk indies all year so don’t subscribe anymore.The real deal’s with XBox for me personally but each to their own.
I’m sticking with XBox Live Gold and EA Access which give a hell of a lot of AAA game value and titles.
When I first got my Xbox one a few months ago I had no games to play except Halo which came with it. A few days later I has close to 10 AAA titles downloaded from sports games to shooters to RPG’s so until I was able to buy stuff this kept me going. Super deals and awesome trials and stuff on Xbox One.
Now Sony has scrapped 1 month ps plus membership in Australia and you can only get 3 months and 1 year – for what? Indie games?? No comparison between what Microsoft generously give you and greedy Sony. Soon backward compatibility and I can play Fallout 3 again which I got for free for pre ordering Fallout 4 because Fallout 3 is on the backward compatibility list. What awesomeness from Microsoft. It’s not about being a fanboy but you guys do the comparison and see for yourself all you’re missing out on. Ps 4 is hype but no content and if you’re happy to jump up and down saying you’ve sold more then good luck to you while I’m playing games like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect. Some of these games are eternally repayable and having access to them in the latest generation console is incredible.
Sony has failed dismally with content offered. Very scant. I leave my PS 4 mostly off now because of lack of content and good deals. It seems Sony jaunts wants to take but doesn’t give their customers good value. If they do I’ll return but for now I’m getting the best Live Gold and AAA deals from Microsoft and EA Access so why sign up for a bunch of craply indie games? I’m hoping for Skyrim on my new console as I put away my PS3. A lot to look forward to if you’re an XBox gamer not just handing over money for worthless indies.