In June, Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscription game service, originally intended to sell online game access, was rebranded as PS Plus, but it has now become Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, providing access to an extensive and growing catalog of Netflix-style games.

When you use PS Plus for the first time, you get an Essential package that matches the old PS Plus, as well as Extra and Premium packages with hundreds of games, cloud streaming, monthly bonus games and online multiplayer access. However, what it doesn’t offer is a clean interface to make it easier to find games. It also only excludes some of the biggest Sony games on the PlayStation platform.

  • Lots of shovelware
  • Poor findability
  • Missing important Sony games
  • No mobile app yet, PC app isn’t great

PS Plus is a big plus.

Sony offered two different PlayStation plans before the big update: PS Plus for online play, which included a few bonus games per month, cost $10, and PS Now offered a catalog of mostly older games to download or stream in the cloud. for the same price. The new PS Plus is divided into three classes:

Essential: It’s the same as the original PS Plus, with two or three monthly bonus games, which you can only keep as long as you’re an active subscriber; play online; cloud saves; and PSN Store discounts. (In the UK it’s 7 a month or 70 a year, and in Australia it’s AU$12 or AU$80.)

Extra: All essential features, plus over 400 PS and PS5 games, are available for download or selective streaming. (In the UK it’s 11 a month or 84 a year; in Australia it’s AU$19 or AU$135)

Premium is a step up from the Extra tier, which includes PlayStation 1, PlayStation 2, PS3 and PSP games, expanding the entire catalog to over 700 titles. That tier is available in the UK for $18 per month, or $120 per year. In Australia, where for some reason it’s called Deluxe, it costs AU$22 or AU$155.)

The best games from the PlayStation console include Death Stranding Directors Cut, God of War (2018), Demons Souls (the updated 2020 version), Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Red Dead Redemption 2, Control, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy . Those who have the Premium plan also get older games, such as Dark Cloud 2, Siphon Filter, and Hot Shots Golf.

This means game streaming is available from the get-go, unlike Xbox Game Pass, which took years to develop. Some classic games are only available to play via streaming, and as long as your internet connection is fast and stable, there are few interruptions.

The Xbox Game Pass style of cloud gaming allows you to play some games on phones and tablets or in a laptop’s web browser.

The PS Plus catalog is larger than Xbox Game Pass and includes some unique features. However, there are shortcomings with the service that Sony must address if it is to match Microsoft’s popularity.

Best PS Plus games to watch

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There are a few big pluses.

The biggest drawback of PS Plus is the lack of organization in its catalog of games. There are a few categories of games, but there seems to be little rhyme or reason for them. Some of the most popular games and certain genres are easy to find, but PS Plus, on the other hand, is just a mess.

Another big minus is the overall quality of games. Not that you would expect all 700 games to be winners, although there are some absolutely terrible games that are just trying to inflate the numbers. This was the biggest mistake with PS Now, which spread to the new PS Plus. The lack of quality games adds to the difficulty of discovering a new game to play.

Making the catalog problem even worse is the lack of certain Sony published games. Microsoft has stated that its games will be available on Xbox Game Pass from the beginning of the game and that they will remain there until the next release. That was true for Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5, as well as future games like Bethesdas Starfield.

Sony has yet to do the same with many of its well-known classic games and its most recent titles. PS Plus believes it should feature The Last of Us Part 2, Horizon Forbidden West, and most Gran Turismo titles, but it doesn’t.

There is also the issue of the longevity of the titles. PS Now had titles available for a few months before they were removed, and it’s unclear if PS Plus will do the same.

While cloud streaming is available at launch, there are a lack of platforms to stream to. There are no apps for iOS or Android and the PC app, while it works, would fail to launch certain games.

PS4 and PS5 console owners who want the absolute best for their money should get the extra tier of PS Plus. There are still plenty of great games to enjoy at a reasonable monthly price, while the Essential tier should be avoided as it makes little sense to pay $5 a month to access hundreds of games.