PS Plus Extra Premium: Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart grande protagonista

Overflowing. We can’t find a more apt word to describe the May line-up for PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium, made up of no less than twenty-one games. A very varied selection, composed as it is by a high-profile exclusive like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, an absolute novelty like Humankind, a slew of highly appreciated catalog titles and a quartet of inevitable classics. On the occasion of their arrival in the catalogue, set for today 16 May, we present them to you one by one to help you choose which one to download immediately and which one to postpone to a later time.

The new PS4 and PS5 games for Extra

The flagship of today’s selection, and one of the first games ever to truly flex the PlayStation 5 muscles, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart sees the dynamic duo become a trio on a mission to save the multiverse, in check from the ambitions of the evil Nefarious.

Rift Apart elevates to maximum power all the distinctive features that have made the success of the saga, such as lighthearted comedy, the wonder of discovery and dynamic action. While tons of lead and copious explosions punctuate the progression, one is inevitably struck by the mighty staging, while the multidimensional jumps offer PS5 a perfect assist to highlight its incredible speed in loading.

It makes its debut immediately on day one in PlayStation Plus Extra Humanity, a new work from Enhance (the same studio behind Tetris Effect: Connected and Rez Infinite) presented as an innovative cross between a puzzle game, an action game and a platformer. In the shoes (or rather, in the fur) of a Shiba Inu dog you are called to lead the march of oceanic crowds, making them jump, spin, push objects, float, shoot and climb to reach safety.

The content offer includes 90 different playable scenarios, full of obstacles, enemies, puzzles, unlockable skills and boss fights, as well as a simple and intuitive editor for Scene Creation. Humanity also includes optional support for Virtual Reality, both on PlayStation 4 (with PS VR) and PlayStation 5 (with PS VR2).

Following the example of its direct predecessor, which joined the catalog last September, Watch Dogs Legion presents itself to all PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers by shifting the focus of the action to London and introducing the biggest novelty of the open world series by Ubisoft: the possibility of impersonating any inhabitant of the English capital and exploiting the peculiar abilities of each of them to grow the legion of the Resistance. You will know more by reading our review of Watch Dogs Legion.

Dishonored 2, Dishonored The Death of the Outsider, The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein Youngblood complete the invasion of Bethesda games that began last month by continuing the story of their direct predecessors. Dishonored 2, with two playable characters and two of the brightest levels in video game history, represents the high point of the series, while The Death of the Outsider brilliantly concludes the narrative line inaugurated by the first Dishonored. The Evil Within 2 sees detective Sebastian Castellanos return to STEM in an attempt to save his daughter, while Wolfenstein: Youngblood jumps forward 19 years by shifting the focus to Blazko’s daughters and introducing a new, for the series, cooperative component.

All three chapters of the Trilogy of the Origins of Lara Croft, essential for all lovers of the adventure genre, enter the catalog in one fell swoop. Tomb Raider, which arrived on the market in 2013, tells of the transformation of Lara Croft from an inexperienced young woman into a hardened survivor. After being shipwrecked on a Japanese island with all the crew of an archaeological expedition, she is called to survive in a hostile environment and to discover the secrets of the lost realm of Yamatai. The Definitive Edition includes several bonuses and all post-launch downloadable content.

In Rise of the Tomb Raider he travels to the mysterious and hostile Siberia on the trail of the lost city of Kitezh ending up in the crosshairs of the ruthless organization Trinity, determined to do everything to eliminate her and reach that legendary place before her. The “20 Year Celebration” Edition includes “Blood Ties” single player content (complete with PSVR support), a zombie combat mode, online co-op Endurance mode, “Extreme Survival” level for the main campaign, a 20th birthday outfit and weapon, and 5 classic skins for the protagonist.

The final chapter, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, finally sees Lara delving into the dense forests of South America in an attempt to stop a Mayan apocalypse that she herself helped to trigger. The trilogy as a whole offers a successful mix of exploration, heart-pounding scenes and stealth sessions, giving its best when she lets herself be explored in search of secrets.

From Taiwan comes Thymesia, a soulslike with frenetic combat and a complex system of pestilential weapons that in some ways recalls Bloodborne.

The work of OverBorder studio is not at the level of FromSoftware’s production, however it is perfectly capable of giving fans of the genre a few hours of fun on PlayStation 5, as we saw in Thymesia’s review. The atmospheres of Lake are completely different, an adventure dedicated to players in search of peace and tranquillity. Set in 1986, it tells of Meredith Weiss, a woman in her forties who decides to leave the big city to return to her hometown and take her father’s place at her post office. Whitethorn’s work stages a slice of daily life with characters endowed with realistic behaviors and a story that invites us to reflect on one of the most precious resources in the world: time. Conan Exiles, on the other hand, is a survival game inspired by classic barbarian legends that puts you in the role of a man abandoned in the desert for having committed unknown crimes. Alone and clad only in rags, you must survive in a hostile environment shared with users from all over the globe, scavenging materials to build tools, armor, weapons and homes.

Lots of stuff, right? We’re not done yet! There’s also Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, a farm simulator in which Sakuna, the goddess of agriculture, must not only sow and reap the perfect crop, but also lay down demonic beasts with fast, heavy and special attacks.

Fans of this type of game can also have fun with Rune Factory 4 Special, a role-playing game that allows you to grow crops, raise monsters, catch fish, cook tasty dishes and manufacture powerful equipment between one dungeon and another. Finally there are Bus Simulator 21: Next Stop, dedicated to all the commuters disgruntled with the public transport service of their city, and Rain World, a fast-paced survival platform game inspired by the simplicity of the 16-bit classics.

NB Initially, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town and Soundfall were also supposed to be part of the May line-up. The former was removed from the list after the announcement, while the latter is said to be aimed exclusively at Japanese and Asian subscribers.

The new classics for Premium

• Syphon Filter Logan’s Shadow | PSP
• Blade Dancer Lineage of Light | PSP
• Pursuit Force | PSP
• Ghostbusters The Video Game Remastered | PS4

Sony shows that it is particularly fond of Siphon Filter by adding another game in the series to the catalog of PlayStation Plus Premium classics, namely Siphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow, originally launched on PSP in 2007.

Sixth and last episode of the franchise to have seen the light, Logan’s Shadow represents a sequel to Dark Mirror. Featuring the Havok physics engine, which allows enemies and objects to react realistically to hits, and new cover mechanics, sees Gabe Logan infiltrate the American cargo ship St. Helens to settle the score once and for all with the Syrian terrorist Ghassan al-Bitar.

From the catalog of the iconic Sony portable also comes Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light, a 2006 role-playing video game featuring a turn-based combat system and a weapon and item creation system, and Pursuit Force, a 2005 police simulator in which it is possible to hunt down criminals by speeding aboard cars, trucks, speedboats and helicopters.

Finally, we point out the introduction of Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered, remastered version for PlayStation 4 of the adventure originally released in 2009 on PS3. With the collaboration of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, the game developed by Terminal Reality and remastered by Saber Interactive was conceived as a continuation of the cinematic adventures, therefore as a sort of Ghostbusters 3. The adventure, which allows you to hunt ghosts equipped with proton packs in destructible environments, it also coincides with the last appearance of Egon Spengler, the character played by Ramis, an actor who sadly passed away in 2014.