The Best PlayStation Plus Free Games Of All Time
While the primary draw of PS Plus may be access to online multiplayer, the monthly free games are certainly great incentives. With Sony relaunching the PlayStation Plus subscription service in June to offer three tiers of membership that combine it with PS Now, we’ve decided to take a look at the best PS Plus games that have been offered over the years.
While not every month has been notable, there were still plenty of times when a PS Plus update was worth paying attention to when they were announced. Between indie darlings and unexpected big-budget debuts, here’s a look at the best of PS Plus since 2010.
We prioritized big AAA games (particularly exclusives) and indies that were relatively new when landing on the service when making this list, so you won’t find many ports or remasters of older games outside of some lovely collections. We also only included monthly free games, so games that are only in the PS Plus Collection for PS5 weren’t eligible. Hopefully there will be more games in the coming months that can be added to this roundup. Make no mistake, though, this list isn’t exhaustive–there have been plenty more excellent games up for grabs for PS Plus members over the years. After all, PlayStation has been giving away games to PS Plus subscribers since 2010. Let’s take a stroll through the highlights of the service’s history.
Hotline Miami
Month available: October 2013
The ultimate “just one more turn” game, Hotline Miami’s blend of top-down anarchy, relentless action, and ’80s-inspired visuals still shine today as a great game to test your skill and patience.
Read our Hotline Miami review.
Resogun
Month available: November 2013
One of Housemarque’s early successes, Resogun is a beautiful combination of arcade-style shmup action, catchy music, and a score-attack rhythm that is unmatched by anything else.
Read our Resogun review.
Spelunky
Month available: October 2014
Collect treasure, save a few damsels in distress, fight enemies who get in the way of your loot acquisitions, it’s all good in Spelunky! While a sequel was released in 2020, starting with the original is still recommended, thanks to its delightful design, cathartic chaos, and more streamlined approach that makes it a great place to start before tackling the more challenging sequel.
Read our Spelunky review.
SteamWorld Dig
Month available: November 2014
Like Spelunky, SteamWorld Dig is all about excavating new mysteries and encountering deadly foes along the way. The main difference here is that you’re doing so as a robot, plus the variety of tools on offer adds extra incentive to keep digging down until you strike gaming gold.
Read our Steamworld: Dig review.
DmC: Devil May Cry
Month available: January 2014
The forgotten Devil May Cry game that was developed by Hellblade studio Ninja Theory, DmC’s bold and brash design still shines as you wield both demonic and angelic powers to take down the forces of hell.
Read our DmC: Devil May Cry review.
Transistor
Month available: February 2015
After the blockbuster success of Bastion, developer Supergiant Games continued its winning streak with Transistor, an elegant exploration of jazz, style, and swinging around a massive sword.
Read our Transistor review.
Rocket League
Month available: July 2015
Rocket-powered cars smashing into oversized soccer balls is a universal language, and Psyonix’s thriller of a game exploded in popularity when it was offered as a PS Plus bonus. Rocket League has since become a free-to-play game.
Read our Rocket League review.
Helldivers
Month available: February 2016
A top-down twin-stick shooter game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, Helldivers is a blissful bullet barrage that combines active reloads with blistering speed as you mow down waves of enemy aliens.
Read our Helldivers review.
Tearaway Unfolded
Month available: March 2017
The best use of paper since humanity started slapping words onto the surface, Tearaway Unfolded remakes the PS Vita classic and somehow manages to unfold even more creativity along the way.
Read our Tearaway Unfolded review.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Month available: October 2017
Considered by many to be the magnum opus of Hideo Kojima’s time at Konami, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain transitioned the series’ tactical espionage action to a new battlefield of intrigue and open-world design.
Read our Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain review.
Bloodborne
Month available: March 2018
Compared to the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne’s more aggressive gameplay and high-risk for high-reward elements made it a standout title at the time that further polished the studio’s trademark Souls-like formula.
Read our Bloodborne review.
Ratchet and Clank
Month available: March 2018
Arriving just in time to promote Ratchet and Clank’s big-screen debut, the remake of the original game is delightfully fun romp that shows just how well the original game’s formula held up. Quality-of-life improvements and changes to the structure made it feel fresh again, and it also happened to be one of the most gorgeous games on PS4 at the time.
Read our Ratchet and Clank review.
Rayman Legends
Month available: May 2018
Everybody loves Rayman, but this 2013 game is easily Ubisoft’s strangest hero at his artistic best. Whimsical, weird, and packed with charm, the game only gets better and wilder when you recruit friends to join you for some couch co-op.
Read our Rayman Legends review.
XCOM 2
Month available: June 2018
More XCOM, more strategy, and even more “how can there be a 5{f5ac61d6de3ce41dbc84aacfdb352f5c66627c6ee4a1c88b0642321258bd5462} chance I’ll miss hitting an alien at point-blank range with a shotgun,” XCOM 2’s blend of tactical warfare was a welcome addition to any PS4 library.
Read our XCOM 2 review.
Yakuza Kiwami
Month available: November 2018
A gorgeous remake of one of Sega’s best franchises, Yakuza Kiwami’s sprawling storyline, high-definition recreation of its iconic district, and hard-hitting combat makes for an unmissable gangster soap opera.
Read our Yakuza Kiwami review.
The Witness
Month available: March 2019
Not to be confused with a Harrison Ford film, The Witness is a brain-teaser of a game, all set on in an open-world filled with brilliant line puzzles and a relaxing visual language. Years in the making and headed by Braid’s Jonathan Blow, The Witness is clever, artistic, and refined in its structure.
Read our The Witness review.
What Remains of Edith Finch
Month available: May 2019
What Remains of Edith Finch is a fantastic reminder of the emotional impact that video games can have. Released back in 2017, Giant Sparrow’s atmospheric tale of curses and mystery is still well worth experiencing today.
Read our What Remains of Edith Finch review.
Wipeout: The Omega Collection
Month available: August 2019
It may sport a 4K makeover with its vibrant visuals, but under the hood there’s an anti-gravity engine of high-speed racing that has barely changed. The best parts of Wipeout’s storied legacy all bundled into an audio-visual delight, the Omega Collection is a delightful way to revisit the past without needing to invent a time machine.
Read our Wipeout: The Omega Collection review.
The Last of Us Remastered
October 2019
Naughty Dog’s journey into a post-apocalyptic wasteland populated by fungi fiends could have easily been a paint-by-numbers action experience, but The Last of Us turned out to be a more somber tale of violence, hope, and survival at any cost. The Remastered version packs a graphical punch, enhancing the original PS3 game with some added grunt that adds new visual layers to this masterpiece.
Read our The Last of Us Remastered review.
Titanfall 2
Month available: December 2019
Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall is easily one of the best original games of the 2010s, and its sequel didn’t disappoint. Piloting gigantic warsuits or wall-running into enemies while blazing a path forward built off the foundation of the original, but the incredible campaign took the series to new heights. Unsurprisingly, it also had a thrilling suite of online multiplayer modes.
Read our Titanfall 2 review.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
Month available: January 2020
A swashbuckling trilogy of adventures remastered for the PS4 era, the Uncharted Collection chronicles the rise of Nathan Drake as he finds himself caught up in all manner of peril while searching for treasure. Two-fisted adventures with plenty of firepower, Naughty Dog’s premier franchise is well worth revisiting.
Read our Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection review.
BioShock: The Collection
Month available: February 2020
The best part about the BioShock collection–besides it being a compilation of all three games–is that its inclusion of BioShock Infinite’s superb two-part Burial at Sea helps create a perfect trilogy of utopian societies gone horribly wrong. The first BioShock is well worth playing, the first sequel is an underappreciated gem, and while Infinite might be polarizing, Burial at Sea does a superb job at bringing the entire saga full circle.
Read our BioShock: The Collection review.
Shadow of the Colossus
Month available: March 2020
One of the most unique games of the PS2 era, Shadow of the Colossus received a terrific remake in 2018 from Bluepoint Games that amplified its unforgettable setting. Attack on Titan with a more haunting design, Bluepoint’s work shows just why the studio is regarded as the gold standard when it comes to remakes.
Read our Shadow of the Colossus review.
Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
Month available: November 2020
While we’re still waiting for an announcement on a Silksong release date, this metroidvania action-adventure game is still well worth a revisit. The graphics look as crisp as ever, the gameplay will push you to your limits, and the Voidheart version contains plenty of welcome tweaks to the action that makes a terrific game even better.
Read our Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition review.
Control: Ultimate Edition
Month available: February 2021
While it may have been smaller in scope when compared to previous Remedy Entertainment games, Control benefited from this back-to-basics design by creating a gameplay experience that was superbly polished. Dripping with atmosphere and mystery, this dive into a supernatural mystery is Remedy at its very best.
Read our Control review.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Month available: March 2021
The first chapter in Square Enix’s remake of its most iconic Final Fantasy, nobody expected Final Fantasy VII Remake to arrive so soon on PS Plus after launch. The timing was perfect–thanks to the impending Intergrade expansion–and fans who missed out on the return of Cloud Strife and friends got a second chance to revisit Midgar for a thrilling adventure.
Read our Final Fantasy VII Remake review.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Month available: July 2021
A Plague Tale: Innocence is a haunting journey into medieval darkness. A free upgrade on PS5 makes this dark tale shine, and if you’re on PS5, it’s well worth a download to experience this disturbing story of rats and violence.
Read our A Plague Tale: Innocence review.
Overcooked: All You Can Eat
Month available: September 2021
If you’re looking to sever a friendship or two, the good news is that Overcooked: All You Can Eat is the perfect tool for the job. Invite some friends who you want to strike off your Christmas card list, dive into tense team-based gaming, bungle up some kitchen orders, and revel in the kitchen chaos that ensues in this meaty multiplayer game.
Read our Overcooked: All You Can Eat review.
Slay the Spire
Month available: April 2022
If it feels like too many games are roguelikes with a deck-building angle these days, you can blame Slay the Spire for that. Developed over several years through early access, it’d be easy to be mad at this game if it wasn’t so damn good at what it does, and thanks to PS Plus, the most refined and feature-packed version of the game was available free of charge in April 2022.
Read our Slay the Spire review.
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