With Microsoft stealing all the headlines with the Game Pass Ultimate package for Xbox users, you’d think Sony may consider making a PS Plus splash in the coming weeks and months.
Well, with just over a month until the PS5 launch, Sony isn’t exactly setting the world on fire with its October PS Plus games. Gamers will be able to add Need for Speed Payback and Vampyr to their collection as part of their PS Plus subscription bundle.
Payback isn’t the most recent addition to the NfS franchise. That honour belongs to Heat, which will be available to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers when EA Play joins the fray on November 10.
PS Plus subscribers have to settle for the 2017 outing, which wasn’t overly well thought of, earning a 3.5 star score from Trusted Reviews and a 61 overall score from metacritic.
Related: Best PS4 games
Our reviewer concluded: “Need for Speed was never the most-respected racing series, but it used to be one of the most fun. Payback has too much getting in the way.” Ouch.
Vampyr is a third-person action RPG from Life is Strange developer Dontnod Entertainment that offers gamers deep narrative choices. Released in 2018, it earned a 4/5 star score from Trusted Reviews and earned praise for its “engaging story shaped by your actions and inactions, rather than dialogue choices.”
We also liked the excellent soundtrack, great look and the room for different playthroughs depending on the narrative choices.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to download September’s games, the much more satisfying line-up of Street Fighter V and PUBG, you have until October 5 to jump aboard.
This month’s releases could be a sign Sony is keeping its powder dry for a bigger splash next month when the PS5 goes on sale. The company is already promising gamers a PlayStation Plus Collection, which brings the very best of the PS4 era to the PS5 for absolutely no extra cost.
However, the company faces a massive uphill struggle when it comes to game subscriptions services, especially with Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate boasting all first-party studio games, as well as a cracking selection from EA Play and now Bethesda.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
