KitGuru Games: Can PlayStation Plus compete with Game Pass?

In 2022 we saw Sony wholly revamp its PlayStation Plus subscription service, replacing the previous model in favour of a three tiered structure: PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Premium. With the introduction of the new PlayStation Plus, Sony was clearly attempting to align the service to be much closer to that of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass. But have they succeeded? With 2022 officially over, I’ve taken a look back at the past year of PS Plus releases to see whether Sony’s revitalised service has been able to keep up with Xbox.

Before hopping into the list of games, it is worth noting that I will not be looking at the PlayStation Plus Premium titles, as that tier of service is definitely not worth it, with it only primarily adding ‘classic’ PlayStation titles (though the list is currently paltry) and PS3 titles through streaming – another benefit which does not feel fully fleshed out. As such, I have opted to focus on the Extra tier, as I believe it to be the best deal of the three, and is in many ways the closest to Xbox Game Pass with its rotating list of hundreds of titles.

One other note to be aware of is the fact that the revamp of PlayStation Plus did not happen until June 2022, meaning for the first 5 months of the year we are only able to look at the PS Plus Essential titles – though they certainly aren’t lacking in quality.

Prior to the introduction of the new PS Plus tiers, subscribers would be able to get their hands on three titles each month, with Sony kicking off the year by giving fans a decent selection of games in the form of DIRT 5, Deep Rock Galactic and Persona 5 Strikers. Being a PS5 game, DIRT 5 offered many PlayStation players their first taste at a next-gen racing game, with the title offering multiple performance modes, DualSense controller support and more.

Deep Rock Galactic meanwhile is a co-op first-person shooter which sees players embark on excavations to mine resources while taking on the local underground wildlife. Featuring unique mechanics, plenty of customisation and continued support from the developers, Deep Rock Galactic served as an excellent addition to the PS Plus line-up.

Last but certainly not least for January was Persona 5 Strikers. Taking the tried and tested formula of the musou games, P5 Strikes gave fans of the Phantom Thieves a new way to interact with the world of Persona using real time combat and the series’ signature stylings. Though hard to compare to later months, for what it was, PS Plus in January set the service up with a great start to the year.

Similar to January, Sony offered three free PS Plus titles in February, though for many it was a step down from the prior month, adding Planet Coaster: Console Edition, Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep and EA Sports UFC 4. Planet Coaster was the headlining title of the month, being a PlayStation 5 game. Created as a spiritual successor to the classic Rollercoaster Tycoon series, Planet Coaster includes more than 700 objects to place wherever and however you please, making for a great theme park simulation title.

Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep was released to line up with the launch of the Borderlands spin-off game Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Originally DLC for Borderlands 2, Assault on Dragon Keep was later released as a standalone experience, giving players a look at the title which would later inspire the team at Gearbox to make Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Finally, sports fans were certainly kept occupied thanks to the release of EA Sports UFC 4. Though I myself have no interest in the series, it is good nonetheless to see Sony accommodating all types of PlayStation fans.

March was an excellent month for PlayStation Plus, even though Sony had yet to revamp the service. Unlike previous months, subscribers in March were gifted 5 titles instead of the usual 3, with Team Sonic Racing; Ark: Survival Evolved; Ghost of Tsushima Legends; Ghostrunner and GTA Online all being given away.

March was even more exciting when considering the fact that the GTA Online being given away was the Expanded and Enhanced edition, including a bespoke PS5 version featuring multiple performance modes, ray-tracing and more. Though GTA V is almost a decade old, the inclusion of GTA Online was undoubtedly huge for the service.

In a similar vein to GTA Online, Ghost of Tsushima Legends took the online portion of Sony’s open-world PlayStation exclusive and separated it out into its own release, with PS Plus players able to experience Ghost of Tsushima’s beautiful visuals and fun gameplay in a multiplayer format. March represents the best month yet for PS Plus in 2022 thanks to a mixture of day-one releases, quality titles both indie and AAA, and multiple bonus games.

After the massive month that was March, April arrived with a much more modest list of titles, that being Hood: Outlaws & Legends – the online multiplayer heist game where rival gangs compete against one another to see who steals the most, as well as Sponge Bob Square Pants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated – a remake of the PlayStation 2 classic. Last but not least was Slay the Spire, a roguelike deckbuilding adventure where players focus on creating the best deck possible out of hundreds of cards.

While certainly not the best month, April represented a bog standard line-up of PlayStation Plus releases, pleasing some fans while disappointing others.

The final month prior to the revamp of PlayStation Plus, May’s line-up of titles was by far the weakest of the year so far, adding FIFA 22; the co-op focused survival tower defence roguelite ‘Tribes of Midgard’ and Curse or the Dead Gods, a “skill-based roguelike exploring a cruel, dark temple made of endless rooms and corridors.”

Despite including two PS5 games, it was clear by May that Sony was waiting for the PS Plus revamp in order to unleash its library of titles upon players – meaning that despite the dip in quality, the best was yet to come.

Being the first month of the revamped PS Plus service, June brought with it hundreds of games (369 games to be exact) – far too many to list here. That said, some of the standout titles included the likes of:

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Shadow Warrior 3
• UNCHARTED: The Lost Legacy
• Until Dawn
• The Wonderful 101: Remastered
• The Last Guardian
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Soulcalibur VI
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Outer Wilds
• Mafia III: Definitive Edition
• inFAMOUS: Second Son
• Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition
• Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition
• Gravity Rush 2
• Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition
• Far Cry 4
• Fallout 4
• Detroit: Become Human
• Days Gone
• Bloodborne
• Tetris Effect: Connected
• Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition
• Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut
• Death Stranding: Director's Cut
• Control: Ultimate Edition
• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
• Returnal
• Demon's Souls
• God of War (2018)

This is just a tiny portion of the almost 400 titles dropped onto PlayStation Plus Extra in June, making it by far the best single month in the history of any gaming service – though of course this is an unfair comparison with it being the first month of the new service. Still, in one month alone, Sony managed to fill its PS Plus Extra tier with enough games to compete with Xbox Game Pass, both in quantity but especially quality.

Sony may not be adding its first-party games day-one onto PS Plus Extra, but there is no denying that old or new, June’s PS Plus titles included some of the greatest games of the generation and then some.

July was never going to compare to the previous month, with the service now settling into a more regular line-up of 18 titles. That said, Sony continued to bring the heat, with multiple major titles being added to the service including:

• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
• Marvel's Avengers
• Final Fantasy VII: Remake Intergrade
• Stray

As mentioned, though Sony has opted to not include their first-party titles day-one on PS Plus, the console manufacturer still brought some major day-one titles to the service, including the cute cat platformer STRAY. Of course, while some games added could be seen by some as filler (such as Paw Patrol: On a Roll! And Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure), July still included plenty of hard hitters such as the PlayStation 5 exclusive Final Fantasy VII: Remake Intergrade and 7 Assassin’s Creed games.

Again, while impossible to compare to June, July brought more than enough quality to justify the service’s new pricing model.

August saw a small step down in the quantity of titles added, but certainly not the quality with 15 games in total being added, including:

• Yakuza: Like A Dragon
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2
• Metro Exodus
• Dead by Daylight
• Bugsnax

Thanks to Sony’s partnership with Ubisoft, subscribers are also able to get their hands on many of the French publisher’s titles, with August including a number of smaller experiences such as UNO, Monopoly and Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Though nothing too exciting, these games all helped to add variety to the service, making it appealing to a much wider audience – both casual and hardcore alike.

Once again, September’s line-up took a small dip in the quantity of titles offered (14), however the quality remained rather consistent, with the biggest addition being Arkane Studios’ Deathloop. Originally a PlayStation exclusive, Deathloop was placed in a somewhat awkward position following the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft. While also now available on Xbox Game Pass, Deathloop’s addition to PS Plus was still an exciting one – it being a ‘next-gen’ only title and all that.

Deathloop aside, September brought with it a decent variety of titles, from fighting games to racing titles; open-world experiences and indies, meaning there was a little something for everyone, including:

• Toem
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• Rayman Legends
• Need for Speed: Heat
• Watch Dogs 2

As with previous months, Ubisoft continued to support PlayStation Plus, adding more of its back catalogue onto the service. With the way in which most Ubisoft titles are structured, their inclusion on PlayStation Plus is a welcome addition, as those wanting a quick gaming fix can do so by exploring one of the many open world Ubisoft games available. This wouldn’t be the last month to see a bombardment of Ubisoft titles added, as we will see next with October’s games.

Those wanting to experience some horror games in October through PlayStation Plus were left partially disappointed, as unlike Xbox Game Pass, just two of the 19 titles added in October were of the horror variety, that being the short yet impactful indie hit ‘Inside’ as well as the previously-Xbox-exclusive ‘The Medium’ from the horror aficionados at Bloober Team.

Other additions in October included:

• Hot Wheels Unleashed
• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate
• Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
• Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition
• Dragon Quest Builders 2
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition

With 6 more Assassin’s Creed games being added, PlayStation Plus quickly became one of the best ways to experience almost the entire AC franchise in one convenient place. As with previous months however, Sony seems to be targeting variety when it comes to the titles added, with a bunch of Dragon Quest games spanning multiple genres and a couple indies (Hohokum and SUPERHOT) also being included.

That said, October does represent one of the weaker months for PlayStation Plus since the launch of the revamp – though there was still plenty to enjoy.

The penultimate month of the year saw Sony dropping 18 games onto PlayStation Plus Extra. Fans of the Kingdom Hearts series were left pleased as basically the entire story was made playable thanks to the addition of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX; Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue; Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory and Kingdom Hearts III.

As expected, Ubisoft brought a few more of its games over, adding a bunch of Tom Clancy titles – namely Rainbow Six Siege; The Division 2 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint. These titles aside, some of the other standout additions include:

• LEGO Harry Potter Collection
• Nioh 2: Remastered
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain + World Brothers
• Oddworld: Soulstorm: Enhanced Edition
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition
• Chorus

Even if you aren’t a fan of Kingdom Hearts, November’s PS Plus line-up had you somewhat covered, with well-regarded indies such as the narrative-focused and emotional ‘What Remains of Edith Finch’ alongside action-packed PS5 titles like Nioh 2: Remastered.

Unlike some months, November seemingly did not have an obvious standout title, but with more franchises being added onto the service PS Plus was becoming a great way for players to experience a bunch of series from beginning to end.

Finally, we have reached the final month of the year, and Sony ended it with a bang, adding 20 titles – the biggest month yet (aside from June of course). Some of the most notable additions included:

• Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
• Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
• Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – Ultimate Edition
• Judgment
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor + Shadow of War
• Far Cry 5 + Primal + New Dawn

By now, a pattern has become quite apparent with the way that Sony opts to add games onto PS Plus. Unlike what we witnessed with Xbox Game Pass (which featured a tick-tock like release structure with each month going up and down in quality), the revamped PlayStation Plus line-up seems to follow a more consistent yet perhaps less exciting pattern, with each month seeing a great list of mostly older titles being added onto the service. Of course, there were some months which saw pretty major day-one inclusions (such as with STRAY), but unlike Xbox which seems to put great importance on its day-one Game Pass releases, Sony seems more content with PlayStation Plus being an additive service – meaning you buy the brand new games you really want to play and can then use PS Plus to fulfil the rest of your gaming needs.

Furthermore, with the way that Sony has been adding franchises onto the service (in quite large batches), the new PS Plus has quite impressively built a library of titles which can match that of Xbox Game Pass both in terms of quantity but also quality – as long as you aren’t bothered by the fact that you might have to wait a bit for first-party games to be added.

So, to ask the question, can PlayStation Plus compete with Xbox Game Pass? In my opinion the answer is a definite yes. While Microsoft still has the advantage in releasing first-party games day-one, the console manufacturer’s output in recent years has been rather small, meaning this benefit isn’t being utilised to its fullest. With that in consideration, Sony has made an incredibly attractive subscription service, especially if you choose to subscribe annually. Unlike Xbox Game Pass which has a flat monthly fee of £10.99, PlayStation Plus Extra can be purchased annually, saving quite a bit of money and bringing its monthly cost down far lower than Game Pass (priced at £83.99 a year or just under £7 a month).

With hundreds of games across dozens of genres and publishers, PlayStation Plus Extra is indeed the Xbox Game Pass competitor that Sony was hoping it to be – an impressive feat considering the revamped service has only been live for 7 months. Hopefully Sony continues in its current trajectory going into 2023. If they keep this up, the value of PS Plus Extra will be almost impossible to deny come the service’s 1st birthday. We will have to wait and see, but things are looking good.

You can read my thoughts on the past 12 months of Xbox Game Pass HERE.

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KitGuru says: Are you subscribed to PlayStation Plus? Do you think it is worth it? Does Sony need to add its first-party games day-one or is it not necessary? Let us know down below.

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