By Dean Moses
This month Sony has officially launched their new PlayStation Plus service in what the company hopes will be a contender to Microsoft’s Game Pass.
There are now three tiers PlayStation gamers can choose from that allows them everything from standard online gaming access to a plethora of cloud-streamed games, and downloadable retro classics that have been enhanced for the console. However, the amount of game titles currently accessible depends on how much players are willing to dish out for this monthly/yearly subscription and how often the company is planning on updating the library.
The Options
PlayStation Plus essential is the cheapest option of the three tiers which costs $9.99 a month and is primarily used for simply accessing online multiplayer games (and the free monthly games). The next choice is PlayStation Plus Extra, which is $14.99 and includes several PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 heavy hitters from Sony itself such as The Last of US and Ghost of Tsushima.
Now the cream of the crop is the PlayStation Plus Premium, which comes with the price tag of $17.99 per month. With this option players are able to access everything from the other two subscription tiers as well as retro titles from PlayStation 1, 2, 3, and PSP games.
Is it worth it?
While exploring the most expensive tier, subscribers might feel somewhat overwhelmed by the selection of five generations of games, yet this does come with some caveats. The number of original PlayStation and PS2 titles are somewhat lacking but hopefully this will be fixed in the coming months. While there are some retro games you can purchase for download from the PlayStation store, there are titles that are only playable through PlayStation Plus Premium such as the Director’s Cut of the original Resident Evil games for PlayStation 1.
On the plus side these classics run flawlessly, appearing beautifully in 4K and running with new features such as save states, a rewind feature, and in some cases, they even come with a trophy support.
With the PS3 being notoriously difficult to develop for, this system’s titles are only available to stream akin to movies on Netflix. Unfortunately, the technology hasn’t quite reached the point where streaming high quality video games can be a viable option for most households.
Still, with every other system being eligible to download, it doesn’t quite dampen the experience.
Conclusion
The three tier PlayStation subscription service allows gamers to customize their experience to how they play. If you are not one to stream games, then maybe the essential package is all you need for your multiplayer outings. But if you like to reminisce with the classics, PlayStation Premium is probably your best option, if and when more titles are added.
