PS Plus – Extra, Premium, Deluxe – Review

PlayStation Plus, Sony’s new tier-based subscription service, had a lot to offer: a large selection of well-loved games, the return of beloved PS1 and PS2 classics, free trials of the newest releases, and great value. Though it hasn’t delivered on all of its promises, the redesigned subscription service is still worth upgrading for.

The most prominent feature of the new service is a wide selection of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games that can be downloaded and played by anyone. The service, however, falls short when it comes to paying tribute to PlayStation Classics, which are often overlooked.

Our service offerings, what you can expect, and areas for improvement are all laid out here for your perusal in this section.

The cluttered look and feel of PlayStation Plus’ new subscription service is the first thing you’ll notice when signing up for the service (UI). There are a number of options on the first row of the menu, including ‘Games’. The PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, The PlayStation Plus Collection, and the Game Trials section all have similar drop-down menus that break down the service further.

You can find these’spotlight’ menus by scrolling down further. All of these menus can be accessed by scrolling through them, selecting a high-level category, or jumping directly to the top tabs.

Additionally, there are a few anomalies to contend with: However, some games appear to be missing from the main ‘Games’ menu and can only be accessed through the ‘PlayStation Plus Game Catalog’ submenu or through manual search. The PlayStation Plus inclusions of Mortal Kombat 11 and Jak 3 are only visible when you visit their respective store pages.

As the platform continues to be developed, these issues will be addressed, but they remain a problem – as does the multi-layered menu system. In light of the large number of titles, it would be helpful if the menus could be simplified even further.

Premium and Deluxe tiers of PlayStation Plus allow gamers to try out games before they buy them. Subscribers who want a sneak peek at the newest games can do so here. These are full versions of the games, but you can only play them for a limited amount of time – the exact amount of time varies from title to title. If you decide to buy the full game after playing the demo, your progress should be carried over.

Even though it’s a clever concept, there are currently only a few demos available for players to try out. Right now there are a few that stand out: Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Horizon Forbidden West, Cyberpunk 2077, WWE 2K22, and Biomutant, among a few others. Even though the future is bright, the options that are available now seem haphazard.

Game Trials, on the other hand, feels like an extra perk for the most expensive PlayStation Plus tier, while the real meat of the service lies in its 400+ game library.

PlayStation Plus’s Extra, Premium, and Deluxe tiers all offer a huge selection of PS4 and PS5 games that can be downloaded and played. This is the service’s primary selling point. Even though there aren’t as many “day one” titles as the Xbox Game Pass has become known for, the quality of the games more than makes up for it.

Here are some of the best PS5 games to get you started: Demons Souls, Spider-Man, Returnal, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Ghost of Tushima Direct Cut, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Death Stranding Director’s Cut. Starting at only AUD $18.95 per month, you can play all of these great games, even if you just bought the console.

Additionally, there are hundreds of other fantastic PlayStation 4 and 5 games that can be downloaded for free. Among the best of the best, we can mention Dead Cells, Desperados 3, DOOM, Fallout 76, Graveyard Keeper and inFAMOUS Second Son as well as the following games: KNACK, KNACK 2, Little Nightmares, LittleBigPlanet 3, MediEvil and Wytchwood.

If you’ve got a morbid curiosity about either of these games, you can even check out Balan Wonderworld or Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back.

It’s hard to argue against the value of the PlayStation Plus subscription based on these offerings alone. No matter how infrequently you visit, the novelty of the selection and the good value it offers are reasons enough to stick around for a while.

The PS1, PS2, and PSP Classics, on the other hand, aren’t nearly as interesting. Only a few classic PlayStation titles are included in the Deluxe tier ($21.95 per month) – and many of them have a niche appeal.

There aren’t many big names here, and while titles like Ape Escape, Tekken 2, Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, and Syphon Filter are beloved, they can’t quite make up for the lack of variety in the Classics section. In spite of the PlayStation Store’s previous offering of a plethora of PS1 games, only a few of these titles have been included in the PS Plus launch.

The absence of classic PS1 games like Spyro, Crash, and even MediEvil in its original form is noticeable. This could be due to contractual issues or rights issues.

There is also the minor issue of many PS1 games available in their inferior PAL format, which performs slower than its NTSC counterparts, in former PAL regions such as Europe and Australia. Some games are smoother and easier to control than others, even if most players don’t notice it. If you’re playing Tekken 2, you’ll notice that Ape Escape’s framerate is noticeably shaky.

Thankfully, PlayStation Plus offers a few minor features that can improve your experience while playing Classics. It is possible to use the controller’s Touch Pad while playing PlayStation 1 games in order to access the “Rewind” feature, which lets you go back in time, as well as various visual settings to improve the overall experience. However, while playing in the original aspect ratio is recommended, the widescreen model looks good and enhances the visual appeal of these classics.

There isn’t much to say about the other games included – apart from the PS1 Classics. Only a handful of retro-themed games are available for the PlayStation 2. Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak 2, and Jak 3 are excellent additions, but that’s about it.

Some PS3 games that were later ported to the PS4 are available in remastered form in regions with the Deluxe tier, including Bioshock and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Although there are countless gems in the PlayStation library, it appears that PlayStation Plus is oblivious to them. This catalogue is lacking in quality as it stands, with no real standouts in the roster. People hoping to get their hands on all-new PlayStation Plus to play the classics will be sorely let down for the time being.

PlayStation Plus Deluxe is the most expensive tier available in Australia. An alternative to Premium, which provides cloud streaming in select countries, is now available. As a result, cloud streaming is not available in Australia, and as a result, the service is cheaper but also less feature-rich.

Even though this tier offers access to game trials and classic PS1, PS2, and PSP titles, the small number of titles currently available doesn’t make it particularly compelling. In terms of PS2 and PSP titles, there’s hardly anything to speak of, and the PS1 library isn’t much better.

Ape Escape and Tekken 2 are beloved classics, but real “smash hits” like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot aren’t currently available in their original form – and may not be in the future, given that Microsoft is about to acquire these two properties. There isn’t enough content currently available via a Deluxe subscription to justify the additional cost, but if there is one particular game subscribers want to play, a brief foray into Deluxe will certainly provide a taste of nostalgia.

With PlayStation Plus Extra, you get access to the entire library of PS4 and PS5 games, which is the real selling point of the extra-cost subscription. The Classics Catalog still has a long way to go in terms of delivering on the promise of nostalgia.

Playing video games on PlayStation could soon look very different thanks to the all-new PlayStation Plus subscription service, which has already proven to be an excellent value. You’ll find some heavyweights in its library of Extra games and there’s room for growth and change in the future.

There’s still a lot of work to be done, however, in its current state. Only a handful of classic games from the PS1, PS2, and PSP eras are currently available on the PlayStation Network. The Deluxe tier is largely unsatisfying in regions without cloud streaming due to the current lack of content, but this is likely to improve over time.

Verdict – Although there are some quirks, the new subscription service is off to a good start, one that will be useful to modern PlayStation owners. There is a wide variety of downloadable games available, and the PlayStation ecosystem is now more affordable than ever for those who are just learning about video games.