Sony has has finally launched it revamped PS Plus service. Now divided into 3 tiers instead of one size fits all offering. The new PS Plus Service borrows heavily from the Xbox Game Pass, but still manages to be unique in its own way!
The service which came into effect on 22nd June 2022, will have 3 tiers: Essential, Extra, and Deluxe. While Essential is basically the PS Plus of old: offering you access to 2 free games every month (as long as you are subscribed to the service), letting you play online with friends and strangers, and offering cloud storage options among other things.
Extra Vs. Essential
The Extra, is where things get interesting! Extra along with all the perks from Essential, also gives you access to a game catalog. This exceptional games catalog contains AAA games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Batman: Arkham Knight, Bloodborne, Control: Ultimate Edition, Death Stranding, Ghost Of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, God Of War, inFAMOUS Second Son, Returnal and Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
If you have a PS4 or PS5, this is absolutely the tier you should go for! Irrespective of whether you have had PS Plus before or not. Getting PS Plus Extra for the nominal price of 749 INR per month, you are getting access to around 100 first party and third party games, many of them GOTY material with 100s of hours of fun to be offered.
For anyone who has ever been discouraged by the prices of the games on the PS store, and had to choose between all the great games that have come out in the past 5 years or so, need to get on this service RIGHT NOW! For a change, not only is the PlayStation a great place for great games, its also a great place to play great games for cheap.
You can download these games from the PS Store or from the PS Plus tile on your PS4 or PS5, and they are yours to keep and play as long as they remain in the catalogue and you remain on the service.
Complete Game Catalog For Extra And Deluxe
Should I Go For Deluxe
There is also the Deluxe Tier. The top tier offering, dubbed Premium everywhere else has a different name in India (and other countries where internet connectivity is not as robust yet) because this tier doesn’t offer the crown jewel of game streaming. Instead in India, Deluxe will offer its customers an additional catalog of downloadable classic PS1, PS2 and PSP games, and access to timed demos for upcoming games.
These perks are not minor. Especially considering that the Classic Catalogue contains games such as Ape Escape, Asura’s Wrath, Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows, the original God Of War trilogy etc. While on the surface this might look like a paler list than what Extra offers, but for some its a chance to replay some of their favorite childhood games on the latest platform, while for others its a chance to try out these old classics and find out what the buzz was about by themselves (cue in Classic games retro review on PS5 channels).
The demos that are being offered currently include timed access to games like Horizon Forbidden West, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, WWE2K22, and Cyberpunk 2077. Sony has promised that more demos will be added as new games come out, so players can try out games and make a more informed decision about their purchase.
The Deluxe tier comes in at 849 INR per month, which is not a big jump from the Extra tier. But for anyone who is not a long time gamer, I would suggest that upgrading to Deluxe might not be worth it from them. Try out the games in Extra first, and once you have tasted blood decide if you want to complete your gaming education!
VERDICT
The new PS Plus tiers have a lot to offer. While its not at a direct competition with Xbox Game Pass, its definitely a comparable offering now available for all the PS4 and PS5 owners. There is a lot of value in getting the PS Plus Extra, and kind of a no-brainer if you already own a PlayStation console. Deluxe is a more niche offering, and should appeal to connoisseurs more, who just want to have everything all the time.
All in all this is a good thing for the PlayStation brand, as well as the consumers and fans invested in them. It makes the platform more lucrative and affordable. Good on you Sony, keep it up!