Skip to main content

‘Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’ headlines January’s free PlayStation Plus games

January 2018 Free PS4 Games Lineup | PlayStation Plus
The holiday season is coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop playing great games. In January, PlayStation Plus subscribers will be treated to one of the best lineups of free games in recent memory, including a slow-burn stealth-action sequel from 2016.

Beginning on January 2, PlayStation Plus members can download seven free games, and they don’t stick to just one or two genres, either. The biggest title included in the batch is Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The sequel to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the PlayStation 4 game once again follows augmented agent Adam Jensen as he attempts to keep the peace between natural humans and those outfitted with machine parts. The game mixes stealth and action elements together and can be played either as a pacifist or a genocidal maniac.

Also free on PlayStation 4 is Batman: The Telltale Series. With the studio’s famous comic book-inspired art style, the game places players into the role of both Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, and features appearances from characters like Catwoman and Harvey Dent. The sequel series, Batman: The Enemy Within, recently released on the console as well.

PlayStation 3 owners will be able to grab Sacred 3 for free in January. The action-role-playing fantasy game wasn’t particularly well-received when it released back in 2014, with critics taking issue with the way it streamlined role-playing mechanics. Also free on the console is The Book of Unwritten Tales 2. The point-and-click adventure game released for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in 2015, but it’s strangely not a cross-buy title through PlayStation Plus.

The PlayStation Vita is still getting freebies from the program again and this month’s games are also free on PlayStation 4. First up is Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, a visual novel based on the anime series. Vita and PlayStation 4 owners will also receive the pixel-art survival-horror adventure Uncanny Valley.

If you picked up a PlayStation VR headset during one of this holiday season’s ridiculous sales, you will also get a freebie. Starblood Arena is a competitive aerial shooter with a sense of humor reminiscent of Borderlands, and it should be the perfect game to try out with fellow virtual reality newcomers. If you want to try out the free-to-play Warframe, you can also receive a special booster pack containing credits, weapons, boosters, and a mod pack through February 13.

Editors' Recommendations

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
PlayStation Plus has lost 2 million subscribers since its revamp
PlayStation Plus logo.

PlayStation Plus has lost 2 million subscribers since Sony relaunched the game streaming service with a total makeover in June. According to the latest earnings report Sony released on Tuesday, the number of people subscribed to PS Plus fell from 47.3 million to 45.4 million in Q2 ending September 30, 2022.

Earlier this year, Sony rolled out a new version of PS Plus, which brought the online service more in line with Xbox Game Pass. It features a large library of games for users to access, including retro titles. The revamp has yet to see gains for Sony, though the company says the service now has the lowest number of monthly active users (MAUs) for PlayStation Network since 2020 at 102 million. That's a steady decrease from 104 million users last year and 103 million in the first quarter.

Read more
PlayStation VR games are not backward compatible with PlayStation VR2
A PSVR2 headset on a sky-blue background.

Sony confirmed that games that were released for the first PlayStation VR headset are not backward compatible with the upcoming PlayStation VR2.

In an episode of the Official PlayStation Podcast, Hideaki Nishino senior vice president of platform experience, says, "PS VR games are not compatible with PS VR2 because PS VR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience. PS VR2 has much more advanced features like all new controllers with haptic feedback, with adaptive triggers as they've said, inside-out tracking, eye tracking in it, 3D audio is coming together, of course. So this means, there will be games for PS VR2 that require a whole different approach than the original PS VR."

Read more
Everything announced at PlayStation’s September 2022 State of Play
Kratos looks at the Leviathan Axe.

Sony pops up every few months with a new showcase that highlights titles coming to PlayStation platforms. While fans were hoping for a full-fledged PlayStation Showcase this month as State of Play presentations took place in March and June, Sony decided to hold another State of Play on September 13 ahead of Tokyo Game Show to highlight games coming to PS4, PS5, and PlayStation VR2. As the June State of Play featured the likes of Street Fighter 6, Final Fantasy XVI, and Resident Evil 4's remake, this presentation had a lot to live up to.
State of Play | September 13, 2022 | [English]
While it wasn't as impressive, lasting 20 minutes and featuring 10 games, every title shown looked intriguing in its own way. In particular, we got a look at the next Tekken game and an exciting trailer for God of War: Ragnarok ahead of its release in November. This is every announcement that PlayStation made during the September 2022 State of Play. 
Tekken 8 announced for PS5
Tekken 8 - State of Play Sep 2022 Announcement Trailer | PS5 Games
The announcement that kicked off the show was Tekken 8. We saw some cutscenes and gameplay featuring Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima, and it looks just as impactful and satisfying as ever. In a PlayStation Blog post, Katsuhiro Harada explained that this content was taken straight from the game's story mode, and runs at 50 frames per second. It has no release date but is confirmed for PS5.
Like a Dragon Ishin! is finally coming to the West with a remake
Like a Dragon: Ishin! - State of Play Sep 2022 Announcement Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games
Rya Ga Gotoku: Ishin is getting a full remake treatment. This game was released for PS3 and PS4 in the early 2010s but never came to North America or Europe as the Yakuza series was not yet popular in the West at the time. It's now titled Like a Dragon: Ishin!, remade with Unreal Engine 4, and will be released for PS4 and PS5 in February 2023.
God of War looks great and is getting a themed DualSense controller
God of War Ragnarök - State of Play Sep 2022 Story Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games
To wrap up the show, Sony revealed that a limited-edition DualSense wireless controller based on the next God of War game is launching on November 8 before providing a deeper look at God of War: Ragnarok. We saw more interactions between Kratos, Tyr, and Atreus, as well as some new gameplay featuring the awe-inspiring fantasy enemies and set pieces players will encounter during the game. God of War: Ragnarok launches on November 9.
Everything else

Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Enhanced Edition is coming to PlayStation VR2. 
Demeo is coming to PlayStation VR2.
Hogwarts Legacy is getting a PlayStation-exclusive quest.
Pacific Drive, the debut game from Ironwood Studio, was announced.
Sony explained how PlayStation Stars works and confirmed that it will start rolling out in various regions later this month.
Bandai Namco announced a new mecha game called Synduality. 
PlayStation will publish Stellar Blade, which debuted at last year's PlayStation Showcase as Project EVE, and it will launch in 2023.
Sony Interactive Entertainment is publishing Rise of the Ronin from Koei Tecmo Games' Team Ninja as a PS5 exclusive in 2024.

Read more