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…
2023 gaming report card: how did PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo score?
The Xbox Series X and PS5

It's been a long year filled with massive games, but we've finally reached the end of 2023. There's no question that this year will be remembered as one of the all-time best for new releases -- and one of the worst for game creators -- but it's been a whirlwind 12 months for the "big three" console makers. PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo all had pivotal years, though in entirely different ways. While the Nintendo Switch took a victory lap, the PS5 entered an experimental era. The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, finally delivered the suite of exclusives fans had been waiting for ... with mixed results.

To reflect on such an eventful year, we've decided to take on the role of teacher and hand each company a final grade for 2023. We took several factors into account here. Exclusive games are a major component of the final grade, naturally, but we also looked at how well each system maintained its wider ecosystem. That includes supporting services like PS Plus and Game Pass and evaluating how new hardware changed how we play.

Read more
Our favorite PlayStation games of 2023: Spider-Man, Final Fantasy, and more
Spider-Man and Miles Morales stand in front of a Best PS5 Games 2023 logo.

With the video game industry as busy as it is these days, there's rarely ever a "bad" year for any console. Even in a less busy year, platforms like Xbox still tend to have highlights in exciting indie games. That was true for PlayStation this year, which continued its strong momentum this generation despite only having a handful of big-ticket games.

While not every big PS5 exclusive thrilled this year, there were a lot of strong experiences to dive into. Developers got more mileage than ever out of the system's beefy tech specs, while PlayStation VR2 gave the platform some creative, immersive experiences. That's not to mention a handful of indies and third-party releases that Sony locked down as console exclusives for a time. That list of heavy hitters even included Baldur's Gate 3 for a few short months. In reflecting on another great year for PS5, we've highlighted seven games that stuck with us this year. Some were certainly divisive, but all of them helped give Sony's powerhouse system some extra depth in a crowded year.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Read more
This psychedelic PlayStation platformer is already 2024’s most surprising game
A character faces down a massive insect in Ultros.

With a mercilessly busy 2023 winding down, you’d think that I’d be ready for a break from video games. And trust me, I am, but I still can’t help but look forward to what’s on the horizon in 2024. I already know that games like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth are bound to consume me, but there’s one indie game that I especially have my eye on: Ultros. The ultrastylish Metroidvania left a strong impression on me at this May’s PlayStation Showcase. That was largely thanks to its eye-popping visual style that’s unlike anything I’ve seen in a video game before.

While Ultros has the look, I was less certain about how it would actually play. I’d finally get a sense of that during a sweeping 90-minute demo. The segment I played would give me a feel for its deceptively deep combat, oddball farming component, and surprising roguelike structure. It was a complicated gameplay snippet that I couldn’t fully get my head around by the end, but that just leaves me even more curious about the final product.
The cycle goes on
At first glance, Ultros appears to be a straightforward game. It seems like your typical 2D Metroidvania where players dash through a maze-like map collecting power-ups. Within minutes, I figured I understood the entire gameplay loop. That was fine by me, because it gave me more time to soak in its wild art style, which really makes it unique. Every room is a psychedelic wash of colors that looks like a Grateful Dead poster. All the painterly details can make it a little hard to navigate, but I loved making my way through all of its gooey alien locales, which are rich with vibrant flora.

Read more