There’s never an official theme for PlayStation Plus Essential games each month, but April’s lineup is clearly catering to gamers’ nostalgia. We’ve got a tight, focused single-player FPS game, a thrilling mystery RPG, and a rip-roaring multiplayer game all up for the taking. None of these games were necessarily smash hits upon release, but not for lack of quality. They each found a passionate fanbase that has been singing their praises for months (or years), and with a small break between big upcoming PS5 games, now is the perfect time to give these games a second chance. We’re not playing an April Fool’s prank on you here; these are the best PlayStation Plus games to play over the weekend.
Robocop: Rogue City
Download and play Robocop: Rogue City. You have 20 seconds to comply. Just kidding, but this is a rare movie tie-in game that does the source material justice. You play as the iconic Robocop between the second and third films, enforcing justice on the streets of Old Detroid. You are free to explore various open zones to do basic police work, solve crimes, and get into shootouts. The game has light RPG and even immersive sim elements to it, but the style and tone of the game are where it really shines. As a shorter experience with an expansion on the way, it is a perfect game to dive into over the weekend.
Robocop: Rogue City is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory
You don’t need to be a fan of, or even all that familiar with Digimon to enjoy Hacker’s Memory. This is the second game in the Cyber Slueth subseries, but a completely stand-alone story. This JRPG is one part sci-fi mystery and one part Pokemon-like monster catching and battler. You will recruit over 300 Digimon to fight on your behalf, with up to three fighting at once using a familiar rock-paper-scissors type system. This is a nice, beefy game with close to 50 hours of main story content alone. Thanks to the unique world and intriguing mystery at its heart, this is the perfect game for those who are a little bored with the stale Pokemon formula or anyone who just wants a rock-solid turn-based RPG.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory is available now on PS4, Switch, and PC.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
It seems like every classic horror franchise has an asymmetrical multiplayer game these days. That, or they are in Dead by Daylight. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the latest to pit helpless survivors against powerful killers, but the twist this time is that it isn’t just one killer on the prowl but three. If you’ve played any game like this one, you know what to expect on the basic level: survivors need to solve puzzles, sneak around, and avoid the killers while trying to access one of multiple ways to escape the map. Killers, of course, are trying to hunt the survivors before they get away. But, with each killer and victim having their own abilities and the dynamic nature of how each match plays out, it is still a fresh enough take on the genre if you bring some friends along.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
