The weekend is here, so you probably want to sit back and relax by playing some video games. If you’re subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra on PS4 or PS5, then there are tons of fantastic titles to choose from in the subscription service’s vast game catalog. It’s a lot to sift through, so I’ve handpicked three titles I think you should check out if you haven’t played them already.
One is a superhero game that launched alongside the PS5 and can be beaten within a weekend. The next is an eerie indie Metroidvania that just got added to PS Plus Extra when it launched on May 9. Finally, there’s a sequel to a fantastic roguelike (not Hades 2) where you play as a new person in the same family every time you die.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Insomniac’s spectacular Marvel’s Spider-Man video games need little introduction at this point, but that doesn’t make them any less of a compelling recommendation for me. Although Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 isn’t part of PS Plus Premium and Extra’s game catalog just yet, the first two games in the series are. Of those two, I’d recommend you check out Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, as it’s one you’re less likely to have played and can be beaten in a weekend. As its title suggests, this sequel follows Miles Morales, who must deal with a new threat called The Underground and the evil megacorporation Roxxon during the first time he’s the sole Spider-Man patrolling New York’s streets.
It’s a surprisingly personal story for a superhero game and truly cemented Insomniac’s depiction of Miles Morales as one of the most iconic versions of the character. The fantastic combat and web-swinging present in all of Insomniac’s Spider-Man titles are also here, and its take on New York during Christmastime makes the open-world map feel distinct enough from its predecessor. While Miles Morales is seen as a side game or spin-off, it deserves to be praised and loved just as much as Marvel’s Spider-Man 1 and 2 are.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available now for PS4 and PS5. You can also pick up the game on PC.
Animal Well
Animal Well earns a spot on this list for a few different reasons. It’s the first game from Bigmode, the video game publisher established by popular YouTuber Videogamedunkey. It’s also a day-one release for this subscription service, meaning it came to PS Plus Extra the day it came out. Most importantly, Animal Well is a fantastic game. “Consistently surprising gameplay twists that buck conventions at every turn create an engrossing world that will make players feel like they’re learning and mastering an entirely new language,” Giovanni Colantonio’s four-star review for Digital Trends said of playing the creepy Metroidvania.
This will also be one of the most exciting weekends to play the game from a community perspective. Animal Well features a lot of cryptic secrets that will be best solved by a community of avid players working together. By playing and engaging with fellow players online, you’ll be getting in on the ground floor of experiencing a game that’s going to be one of the standout indies of 2024.
Animal Well is available in the PS Plus Premium and Extra game catalog on PS4 and PS5. It’s also available on PC through Steam.
Rogue Legacy 2
Hades 2 was one of this week’s other most notable releases because it was a follow-up to a beloved and influential indie game. It isn’t the first indie roguelike to get that treatment, though. Cellar Door Games beat Supergiant to the punch with Rogue Legacy 2. The original Rogue Legacy was one of the earliest indie games that helped popularize the roguelike genre because of its unique gimmick, where players technically control a different character after each death. Each new hero can have good and bad weapons, abilities, and traits that make each run feel new.
Rouge Legacy 2 went bigger and better with that formula. There are more areas to explore, classes and traits to discover, and enemies to be fought, and it plays just as smoothly as new action games like Tales of Kenzera: Zau. If you aren’t sure about how much time you can commit to a game this weekend, go with Rogue Legacy 2. You can pop in and do just a couple of runs when you have time or spend dozens of hours doing run after procedurally generated run looking for the perfect heir that can get you to the end of the adventure.
Rogue Legacy 2 is available through PS Plus’ game catalog on PS4 and PS5. It’s also available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
