https://www.techradar.com/news/playstation-plus-free-games
So I took a day off to try the first level or first few levels of the new free games in the PlayStation Network (PSN) for March 2018.
The games are free until the first week of April, or at least, a few days into it.
Thanks to Playstation for hosting their own video.
Bloodborne
This is the one I put off until last, I’ve heard great but terrifying things about this game. I already feel like the game isn’t for me, as I like a challenge but I also like a sweet reward from a difficult challenge but maybe I can get into this game if I keep trying. I really like the feel of it, and I made a lady hunter as I’m just going to play as female characters if I can after not doing so initially with Fallout 4.
I failed to turn off the vibration setting, which I ended up having to with Fallout 4, it is so loud with no volume and the natural clicking of the controller. So when the werewolf murdered me, the controller almost vibrated out of my hand! So I was trying to click the option button to turn it off and it skipped a cut scene and I was in this very nice and bright meadow. I’ve walked around and choose the axe and the pistol and found two locked doors. I’ll eventually come back to this game. No trophies but barely 10 minutes of actual game time.
Ratchet & Clank
I’ve heard how this game doesn’t really compare to the original PS2 games, and that it is an adaption of the movie that was itself an adaption to the first games. For a guy who has never played a Ratchet & Clank game, I really enjoyed it. I like a solid platformer and I played the first level with Ratchet and earned a decent number of trophies already. I liked the humor and I’ll be tempted to watch the movie, if it comes to me. I want to finish Knack first. I do like how both of these games don’t have crazy long levels and save once the chapter is done. That’s the type of saving mechanism I can fully support. Nothing beats the ease of Fallout 4’s Option -> Quick Save or the even better Batman Arkham games of just opening a door and the game saves. There is almost always a door somewhere nearby that I can backtrack to so that I can save.
Mighty No. 9
Most websites stated that it was a lessor Mega Man successor but I had a fun time with the first level. One of the teams behind Mega Man created this game using Kickstarter and it might look cheap but I’ve really enjoyed it. The first boss fight was surprising in how difficult it was. I also got a few trophies for just playing the first level, so I liked that.
Claire : Extended Cut
This one, I played even less amount of time than I did Bloodborne. I got to the first save point and decided that was good enough for me. I don’t recall getting any trophies. It had a nice spooky element to it but light on the story (thus far) so I’m not tempted to jump back in yet. But I’m also not tempted to delete the game yet either unlike January’s Uncanny Valley that I couldn’t open a door and was just done with it.
Bombing Busters
This was surprisingly fun and easy-ish maze game. I’m on the third one and it got difficult real quick! It is so much easier to kill enemies before they started dodging.
I do like how all of these games had subtitles as the automatic function, that’s what I really need. I was worried as a few didn’t have the option to turn them on and that just kills me as I need subtitles as I play at night when everyone else is sleeping.
Claire also has the unfortunately strike against it that it isn’t Catherine : Extended Cut, which I initially thought it was as Catherine sounded like a game I really wanted to play. Also not helping Claire was that there wasn’t much written about the game so I couldn’t get any pre-hype for it.
So no games got instant deleted and I plan on getting into most of them. I just want to finish the main storyline of Fallout 4, beat Knack and then I’ll get started on these.
. . .
Looking over the rest of the 2018 free games, Deus Ex : Mankind Divided was also an instant delete, I couldn’t figure out how to get down or through a door and I wasn’t loving the controls.
I’m still making my way through Psycho-Pass : Mandatory Happiness, I’m finally making choices in the game. The main plot seemed interesting once I was dealing with actual cases but I also lose interest in it rather quickly. I also don’t like how I have to press the PS button to go to the main HUB, press PS again to go back to the game, just so I can save it. I like Nadeshiko Kugatachi. From what I’ve read, she’s a new character and not in the anime but I also don’t think I want to watch the anime. Maybe I should so I can get a better feel for it? I also don’t recall picking the male character over Nadeshiko, but I’m sort of glad I did as I usually stop pressing X so I can read her dialogue and interactions. Shion Karanomori is nice too, I like the edge she has. I’m just trying to complete one playthrough and then I’m done. I don’t need to see multiple endings or earn a platinum from it.
Batman : The Telltale Series, Season One, was simply amazing! I read that Telltale isn’t producing as many high quality hits but Season Two is them back to form. Once that entire five episodes is available as a physical copy, I’ll probably buy it.
RiME was fun, I got help on reddit regarding this one section in the desert with the giant eagle and I didn’t know I could make a jump due to the camera angle. I made that jump, I did a lot of swimming and diving and finally came up for air. There is this thin strip of land, surrounded by water, with a statue in front of it and a section slash exit to the left. I have no idea what to do next as there are no hints. So I’ve deleted it, as I’m clearly hitting a wall in that game. It is in my library, so I can always re-install it, for free.
Grand Kingdom, was decent enough, the lack of a proper saving system killed it for me. It really should auto save after each fight. I was getting a hang of the game’s fighting system but I can’t just play and play a game. I need to be able to exit or save a bit of my progress.
I have plenty of space on the PS4 so I’m not worried about space issues, yet.
oh, I forgot I got the PS4 for Christmas so I’ve also tried Darksiders II : Deathinitive Edition, and that was pretty fun. My son likes me riding the horse. It is very fantasy based and that doesn’t necessarily appeal to me. I haven’t deleted it but I also don’t think about it too much.
Kung Fu Panda : Showdown of the Legendary Legends is the game I must have been thinking about instant deletes, hence the deep dive into the backlog. I completed the tutorial and then started the game, I thought it was still a tutorial but it was a cluttered mess and nothing felt like it matter. I’ve played Smash Bros. and those games still feel like they have substance. I’m not much of a fighting guy though.
Forma 8, I should probably delete, I think I got as much out of it as I’m going to get. I have no idea where to go in that game too.
. . .
PlayStation announced that come March 2019, the free games will be limited to PS4 games, which makes complete sense. I sort of like the cross-platform Vita games but I also won’t miss them when they are gone. I’m hoping that means we’ll get three PS4 games instead of two but still, we’re getting quality games that I feel I’ve already gotten my $60 worth and already feel committed to renewing my account come December. Especially as I don’t want to lose these games in my library.
With that decision though, I do worry about announcements of a PS5 but people on reddit don’t think that will be hinted at until 2020, which seems like a good year for a new system. Not like it matters to me, I got at least three years worth of games sitting on the shelf right now and downloading even more so as long as I don’t get the Yellow Light of Death, I should be fine.
Which I just Googled, and apparently PS4 has a Blue or Red Line of Death, so that’s not great!
I wished I was involved in reddit in the last three months as I do enjoy all the discussion threads relating to the games. Though the non-proper-PS4 titles are not getting anywhere near the attention of Ratchet & Clank and Bloodborne, at least people would be willing to discuss those games. And people did talk about them in the announcement thread so that’s good too.
Once the games get announced, I read a couple of the other announcement websites for a couple opinions but I really like TechRadar (though it is the only article I read on their site, and they just update the original one) and I also check out the Metacritic page and their respected Wikipedia pages.
This will be my deep dive into the previous games as I feel like I’ve written about them before but I wanted to do it just for the benchmark. I may have also written the February one, in my mind, and never took the time to actually write it down. Something I’m trying to stop doing as I really do miss writing.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 