On June 13, 2022, Sony launched its new PlayStation Plus in North America. Split into three tiers, this model combines the previous version of PS Plus with PS Now; depending on which level someone subscribes to, they will gain access to certain services and games.
- PlayStation Plus Essential ($9.99/month): This tier is the equivalent of the old PS Plus. A subscription includes online access, monthly free games, and discounts.
- PlayStation Plus Extra ($14.99/month): Along with the Essential tier benefits, Extra provides access to hundreds of PS4 and PS5 games.
- PlayStation Plus Premium ($17.99/month): Along with the Essential and Extra tier benefits, Premium includes a library of classic games (PS3, PS2, PSP, and PS1), trials, and cloud streaming in certain regions.
PS Plus Premium has over 700 games covering more than two decades of PlayStation history. Such a huge collection can be overwhelming, and the PS Plus app does not make it very easy to browse through the library; as such, it can be useful to know this tier's highlights before investing in a subscription. Each month, Sony adds a handful of new games. While most of these are PS5 and PS4 releases, they are occasionally accompanied by a few classic titles.
Let's take a look at some of the best PlayStation Plus games.
Updated on February 9, 2025, by Mark Sammut: PlayStation Plus Essential's February 2025 lineup does not contain any must-play games. Fortunately, PS Plus already has plenty of titles that qualify.
The rankings are not based solely on a game's quality; they also take into account things like their PS Plus addition date. For instance, new PS Plus games will be temporarily placed in the top spots for visibility, and PS Plus Essential games will also be highlighted first if they are mentioned.
1 God Of War Ragnarok
Kratos' Norse Mythology Saga Comes To An Epic End

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- Top Critic Rating: 92/100 Critics Recommend: 97%
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Released
- November 9, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Santa Monica Studio
Now, this is how to get a year started on the right note. Sure, PS Plus Essential's January 2025 selection was nothing to write home about, but Sony made up for it with a fairly stacked Extra and Premium lineup. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Atlas Fallen, Citizen Sleeper, and MediEvil 2 are all big deals in their own right, but they exist entirely in the shadow of one game: God of War Ragnarok.

PS Plus Premium Subscribers Will Have 11 New Games to Play on January 21
PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers will soon have 11 new games to play through their subscription.
A direct sequel to 2018's God of War, Ragnarok brings the franchise's Norse saga to an end, or at least that seems to be the case. As suggested by the title, the story revolves around the pending onset of Ragnarok, an end-of-the-world event said to coincide with the destruction of the realms and the gods. Kratos wants to stop that, but he is also on the cusp of war with Odin; in the meantime, the All-Father is trying to bring Atreus to his side.
Gameplay-wise, Ragnarok plays similar to 2018's God of War, albeit with a few tweaks and the introduction of a new weapon. The combat is still crunchy, satisfying, and intense; that said, if someone hated the system in the previous game, they likely will not get too much out of the sequel. While Atreus is still the main companion, Kratos is also aided by a few other characters, all of whom have unique abilities that are fun to use in battles. The campaign is fairly long and generally ambitious, blending character-driven moments with an epic sense of scale. Ragnarok also comes with Valhalla, an epilogue mode that is just all-around brilliant.
2 The Last Of Us Part 1
A Remake Of A PS3 Masterpiece

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- Top Critic Rating: 82/100 Critics Recommend: 76%
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5
- Released
- September 2, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog's The Last of Us brought the PS3 era to an end on the strongest possible note, producing a genre and, arguably, an industry-defining game that has gone on to produce a big sequel and a highly-regarded TV adaptation. While the original release is not on PS Plus Premium, subscribers can check out the PS4 remaster, which is the definitive version. PS5 owners can also play The Last of Us Part 1, a 2022 remake that gives the classic release a pretty thorough make-over. Honestly, if someone has already played through the original or remastered versions, they might not get too much out of the remake since the best part, the story, is unchanged. However, newcomers can just jump into this iteration.
The Last of Us follows Joel and Ellie as they go on a harrowing journey through post-apocalyptic United States, all in the hopes of finding a group that might be able to create a cure using the latter's immunity to a fungus that has eradicated most humanity. Blending stealth, melee combat, and exploration, the gameplay sections are intense, visceral, and relatively challenging. More importantly, the story and characters are phenomenal, comfortably among the best in PlayStation history.
3 Citizen Sleeper
A Gripping Sci-Fi RPG Inspired By Tabletop Gaming

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- Top Critic Rating: 84/100 Critics Recommend: 98%
- PS5 Release Date
- March 31, 2023
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Released
- May 5, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Jump Over the Age
Citizen Sleeper is somewhat difficult to describe in a way that fully reflects its magic. Jump Over the Age's sci-fi RPG is undeniably inspired by tabletop gaming, to the point that dice rolls play a significant part in determining the outcome of events. Also, similar to tabletop RPGs, Citizen Sleeper is very much driven by player choice, and that goes beyond just big fork-in-the-road decisions found in many other narratives.
A Sleeper on the run from the corporation that owns them, players must try to settle down on the Eye, a space station that houses many folks who are just trying to survive. Once there, players enter the daily grind, which means working to earn some cash, interacting with NPCs, buying resources, and trying to stay ahead of bounty hunters who are trying to collect.
Citizen Sleeper's brilliance lies in its immersion, dropping players into a fully-formed ecosystem filled with characters with rich histories and engaging stories to tell. In a single playthrough, decisions will need to be made that promote specific relationships and hinder others, and players are mostly free to go down whichever direction they want. While not part of the survival genre, the game incorporates some aspects from that blueprint, mainly in the form of a few meters that determine the player's health.