PlayStation Plus 2021 year in review: 40 games worth more than $1,400

This number stands out. Unlike Microsoft, Sony doesn’t mention the PlayStation Store’s retail price for the free games it doles out every month in the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection. When we build this year-end analysis, we’re adding up the game’s listed, non-sale prices at the end of the year. PlayStation Plus delivered more than $1400 worth video games to subscribers this year.

We have been breaking down PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Games With Gold’s offerings since 2014. The $1,424.60 Sony gave out this year is the second highest amount of any year, after 2018, which saw three gaming platforms supported by six games per month. In 2021, PlayStation Plus gave players 40 — a per-game average of $35.

Recently, I’ve tried to de-emphasize dollar figures as a measure of value in this analysis, but the numbers still stick out. And these aren’t Sony inflating the MSRP of a game it’s offering for free, nor are these games the dubious full-price wares of budget publishers whose catalog never goes on sale. Games With Gold’s year-end MSRP can be fairly chided for the influence of both, but not PlayStation Plus.

Sony used 2021 in order to strengthen its position with PlayStation Plus. This was a stage to introduce new games, which are worth at least a glance. Most video gamers will remember to circle the calendar and get an announcement of new games every month. PlayStation allows you to quickly claim all of your favorite titles without having to download them all.

They’re two entirely different services, but one could credibly say you’d buy an Xbox Series X for Xbox Game Pass, and you’d buy the PlayStation 5 — assuming you can find one — for PlayStation Plus. Small surprise that, for Microsoft, the free titles coming in Games With Gold are a shortcoming and, for Sony, the PlayStation Now streaming/downloadable subscription is considered second fiddle, its voluminous library notwithstanding.

There are rumblings that Sony has a new subscription service in store for 2022, but it’s one that leverages the back catalogs of the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable eras. It’s unclear whether this is separate from PlayStation Now, or another tier of service within it, and even then what impact it could even have on PS Plus, whose offerings deal with the PS4, PS5, and PlayStation Vita.

But if 2021 is any guide, don’t expect Sony to de-emphasize the games players get through PlayStation Plus. There are seven day-and a half launches. These include upgrades like Ultimate Edition ControlIndie games such as First class TroubleSIE reinforces PS Plus’ debut stage. This is similar to the role that Xbox Game Pass fills for Microsoft. This program is also supported by large third-party publishing houses who are willing to give their most valuable franchises for the cause. It shows that Sony has a greater ability to convince its partners to participate in it.

2021 in Review

All in all there were 40 PlayStation Plus Instant Games Collection games for 2021. They had an average Metacritic score 73.8 and a total retail price $1,424.60. This analysis was taken from the PlayStation Store.

The Metacritic average is down one point from 2020, but the combined MSRP is almost double last year’s $789.72. Even if you add the MSRP of last year’s PlayStation Plus Collection games ($474.80) to 2020’s library, this year’s haul is valued more than last year’s ($1,264.52).

We’ll start breaking down, month-by-month, the offerings. There are five games that are compatible with both PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, nine of which are only PlayStation 5 compatible and five, all are PlayStation VR-only. They’ve been noted as such; all others are PlayStation 4-compatible. They’re all listed with their Metacritic score and age (at the time of availability).

Image from Focus Home Interactive/Spiders

January

• Maneater (PS5, 71; 0.6 year old)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (75, 2.3 years)
• Greedfall (72, 1.3 years)

It’s a strong first month. This includes two RPGs that players might not have known about when the game launched (in Maneater, you’re a shark) and tossing in a AAA tentpole like Shadow of the Tomb Raider As a well-known quantity of high value.

February

• Destruction AllStars (PS5, 62, day-and-date launch)
• Ultimate Edition Control (PS4/PS5, 86; The Ultimate Edition is a day and date launch. The game itself, however, is only 1.4 Years Old.
• Concrete Genie (PlayStation VR; 75, 1.3 years)

Destruction AllStars It is one of those exclusive multiplayer console games that must have a huge audience. Sony launched the game on PS Plus in an effort to get the word out. Control It is also one of the top 10 games that pulled a Metacritic of 80 or better, which makes the 2021 PS Plus collection’s overall Metacritic of 73.8 (practically level with Games With Gold) a real head-scratcher.

March

• Final Fantasy7 Remake (87, 0.9 years)
• From the Ashes: Remnant (78, 0.5 years)
• Maquette (PS5, 70, day-and-date launch)
• Farpoint (PlayStation VR, 71, 3.8 years)

Sony has continued to support the launch window of its PS5 with Maquette; although it’s not an SIE game, it is exclusive to the console. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is the highest-rated game (87) among the year’s offerings. To upgrade to the PS5 version, players had to wait until December’s penultimate weekend.

April

• OddworldSoulstorm (PS5, 66, day-and-date launch)
• Days gone (71, 1.9 years)
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War (72, 1.2 years)

Days gone is a double-dip from the PlayStation Plus Collection, but it’s somewhat forgivable, as you need a PlayStation 5 to claim that. Many subscribers got their first taste of the open-world bikers vs. zombies adventure. SIE wanted to be the spotlight. Days gone It is now available for Windows PC users, and will be released in May. Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a big, violent, dumb-fun shooter that’s grown on me precisely because I got it for free, and I doubt I’m the only one, so Sony and Rebellion can consider this a success.

May

• Wreckfest (PS5, 82, 1.7 years)
• Battlefield 5 (73, 2.5 years)
• Stranded deep (65, 1 year)

Wreckfest is simply one of the best motorsports video games of the past five years, and essential to any serious racing fan’s collection. It was launched June 4, which made it possible to upgrade from PS4 and PS5 in this section. Battlefield 5, is a nice, big-name shooter from a big-budget publisher, but it’s also been on EA Play since June 2020, and PlayStation owners have been able to subscribe to EA Play since 2019.

June

• Operation Tango (PS5, 72, day-and-date launch)
• Virtua FighterThe Ultimate Showdown (78, day-and-date launch)
• Star WarsSquadrons (79, 0.7 years)

The majority of Star Wars: Squadrons’ uninspiring Metacritic score comes from the game’s rather limited single-player campaign and its dependence on multiplayer. You might like Battlefield 5,, it’s also an EA Play title (since March 2021), but it’s also a fresher game appealing to a bigger fandom. Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown is a remade-and-upgraded version of Sega’s 2006 fighter, getting a splashy reintroduction here.

Image: Treyarch/Activision

July

• Black Ops – Call of Duty 4 (83, 2.7 years)
• WWE2K Battlegrounds (60, 0.8 years)
• The Plague Tale of Innocence (PS5, 81, 2.1 years)

I’ve come to expect July to be the slower months for these free game services, but Sony shrewdly paired a lot of sizzle (Black Ops: Call of Duty 4With some substantial steakThe Plague Tale of InnocenceIf you are not a skilled brawler, you may be tossed to a professional.

August

• Hunter’s Arena: Legends (PS4/PS5, 60, day-and-date launch)
• Zombies vs. Plants: Battle for Neighborville 77, 1.8 years)
• Tennis World Tour 2. (56, 0.9 years)

OK, here’s your answer for why PS Plus’ average Metacritic score is so uninspiring. August was the least productive month. Perhaps Neighborville: Battle for Neighborville It deserves better than what its 77 suggest, but Tennis World Tour 2. didn’t solve whatever was bothering tennis fans in its 2018 predecessor, and even if it did that’s a niche video gaming audience.

September

• Don’t Overcook! All You Can Eat (PS5, 84, 0.8 years)
• Hunting Grounds: Predator (56, 1.4 years)
• Hitman 2 (82, 2.8 years)

These are basically the four main games. Overcooked! Two games are included in this bundle. Hitman 2 The evidence speaks for itself. Unfortunately, unfortunately. Hunting Grounds: Predator, the asymmetrical multiplayer shooter depends on a robust online community for its enjoyment, and even launching at the height of the pandemic, with voice work from the former Governor of California, it couldn’t drag much of one.

October

• Let’s Hell Let Go (PS5, 68, day-and-date launch)
• PGA Tour 2K21 (76, 1.1 years)
• Mortal KombatX (83, 6.5 years)

Let’s Hell Let Go’s low score notwithstanding, all three are strong representatives of their genre’s virtues, but if you’re not into sports, fighting, or multiplayer shooters with an ambitious strategic command layer, this month could have felt like a miss. Mortal Kombat X This is the second double-dip of the PlayStation Plus Collection. It was replaced by Mortal Kombat 11 2019

November

• Knockout City (PS4/PS5, 80, 0.5 years)
• First class Trouble (PS4/PS5 79, day-and-date launch)
• Re-Reckoning the Kingdoms of Amalur (72, 1.1 years)
• The Persistence (PlayStation VR, 78, 3.3 years)
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (PlayStation VR, 79, 1.5 years)
• Until You Fall (PlayStation VR, 85, 1.1 years)

No offense to Electronic Arts or Velan Studios, however it is a pity that you took until November to see the free site. Knockout City, you either didn’t care or weren’t paying attention. Velan’s creative dodgeball-shooter launched in May on every platform, with a free, carryover-progression trial available to all. EA Play made it also accessible from day 1. First class Trouble This is the most important month with the launch of an indie social-deduction-game on the same day.

December

• Godfall: Challenger Edition (PS4/PS5, 61, 1.1 years)
• Lego DC Super-Villains (74, 3.1 years)
• Mortal Shell (76, 1.3 years)

Heh! 2021 has been bookended. Greedfall And Godfall. The PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection was launched at E3 2010 and lasted for 689 games, almost 12 years, before being abandoned by Lego. PS Plus didn’t have to do anything Lego-y on any of its subscribers, not even during the low point 2016. Once is fine; if Sony starts ransacking Konami’s couch cushions for Castlevania HDs, they’ll need an intervention.

Square Enix

The Numbers

Average: 73.8

Median MSRP: $35.62

Median age: 1.5 years

Published by Sony Interactive Entertainment Five titles (Destruction AllStars, Concrete Genie, Farpoint, Days Gone, Predator: Hunting Grounds). The console’s exclusive console launch was followed by three others (all day-and date launches).Maquette, Hunter’s Arena: Legends, And First class Trouble).

With the most titles, publisher: SIE’s five titles led all publishers. Electronic Arts boasted four titlesBattlefield 5: Star Wars: Squadrons and Plants vs. Zombies Battle for Neighborville And Knockout CityThese were all available before the PS Plus launch on EA Play.

You have played on Games With Gold and Games With Gold Plus before. Technically, they never appeared on Xbox Live Games With Gold. But Virtua Fighter 5 Final ShowdownGames with Gold was offering the Xbox 360 version of, while the PS3 version was available on PS Plus in July 2018. Overcooked! All You Can Eat Includes the first Overcooked!, These Games with Gold were offered October 2018 and PlayStation Plus in May 2019. Days gone And Mortal Kombat XThey are also available as part of the PS Plus Collection. Original Reckoning: Kingdoms of AmalurIn October 2013, a PlayStation 3 version was available.

On Game Pass: Apart from the EA Play games that are only available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers (four), Remnant, From the Ashes: A Plague Tale: Wreckfest, Greedfall and Innocence And Mortal ShellAll of them are currently available on Xbox Game Pass, and they were previously offered as part of PlayStation Plus. Maneater Game Pass has been added following its stint on PlayStation Plus. Zombie Army 4: Dead War Was simultaneously available by PS Plus, and was added to Xbox Game Pass. Mortal Kombat X And Shadow of the Tomb Raider These games were part of Xbox Game Pass. However, they were removed from the PS Plus site. Each game comprises Overcooked! All You Can Eat Have appeared on Game Pass. Overcooked! 2 still available. There are 14 PS Plus titles that were available on Xbox Game Pass in 2021.

You can now appear on the following: Three titles are all you need: Stranded Deep: Greedfall And Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown.

Total Value $1,424.60