PlayStation is starting the new year strong by adding a great collection of games to PS Plus Premium and Extra as part of January 2024’s Game Catalog drop, playable on Tuesday, January 16. Treating PS5 and PS4 players to nine popular games including Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Resident Evil 2, and Just Cause 3, there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to PS Plus right now.
While Xbox and its Game Pass subscription are starting the year off strong with the day-one addition of Palworld, alongside Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Hell Let Loose and other great titles, PS5 and PS4 players aren’t drawing the short straw with PS Plus. This follows on from a relatively strong 2023 for both services where we discovered that PS Plus added 251 games worth up to $8,000 in 2023 while Xbox Game Pass added 150 games worth $5,000 in 2023.
Arriving on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, PS Plus Premium and Extra subscribers will gain access to the following games:
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Next-Level Edition – PS5, PS4
- Resident Evil 2 – PS5, PS4
- Hardspace: Shipbreaker – PS5
- LEGO City Undercover – PS4
- Just Cause 3 – PS4
- Session: Skate Sim – PS5, PS4
- Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun – PS4
- Vampire: The Masquerade Swansong – PS5, PS4
- Surviving the Aftermath – PS4
As you can see, it’s quite an eclectic mix for those with access to the PS Plus Game Catalog, from DnD with guns to a hardcore tactical stealth game, a skateboarding sim, a horror game, and much more.
Wondering where to start? We don’t blame you, our backlogs are already stacked and these new additions don’t make things any easier. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is certainly a highlight, taking the tried and true Borderlands formula of guns, guns, and more guns, and transporting it into a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired adventure with bullets and broadswords. Set in the titular Tiny Tina’s new roleplaying game, you’ll get to experience the wacky locations and wild story she dreams up as the dungeon master, all while blasting foes with ever-satisfying firepower – now with magic to boot. If you played Borderlands 3, which was added to PS Plus Premium and Extra in February 2023, then you’ll find lots to love in this spin-off sequel. Check out our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands review to learn more.
Resident Evil 2 Remake should also be on your list. Reimagining the 1998 classic with stunning graphics and new story and gameplay features, both seasoned veterans and newcomers alike will find plenty of scares awaiting them. Similarly to Tiny Tina’s Wonderland and Borderlands 3, PS Plus Premium and Extra members also gained access to Resident Evil 7 in February 2023. Though RE2 is almost entirely different from RE7 in its approach to horror, both are unmistakably Resident Evil, giving newcomers a taste of the breadth of the franchise.
We also can’t overlook Just Cause 3. While it’s not the latest entry in the series – that would be Just Cause 4, which was, oddly enough, added to the service this time last year – it’s arguably the best. With a beautiful open-world and a suite of new tools, namely the incredible wingsuit, it’s never felt better to explore and explode everything you see in a videogame.
While you might be tempted to overlook them with the handful of stellar AAA games coming this month, you’d be remiss to skip Session and Hardspace: Shipbreaker. The former is a spiritual successor to the iconic Skate franchise, offering up best-in-class ollie action, while the latter is a rather understated sim all about deconstructing ships in space – with a surprisingly impactful backdrop of a corporate dystopia. Thankfully, neither game will take you quite so long as Just Cause 3.
Those of you on the PS Plus Premium tier will also get several PlayStation Classics:
- Rally Cross
- Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
- Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection
- Legend of Mana
- Secret of Mana
That’s a lot of games, especially considering the Street Fighter collection includes a whopping 12 Street Fighter titles to sink your teeth into. Though these classics won’t be for everyone, they are iconic games worth checking out.
A small announcement you’re likely to have missed is that the Sony Pictures Core package with Crunchyroll is being expanded on January 15. As the PlayStation Blog notes, “select series from Crunchyroll will be available to PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe members via Sony Pictures Core”. This is only available in the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Though these aren’t necessarily new PS5 games, they are among the best PS5 games – and they’re now yours for no extra cost. While you’re waiting for them to download, find out why Xbox Game Pass won 2023 despite PS adding $8,000 worth of games, or how this new PlayStation patent could get you playing mega-sized games much quicker in the future.