The PlayStation-exclusive Resistance series produced some epic shooters, but has largely been left to gather dust by Sony. The majority of Resistance games are now impossible to play on PS4 and PS5, and you’ll have to jump through some hoops just to play an offline version of Resistance 3. However, things are starting to look up, as PS Plus has just added Resistance: Retribution to its library of Classics.
While new PS4 games and new PS5 games arrive on the PS Plus games list each month, those on the most expensive Premium tier also gain access to its Classics catalog. For those unaware, this sees dozens of games from older consoles made playable for those that own the more recent systems. While many will have hoped for one of the three mainline Resistance titles – which are regarded as some of the best FPS games of the PS3 era – we’re instead getting Resistance: Retribution, which is actually a third-person spinoff of the series released for the PSP.
The game came out in 2009 on Sony’s excellent portable handheld, and was developed by Bend Studio – the folks behind one of the most underrated PS4 and PS5 exclusives, Days Gone. It’s set after the events of the very first game in the series, Resistance: Fall of Man, and has been upgraded and enhanced for its addition to the Classics library – “up-rendering, rewind, quick save, and custom video filters” have all been added, according to its listing on the PlayStation Store.
Due to emulation issues, it’s extremely unlikely, but we’re wishfully hopeful that this is the first small step in getting all of the games in the Resistance series – mainline or spinoff – back in the hands of PlayStation players. Currently, PS5 players can access 2011’s Resistance 3 in some territories through PS Plus’ Cloud Streaming service, but it is not available to purchase and download digitally. Also, PS4 and PS5 consoles with disc drives don’t have backwards compatibility with PS3-era discs.
The only way you can play all three mainline Resistance titles is to get yourself a PS3 and buy second-hand physical versions of the games.
Resistance isn’t the only excellent PlayStation franchise that has sadly been left in the past. We recently wrote about how Killzone deserves a remake or reboot for the PS5 era, and how inFamous should get a lot more love from Sony. Maybe one day we’ll be able to see these franchises appear in our best PS5 games list.