Starting April 5, PS Plus subscribers can claim Sumo Digital’s PvPvE heist game Hood: Outlaws and Legends, MegaCrit’s seminal roguelike deck builder Slay the Spire, and Purple Lamp Studios’ acclaimed remake SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Biki Bottom – Rehydrated. Those are pretty solid offerings – Slay the Spire in particular is excellent, while SpongeBob has its own fair share of fans – so subscribers have some good games to claim in the coming days.

That means you have until March 4 to claim the previous month’s PS Plus offerings, which are Ark: Survival Evolved, Team Sonic Racing, Ghostrunner, and Ghost of Tsushima: Legends.

The user claims that the three games that are going to be offered to the PlayStation Plus subscribers in April will be Focus Entertainment’s Hood: Outlaws and Legends for PlayStation 5 andPlayStation 4, THQ Nordic’s Spongebob Squarepants: Battle For Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated for PlayStation 4, and Mega Crit Games’ Slay the Spire for PlayStation 4.

Ever since PlayStation 5 launched, Sony has been offering a total of three games with PlayStation Plus each month, with at least one being a native PS5 title.

There isn’t much time left until Sony officially announces the April lineup, so we’ll have more concrete details very soon. Stay tuned.

Recently, Sony also confirmed the Project Spartacus rumours, announcing a revamped PlayStation Plus that will launch in June this year with a collection of hundreds of games offered across three different subscription tiers.

Season 1 of Hood: Outlaws and Legends, titled “Samhain”, is kicking off on September 2, and it’s going to be adding plenty of stuff to the game. There’s Eidaa, a new Outlaw with her own abilities, moveset, and customization options. Also being added are new maps for the aforementioned PvE mode, new cosmetics, and a reworking of the winch system, which will now allow both teams to winch for the treasure chest. Meanwhile, the game’s first battle pass is also being introduced.

Get a sneak peak of some of the new content coming with Season 1 in the trailer below.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The new mode, called State Heist, replaces the team of opposing players with AI-controlled enemies who are designed to be more dangerous and responsive than regular AI enemies. New mechanics are also introduced, such as a new method for reviving downed teammates that involves picking up dropped talismans and depositing them at specific spots. Meanwhile, stealth is emphasized greatly in the new mode. You can get more details on the new mode, as well as check out some of the gameplay footage, through here.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends is available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can read our review of the game through here.

Mountain is only just the beginning though. More gameplay tweaks and improvements are coming while a new “highly anticipated” co-op PvE mode will debut this season. The next Outlaw, Eidaa, who is described as “game-changing” is set to debut in the next season (which would technically be Season 1).

Community events are also part of the post-launch roadmap so stay tuned for more details. Hood: Outlaws and Legends is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Along with the Standard Edition, there’s the Year 1 Edition which includes three premium passes for upcoming seasons. Check out our official review for the game here.

Saying “this sort of game” might be a bit misleading though, and that’s what brings me to my first point about Hood: Outlaws and Legends; It very much feels like its own thing much of the time. The special brew that Sumo Newcastle has concocted here is one that feels like a more structured single player stealth game than something you’d find in the multiplayer department, yet, it still manages to feel like the multiplayer aspect is entirely organic and necessary to the overall experience.

"The special brew that Sumo Newcastle has concocted here is one that feels like a more structured single player stealth game than something you’d find in the multiplayer department, yet, it still manages to feel like the multiplayer aspect is entirely organic and necessary to the overall experience."

After a thankfully brief and useful training level goes over the basics with you, you’ll be taken to your hideout where you can change characters, weapons, clothing, and go over your personal objectives and challenges. Once you’re ready for the smoke, you can choose to enter a full match with 7 other players, or a one-sided training mission, which is basically the same thing but without an opposing team; just your band of merry men going up against the AI. I highly recommend trying at least a couple rounds of this before jumping into the main game, as understanding the different characters and having some familiarity with the games three main tasks is a must if you want to be very productive in the main experience.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll quickly realize Hood: Outlaws and Legends is mostly focused on achieving objectives with your ragtag team of merry men, while another team tries to do the same. Only one team of 4 can win though, so you’ll be facing off against AI guards and officers (AKA the “state”) while also throwing down with players on the other team of bandits as you inevitably come into conflict with them. The main tasks include pickpocketing a key from each map’s invincible bloodthirsty Sheriff, obtaining the treasure, and extracting said treasure by using one of the level’s available winches in a prolonged process of somebody working the crank while others (hopefully) defend the area. As with any multiplayer gameplay loop, it doesn’t always go as intended though.

Some teams will just decide to bum-rush the AI guards, which will eventually alert the sheriff, causing him to start marauding around after them, which makes him much harder to pickpocket and thus can turn the pace of the match on its head, but even then, there is still plenty of fun to be had. Sneaking around the outskirts of the commotion can yield dividends for a good team as it allows you to claim advantageous spawn points, find smoke bombs, and locate other points of interest before the rest. This can give you and your team an advantage well before any of the main objectives are even done. So, while nothing can prevent all matches from descending into chaos or guarantee that they’ll get back on track, Hood: Outlaws and Legends does a pretty good job of incentivizing you to play it as intended by rewarding those who are actually good at the game. Experience is also awarded for doing other peripheral tasks and completing your own individual challenges though, so there’s almost always something to work towards and be rewarded for, even if a match does fall into complete disarray.

"While nothing can prevent all matches from descending into chaos or guarantee that they’ll get back on track, Hood: Outlaws and Legends does a pretty good job of incentivizing you to play it as intended by rewarding those who are actually good at the game."

The moment-to-moment gameplay is what matters most here though, and the good news is that Hood: Outlaws and Legends mostly nails it. Hood: Outlaws and Legends has 4 characters a launch. John the aggressive brute, Robin the sniper, Marianne the stealthy assassin, and Tooke the flail-wielding mystic. Robin’s arrows and Marianne’s mini-crossbow reward a good shot and incentivize keeping a healthy distance while Tooke’s flail and John’s hammer can make short work of unprepared opponents. With the added abilities of Tooke’s healing and highlighting of enemies, Marianne’s ability to go invisible predator-style and pull off a string of easy stealth kills, John’s berserk mode, and Robin’s exploding arrows, they all have great reasons to be selected, and nobody feels redundant or unnecessary. They all have their own gear items and perks that add to their appeal the more you play them, too.

Presentation is also surprisingly solid. I don’t know if I’m just used to multiplayer games being half broken at launch or if this is some sort of rare exception, but either way, Hood: Outlaws and Legends looks great. The medieval aesthetic fits the darker tone that they’re going for about as well as you would expect. Outside of a few lighting effects popping in at the beginning of a match, I didn’t come across much in the way of glitches, either. The graphics overall, I’d say, are about on par with what we’ve seen from upper-mid-tier games this past generation with characters and environments looking sharp, albeit a bit drab – but that seems to be a deliberate choice given the time period. You’ll occasionally notice some cool effects like twilight beams poking through the trees and down on characters and the environment, but nothing too crazy. The audio package isn’t anything super special either, but it does get the job done with the highlights being some tense music and short murmurings from fellow characters letting you know certain tasks are completed. It’s not a showcase for that new set of speakers, but the audio in Hood: Outlaws and Legends accomplishes what it needs to and fits the mood well.

That’s not to say I didn’t develop a few gripes with Hood: Outlaws and Legends along the way though. While the 4 available characters are varied enough that most playstyles will feel catered to, another one or two of them would have gone a long way. With teams being able to have every available character in each match, Hood: Outlaws and Legends misses an opportunity for way more interesting match-ups that the addition of a fifth character would inevitably create. The fact that there aren’t more choices than available slots make character selection less interesting than it would otherwise be. There’s basically nothing for you to consider other than perhaps wanting one of each on your team for the sake of balance. Despite the characters themselves being fun to play as they are, it always feels just shy of being enough.

"Hood: Outlaws and Legends looks great. The medieval aesthetic fits the darker tone that they’re going for about as well as you would expect. Outside of a few lighting effects popping in at the beginning of a match, I didn’t come across much in the way of glitches, either."

Similarly, I also would have liked to have seen at least one more mode other than the standard 4v4. You could consider the training matches a way to mix things up a tad, but given that they don’t add to your experience points or yield any money for you, there is little reason to play them after your training wheels have come off. Despite me enjoying my time with the basic PvPvE mode, I couldn’t shake the feeling that one more mode would have gone a long way. I can understand why the developers probably don’t want to risk splitting the player base up too much, but one additional mode surely wouldn’t have hurt. Perhaps something that resembles the training missions by putting one team up against an aggressive AI army, or putting two teams up against each other deathmatch style without the AI, would have really rounded the game out better. Either that, or some more variation of the three basic tasks each match entails would have been nice. Even as a low-priced game, I’d like to see more meat on the bone here. Perhaps they will add more later, but as of now, it is a bit thin. Even for just 30 bucks.

Despite some of the elements of Hood: Outlaws and Legends feeling a tad on the shallow side, what is here works great for what it is. It manages to bring a welcome twist to the cooperative multiplayer formula by introducing stealth, AI opponents, and fun tasks into the mix. The fact that it’s a Robin Hood game might help it move some units in the short-term, but when all is said and done, it will be Hood: Outlaws and Legends’ well-crafted characters, polished gameplay, and surprisingly long list of goals to work toward that will actually define the experience for most. While I would have gladly welcomed more characters and modes for the asking price, what is here is executed well-enough that fans of stealth, unique multiplayer games, or anybody just looking for something a little different have plenty of reason to give it a shot.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.

Focus Home Interactive and Sumo Digital have another trailer for Hood: Outlaws and Legends, the PvEvP multiplayer heist title. Unlike last week’s early access launch, this one celebrates the title’s worldwide launch for all players. Regardless, you know the drill – heists, high stakes and very few chances to fail. Check it out below.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends takes place in medieval times with a crew of four players – who can take on roles like the Mystic, Hunter, Ranger and Brawler – looking to steal some treasure. AI guards and the powerful Sheriff aren’t the only ones to beware as a rival crew of four other players will also stake their claim on the loot. Find the vault and its key, extract the treasure and make it out alive to succeed.

With several different environments, various characters builds and abilities, there’s plenty of room for tense stealth and chaotic hijinks. Hood: Outlaws and Legends will be out today for Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Season 0: Litha will arrive post-launch and introduce a new map along with a new Outlaw named Eidaa. For more details on post-launch support, head here.

Sumo Digital’s Hood: Outlaws and Legends launches worldwide next week. However, early access for those who pre-order goes live tomorrow, meaning you can partake of PvEvP medieval heist shenanigans much sooner. Check out the latest cinematic trailer to see what kinds of action awaits.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends sees a crew of four players, taking on the roles of different outlaws, raiding a castle to steal some treasure. Knights led by the Sheriff are patrolling the area though and on top of this, a rival crew also has their eyes on the prize. Players will need to utilize different abilities, coordinate to locate the vault and ultimately make it out alive for the spoilers.

Along with early access to the full game, pre-ordering will provide The Forest Lords pack for free with a new skin for each character and weapon. There’s also the Year 1 Edition which provides the base game and three Battle Passes for upcoming seasons (more about the post-launch roadmap here). Hood: Outlaws and Legends is out on May 10th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.

When Sumo Digital’s PvPvE medieval heist game Hood: Outlaws and Legends launches in a little over a week, it’ll let players play as one of four available classes- the Ranger, the Hunter, the Brawler, and the Mystic. Each of those offer unique styles of play and strategies, but even within a single class, different players will be able to adopt different approaches, with the game offering plenty of build variety thanks to customization and progression options.

To highlight that build variety, publisher Focus Home Interactive has released a new gameplay video for the game. Containing over eight minutes of footage from the upcoming multiplayer title, the video features developer commentary, explaining the build options in each of the classes, in addition to various other aspects of heists and matches. Take a look below.

Of late, Focus Home Interactive have been releasing several trailers and videos for the game, explaining things such as progression, the post-launch support, and more.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends launches for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 10. On PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, it will run at 60 FPS and support ray-tracing.

Resident Evil Village

Resident Evil Village is undoubtedly the biggest game release of the month, if not one of the year’s biggest. Set after the events of Resident Evil 7: biohazard, players once again assume the role of Ethan Winters in first-person. After Mia is seemingly shot dead and his daughter kidnapped by Chris Redfield, Ethan travels to the titular village for a rescue. Of course, things are horribly off – Lycans roam about, causing mayhem; and the imposing Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters occupy the castle.

Thankfully, Ethan will have a healthy arsenal to aid his cause with handguns, shotguns and sniper rifles on hand. Upgrades for these can be purchased from The Duke while players can also hunt and cook meals for increased stat buffs. Along with the main story, there’s the return of The Mercenaries for some arcade-style shooting action (with the free-for-all deathmatch mode Re:Verse seemingly releasing this Summer).

Resident Evil Village is out on May 7^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia.

Hood: Outlaws and Legends

Legends live forever but outlaws reign supreme in Sumo Digital’s upcoming multiplayer title. As part of a heist crew in medieval times, players choose from one of four classes – the Ranger, Mystic, Hunter and Brawler, each with their own load-outs – and proceed to infiltrate heavily guarded locations to steal some treasure. The knights and Sheriff won’t make it easy though and the crew must combine their talents to locate the Vault, crack it open and make off with the loot.

Along with AI opponents, however, a rival crew composed of four other players will attempt to steal the treasure first, or hinder you during the escape process. So far, Hood: Outlaws and Legends looks to be a compelling mix of stealth, action and multiplayer chaos. It’s out on May 10^th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4 and PC with support for cross-platform play and even more content to come post-launch.

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

After years of requests from fans, BioWare is finally delivering the original Mass Effect trilogy with remastered visuals and quality of life improvements. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition collects the first three games and almost all of their DLC into one single launcher. Along with 4K resolution support, graphical improvements to shadows, lighting, particle effects and so on, character models have seen big improvements. Mass Effect 1 has been given the remake treatment with improved combat, balance changes (like all weapons being usable by all classes), better tuned boss fights and so on.

This isn’t even taking into account Galaxy at War, which has been re-balanced with the absence of multiplayer in Mass Effect 3, and now factoring in decisions from the entire trilogy. More character customization options, unified character creation and of course Photo Mode have also been added. In short, if you’re a Mass Effect fan, the Legendary Edition is a no-brainer. It’s out on May 15^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC with some enhancements on Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

Subnautica: Below Zero

Unknown Worlds’ follow-up to the critically acclaimed underwater survival title puts a colder spin on things. Set two years later on Planet 4546B, players explore the arctic region. Along with exploring abandoned research stations to collect logs and other information, you’ll need to build a base and craft items with whatever resources are available to survive.

Some interesting new mechanics include exploring frozen caves and snowy peaks along with the new Snowfox hoverbike. And don’t worry – there’s plenty of scary stuff to deal with as well, like the Shadow Leviathan. Subnautica: Below Zero is currently available in early access and fully launches on May 14^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo and PC.

Days Gone (PC)

After launching for PS4 in 2019, Deacon St. John’s quest to survive in post-apocalyptic Oregon comes to PC on May 18^th. The world is crawling with Freakers who can assail the player in hordes, becoming faster and more aggressive during the night. Deacon will venture across the landscape, destroying hives, completing bounties and even dealing with infected animals like bears and wolves while harboring hope that his wife is alive.

To accomplish this, he’ll have a motorcycle which must be maintained and modified to get the best mileage. In terms of enhancements, the PC version offers ultra-wide screen support, unlocked framerates, improved level of detail and foliage draw distance, and features like Super Resolution Photo Mode. Hopefully it turns out better at launch than Horizon Zero Dawn’s PC port.

Knockout City

While Rocket Arena faded into obscurity, EA’s Knockout City is looking more promising. Developed by Velan Studios, the competitive multiplayer title is more focused on Dodgeball-style combat. Throw balls – or other players – at opponents for a knockout. But it’s not nearly that simple – you need to think about your positioning and maybe charge up for an Ultimate Throw for better tracking.

With options like dodging, catching balls, fake throwing and whatnot, Knockout City could provide a nice diversion from the usual multiplayer fare. It launches on May 21^st for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch with six modes and five maps, cross-platform multiplayer and shared progression. New content will also be added in post-launch seasons.

Rust Console Edition

Originally released for Steam Early Access in 2013, Facepunch Studios’ wildly popular survival title would fully launch in February 2018 for PC. More than three years later, Rust is coming to Xbox One and PS4. In all honesty, the core gameplay remains about the same. Make a character, drop into a harsh open world with almost nothing at your disposal, and attempt to survive, crafting items from various resources and avoiding all kinds of death.

As you make clothes and procure food, you’ll build a base, explore radiation zones, get into a clan and raid other players. While known for being unforgiving, especially for solo players, and full of bugs, Rust is still an intriguing sandbox of emergent stories where trust and betrayal can go hand in hand. We’ll see how its console versions fare when they release on May 21^st.

Biomutant

Despite all of the delays and years of development, Experiment 101’s Biomutant still looks as captivating as ever. Set in the New World, a post-apocalyptic landscape where anthropomorphic animals rule, the player is tasked with saving the Tree of Life from death. Doing so requires cooperating with the different Tribes dotting the landscape, who each have their own different goals, and taking out the World Eaters responsible for polluting the tree.

Though boasting a large world to explore, Biomutant’s combat is akin to an action RPG as you utilize melee combos, long-range weapons and elemental attacks to gain the advantage. New weapons can be crafted, mutations can bestow new abilities and various vehicles can be obtained to explore the landscape. Biomutant releases on May 25^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC, so we’ll finally see if it lives up to the hype after all this time.

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster

The Conception has swept through modern day Tokyo, ushering in a swarm of demons. Meanwhile, the protagonist gains the power of a Magatama and becomes the Demi-fiend, able to wield powerful magic while also commanding other demons. Thus do you embark on a journey to remake the Vortex World, either by following one of three Reasons or defying everything for your own goals.

As a remaster of the PS2 classic, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster maintains the series punishing combat and unique aesthetic while providing higher resolution visuals and fully voiced cutscenes. Various quality of life features like Skill Transfer, Quick Resume and a new Merciful difficulty have also been added along with an alternate story branch for Raidou Kuzunoha of Devil Summoner fame. It’s out on May 25^th for PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch in the West.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground

It may seem like just another Warhammer title but Gasket Games’ turn-based tactics title is unique for being the first video game set in the Age of Sigmar. This is a dark fantasy where legends and monsters collide as players collect dozens of units to customize and command in several narrative campaigns. Each playthrough offers different routes to explore with rogue-like challenges and Ascension systems for replayability. You can also take your squad online in 1v1 battles. Though video games in the franchise are usually hit or miss, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground may be worth checking out. It’s out on May 27^th for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.