Critically acclaimed Skate Story by Sam Eng is also available on the service, and from December 16th, you can also access Granblue Fantasy: Relink. Released after years of delays, the action RPG follows Gran/Djeeta as they venture to the Zegagrande Skydom and deal with a dangerous cult.

Other notable additions include Planet Coaster 2 and LEGO Horizon Adventures on PS5, the latter also recently added to PlayStation Plus Essential. Cat Quest 3 is playable on PS5 and PS4 alongside not one but two Paw Patrol titles – Grand Prix and World.

As for Premium subscribers, they receive exclusive access to Soulcalibur 3 on both platforms. Based on the PS2 version, it includes quick save, custom video filters, rewind, and more.

Playable on PS5, the LEGO-fied adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn offers overhead beat ’em up co-op action and a much more laid-back approach to the original’s post-apocalyptic setting. The other major addition is, unsurprisingly, Killing Floor 3, which launched to negative reviews.

It’s since improved courtesy, especially following the Rearmament update, but it wouldn’t be surprising if sales didn’t meet expectations. Speaking of the same (and needing new players), there’s Synduality Echo of Ada, Bandai Namco’s underwhelming extraction shooter and the third PS5 exclusive.

For those seeking a more survival horror-focused multiplayer experience, The Outlast Trials on PS4 and PS5 should fill that void in disturbingly gruesome fashion. Speedrunners can check out Neon White on the same platforms for its clever mix of first-person shooting, cards and anime-esque storytelling.

Of course, there’s even more to look forward to in December when Skate Story launches on day one for subscribers. Head here for the latest details.

A more light-hearted take on the Horizon franchise than the mainline games, LEGO Horizon Adventures essentially LEGO-fies everything and makes the whole game a lot more cheerful. Players can take on the role of Aloy and her friends as they go through the title’s story in single-player and co-op multiplayer.

Along the way, players will also get to take on several of the robotic beasts that the Horizon franchise is known for, by making use of a variety of different tools that players will have at their disposal.

When it comes to the story, LEGO Horizon Adventures is essentially a compactly-retold version of the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, along with a much lighter tone. The game has been a big step forward for Sony in making the Horizon franchise more family-friendly over time.

Despite Sony’s usual efforts for PC releases, LEGO Horizon Adventures has been one of its weakest PC performers so far. Back in November, LEGO Horizon Adventures debuted on PC with the lowest number of consecutive players of any Sony first-party PC release.

For context, even Sony’s other family-friendly PC release, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, debuted on PC with a peak of 610 concurrent players back in 2022. LEGO Horizon Adventures, on the other hand, only managed to get 602 concurrent players on launch.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is available on PC, PS5 and Nintendo Switch. For more details, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 8 out of 10, praising it for its charming and well-done adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn‘s story.

Arizona Sunshine Remake

The original Arizona Sunshine from 2016 caused a bit of a stir regarding some of its content being locked behind Intel Core i7 CPUs. Now in 2024, you can play all of that content, including two large DLCs and numerous updates with a ground-up remake to match Arizona Sunshine 2’s visuals. You’re mostly shooting zombies with your two VR hands throughout the linear narrated campaign, but there’s also a lot of quirky environmental interactions that make this a classic VR experience; and best of all, it has three-player co-op to triple the shenanigans. If you own a VR set, Arizona Sunshine Remake is a clear no-brainer.

Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2

Space Marine 2’s multiplayer offerings are tremendous fun, but it’s the solo campaign where the core meat and potatoes of the game are found. The story kicks off where Space Marine 1 left off, with Captain Titus returning to command his squad against the Tyranid swarms after a mortal wound. With a runtime around 10 hours long, Space Marine 2’s campaign is a riotous time filled with spectacular vistas and visceral combat. This is a hack and slash in a lot of ways, but Space Marine 2 emphasizes precise countering more than its predecessor, adding a bit of extra skill to the mix. Grabbing a partner to run through the separate co-op missions is a treat as well, but the AI companions aren’t bad either with their consistent healing and tanky defense. Space Marine 2 feels like a blast from the past with its fast-paced campaign density.

Silent Hill 2 Remake

Remaking a horror masterpiece like Silent Hill 2 is no easy feat, yet Bloober somehow pulled it off with great success. A key ingredient in that success is the expanded environments. The atmospheric hallways and foggy outdoor areas greatly encourage exploration, leading the player to a host of new items and collectables that can be viewed from any angle. Helping you navigate the expanded areas is the new over-the-shoulder camera perspective, which gives further context to environments. The original Silent Hill 2 clocked in at around 12 or so hours, but the remake can easily take double that time from all the added exploration. Still, the remake maintains the dense pacing of the original in spite of this, making it one of the more impressive and scary linear games on this list.

Black Myth Wukong

Black Myth Wukong takes a rather unorthodox approach to level design, seesawing back and forth between corridor-like linearity to wide open environments. Most puzzling of all, there’s no map or navigation tools to assist your exploration in the game. Despite this, we couldn’t help but marvel at the variety of biomes and beauty of environments within the Journey To the West-inspired tale. But it isn’t just some of the environments that proceed linearly, your weapons and armor automatically upgrade as you progress too. Black Myth Wukong is a masterclass in focus; it doesn’t meander and bloat the player’s time with frivolous stuff, instead honing in on what makes it great.

Stellar Blade

If you’re familiar with the way Nier Automata handles level design, you’ll feel at home within Stellar Blade. One area that Stellar Blade expands upon its level design is the engaging collectibles scattered across its environments. You have everything from soda cans to posters and boxes of loot to collect, rewarding you with new costumes for Eve and her companions to wear. The wide-linear nature of the environments hits a sweat spot that always manages to make you feel like you’re progressing forward while giving satisfying room for exploration as you do so. Parts of the story have you strictly going from A to B with collectibles nestled within secret routes off the beaten path, while others are open zones meant for questing and exploration. Stellar Blade excels in the way it mixes urgency and exploration with its wide-linear level design.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2

Hellblade 2 takes quite a different approach to linear level design. Due to the zoomed-in focus on very specific locations, Ninja Theory managed to go all-out decorating each hand-crafted environment and presenting it all with an unmatched cinematic flair. It’s no exaggeration to say that Hellblade 2 is among the most graphically impressive games to date. This combination of chiseled graphical fidelity with cinematic flair help cement Hellblade 2’s Norse-inspired locations into the player’s memory. It may be a straightforward game in all aspects of its gameplay, but Hellblade 2’s psychologically rich narrative and impressive visual presentation punctuate its linear design with a bold exclamation point.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership

Despite introducing a sailing ship into the Mario & Luigi series, Brothership still follows a more or less traditional critical path. The brothers’ overarching goal this time around is lighting the four Great Lighthouses throughout Concordia’s oceans. The developers made sure each of the four Great Lighthouse dungeons were top-tier, earning the top spot on my list of Mario RPG dungeons. When they’re not puzzling their way through the Great Lighthouse dungeons, Mario & Luigi are busy linking together the distinctly themed islands with the ship. Brothership threads its themes of connections brilliantly through the narrative and humorous writing, forming a cohesive story that impresses despite its basic appearance.

The Plucky Squire

The Plucky Squire mashes together a bunch of different genres onto the framework of a top-down adventure game. A majority of your time is spent swinging around a sword defeating enemies, but the sheer amount of odd little minigames ranging from Punch-Out sequences, to Duck Hunt shootouts, and even some turn-based RPG fun, is chaotically enduring. And then there’s the puzzles that ask you to rearrange sentences for new props to appear inside the picture book you inhabit. And yes, you even get to pop out of the book and into ‘the real world’ several times. The pop-up book aesthetic puts a bow on the whole package, making The Plucky Squire one of the most enduring linear games of the year.

Neva

Like the studio’s previous game Gris, Neva does more than just offer up a compelling platforming game; it’s an emotional audio/visual art piece. The bond between Alba and her wolf pup Neva grows as the seasons change throughout the adventure, manifested in turn by more advanced platforming challenges. Neva differentiates itself from Gris with its emphasis on combo-based combat and precision platforming sequences, providing a punchy and satisfying linear adventure full of heart.

Akimbot

If you’re looking for an old-school action/adventure game that’s as straightforward as it is fun, look no further than Akimbot. Like its Ratchet and Clank inspiration, you have a range of gun types to unload on enemies with through a linear story. The pacing of the action is non-stop, supplying a constant stream of action-platforming fun. And the best thing is its gameplay doesn’t overstay its welcome thanks to a variety of activities and sequences breaking up the usual run-and-gunning (such as the bullet hell sections). Akimbot is one of the those games that’s effortless to just drop in and play without too much thought or prep-work, and I still often get the urge to start up another playthrough many months after completing it.

Lego Horizon Adventures

Despite its open world source material, the Lego-fied version of Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the most linear and straightforward Lego games to date. You play through the basic storyline of Horizon Zero Dawn through linear mission-based levels, returning to the Mother’s Heart hub area in between your excursions. There’s not a ton of exploration in this game except for some smaller open areas and branching paths in the levels, but the hub does allow for some satisfying customization and personalization. Whether you’re a Horizon fan or a Lego connoisseur, you owe it to yourself to play this unique take on the PlayStation IP solo or with two other friends.

Princess Peach Showtime

If you’re looking for a fun mish-mash of different gameplay ideas and themes presented in true Nintendo fashion, Princess Peach Showtime will satisfy. Each stage has a unique theme that completely alters the gameplay and aesthetics, as well as, of course, Peach’s outfit. From lassoing up bandits on a horse to swordfighting through hack and slash dungeons, the creative levels give you reasons to come back and replay them. Like previous Good Feel games, stages are absolutely filled with collectables and secrets, providing solid replay value.

Astro Bot

Unlike Princess Peach or Akimbot, Astro Bot takes a more open approach to some of its levels, taking a cue from something like Super Mario Galaxy. Still, Astro Bot’s levels comprise mostly linear challenges, and oh how fun they are. 3D platforming never felt better than with Astro Bot’s high tech Dual Sense functionality – it goes beyond a mere gimmick, being a primary function of gameplay. Every action in the game is accompanied by a signature rumble from the controller. Each stage is tailored specifically to the PS5 and its controller, providing a unique kind of console experience. Likewise, stages take full advantage of Astro’s abilities in creative and imaginative ways, proving that linearity can be an enormous strength in platforming games.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak

I know, I know, an ongoing JPRG series with a dozen connected games is a hard sell for most folks. But you owe it to yourself to give Trails Through Daybreak the light of day. For one, it forms the beginning of a new arc with a fresh cast of characters set in a different province from previous games. It’s also just a phenomenal turn-based RPG through and through. If you enjoy dialogue-heavy RPG stories with a linear structure that lets you explore its towns at your own pace, Trails Through Daybreak may be the surprise hit that gets you invested into the wider series.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

Not only is this the first Indy game in 15 years, it’s also a return for MachineGames after their run of successful Wolfenstein reboot titles. As previews have observed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle features a lot of stealth. Its core gameplay revolves less around – well, revolvers – than you’d come to expect, supplying an experience more in line with the Thief series. You’re often hiding  behind baddies to knock them out before finding that ever elusive key to the locked door down the hallway. What we’ve seen of the trailers has us reassured that MachineGames knows what makes Indiana Jones stories so fun charming. Hopefully, the stealth mechanics and story manage to reach the highs that the IP has been lacking in recent years when Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launches December 9^th.

Hulst emphasizes that live-service titles require a strong player base to justify continued development. This means that PlayStation needs to get new players on to its releases, and this can only happen by expanding the scope of a game’s release outside of PlayStation hardware.

“Since live service titles are released on multiple platforms, the key to success is how to attract new players and increase the number of players,” said Hulst when asked about the game. “Therefore, maintaining momentum at the time of release and broad player adoption is especially important in the live service sector.”

Hulst goes on to talk about how, while Helldivers 2 was a big hit, single-player releases are still a key aspect of the appeal behind PlayStation consoles. This means the company will continue working on its single-player games while expanding the audience on PC. While it will continue to bring single-player PlayStation games to the platform, multiplayer titles will also get strong support by integrating PlayStation Network.

“Single-player games are a key component of the PlayStation platform’s appeal, and each title has a strategic sales period,” he said. “While consoles remain our core business, expanding to PC and other platforms will allow us to bring our games to a wider audience. Our priority is always to provide the best possible experience for our players, and as part of that, we are also promoting the integration of PSN accounts on PC.”

Hulst also discusses expanding PlayStation’s releases onto other platforms, such as the Nintendo Switch. When asked about the release of LEGO Horizon Adventure on PC, PS5 and Nintendo Switch, Hulst said that release plans tend to depend on the game and what would be the best way to reach a wider audience.

“Live service titles are released on multiple platforms because it is important for multiple players to be able to play the game together,” said Hulst. “For other titles, we will decide the best sales format for the players and the company.”

Over the last few years, Sony has seen mixed success by releasing its titles on PC. While titles like Helldivers 2, God of War (2018), and Horizon Zero Dawn were successful on Steam, more recent efforts like LEGO Horizon Adventures and Until Dawn remake haven’t performed as well.

It’s also unknown how Concord’s failure, combined with the cancellation of Naughty Dog’s standalone multiplayer title for The Last of Us, may affect Sony’s live-service plans (especially with Hulst’s statement about needing larger player numbers). Haven Studios’ Fairgame$, a co-op heist shooter, is still in the pipeline, though it doesn’t have a release date.

Slitterhead

A bizarre mix of action and body horror from Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush, Slitterhead practically screams, “Not for everyone.” As Hyoki, an amnesiac spirit who must slay the Slitterheads, you can take over the bodies of different NPCs and leverage their powers. Combat can be enjoyable, but technical issues, jank, and repetition blemish the experience. It’s an acquired taste, though, and some may enjoy the body-hopping-focused gameplay while basking in the sheer weirdness of it all.

As for fixes, the chance of getting stuck outside levels has reduced. Animals can now eat the fish from the Fishing Pond, and interacting with different customization plots in Mother’s Heart now provides Studs as rewards. Apex Hunts have also received a balancing pass.

For co-op, player ring visibility has improved, and you’ll know who initiated a pause. As for Teersa, one of the unlockable playable characters, she’s received improvements to projectile defense and her hold attack.

Check out the full patch notes, complete with known issues, below. LEGO Horizon Adventures is available for PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Head here for our review – we gave it an eight out of ten.

LEGO Horizon Adventures – Patch 1.02

KNOWN ISSUES

We’ve heard our community’s feedback and are already digging into these pesky issues. They’re not quite fixed in this patch, but rest assured, our teams are on the case and giving them the attention they deserve. Thanks for sticking with us!

• The ‘Stay Frosty’, ‘Flaming Ninjas!’ and ‘Silent Storm’ Community Challenges do not progress by defeating element afflicted enemies with a non-elemental weapon.
• Changing environment colors increments the wrong Community Challenge.
• Some machines may spontaneously explode when entering the area (please keep your distance).
• Lighting may appear blown out on HDR Steamdeck. To resolve this either disable HDR, or increase the max luminance value to 4500 in the graphics settings.
• The game may crash on boot on specific 13th and 14th generation Intel CPUs. To resolve this a BIOS update may be required. More information is available here.

NEW FEATURES

• Added a Player Progression screen to track content / overall game progress.
• Options have been added to allow you to customize which features are highlighted when using the Focus. Highlight ALL THE THINGS.

FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

Runs

• Various fixes to reduce the risk of the player getting stuck outside of the level.
• Performed a balancing pass on various Apex Hunts.
• Fixed the player having a chance of being eaten by (stuck inside) the Dragon Cart masterbuilding object when it has been built.

Mother’s Heart

• Added stud rewards when having interacted with various yard customization plots.
• The fish from the Fishing Pond can now be eaten by animals (sorry fish).

Characters & Co-op

• Improved the visibility of player rings when playing in co-op.
• Improved Teersa’s ability to defend herself against projectiles. This old gal’s still got it!
• Improved the responsiveness of Teersa’s hold attack ability. Seriously, don’t mess with Teersa…
• Fixed an issue where the guest player may be missing a pickup prompt on gadgets and weapons after dying and being revived.
• Fixed an issue where the Deathbringer may always target the host player and not the guest. No playing favorites!

UI/UX

• Added a note to indicate which player opened the Pause Menu.
• Various localization improvements.
• Fixed an issue where simultaneously pressing the Cross and OPTIONS buttons may cause the Pause
• Menu to become unresponsive. There’s no trophy for button mashing!
• Removed a ‘Continue’ button that does not function on various Brick screens.
• Improved the HUD Scale option to increase the size of the quest markers, damage numbers, danger warnings, and more!
• Added ‘+’ signs to upgrade stickers to better highlight stat increases.

Combat

• PC Only – Fixed an issue where the player can lose functionality by pausing and clicking off the game window when charging the Arrow Storm Bow. Stay focused Aloy!
• Ensured that Erend’s stacked Giant Hammer now deals increased damage to the Deathbringer. Don’t stop him now!
• Fixed an issue where machines may become stuck on geometry. Math is hard.

Other

• PC Only – Adjusted default graphics settings based on hardware.
• PC Only – Improved performance on Intel ARC series GPUs.
• Various bug fixes and stability improvements.
• Various audio fixes and improvements.
• Significantly improved stability of reflections and facial animations on Nintendo Switch.

As per SteamDB, LEGO Horizon Adventures has seen a peak of just 602 concurrent players on Steam today. For some context, that’s the lowest concurrent player count for any PlayStation-published game on Steam to date, below even Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which had a peak of 610 concurrent players upon its 2022 PC launch- and that was a two-year belated port, whereas Horizon is a completely new release. This is also the fourth-lowest concurrent users peak for any LEGO game on Steam to date (our of 24 listed titles).

LEGO Horizon Adventures is, of course, also available on Nintendo Switch and PS5, but if we’re judging things based on its Steam performance – a platform where the Horizon series has generally performed quite well – it seems to have endured a tough launch, to say the very least. Of course, with the weekend coming up, Sony will hope to see that number climbing a little higher, but you have to wonder how much higher at can climb given where it’s started.

Read our review of the game through here, where we awarded it a score of 8/10.

Developed by Studio Gobo and Guerrilla Games, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a reimagined version of Horizon Zero Dawn, with the original 2017 title’s story more compactly retold for a more lighthearted experience. From a gameplay perspective, it simplifies things heavily, adopting straightforward action-driven mechanics in linear levels- though you can, of course, still expect to be fighting a variety of different mechanical monsters in lush and overgrown post-apocalyptic environments. 

In our review of the game, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “LEGO Horizon Adventures successfully adapts and abridges Horizon Zero Dawn for a younger audience, delivering a fun, charming, and straightforward experience in a delightful post-apocalyptic world.” Read the full review through here.

LEGO Horizon Adventures is available on PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The game doesn’t feature PS5 Pro enhancements. 

As previously announced by the developer, there are two modes: Performance and Fidelity. The former offers a locked 60 frames per second, while the latter forgoes the same for better lighting, shadows, and textures at 30 FPS. There’s no Pro Mode or even improved versions of the current modes.

Guerrilla Games hasn’t confirmed whether a PS5 Pro update is coming post-launch, but the title’s listing on the PlayStation Store doesn’t state “PS5 Pro Enhanced” like other supported games. Time will tell, so stay tuned for further updates.

LEGO Horizon Adventures launches on November 14th for Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC. Check out our review, where we gave it an eight out of 10, praising the visuals and charming atmosphere while criticizing the repetitive gameplay and some technical issues.