If you’re anything like me, every day in April will be spent waiting to play Saros. I’ll be burning the hours away by desperately trying to work through Cryo Archive in Marathon, and failing miserably. If losing loot isn’t your jam, then turning to the various subscription services might be the best option, with the blue brand’s offering being fairly attractive this month.
As announced on the PlayStation Blog, the PlayStation Plus Essentials games for April are Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream. All three games will be available on the service on April 7.
FromSoftware birthing a new genre was a blessing and a curse. Stating the obvious here, but Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring are exceptional games with a very well-earned hardcore player base. The flipside is that the Soulsborne genre is packed with copycats and wannabes hoping to take a bite out of the difficult RPG pie. That said, there are a few that shine through the bunch, with Lords of the Fallen (2023) being a great example. While combat isn’t perfect, the dual worlds mechanic controlled by your Umbral lamp and the incredible character/enemy designs make this gothic game worth a shot. We gave Lords of the Fallen an 8, saying in our review, “If you can make it past the dense player onboarding that assumes you’ve beaten Dark Souls, then you’re likely to experience the best imagining of a Souls sequel this side of FromSoft.”
Being one of gaming’s most recognisable protagonists, I don’t feel like I need to introduce Lara Croft. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered does exactly what it says on the tin, collecting the first three games in the legendary third-person action-adventure series, with improved graphics, all of the additional content intact, and a few new cosmetics to boot. Don’t forget to lock the butler in the freezer. You wouldn’t be playing Tomb Raider if you didn’t.
It’s well documented that my only anime vice is One Piece, but I did briefly give Sword Art Online a crack. The virtual reality setting is interesting, especially when the stakes of losing a game are as high as they can be. Death, you’ll die if you lose. As JRPG as a real-time JRPG can get, Fractured Daydream offers a story mode, multiple playable characters and classes, and enough attack move callouts to kill an elephant. The interesting wrinkle here is that you can play with up to 20 players in online co-op, which sounds like an absolutely wild time.
Which game will you be downloading first? What games would you like to see in May? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
Adam's undying love for all things PlayStation can only be rivalled by his obsession with vacuuming. Whether it's a Dyson or a DualShock in hand you can guarantee he has a passion for it. PSN: TheVacuumVandal XBL: VacuumVandal Steam: TheVacuumVandal
