Introduction
Video game subscriptions have become an integral part of modern gaming. Most major platforms now offer comprehensive subscription services built around online multiplayer and cloud gaming capabilities. For years, Microsoft has led the charge with its acclaimed Xbox Game Pass service, providing access to a vast catalog of titles across console, PC and cloud gaming.
However, Sony has recently overhauled its console infrastructure and services to deliver a more competitive offering. The incorporation of PlayStation Now into the new PlayStation Plus subscription aims to give Xbox Game Pass a run for its money. With multiple tiers available, PlayStation Plus now grants access to an extensive collection of remastered classic games and new exclusives.
PlayStation Now boasted over 800 games at its peak that players could stream or download to play on demand. While the revamped PlayStation Plus has retired the standalone PlayStation Now branding, its cloud gaming services and library have been absorbed into the new PlayStation Plus Premium tier.
This presents players with a fantastic opportunity to experience a rich variety of titles. From intense action games and sweeping RPG epics, to family-friendly platformers and chilling horror experiences, PlayStation Now offered something for all players.
Here are 10 of the best PlayStation Now games that players can still experience today with a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription.
#10 God of War
The God of War franchise hardly needs an introduction at this point. Ever since the first game dropped on PS2 back in 2005, the series has enraptured fans with its intense action combat and rich storylines steeped in ancient mythology. The games follow Kratos, the fierce Greek God of War, as he battles gods and monsters from legend on his relentless quest for vengeance.
The featured God of War selection on PlayStation Now includes mainline entries like God of War 3 Remastered, God of War: Ascension and God of War 2. It also contains the PSP spin-offs Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, which explore more of Kratos’ backstory.
God of War 2018 also made the jump to PC recently, but you can experience the epic Norse saga early by streaming it through PlayStation Plus Premium. The series has always pushed graphical boundaries, so PS Now is a great way to enjoy these visual masterpieces without buying past PlayStation consoles. With deep RPG systems, tons of hidden items to find and optional challenge modes, fans will easily sink hundreds of hours into these titles across single player and multiplayer.
Best For: Action/Adventure, Mythological Settings, In-Depth Combat
#9 Red Dead Redemption
While its sequel grabbed all the headlines in 2018, the original Red Dead Redemption absolutely deserves a spot amongst the best games available on PS Now. This open-world Western epic dropped jaws back in 2010 with its gorgeous panoramic vistas and living wild west world brimming with detail and secrets to uncover.
Players take control of former outlaw John Marston who is forced to hunt down his old gang members across the fading American frontier in 1911. The open-world structure allows players to approach missions how they want or spend hours simply hunting, gambling and exploring the countryside. With its memorable characters, impactful morality choices and touching story of redemption, RDR set a new bar for narrative excellence in open world games.
And that‘s not even mentioning Red Dead’s beloved competitive and co-op online multiplayer modes. Saddle up with a posse of friends to wreak havoc across the wild west in classic game modes like Shootout and Free Roam events. Whether you want to reconnect with one of gaming’s most beloved worlds or experience it for the first time, PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers owe it to themselves to take this memorable journey.
Best For: Open World, Story Rich, Online Multiplayer
#8 Bioshock: The Collection
Many consider the Bioshock series to be the gold standard when it comes to artistic, narrative-driven FPS games. And thanks to this fantastic collection, PlayStation Plus Premium members can experience the atmospheric worlds and philosophical themes that define this venerable franchise.
The bundle contains visually enhanced versions of all three Bioshock games – inviting players to the mysterious underwater city Rapture and the floating metropolis Columbia in turn. Alongside its immersive game worlds brought to life with striking art direction, the Bioshock games explore complex themes of choice, morality and extremist ideology. Players are left to decide how they interact with the ideologues and factions struggling for control as they unravel what went wrong in each failed utopia.
With terrifying genetic mutants around every corner and a variety of brutal weapons and special abilities at your fingertips, Bioshock fuses gripping narrative and boss fights with tense first-person shooter action. If you missed out on these landmark games the first time, dive into the entire thought-provoking Bioshock experience with PlayStation Plus Premium’s definitive collection.
Best For: Narrative Focused, FPS Action, Philosophical Themes
#7 Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
When it comes to zany cooperative shooter action, Borderlands has always stood in a league of its own. And with The Handsome Collection, PS Plus Premium subscribers can team up with friends to blast through over 100 hours of stylized open-world chaos across 2 games and all their DLC expansions.
This bundle includes Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel along with their respective DLC chapters. Players join a rag-tag group of intergalactic “Vault Hunters” as they seek fame, fortune and powerful loot across the wild frontier planet Pandora and its moon Elpis.
The games really come alive in 4 player co-op as you develop complementary class-based abilities to combo with your friends. But true to Borderlands’ identity, the main draw is collecting randomized guns to mow down enemies in spectacular fashion as you uncover each planet’s secrets.
With its cel-shaded comic book visuals, charismatic class-based characters and addictive loot grind, the Handsome Collection lets you experience the series’ signature brand of chaos with friends across two massive worlds. If you’re seeking an enjoyable cooperative shooter you can keep coming back to, this is the classic PS Now package for you.
Best For: Looter Shooter Action, Bombastic Humor, Online Co-Op
#6 Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster
Square Enix’s massively influential Final Fantasy series has introduced countless fans worldwide to the immersive stories and strategic combat the genre is famous for. And with many mainline entries stretching across PlayStation consoles past and present, PS Plus Premium grants subscribers access to two of the most acclaimed chapters with Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD.
Final Fantasy X tells an unforgettable coming-of-age tale centered around protagonist Tidus as he journeys with the summoner Yuna on her holy pilgrimage. Players will fall in love with the game’s diverse characters and refined turn-based battle system as they overcome adversity in this timeless adventure.
Its sequel Final Fantasy X-2 shifts to Yuna’s perspective as she battles to uncover Spira’s hidden truths while embracing a more active, fast-paced combat style. This Remastered package improves the visuals and content from two instantiate classics – letting a new generation experience one of PlayStation’s most moving narratives from beginning to end.
Best For: Story Driven JRPG, Strategic Combat, Character Depth
#5 Batman Arkham Series
Batman Arkham Asylum was a genuine revelation when it launched on PS3 in 2009. Rocksteady Studios’ revolutionary combat and predator systems made players feel more like the legendary Dark Knight than ever before in a video game. And PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers can experience how this landmark superhero saga evolved across three stellar games.
The collection includes Asylum along with acclaimed sequels Arkham City and Arkham Origins. Players take control of the caped crusader as he battles his most dangerous rogues across Arkham’s labyrinthine halls and eventual open world incarnations of Gotham itself.
Stalk henchmen from the shadows, engage thugs in free-flowing hand-to-hand combat and solve tricky detective cases in these authentic Batman power fantasies. Plus Arkham Knight’s emotional finale is well worth checking out after you‘ve finished this trilogy of critically hailed superhero classics currently available on PlayStation Plus Premium.
Best For: Superhero Setting, Narrative Depth, Metroidvania Level Design
#4 Vampyr
Few games have dared tackle vampiric themes while balancing gory combat with narrative depth and moral complexity. Enter developer DONTNOD’s underrated gem Vampyr, which embraces player choice and balances visceral vampire powers against human compassion.
In war-torn 1918 London, players take on the role of Dr. Jonathan Reid shortly after he is turned into a vampire himself. As he navigates London’s quarantined districts to learn of the flu-like epidemic, Reid must manage his thirst for blood with his oath as a doctor to preserve life. Players decide who, if anyone, to kill or spare across the impressively fleshed-out civilian population who each have their own stories and relationships.
Vampyr’s systems elegantly intertwine with its central themes to let players determine what kind of blood-craving monster or reluctant hero Reid will become. The deeper you delve into NPC backstories to discover their health conditions and connections to others, the more experience you obtain for new vampiric abilities that further tempt you morally. What toll will your transformation take on London’s afflicted boroughs? The complex implications of your choices make each life-or-death decision utterly riveting.
Best For Mature Themes, NPC Interaction Depth, Player Choice Focus
#3 Hollow Knight
At first glance, newcomer developers Team Cherry seem utterly mad to evoke punishing and explorative genre titans like Dark Souls and Super Metroid with their first title. Yet against all odds, Hollow Knight simultaneously lives up to and surpasses the masterpieces it finds inspiration from as one of the best modern 2D action-adventures ever crafted.
The excellent use of hand-drawn environmental animation and art instill its vast subterranean bug kingdom with incredible atmosphere. Meanwhile, the challenging combat and multitude of unique character builds available make traversing the eerie depths of Hallownest and battling its twisted inhabitants utterly gratifying.
Players gradually open shortcuts and access extremely creative tools that lend distinct platforming and combat advantages. All the while, Team Cherry masterfully tantalizes you with subtle environmental clues that reveal just enough to build haunting tapestries of lore and tragedy behind the lonely descent into this long-abandoned world. Hollow Knight doesn’t just stand as one of PS Plus Premium’s indie masterworks – its passion bleeds through every creative vein to produce an unforgettable adventure that outclasses AAA efforts ten times its budget.
Best For Metroidvania Design, Souls-like Action, Environmental Storytelling
#2 Marvel‘s Spider-Man
Ever since Spider-Man 2 entered the conversation for best superhero games in 2004, fans eagerly awaited another open-world experience that captured web-swinging with style and cinematic substance to match. At long last, Insomniac Games 2018 PS4 exclusive delivers said experience in utterly spectacular fashion with Marvel‘s Spider-Man – confirming Peter Parker‘s gaming potential as Sony‘s blockbuster console hero.
Between its enthralling comic book story, exhilarating traversal and varied combat encounters, Marvel‘s Spider-Man is polished to an exceptional shine across its 30+ hour runtime. Effortlessly chaining aerial combos between New York City skyscrapers during electrifying battles with iconic rogues easily sells the empowering fantasy of being the wall-crawler himself. But the journey also shows heart with plenty of emotional character moments while organically introducing canonical favorites like Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales into the fold.
PS Plus Premium provides the ideal avenue to experience Insomniac‘s superhero opus if you missed out on its PS4 run. With a strong blend of blockbuster presentation, gameplay variety and heartfelt characterization, Marvel‘s Spider-Man raises the open-world bar to soaring new heights.
Best For Superhero Setting, Open World Design, Accessibility
#1 The Last of Us Remastered
Naughty Dog’s emotionally charged opus remains a watershed moment for video game storytelling 13 years later for good reason. Anchored by incredible performances from Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson as Joel and Ellie respectively, The Last Of Us crafts a profound cross-country tale of moral ambiguity, humanity’s best and worst instincts and finding hope in trying times.
The writing team artfully subverts the overdone zombie concept by rooting its narrative trajectory in profoundly human connections above all else. Balancing stealth action, harrowing encounters with the Infected and the fragile dynamic between its two leads makes for an anxiety-inducing experience where bonds feel lived-in and every supply run risks disaster.
Visuals and gameplay have received welcome current-gen elevations that keep the experience competitive alongside PS Plus Premium‘s more modern offerings. From its beautiful environments invoking ý the limitless promise of Americana to its watershed climax seething with complex emotion, The Last of Us represents the pinnacle of PlayStation‘s exclusive library as well as narrative games themselves.
Best For Narrative Focus, Stealth Action, Emotional Depth
Discover Timeless PlayStation Classics with PlayStation Plus Premium
PlayStation Plus Premium provides the ideal way for players to experience the many masterful gems from PlayStation’s past and present catalog in one subscription package. Check out stunning remasters like The Last of Us or plunge into vast worlds packed with secrets like Red Dead Redemption.
Or why not gather some friends online to blast through the co-op perfection of Borderlands? With new classics sure to join its ranks over time, PlayStation Plus Premium is the premier way for fans to play decades of PlayStation legends for an affordable monthly price. There’s truly something to satisfy all tastes with these masterful games alone – not counting the hundreds of additional titles available across Premium’s vast library.
