the1.21updateofficialnameis..._minecraftmonthly-youtube-googlechrome4_26_20242_39_36pm-300x300.png "Minecraft 1.21 Update Officially Named Tricky Trials, Adds A New Weapon")
A new month is nearly here, as well as a new year, and that means updates to the PlayStation Plus catalog. January kicks off 2024 with three new games available for Premium, Extra, and Essential members to download starting on January 2, as well as some goodies if you happen to be a space ninja.
This month in particular is great if you love third-person games. A Plague Tale offers satisfyingly beautiful stealth action, while Evil West is here to let you blow up some demonic bad guys. Also, don’t forget to snag December’s games (that includes Lego 2K Drive, Powerwash Simulator, and Sable) before the new month kicks off.
PS5 and PS4: Evil West
In our review of Evil West, Kotaku’s Zack Zwiezen praised the third-person shooter as “a simple, honest-to-god, linear and fun, goddamn video game:”
There is no getting around it: Evil West is silly, but in a good way. Its narrative has a lot in common with the best B-movies and pulp stories from the past. Characters act more like people pretending to be people, than real humans. Dialogue is filled with swear words and exposition. All of it is cheesy and silly in the perfect kind of way. Combined with the steampunk gadgets, monsters, and violence, it really does play out like a grindhouse flick you might have caught on TV at like 2 am back in the 90s on TNT.
Howlongtobeat.com estimates you can get through Evil West’s story in about 11 hours, or 19 if you want to take a completionist route.
Get more from Evil West’s developer on PlayStation
Are you a PlayStation Plus Premium or Extra subscriber? You can download Flying Wild Hog’s 2016 FPS Shadow Warrior 2. You can also snag its sequel, Shadow Warrior 3 on sale for just $14 until January 18. And if you’re in the mood for some side-scrolling, samurai hack ‘n slash fun, Trek to Yomi is on sale for $8 until January 18.
PS5: A Plague Tale: Requiem
This rat-infested third-person sequel to 2019’s A Plague Tale: Innocence features some gorgeous visuals and a lovely score. It might be a tad buggy from time-to-time, but if you like sneaking around in the dark and avoiding rats, this one is worth a download. On A Plague Tale: Requiem, former Kotaku writer Ashley Bardhan said:
The environment itself is a spectacle, a black-and-white cookie sometimes lit by the Mediterranean coast’s burnt-orange sun, sometimes spotted with flies as Amicia trudges around the game’s stacks of dead bodies that get dumped and burned and forgotten. Requiem is also heavy on vibration feedback, and crouching through thick braids of grass and the misplaced brightness of lavender always feels good and tense.
A Plague Tale: Requiem offers a 17-hour story, with close to 30 hours if you’re looking to complete everything it has to offer.
Grab the first Plague Tale on sale before January 6, 2023
Don’t like jumping into a sequel without playing the first game? Good news: A Plague Tale: Innocence, which introduces us to Amicia and Hugo, is on sale until January 6 for just $12.
PS5 and PS4: Nobody Saves The World
Nobody Saves The World impressed us back in 2022 with its satisfyingly grindy (yes, grindy like in a good way) progression and fun combat. In our impressions of it, Kotaku’s Ethan Gach said:
If you like filling up meters and testing out new and creative builds for dispatching enemy mobs efficiently, like I do, it’s a recipe for several long nights of fun. Drinkbox has tried to keep tedium to a minimum by making new milestones come quickly and often. Dungeons you might have to grind a handful of times before taking down a larger boss subtly remix themselves each time in a roguelite fashion so they feel more like theme park rides than prisons.
Free Warframe stuff!
Looking to spice up your Tenno’s wardrobe? The Warframe: Syrinx Collection is a great way to add some new cosmetics to your existing collection or a great way to get some variety if you’re just starting out with this free-to-play sci-fi looter shooter. According to Sony’s official blog, you can claim the following items on January 2:
- Syrinx Chest Plate
- Syrinx Shoulder Plates
- Syrinx Leg Plates
- Baza Rifle
- Cassowar Polearm
- Storm Color Palette
- Essential Base Damage Mod Bundle
- Essential Critical Damage Mod Bundle
- 2x Orokin Catalysts
- 170 Platinum
- 7-Day Affinity Booster
- 7-Day Credit Booster
Which game are you most likely to download first?
