6 Video Games Free to PlayStation Plus Members in April 2016
Going up against Microsoft’s incredible lineup of free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in April was going to be tough, but it almost seems like Sony didn’t even bother trying. A few of these games look decent, but it looks like Xbox fans will win out in April.
As you may know, one of the benefits of being a PlayStation Plus member is that you get free games every month. The service costs $50 per year, but the games you’ll get are worth far more than that, even if you’re only interested playing a fraction of them.
Each month Sony gives out two games each for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita. Often these games support Cross-Buy, which means you might get three or four games for any given console (though not this month, unfortunately).
Better yet, you can redeem the free games on your account even if you don’t own one of the systems yet. Then if you buy the system in the future, those games will be in your account, ready for you to download and play. Read on for info on the free games PlayStation Plus members will be able to download starting April 5, 2016.
1. Dead Star
Platform: PlayStation 4
If space combat is your kind of thing, you’ll want to take a look at Dead Star. It looks like a lot of other games from recent years thanks to its neon hues, but the difference is that this game is online. You and your friends (or a bunch of Internet strangers) engage in 10 versus 10 battles that center around capturing outposts. As you play, you can upgrade and customize your ship to your liking. Dead Star launches the same day it goes free for PlayStation Plus subscribers, so no reviews are available yet. Watch the trailer above to see it in action.
2. Zombi
Platform: PlayStation 4
Original price: $20
Metacritic score: 71
Originally released under the title ZombiU as a Wii U launch title, Zombi is a first-person survival game set in a zombie apocalypse. One of the cool things about it is that when you die, you come back to life as another survivor. And if you want to get back the gear you collected, you have to return to where you died, find the zombified version of your old character, and kill it. The game is seriously challenging, but that’s what makes it reasonably fun — even if it got middling review scores.
3. I Am Alive
Platform: PlayStation 3
Original price: $15
Metacritic score: 75
Like so many games, this one takes place after the apocalypse. But unlike many others, you won’t face off against zombies, aliens, or any other kind of supernatural threat. You play as a man trying to reconnect with his family about a year after the world-crippling disaster. This involves the kind of climbing and jumping you’d find in Uncharted or Tomb Raider, as well as fending off armed and dangerous humans who are also trying to survive. If you missed out on this one the first time around — as you probably did — it’s worth checking out next time you’re paging through your digital game collection, looking for something to play.
4. Savage Moon
Platform: PlayStation 3
Original price: $10
Metacritic score: 73
Tower defense games were all the rage when this one came out in 2009. They’re much rarer now, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth playing. Savage Moon takes place on various colonized plants whose mining facilities are under attack from alien threats. Your job is to set up an array of turrets to hold them off. As expected, you can upgrade your weapons and unlock new ones. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it’s probably worth checking out for free.
5. A Virus Named Tom
Platform: PS Vita
Metacritic score: 65 (on PC)
You work for a mad scientist in this puzzle game, but you’re not a henchman or a research assistant. You’re a virus. Your job is to infect everything you can in a futuristic city while avoiding being taken out by the antivirus defenses. If you’ve played games like Pipe Mania, you’ll know what to expect: Basically, you turn sections of pipe so your virus can get where it needs to go. Unfortunately, A Virus Named Tom didn’t receive stellar review scores when it launched on PC, so don’t expect a whole lot from it on Vita.
6. Shutshimi
Platform: PS Vita
Original price: $10
Metacritic score: 80
Shutshimi takes the classic space shooter formula from games like Gradius and relocates it underwater. You play as a fish with muscular human arms who gets access to all kinds of high-powered weaponry. No underwater threat is safe, not sharks, not river snakes, not even cats riding in submarines. This one looks like a fun, silly time-waster that any PlayStation Plus member with a Vita should download.
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