PlayStation Plus is a fantastic subscription service for players seeking the best value in gaming today. While the catalog features numerous popular games, it is also filled with hidden gems that often go unnoticed.
Titles like the underrated action RPG Banishers: Ghost of New Eden and Syberia – The World Before offer exceptional storytelling and world-building, along with many others that PS Plus subscribers can enjoy for free.
Key Aspects of Abiotic Factor
Abiotic Factor is a co-op survival-crafting game set in a vast underground research facility after a catastrophic dimensional breach. Players assume the role of scientists scrambling to survive, facing hostile anomalies, strange creatures, and environmental hazards throughout the labs.
Gameplay includes base-building, resource gathering, combat, puzzle-solving, and class-based abilities, emphasizing teamwork and cooperative strategy. It shares a similar tone to the Half-Life games regarding humor and offers a fresh take on survival games that deserves more attention, available with an Extra or Premium PS Plus membership.
Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
I often recommend Banishers: Ghost of New Eden, as it is arguably one of the most underrated RPGs released in recent years. Available on PS Plus since June this year, it has also recently launched on Xbox Game Pass, gaining the recognition it deserves.
Although not a perfect RPG, it features a compelling story set in a colonial frontier settlement in 1695 North America. Players combat evil supernatural forces and make choices that can alter the story’s course, making it well worth exploring while available on PS Plus.
Child of Light
Child of Light is a 2014 “hand-painted” fairy-tale RPG following Aurora, a young girl transported to the magical land of Lemuria, where she must restore stolen light and find her way home. The game combines side-scrolling exploration mechanics with turn-based combat using an active “timeline” system.
Its poetic storytelling, watercolor art style, and enchanting music create a dreamlike atmosphere rarely found in modern RPGs. Despite its relatively simple mechanics, Child of Light is often underrated for its style, narrative, and presentation. This memorable experience from Ubisoft feels like an indie game that could have been released this year.
Humanity
One of my favorite puzzle-strategy games from recent years, Humanity, is a must-play platformer featuring unique mechanics that can be completed without requiring extensive time commitment. The game keeps players engaged within its short 11-hour main story while offering challenging puzzles with increasingly difficult obstacles.
The community surrounding Humanity is incredibly active, continuously creating new challenges for players through the Stage Creator feature. If you enjoy puzzle-platformers, make sure to include Humanity on your list of PS Plus games to explore during the holidays.
Magicka 2
Magicka 2 is a spell-slinging action-adventure game from 2015 centered around co-op combat and an innovative elemental magic system. Players combine elements to create custom spells and powerful attacks. The sequel maintains the series’ irreverent humor and slapstick fantasy storytelling as wizards journey across Midgard to thwart a new magical threat.
Magicka 2 deserves more attention as it is a unique co-op game that is both creative and unpredictable—mostly just pure fun. Its blend of comedy, spell-crafting depth, and chaotic teamwork makes it an overlooked gem for players seeking something humorous, challenging, and distinctive.
Pacific Drive
Pacific Drive is an engaging first-person survival driving game set in a surreal, abandoned region of the Pacific Northwest known as the Olympic Exclusion Zone. Players depend on a single customizable station wagon as their lifeline while navigating storms, anomalies, and deteriorating roads.
The gameplay loop involves scavenging resources, maintaining your wagon, and planning routes where every trip into the Zone brings surprises. As players explore, they uncover the mysteries behind the region’s collapsethrough environmental storytelling. This game offers a fresh twist on survival genres by allowing players to build connections with their vehicles while immersing themselves in its atmospheric world.
Sand Land
Sand Land, based on Akira Toriyama’s manga, is an action RPG set in an expansive desert world where water is scarce. Players take on the role of Beelzebub,the mischievous Demon Prince, who teams up with Sheriff Rao and wise demon Thief to search for a long-lost water source.
The vibrant world is humorous and filled with quirky characters true to Toriyama’s iconic art style. The game combines heartfelt storytelling with inventive exploration while incorporating enjoyable action sequences. It’s a charming and colorful experience with solid RPG systems that stands out as an underappreciated adaptation.
Still Wakes The Deep
Still Wakes the Deepis a narrative-driven horror game set on a remote oil rig in the North Sea where an ordinary worker becomes trapped and haunted by an otherworldly presence invading the structure. With no weapons or limited resources, players utilize stealth and survival mechanics to navigate through the rig while crawling through tight spaces, repairing failing systems, and staying ahead of lurking threats.
The rig serves as boththe setting and main antagonist, with haunting sounds mixed with violent storms keeping players on edge throughout their experience. The storytelling inStill Wakes the Deepand its realistic characters immerse players without relying on cheap scares. It offers an excellent cinematic experience paired with solid stealth-based gameplay recently made available during PS Plus’s November rollout.
Syberia – The World Before
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