Sony has unveiled the PlayStation Plus August 2014 free games, and the news is a bit of a downer. Much like the Xbox Games with Gold lineup for August, the “last-gen” system has a leg up on its next-gen kin, with the PS3 outshining the PS4 in its free games for August.
The two PS Plus August 2014 free games for PS4 are Road Not Taken and Fez, while the PS3 is getting Proteus and Crysis 3. The PlayStation Plus August lineup is rounded out by two PS Vita games, Metrico and Dragon’s Crown.
In an interesting twist, PS4 and PS Vita owners are getting a special treat in August as PlayStation Plus members will receive two of those games free the same day they hit the PlayStation Store — Road Not Taken and Metrico.
The PS Plus free PS4 games for August both fit into the puzzle-game genre, although they take different approaches. Road Not Taken, for instance, is a puzzle insofar as you need to maneuver through a forest and save lost kids carefully so as not to expend too much stamina. In Fez, meanwhile, players must solve 2D puzzles in a 3D world by strategically changing their view of the landscape.
Those are both interesting titles, but PS3 owners are getting the best of the August PlayStation Plus lineup. Proteus is a game about sound-based exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world, but it’s not so much action-driven as observation-driven. It’s a bit of a miss, to be frank, but Crysis 3 makes up for that in spades.
PS Vita owners have two interesting options in August, particularly with Metrico. A brand-new game, Metrico takes place in a world filled with infographics that react directly to the player’s movement, actions and input. It’s a pretty slick concept, and I’m eager to see how it turns out in practice. The other free PS Vita game in August, Dragon’s Crown, is a multiplayer hack-and-slash that lets up to four gamers play cooperatively online to clear out monster-ridden dungeons and discover treasure.
All things considered, it’s tough to argue with free stuff, and that’s what the PS Plus and Games with Gold programs are all about. But the PlayStation Plus August 2014 free games list still seems a bit lackluster. Crysis 3 is a nice AAA title, but many people already own it. The other games are unique, but the biggest feature of the entire lineup seems to be the fact that Sony’s giving away two games for free on the same day they’re available for purchase to non-PS Plus subscribers.
What do you think? Is the fact that so many are cross-buy titles a useful feature for you? Is it cool to see two games available free in August exclusively to PS Plus members whereas other gamers have to pay for them? Share your thoughts in the comments below. In the meantime, here’s a video of the PlayStation Plus August 2014 free games in action.
