The Pathless (PS5)
Reason: Sony doesn’t have many PS5 games it can offer right now. It could offer Returnal, but that just released, and if you give it away for free now, you run the risk of irking all that just purchased it last month. Meanwhile, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is dropping this month, but there’s no way Sony will want to give away its biggest PS5 game yet for free at launch. One game it could give away is The Pathless, which released alongside the PS5, but didn’t make a splash, despite being adored by most that played it. In a month where the PS5 offering isn’t obvious, it’s a great time to give The Pathless a dose of life again. Publisher Annapurna Interactive has probably already sold just about every copy it’s going to sell and Sony has already gone through the trouble of helping market the game before its release. It should be a cheap, but effective deal to strike.
Description: “From the creators of ABZU, The Pathless is the mythic adventure of an archer and an eagle in a vast forest. Become the Hunter, a master of archery who travels to a mystical island to dispel a curse of darkness that grips the world.”
Immortals: Fenyx Rising (PS4)
Reason: In June, Immortals: Fenyx Rising will turn six months old, which means the honeymoon period is over. Those who already bought it won’t feel burned and those just getting it will feel like they are getting a fairly new game, and one that was well-received when it released, but yet failed to make a commercial impact, making it a prime candidate for PlayStation Plus. The only problem is the service doesn’t have much history offering Ubisoft games. So, while it’s easy to imagine Sony being interested, Ubisoft may not be game, or at the very least may want too much money to make the deal happen.
Description: “Play as Fenyx, a new winged demigod, on a quest to save the Greek gods and their home from a dark curse. Take on mythological beasts, master the legendary powers of the gods, and defeat Typhon, the deadliest Titan in Greek mythology, in an epic fight for the ages.”
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 (PS4)
Reason: It’s always great when Sony can offer a brand new release to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Of course, this is far more expensive than offering a game that’s been out for months or years. However, with a big PS5 game for the month unlikely, Sony can afford to spend a bit extra on a PS4 game. Meanwhile, CI Games could be tempted by the fact that it owes PlayStation fans after delaying the PS5 version of the game, and only the PS5 version of the game. That said, while the Sniper Ghost Warrior series isn’t a prestigious one, it does quietly sell quite well, so Sony will need to splash some cash to make this happen.
Description: “SGW Contracts 2 is a modern warfare shooter set in the Middle East. Play as Raven, Contract Sniper Assassin, as you take out a series of targets across a dramatic single-player campaign. With extreme long-range shots exceeding 1000m, gear up for the most thrilling entry to the series yet.”