PlayStation Plus August Game Catalogue titles include a massive open-world classic

Sony has announced a huge slew of games coming to the PS Plus Game Catalogue this month.

There are 15 titles, including the return of The Witcher 3 , which was playable on the precursor to what we have today, called PlayStation Now, back in 2021.

The games are available from August 20. There are the more recent titles, accessible to those on a PS Plus Extra or Premium subscription, and the older retro and VR games only PlayStation Plus Premium members can try.

Here are the games:

• Cult of the Lamb
• Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker
• Ride 5 (PS5 only)
• Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris
• Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet
• Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization
• Sword Art Online: Last Recollection
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Watch Dogs 2
• Wild Hearts (PS5 only)

And the games available to PS Plus Premium subscribers:

• Sword Art Online: Lost Song
• TimeSplitters
• TimeSplitters 2
• TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
• Vacation Simulator (PS VR2 only)

Your first reaction to these list may well be  – what’s with all the Sword Art Online titles? These are role-playing games based on an anime series in which real players get trapped inside an online role-playing game.

It’s a game about games, but also wouldn’t be our first recommendation to play from the August Game Catalogue additions.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the best game of the lot, earning it a 95 per cent Metacritic score on its release back in 2015. This game has not stood still since then, though. It was given a generational console spruce-up in 2022.

If you’ve somehow missed this 50-million-selling smash, it’s an epic fantasy RPG in which you play the monster-slaying Witcher Geralt of Rivia. He is tracking down his adopted daughter, Ciri, who is being followed by the mysterious Wild Hunt, a gang of otherworldly riders.

This is just one of three massive open-world games to pick from this month. There’s also Watch Dogs 2 from Ubisoft, a futuristic title in which you play a hacker in San Francisco trying to take down the city’s surveillance system.

2016’s Watch Dogs 2 isn’t as fondly remembered as The Witcher 3, but it was highly regarded at release and picked up an 82 per cent Metacritic score. It’s well worth a play if you like the idea of taking on the role of a stealthy hacker.

Wild Hearts is another open-world smash, and a much newer one. This 2023 game is for PlayStation 5 players only, and is a take on the formula established by the Monster Hunter games.

You roam about a large, attractive environment and have to find and take down epic creatures. It’s yet another well-reviewed title, too, earning 79 per cent from Metacritic. Unlike The Witcher 3, this one doesn’t hinge on a story too much but, if you like battling and gradually upgrading your equipment and skills, Wild Hearts should satisfy.

For something completely different, try PlayStation 5-only motorbike racer Ride 5 . This was considered a major graphical showcase title at release in 2023 – you can check out videos on YouTube of how realistic its first-person mode appears.

You probably need to be a big racing fan to truly get into Ride 5. Mario Kart it is not. But reviews do highlight the depth of its physics, and the satisfying challenge on offer for those willing to really dig into the riding model.

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