Key Takeaways
- Enjoy classic games on modern hardware with PlayStation Plus Premium’s Classic Catalog, which now contains more native ports of PS1 and PS2 games.
- Many free monthly games that arrive for all tiers of PlayStation Plus are now of the remaster or remake variety.
- Retro titles released on modern PlayStation hardware let you earn trophies and rewards for playing.
Sony’s recent retro gaming push has made PlayStation Plus Premium a must-have for PS5 owners who want to relive the good old days. Despite some of the issues the service has had in the past, recent updates have made it a much better deal, especially for fans of Sony’s retro catalog.
There Are Many More Native Ports
The last time I covered the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog, I mentioned how the selection of games was huge but came at the cost of a shoddy, inconsistent streaming experience. Fortunately, the Classics Catalog has added more native ports, with some fairly high-profile titles popping up that might entice retro gaming fans.
For instance, the original Sly Cooper now has an official PS5 port that is free to download for Premium subscribers, along with a couple of Ratchet and Clank games and the PS1 classic Legend of Dragoon. While many of these games were already available via streaming, the service is seemingly going in a direction that relies on it less, making these games far more accessible.
Free Monthly Games Are Often Retro Remasters or Re-Releases
Anyone subscribed to PlayStation Plus Premium also gets access to perks from the two lower tiers, Extra and Essential, which include free games rolled out on a monthly basis. While these can range in appeal, many of them are often remasters or ports of older games.
The Extra tier recently received Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, a remaster of the fan-favorite PSP game, and the Essential has received God of War III Remastered and nearly the entire Kingdom Hearts series in the past.
Premium subscribers still get their money’s worth when it comes to retro releases, though. The Classics Catalog is updated monthly, with direct ports of PS1 and PS2 games. June 2024 saw the release of the PS2 classic Tomb Raider Legend, the original Sly Cooper, and the tie-in game Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Experience Old Favorites on Modern Hardware
Having older games on modern hardware usually means higher resolutions, stable framerates, and an almost complete lack of loading screens thanks to the PS5’s inclusion of an M.2 SSD. This means you’ll be playing your old favorites without thr hardware limitations that might have surfaced on the original hardware (without sacrificing the authentic experience).
While retro remasters are often a nice addition, they are not always the best version of any given game, since some of them introduce issues that did not exist in the original release. Releasing the original version of the game means that players can now experience the game as it was when it was first released, without the need for streaming. The experience is authentic while being easily accessible on modern hardware.
In some cases, you even have a choice between the original and remasters or remakes. For instance, the PS1 game MediEvil got a remake a while back that later became free on PlayStation Plus, while the original PS1 version appeared recently on the Premium tier as well, making both versions playable with one subscription.
Get Rewarded for Your Retro Gaming
The main thing that sets PlayStation Plus Premium’s retro offerings apart from simply emulating the games yourself is that you can earn trophies and rewards for playing them. Many retro re-releases arrive with full support for trophies on the PS4 and PS5, meaning you can now increase your trophy ranking and pad out your profile while enjoying your favorite classic games.
PlayStation Stars, Sony’s newfound rewards system, frequently runs campaigns that allow players to earn rewards points for playing newly-released PS Plus titles. You can spend these points on PlayStation Store gift cards, DLC, and even entire games, depending on how often you play.
If you’re into retro gaming you’re probably playing these games anyway, but now you can be directly rewarded for engaging with them.
PlayStation Plus comes with extra perks as well, since you get access to a ton of retro games and the PS Plus game catalog as well. Not to mention the fact that Ubisoft Plus comes bundled in with a PS Plus Premium subscription, and even a small library of free movies available on Sony Pictures Core.
Zachary Cimaglio/How-To Geek
Gaming subscription services are a dime a dozen these days, and while Xbox’s Game Pass has dominated the space for a while, PlayStation Plus has improved significantly. With a larger focus on retro gaming and an increased output of quality games at a comparable price, PlayStation Plus Premium is now an essential service for anyone interested in some old-fashioned PlayStation games.
