PlayStation Plus relaunches in June with 700+ Games

PlayStation Plus multi-tier relaunch starts this June with 700+ game library

Sony has officially announced the relaunch of PlayStation Plus as a much expanded subscription service, and offers three varying tiers with the highest granting access to PS1, PS2, and PS3 games.

“When the new PlayStation Plus service launches, PlayStation Now will transition into the new PlayStation Plus offering and will no longer be available as a standalone service,” said Sony.

• PlayStation Plus Essential offers “same benefits” as now
• PlayStation Plus Extra includes up to 400 PS4 & PS5 titles
• PlayStation Plus Premium adds PS1, PS2, PS3, and streaming
• Subscriptions offered monthly, quarterly and yearly

Roll out: The service will phase in by region beginning across several markets in Asia this June followed by North America, Europe and most of the rest of the world by the end of the first half of 2022.

Pricing: The Essential tier is little different from the PlayStation Plus that's available now and is the cheapest option at $9.99 / €8.99 / £6.99 monthly, while the Premium option is the full package at $17.99 / €16.99 / £13.49 per month. The middle package with 400 PS4 and PS5 games will cost you $14.99 / €13.99 / £10.99 per month. 

What game was used as the basis for the game show Time Commanders?

a) Total War: Rome
b) Starcraft
c) Total War: Medieval
d) Stormwise

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Kirby’s design philosophy is cute but deep

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first fully 3D adventure in the series, and the creators talked to The Washington Post about their design philosophy.

“From the perspective of the team at HAL Laboratory, the basic concept of the series is that it should be approachable yet deep,” explained HAL Laboratory general director Shinya Kumazaki.

Impression: The game must be approachable to invite “anyone to play at first glance and that people can easily feel familiar with.” The depths and nuances of the game lie in “the satisfying stages and rich world-building”.

3D trickery: Among the neat tricks the team pulled off is perspective-projected auto-aim so attacks land on enem

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie reviews

The second Sonic the Hedgehog movie is just over a week away, but critics have already enjoyed early screenings. The new movie introduces more characters along with the infamous chaos emeralds that the Sonic games have centered around since the beginning. Can the fastest thing alive strike gold again?

• The Wrap (Score 61/100) – ”The screenplay reflects actual effort, and Jim Carrey gets to be unfettered in his performance, leading a surprisingly satisfying follow-up.”
• The Hollywood Reporter (Score 3/5) – ”…will appeal to family audiences seeking holiday distractions even if it doesn’t break new ground elaborating the franchise’s sprawling universe of intersecting characters and plotlines.”
• Total Film (Score 3/5) – ”Despite some missteps, SEGA’s videogame mascot proves his previous movie was no flash in the pan.”
• Guardian (Score 3/5) – ”…there’s not very much to say about it, other than it’s mildly amusing and reasonably competently assembled.”
• Digital Spy (Score 3/5) – ”…a more confident movie than its predecessor, delivering the same blend of frenetic family fun and nostalgic beats for the long-time fans.”
• Empire Magazine (Score 2/5) – ”…little more than a half-baked half-term distraction tool – though Jim Carrey’s outrageously committed performance nearly saves the day.”

Exclusive Pokémon T-Shirts every month

Looking for some fresh T-shirts? Why not sign up for a Pokémon T-Shirt Club Subscription and let The Pokémon Company send you a new T-shirt every month via Amazon.com?

These exclusive T-shirts are available for Youth, Men, Women, and range from X-Small all the way to a 3X-Large. Each box is $19.99 including shipping and can be cancelled at any time.

• Elden Ring datamining hints at what characters and enemies got cut since there are 128 unused icons for different characters
• Sony filed a new trademark for Knack in Japan on March 17th while Bandai Namco filed for Stacky Basket on the same date
• Development roadmap for Vampire Survivors with first major new Arcanas game mechanic out next month
• Kirby and The Forgotten Land reaches number one in UK sales charts, the first game in the series to reach the top
• Sons of the Forest delayed until October after developers admit the May launch date was “overly ambitious”

What game was used as the basis for the game show Time Commanders?

ANSWER: Total War: Rome!

Time Commanders was a BBC game show where contestants faced off against each other in recreations of famous historical battles, with impressive 3D visualizations based on Rome: Total War. Creative Assembly helped the showrunners recreate battles and execute the contestants' strategies.

Since the BBC is pretty strict about product placement, the game was never mentioned in the show although Creative Assembly was credited for use of their game engine. People Make Games did a short retrospective on the series if you want to learn more about Time Commander and how it used the Total War engine.

Question: What PlayStation Plus tier do you think you'll go with; Essential, Extra, or Premium?

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!