Category: Thought Pieces

My time with Game Pass so far

Game Pass is a service that I consume a little differently to others. Where PS Plus Extra is like my every day diet, Game Pass is my treat day – or treat months really. I don’t always have it, but when I do I binge the heck out of it.

I only got a PC within the last 3 years and never had an Xbox, so I never even really knew what Game Pass was until 2020. When I did get my PC, Game Pass were doing codes for a week of free access for first timers. I never jumped in because I wanted to make it count but I couldn’t find the right time. I thought I would save it for a rainy day or a broken leg. Then, they introduced their 3 Months for £1 deal.

To this day I cannot get over how good of a deal that was. Not only that, but there was an extra free month if you signed up to monthly payments (which you could unsubscribe to at any time). And if that wasn’t crazy enough, they did it again! Through all of these deals, Christmas gifts and a month I gifted to myself to make my 12 Days of Game Pass series, I have probably had a year total of access. Since my subscription status is on and off, everytime I do have access I try to make the most of it, as evidenced below.

Played since I first got Game Pass

Games Tried: 69
Games Completed: 34
Games Abandoned: 23

I think this list shows why I only like to have Game Pass in bursts. That is a LOT of gaming. There is an argument that if I had it more often then I wouldn’t feel the need to binge as hard, but 1. I have to pick and choose my subscriptions for income reasons and 2. Along with the joy of having access to these games comes the low key anxiety I get of wanting to finish everything before it leaves. Twice per month a selection of games leave the service and while it is always the same days (the 1st and the 16th), two weeks notice isn’t enough if I am recording/streaming, or if it is a long game. Also, if a game enters the leaving soon list then I know I have to drop everything and play it or miss out, which often dictates what I end up playing.

Regarding the table above, when compared to my PS Plus Extra list, there are a lot more dropped and paused games, particularly that I have made content for. I think it is important to note that this is not a negative. This is simply due to playing the games on the same device that I am making my content. It isn’t because the quality of games is low, it is completely down to convenience. Having access to so many games on my PC (the place I make my content) gives me so much opportunity to experiment without any barriers. I took advantage of that, getting to experience lots of different games and not having to feel bad about dropping them if they weren’t for me. I did 12 Days of Game Pass as I mentioned before, and I have done Game Pass Indie Showcase months too. These are series’ designed to experience a wide variety without having to commit. This explains the drastic difference between the tables I have made.

Secondly, most of the paused games that aren’t for content are multiplayer which is something that I have rarely ever tried on my PlayStation. Again, the convenience is a large factor here, but also more people I know tend to have Game Pass. Partly due to the fact that you could say ‘Don’t have Game Pass? No problem, its £1 for 3 months, get in here and play.’ That era is now over but it did the job of selling everyone on the value of the service.

Finally, the variety is a subject that I would like to bring up here too. Look at all of those different games. So many that I certainly wouldn’t have tried if the opportunity wasn’t there, lots that I wanted to try and got my wish. I was going to pick out some highlights but there are so many that I don’t even know where to start. Some of these games got me through some particularly rocky times and I am eternally grateful for that.

One feature that Game Pass certainly has over Ps Plus Extra is the ability to add games to your ‘Play Later’ list. I still keep this up to date even when I am not subscribed so that I know what I have to look forward to the the time comes. (Once again, these lists are accurate at the time of writing but the games available are ever changing so I will certainly miss some)

Still to play – Online

  • As Dusk Falls
  • Broken Age
  • Deaths Door
  • Dordogne
  • Pentiment
  • Tunic

These are the games that I will would definitely like to make content for.
Total Games: 6
Games started: 3 (As Dusk Falls, Deaths Door and Tunic)

Still to play – Offline

  • Airborne Kingdom
  • The Big Con
  • Chained Echoes
  • Cooking Simulator
  • Coral Island
  • Medieval Dynasty
  • Norco
  • Opus Magnum
  • Peggle Nights
  • Persona 3 Portable
  • Persona 4 Golden
  • Persona 5 Royal
  • Phoenix Point
  • Railway Empire 2
  • Ravenlok
  • Sea of Stars
  • SimCity
  • Slime Rancher 2
  • Solasta: Crown of the Magister
  • Starfield
  • The Wandering Village
  • Zoo Tycoon

These are the games that I will try/play for myself without making content (probably).
Total Games: 22
Games started: 3 (Cooking Simulator, Coral Island, Medieval Dynasty)

Still to play – Online or Offline?

  • Amazing Cultivation Simulator
  • The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales
  • Bramble: The Mountain King
  • Fe
  • Homestead Arcana
  • Hypnospace Outlaw
  • McPixel 3
  • Monster Sanctuary
  • Planet of Lana
  • Quantum Break
  • Sea of Solitude
  • Somerville
  • Unravel 2
  • Venba

These are games that I haven’t quite decided whether I should make content for or not.
Total Games: 14

I am quite passionate about low budget gaming. I don’t feel good about it as games mean so much to me, I want to support the continued development. However, that is a privilege that some people just don’t have. Game Pass has allowed me to play 69 games that I simply would not have been able to if the service didn’t exist. The value for money has been second to none (unless you include Epic Games, then it might be second to one). The big caveat is that it is only this valuable if you actually have time to play the games. That is why, for me, hopping in and out is the best way to go.

If you have enjoyed this read take a look at my similar post about PS Plus Extra!

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My time with PS Plus Extra so far

As a long time PS Plus subscriber, the announcement of PS Plus Extra back in 2022 was quite exciting to me. I already had a backlog of more than enough games from the monthly titles, but as someone who has never been able to use Game Pass from my couch, the idea of a new catalogue did make me feel very enthusiastic.

I try not to read too much into console wars internet chatter, but based on whatever the algorithms feed me, I don’t see a whole lot of love for PS Plus Extra. Underwhelm was the general vibe I was sensing at launch and despite numerous fantastic months of additions, I still don’t see a lot of hype. I find this to be a shame because for me, the service just keeps on giving.

The ability to be able to try out so many games without having to commit to them has been so fantastic. Not enjoying it? No biggie, time to move on to the next one. And trying games I never thought I would always brings me joy. Even if I don’t get along with whatever I am playing, it gives me the opportunity to examine why. Not only that but a lot of the games that had their launch on the service have been games that I particularly wanted to play. Stray and Tchia spring to mind immediatly, so I am especially grateful to have been able to play them much earlier than I would have otherwise.

Below, I have gathered together a full list of the games I have played since PS Plus Extra launched. I am doing the same with Game Pass to see if I find any interesting trends, differences, and mostly to have a visual reminder of how lucky we are to get to try out so many different games.

What I have played since PS Plus Extra launched

Games Tried: 25
Games Completed: 17
Games Abandoned: 6

The first thing that I notice in the chart above is that I haven’t done a lot of experimental content with PS Plus (hence no paused or dropped online games). On one hand that is funny as one of my very first deep dives into content creation were covering the PS Plus games. Whether I liked them or not, we discovered as I went. However, as time has passed and I now have a PC, my PlayStation has swerved into more of a personal machine. My capture card became unreliable so if there is a game that I specifically want to stream I do so with Remote Play, otherwise, it is a little bit of a pain so I tend not to.

Secondly, I notice the variety in games played. While there are a lot of indies, there are plenty of AAA’s in there too. I even dropped 2 of them, where as if I had bought them outright I probably would have forced myself to continue (not that I was ever going to buy Demon’s Souls, I was just curious how I would do 😅). Then even among the indies, some of the titles are instantly recognisable while some you may never have heard of. I really do feel privileged to get to play them as my gaming budget is so limited, I wouldn’t be able to try even half of what I have if they weren’t on the service.

The best part is how many games I still have the opportunity to try. Being the list nerd that I am, of course I am keeping track of what looks interesting to me, and there are a few! (Accurate at the time of writing, games leave the service each month so I won’t get to play them all but new games will be added consistantly too)

Still to play – Offline

  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
  • Carto
  • Civilization VI
  • Cloudpunk
  • Cursed to Golf
  • Dead Cells
  • Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories
  • Empire of Sin
  • Evil Genius 2: World Domination
  • Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
  • Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
  • Forager
  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • I am Dead
  • Immortals Fenyx Rising
  • Kingdom Heards HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX
  • Kingdom: New Lands
  • The Last Guardian
  • Life is Strange 2
  • Rain World
  • Returnal
  • Rune Factory 4
  • Scarlet Nexus
  • Sea of Stars
  • Skyrim
  • Slime Rancher
  • Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
  • Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
  • Two Point Hospital

These are the games that I will try/play for myself without making content (probably).
Total Games: 29
Games started: 5 (Dead Cells, Returnal, Rune Factory 4, Sea of Stars, Skyrim)

Still to play – Online or Offline?

  • 11-11 Memories Retold
  • A Hat in Time
  • Chicken Police – Paint it RED!
  • JETT: The Far Shore + Given Time
  • Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month
  • Last Stop
  • Spirit of the North
  • The Talos Principle
  • Undertale

These are games that I haven’t quite decided whether I should make content for or not.
Total Games: 9

To sum up, PS Plus extremely valuable to me. While I adore the service, I do have a creeping worry about how subscription services might affect game sales. Particularly the indies, and particularly with the recent price hike, eating further into peoples budget. But as a consumer, it allows me to play so much more than I otherwise would have been able. For now, I am going to continue working my way through my list, enjoying and appreciating every second of it.

If you have enjoyed this post keep an eye out as I am working on a similar post about Game Pass soon!

GG App is where I do my tracking. Feel free to follow along here.

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