Not that the competition even had a chance in the first place – Microsoft’s latest Games With Gold promotions have been dire, to say the least – but PlayStation Plus subscribers have assuredly hit the jackpot as far as the next selection of free games are concerned. Sony, it seems, is giving the PlayStation 4 one last hurrah ahead of its retirement next month to make way for the PS5, as not only is it giving away an additional third game for free throughout November, but also two others that represent some of the best gaming experiences money can buy.
Due to replace Need for Speed: Payback and Vampyr next week are two titles belonging to the action-adventure genre: Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of fantasy fiction will undoubtedly be familiar with Shadow of War, Monolith Produdctions’ follow-up to Shadow of Mordor. Both titles, as their name suggests, take place in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings universe and tell the story of Talion, a human infused with the spirit of long-deceased elf lord, Celebrimbor.
Rightly criticized at launch for its over-reliance on microtransactions, all in-game purchases have since been removed from Shadow of War, in turn restoring purpose to its excellent Nemesis System.
As for Hollow Knight, Team Cherry’s acclaimed indie explorative platformer tasks players with exploring the vast underground kingdom of Hollownest and ridding its once-grand territories of hideously mutated denizens. Boasting an exceptionally beautiful art style and haunting sound design, Hollow Knight is an absolute steal at any discounted price, let alone free. It’s worth noting, too, that Team Cherry is currently hard at work on a direct sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, so now’s the perfect time to jump in and experience the original.
PlayStation Plus subscribers can download both of the above starting November 3rd, while Bugsnax, a PS5 launch title, will be free for all early adopters of the new hardware starting November 12th. Enjoy!
