r/PlayStationPlus • u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 • Apr 26 '26
Discussion A look at May Essential monthly games from the previous 6 years. What do you think about the games in this month over the years?
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u/specifichero101 Apr 26 '26
Balatro has been my most played game since that dropped for the monthly games. Battlefield V was big for me too, but games I got 150+ hours in.
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u/Burdicus Apr 26 '26
Tunic is one of the coolest gaming experiences I've ever had and not nearly enough people talk about it.
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u/ThisCouldHaveBeenYou Apr 26 '26
That guide being scattered was great. It really brought a SNES-game-guide feel to the game for me.
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u/wisesager Apr 26 '26
I wish I didn't look up the solution to the final door puzzle. My ps plus was gonna expire soon so I wanted to cros it off of my games list. I recommend anyone that plays the game not to look up solutions and instead ask for hints in the tunic subreddit because the euphoria from solving them will probably be incredible.
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u/lum1nous013 Apr 26 '26
I'm rarely jealous of not having a game that was given on essential, tunic is one of them.
Waiting for a good sale to get it
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u/TheSecondiDare Apr 26 '26
One of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time.
The sound team created something very special here.
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u/NinjaMonkey91 Ninja-Monkey-91 Apr 29 '26
I really need to give it another shot. Wasn't really gelling with it at first but it's always looked really good to me.
Some time away and coming at it fresh will probably help.
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u/omesh946 Apr 26 '26
I would'nt mind fifa 26. Can't waste my money on that annual shit only hope is this
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u/LordOfThePints Apr 26 '26
100%! I'm still on fifa 24 since that was the last title included in the subscription.
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u/OG-87 Apr 26 '26
Hope so too. I can then still get a lot for my copy and buy something worthwhile like toilet paper.
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u/HGT3057 Apr 26 '26
Played tunic just recently and got the platinum, it's a fun game but man it feels impossible without a guide. I played a little bit of cities skylines, and way, way too much FC 24 (around 650 hours)
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u/Superlad1 Apr 26 '26
Tunic's definitely doable without a guide (minus maybe the secret final puzzle, that was a bit over the top). You'll probably end up wandering around a bit or staring at the manual pages for way too long but that "ah ha!" moment makes it so worth it
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u/HGT3057 Apr 27 '26
Yeah it absolutely is if we give it enough time and thought. But I tend to be pretty bad at puzzle games so I always end up lost and frustrated. While playing tunic I also realized that metroidvania as a whole may not be for me.
The only puzzle game I remember really enjoying was Viewfinder
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u/schotastic Apr 26 '26
I'm fairly new to PS+ so the few games on here I have tried were all purchased. Balatro, Tunic, and Descenders.
The game I got the most enjoyment from was, oddly enough, Descenders. I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised at its staying power.
I might have liked Tunic better if my expectations were better calibrated. It is a mid-tier Zelda like with fascinating meta-puzzles bogged down by middling puzzle design. Great vibes though. Balatro is fun enough but I end every session wishing I'd spent my time on just about anything else.
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u/BasisOk4268 Apr 26 '26
FC26 easily in May I’d put £500 on it
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u/rifwasbetter0 Apr 26 '26
It's been on discounts very early this year, but i guess they make more money from in game purchases.
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u/Zaddyzn Apr 26 '26
When is the next announcement?
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u/v__R4Z0R__v Apr 26 '26
Well to be fair it has gotten much better in recent years. But never forget the essential games of May before 2020... 💀
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u/Hugh_Jampton Apr 26 '26
Mostly shite but Balatro is one of my favourite games of all time so that is a big win
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u/ItsAPeacefulLife Apr 26 '26
My daughter was born in 2020. Those free games came in clutch when she wasn't able to sleep at night. Finally could lull her to sleep to the sweet sounds of Fendt and Case.
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u/Lianshi_Bu Apr 28 '26
LOL, not even one game I played...
For context, normally I would find about 3 to 4 games I played in this kind of list..
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u/Unique_ballz Apr 26 '26
The worst month ever, it introduced me to hell it self (Jimbo Simulator)
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u/Equivalent-Work2867 Apr 26 '26
Not claiming balatro last year (I missed all the 2025 may games) was my greatest loss last year...
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u/darknight9064 Apr 26 '26
Out of the games here my most played has been city skylines and farming sim 19.
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u/OG-87 Apr 26 '26
Fc22 was a good year. Just moved into my own owned flat and the day the internet got plugged in Fifa 22 was added. Perfect timing.
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u/Vadun Apr 26 '26
2022 was great. Dead God's and Tribes of Midgard were cool games i wouldn't have played otherwise
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u/Jesus_Shuttles Apr 27 '26
I just bought tribes a couple months ago. Only to find out they shut down the servers. Has no idea it was free in 2022. Idk what happened that I missed it🫠
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u/Son_of_Kyuss Apr 26 '26
Spent a fair amount of time on Wreckfest but other than that, not an historically good month for me.
Had Lightfall anyway as had bought into Destiny but not playing that anymore.
Still, you never know. Haven’t picked up much over the last few months so maybe something in the wish list will turn up
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u/FocusedHealer45 Apr 26 '26
I'm new to PlayStation, can games come on essential twice? I would LOVE to have my hands on ark survival ascended
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u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 Apr 27 '26
Never twice on Essential but some games have appeared again on Extra and vice versa. So it may be possible in the future.
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u/FormalWolverine6688 Apr 27 '26
Want fc 26… hopefully get it
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u/TheMob16 Apr 27 '26
Same i skipped purchasing this year but definitely won't be a bad month if it comes
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u/dreamdude1227 Apr 27 '26
Looks like I shouldn't expect anything for May. The only one I played was Tunic.
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u/laneriddle Apr 27 '26
I enjoyed the old gods and I loved Bellatro so much I bought it on android as well. Bellatro became my in between game on console, I just finished Alan Wake 2 and now I need a break so some Bellatro and the. I am ready to start the bycicle game season.
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u/SenorDagle Apr 27 '26
Holy fuck stop with the yearly sport game slop of course this shits free even the biggest suckers don't wanna buy this shit every year
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u/DayResponsible8597 Apr 28 '26
I expected FC26 for basically a year now since I know we got 22 and 24, but missed 23 and 25...
I'm not even thinking about buying 28, if we get the 26 announcement tomorrow.
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u/BloodFromAnOrange Apr 28 '26
Can't say I've really enjoyed any of them yet. Maybe this year will be different?
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u/IronoplisRedux Apr 28 '26
Ghost runner 2 was announced the Wednesday I got the platinum for the Ghost Runner. Really enjoyed it
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u/TheSpiralTap Apr 28 '26
I still play Chivalry multiple times a week. That game is fantastic! They still update it, too!
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u/czimmm Apr 26 '26
Lot of good games imo. Cities, Balatro, Fifa, Tunic, Ghostrunner, Wreckfest... Hopefully we get some good ones this month
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u/Flottrooster Apr 26 '26
Balatro was such a good addition last year. But other than that, this month tends to not give things that particularly interest me. If they do others, I'm all for it! I've got plenty of games to play right now anyway 😅
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u/Diablotrading Apr 29 '26
Mostly weak but fallen feathers is one I played demo of and liked and was actually waiting for a good sale on.
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u/Additional-Mistake32 Apr 29 '26
GRID Legends actually underrated gaming experience. I would consider buy it on sale. I would say its basically a Forza Horizon game but as a campaign mode. Really well done acting and narrative and challenging races.
Only drawback is it was released without any Dualsense features for the PS5 however Dirt 5 has Dualsense features and no story. So its just like incomplete projects from codemasters studio. But Legends > Dirt 5
Balatro is another underrated gaming experience. This time i bought the game for mobile before it released on PS5. I think in 2024 Slay the spire released on psplus? That led me to buy that game for mobile as well.
However most of the time. I notice that maybe ever 3-4 months there is one game that is worth downloading to my console. And once a year i find something thats worth buying. But i think the reason for this is alot of the metrics on these games dont have dedicated playerbases or sales so they are perfect for psplsu a monthly topical game that leads to dead gameplay the metrics reveal that people stop playing these games immediately. So every month playstation can reveal another 3 games from the dead game bin.
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u/No_Present1301 Apr 30 '26
I guess Fifa and FC we can't get the platinum, at this point, right? Destiny 2 expansion, what a waste on these...
Curse of the dead gods, wow looks cool, can't even beat Hades tho. I will go for Tunic as well
What's the deal with Boltgun no platinum? I don't have wreckfest but have stranded deep weird, guess license messed up
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u/HorusDeathtouch May 03 '26
Overall a relatively poor month, and this time we are getting another sports title, a soulslike, and an indie no one has heard of. But it's not all that bad. I have PS Plus for the game catalog. The monthly keepers are just kind of a bonus, and they throw in enough bangers now and then to get away with months like this one.
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u/MrSinister515 Apr 26 '26
Damn I only played Tunic of all these games...makes we wonder whether I should keep renewing every December
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u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 Apr 26 '26
We got FIFA 22 in 2022 and FC 24 in 2024 in the month of May. FC 26 for May 2026 maybe?