October’s PS Plus offers don’t look very promising—especially after the price hike

Last month, Sony raised the prices of its PlayStation Plus subscription by roughly 33 percent. The price hike applied to all annual subscriptions, including the basic PlayStation Plus Essentials, mandatory for playing certain games online. 

While the price hike was met with criticism, many hoped Sony would raise the quality of its monthly free games. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not with the free games this month.

Here’s what Sony is offering to its subscribers this month:

• Calisto Protocol – While certainly not a horrible game, Calisto Protocol received mixed reviews where it was criticized for its lack of polish, repetitive gameplay, and various bugs and glitches. The game was mostly forgotten after the release of the excellent Dead Space Remake. Calisto Protocol is currently sitting at “Mixed” or “Average” reviews by critics and fans on Metacritic.
• Farming Simulator 22 – Another decent title, but not a head-turner. Farming Simulator 22 received Mixed to Positive reviews on Metacritic. Strangely enough, its sequel, Farming Simulator 23, only made it to the Nintendo Switch and Google Play Store. What’s up with that?
• Weird West is the best-reviewed game on this list. This indie title received positive reviews from both players and critics. Unfortunately, this isn’t a game that will push your PlayStation 5 to its limit, even though it is quite fun.

With a lineup like this, it’s no wonder that PlayStation Plus subscribers might be a little frustrated. Sure, the free games aren’t bad, but they aren’t much better than before the price hike. We think PlayStation will have to offer its loyal subscribers more unless it wants those subscriber counts to drop.