Chills, Tears, Spirits and Warring Robots in October’s PS+ Goodies

Resident Evil. Yes, Sony is offering a number of other free games across all three platforms to PS+ subscribers in October, but it’s hard to shake the impact of that title’s appearance in the rundown for the month of Halloween. Part of the blame falls on the enduring influence that the franchise has had upon the survival-horror genre, but it’s also because of the somewhat nondescript nature of the rest of the titles made available this month. From a fast-paced beat-’em-up set in a popular ’80s franchise and to a vivid experience where you guide and preserve the fate of a prehistoric tribe, the overall batch of games for October have their bright spots beyond the HD remastering of an iconic title, but not enough to generate much enthusiasm for the month’s offerings as a whole.

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Capcom

PS4

Resident Evil

Other horror games did come before Resident Evil, but it’s hard to dispute that the original trek through a mansion in Raccoon City claims responsibility for the outbreak of the survival-horror genre. Since then, it has been remade and remastered several times, yet in the process hasn’t lost its spine-chilling potency or difficulty. What it’s gained in this latest HD version for current-gen consoles, however, can be found in the moody widescreen graphics, surround-sound atmosphere, and the option to flip off the frustrating tank controls while navigating through the mansion’s fixed angles. These improvements are incremental over the Gamecube’s revamped presentation from 13 years prior, yet one can chalk that up to Capcom’s diligence in respecting the original intentions from floor to ceiling. This is survival horror as it should be, focused on survival and genuinely horrific elements above run-and-gun zombie killin’.

Transformers: Devastation

Platinum Games has developed a reputation for creating fast-paced, chaotic experiences, whether they’re taking on new properties — like Bayonetta or Vanquish — or established franchises. Their taken on the Transformers universe, Devastation, brings together their love for anarchistic destruction with the scale of the iconic metal robots, with a similar kind of rapid fighting style to their other games driving the story through the streets of a cel-shaded New York. With a visual style reminiscent of the classic cartoons and a no-holds-barred approach to the battle mayhem, it speaks to both those with ’80s nostalgia and those who dig the current cinematic universe. Transformers: Devastation earned praise from critics and players alike for the strengths that Platinum Games have made their fans accustomed to for the better part of a decade.

Ubisoft Montpellier

PS3

From Dust

The term “power fantasy” frequently gets tossed around with video games, but the term very aptly applies to From Dust. Falling into the subgenre of “god games”, this title from Ubisoft Montpellier finds the player taking control of both terrain and terrestrials as The Breath, an ethereal entity with the fabric of nature and ancestral knowledge at its beckoning. The goal is to assist a tribe in the rediscovery of their ancestors, spurring their expansion across a primordial landscape of lava, water, and vegetation that’s altered by the player to help in their endeavors … and to shield the tribe from disaster. Beautiful visuals melt together with dazzling physical manipulation of the terrain to create a strategic, intuitive environmental puzzle game.

Mad Riders

Lighter and more arcade-inspired than its competitors, this budget off-road racing title from Techland and Ubisoft puts the player in the seat of a four-wheeler and sends them careening through nearly 50 of fast-paced, outlandish tracks. While gathering bonuses scattered along the pathways, the player races several other opponents while avoiding obstacles and performing stunts for extra boosts in experience. While brisk and beautiful within its cel-shaded presentation, both players and critics dinged Mad Riders for its iffy controls and responses to physics, along with a lack of innovation in its melting-pot approach to the off-roading genre. For a budget racer, however, it seems like it gets across the finish line well enough.

PS Vita

Code: Realize – Guardians of Rebirth

Sony continues their journey into free visual novels with Code: Realize – Guardians of Rebirth, often regarded as one of the better entries in the otome genre from developers Idea Factory and Otomate. Taking control of an isolated young woman named Cardia, whose body courses with poison that’s transmitted by touch, the story follows how she comes to be associated with Arsene Lupin, an antiheroic thief, and how the pair embark on a search for the girl’s father. Traditional dialogue choices have overarching impacts upon both the characters’ impressions of the main character and the plot’s trajectory throughout a vaguely steampunk-esque atmosphere, yielding an experience well-received by both critics and fans of the visual-novel niche.

Actual Sunlight

Brought to life through the Steam Greenlight initiative, Actual Sunlight first arrived on PC as an experience that shares many similarities with the visual novel genre. Alas, this one carries very gloomy, non-escapist subject matter — depression, futility, and suicide — that might keep some at arm’s length from its text-based ruminations. The folks at WZO Games urge those considering Actual Sunlight to ponder their individual perceptions of those upsetting topics, but both players and critics felt that it’s worth the time and energy to follow along with protagonist Evan Winter’s trials through the bleak rat race of life.

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