Hands-on impressions with PlayStation Plus Deluxe

For several years now, Microsoft has been very kind to Xbox and PC customers by offering a very generous Game Pass subscription. If you don't know what Game Pass is, it's a Netflix-type service that allows gamers to play hundreds of AAA and indie video games for a small subscription price.

One of the biggest benefits of Game Pass is that new release games are available on the service on launch day for both Xbox and PC gamers. With the success of Game Pass, many people in the video game industry were wondering if PlayStation was going to have its own subscription service.

Well, finally, the new PlayStation Plus subscription tiers are available now to both New Zealand and Australian PS5 and PS4 gamers. Much like Game Pass, PlayStation Plus Deluxe allows you to play a huge catalogue of video games for a small monthly or yearly price.

PlayStation Plus Deluxe is the best tier to get because not only can you play recent AAA blockbusters, but it also includes a Classic Catalogue and Game Trials to explore too.

While it's sad you cannot download PS3 video games currently, there are several PS5, PS4, PS2 and PSOne games that you can download and play anytime you like. Some of the games I played from my childhood are here, like Ape Escape, Tekken 2, Jak and Daxter and many more.

The great thing about playing the old games is that there are new features and trophies too. The new features include better textures, save states and even a rewind function. Since older games are harder than recent ones, the rewind feature was very helpful when I kept falling into a pit while playing Ape Escape.

As of this moment, the Classic Catalogue is based on the European PAL versions of the game. This was okay to me since I loved the English voice actors in Ape Escape compared to the American voices. However, the picture quality for the PAL versions isn't as smooth as the NTSC counterparts.

That being said, the Classic Catalogue is quite small, and there are some games missing too. Every Jak and Daxter game is here, but you cannot play Jak and Daxter 3 for some reason. Likewise, Tekken 2 is available, but Tekken and Tekken 3 are nowhere to be found at the moment.

Not to mention the service is missing a ton of other popular franchises from both the PSOne and PS2 eras of gaming. As of right now, the Classic Catalogue in Australasia does not have Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot or even any Tomb Raider games!

However, there are lots of recent and decent PS4 and PS5 games that you can play and download. Some AAA blockbusters you can play right now include Marvel's Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2, Returnal, and many more.

It's quite a bargain that you can play all these games for a small monthly fee considering that some PS5 games now cost around NZD$139.99. That being said, the service does not have newer PlayStation exclusives like the recently released Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7. The former, however, is available for a Game Trial that lasts two hours.

PlayStation exclusives like God of War Ragnarok and The Last of Us Part 1 remake won't be on PlayStation Plus Deluxe on launch day like Game Pass with its AAA exclusives. However, the aforementioned games might be available in the future.

Overall, I enjoyed many new and old games using PlayStation Plus Deluxe. There is tons of value, and you won't get bored with the current selection of games. The only disappointing thing about the service is that it's missing many classic games, and new releases won't be available on launch day like Microsoft's Game Pass.