PlayStation Is giving away ten free games as part of its Play At Home initiative and you don’t need a PlayStation Plus Subscription to claim them.
The “Play At Home” initiative was started by Sony Interactive to help stave off the boredom of lockdown due to the Covid-19 Pandemic that has the world in its grips.
The initiative has two components according to The PlayStation Blog: “first, providing free games to help keep the PlayStation community entertained at home; and finally, establishing a fund to help smaller independent game studios who may be experiencing financial difficulties continue building great experiences for all gamers.”
As part of this initiative PlayStation will be giving away ten free games and nine of these will be available from the 25th of March. These games will be available to download regardless if you have a PS Plus subscription or not.
The nine games available from the 25th of March are:
Enter the Gungeon:
Enter the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon crawler following a band of misfits seeking to shoot, loot, dodge roll, and table-flip their way to personal absolution by reaching the legendary Gungeon’s ultimate treasure: the gun that can kill the past.
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission:
Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a platformer that was developed for the PlayStation 4’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) headset. It stars a cast of robot characters introduced in The Playroom, where they appeared as robots that lived inside of the DualShock 4 controller.
The player teams up with Captain Astro and goes on a quest to rescue his lost crew scattered across 5 worlds and 20 levels. In total, there are 213 Bots to rescue. In a VR space, the player uses their body to lean and see past obstacles or headbutt parts of the scenery.
The DualShock 4 controller is used to control Astro but exists within the VR space as a virtual gadget to help Astro on his way. The game counts 20 stages, 6 bosses, 26 challenge stages, and a collection room on board the Astro Ship.
Paper Beast:
An exploration and adventure game about wildlife sprung from the depths of the internet. An unknown power seems to upset its balance. Join forces with exotic creatures to unravel the mysteries of this universe. Somewhere in the abyssal depths of the internet, life has blossomed. You are the first human to set foot in this mysterious ecosystem. A strange force seems to weigh on its balance. Join forces with intriguing and endearing creatures to solve the puzzles of Paper Beast.
Moss:
Moss™ is an action-adventure puzzle game from Polyarc tailor-made for the VR platform. It combines classic components of a great game—compelling characters, gripping combat, and captivating world exploration—with the exciting opportunities of VR. Now bundle with the soundtrack.
Rez Infinite:
The legendary action-shooter finally comes to PC, and in style! Blast your way through mind-melting visuals and amazing beats, all in your quest through cyberspace to save a world on the verge of collapse. Playable on your desktop or in fully immersive VR.
Subnautica:
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines, and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more – all while trying to survive.
Abzu:
From the art director of Journey®, ABZÛ is a beautiful underwater adventure that evokes the dream of diving. Immerse yourself in a vibrant hidden world bursting with color and life as you descend into the heart of the ocean. But beware as you swim deeper as dangers lurk in the depths.
The Witness:
You wake up, alone, on a strange island full of puzzles that will challenge and surprise you.
You don’t remember who you are, and you don’t remember how you got here, but there’s one thing you can do: explore the island in hope of discovering clues, regaining your memory, and somehow finding your way home.
The Witness is a single-player game in an open world with dozens of locations to explore and over 500 puzzles. This game respects you as an intelligent player and it treats your time as precious. There’s no filler; each of those puzzles brings its own new idea into the mix. So, this is a game full of ideas.
Thumper:
Thumper is rhythm violence: classic rhythm-action, blistering speed, and brutal physicality. You are a space beetle. Brave the hellish void and confront a maniacal giant head from the future.
Scream down the endless track and crash through punishing obstacles with simple, airtight controls. Hurtle forward, master new moves, reach overwhelming velocities and survive epic boss battles. Every crushing impact is interwoven with a pounding original soundtrack. To reach synesthetic bliss, you must go through rhythm hell.
Play in traditional HD or fully immersive VR (SteamVR or Oculus).
These games are available until the 22nd of April
The tenth game will be available from the 19th of April to the 14th of May and is none other than Horizon Zero Dawn. Horizon Zero Dawn is of course the widely popular ARPG that follows Aloy, a young hunter in a world overrun by machines, who sets out to uncover her past. The player uses ranged weapons, a spear, and stealth to combat mechanical creatures and other enemy forces.
As a bonus to being able to download these ten free games, Sony is offering a free trial of Funimation which is an anime streaming service. This offer starts from the 25th of March till the 22nd of April.
PlayStation is really going above and beyond here to offer users so much more. This is just one way they are giving back in an attempt to make it more bearable for those who have chosen to stay safe and stay at home.