Skip to main content

PlayStation Plus’ July game catalog is absolutely stacked

Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth stand back to back in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion.
Square Enix

PlayStation announced its PlayStation Plus catalog for July, and it’s one of the most packed lineups we’ve seen in a while. It’s not only a great mix of genres (including VR) but it features some well-known franchises as well as indies. They’re all coming to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members on July 16.

Arguably, the two largest games are Remnant 2 and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. The former is a third-person Soulslike shooter (yes that combination is possible) with procedurally generated areas and quests. It’s a direct sequel to the popular Remnant: From the Ashes, so if you’re looking for more of its unique blend of gameplay elements, this might be a good pick. Unfortunately, this is the standard edition, so you won’t get access to the The Awakened King DLC

The latter is an HD remaster of 2007’s Crisis Core, the prequel to Final Fantasy VII that stars Zack Fair — a minor character in the original game. He’s most known for his Buster Sword and his relationship to Cloud Strife, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII. He also shows up in Final Fantasy VII Remake, so playing Crisis Core is a great way to not only get more Final Fantasy while you wait for the third remake entry but to expand your understanding of the remake’s events.

But there is so much more here coming to the Extra tier, including a Jackbox Party Pack, along with two No More Heroes titles. The PS Plus Premium tier includes the aforementioned Extra titles, plus a PSVR2 title from Owlchemy Labs and a few retro throwbacks — Summoner from the PlayStation 2 and Ratchet and Clank Size Matters from the PlayStation Portable — ready for you to play. Here’s the full list.

PS Plus Extra:

  • Remnant II — Standard Edition (PS5)
  • Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (PS4, PS5)
  • Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (PS4, PS5)
  • The Jackbox Party Pack 9 (PS4, PS5)
  • Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (PS4, PS5)
  • No More Heroes 3 (PS4, PS5)
  • Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Complete Edition (PS4)
  • Deadcraft (PS4)
  • Steep (PS4, PS Plus re-release)

PS Plus Premium:

  • Job Simulator (PSVR2)
  • Summoner (PS4, PS5)
  • Ratchet and Clank Size Matters (PS4, PS5)
  • Jeanne d’Arc (PS4, PS5)
Carli Velocci
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
Personalized spatial audio comes to the PlayStation 5
A still frame from the personalized 3D audio profile creation tool on a Sony PS5.

The latest beta update for Sony's PlayStation 5 console brings the ability to create personalized spatial audio profiles, which should produce more immersive and realistic sound.

The beta software was released on July 25 and described in a PlayStation blog post. Officially, Sony calls the new feature "personalized 3D audio profiles for headphones and earbuds."

Read more
Bungie lays off workers as it forms new PlayStation studio
A character in Destiny 2 glowing blue and holding a sword ready to throw it.

Bungie is making some drastic changes as it integrates more deeply into Sony and deals with the "rising costs of development and industry shifts," according to a Wednesday announcement.

The company announced that it's laying off 220 people -- roughly 17% of its workforce -- from every level of the company in what CEO Pete Parsons called a "difficult and painful day."

Read more
PlayStation is testing adaptive controller charging in latest beta, but only for certain PS5s
The Playstation 5 system standing upright.

The latest PlayStation beta, announced Wednesday, will be introducing a bunch of in-progress features that better personalize your PlayStation 5 experience, including adaptive charging support for controllers — but only for the latest models.

Sony laid out the beta updates in a blog, but noted that adaptive charging, which will work on PS5-era controllers (although not the PlayStation Portal) and can adjust the power sent to them based on battery level, will only be available for the newest PS5 model, which is slimmer and has a larger internal SSD for more storage. Many newer phones have this feature so that the battery doesn't get overcharged and fried over time.

Read more