Sony’s multi-tiered approach to its revamped PlayStation Plus includes a top-shelf option called PlayStation Premium. The biggest perk added to Premium subscribers is the inclusion of PlayStation Classics, an ever-growing library of downloadable titles from the original PlayStation and PlayStation 2, as well as PS3 games playable via cloud gaming tech.
With so much to choose from, you may have a hard time figuring out where to start. We’ve picked a variety of our personal favorites for your recommended PlayStation Plus Premium perusal.
Updated on November 18, 2023 by Quinton O’Connor: Since Sony has tossed a few more great old games into its Classics catalog, we’ve tossed them into this article!
12 Tekken 2
Long before Namco merged with Bandai to become (wait for it) Bandai Namco, the publisher began its first big series of fighting games with the original Tekken for the Sony PlayStation. It was a hit, with two more sequels on the way for console and several more entries for the generations to come. An eighth mainline entry is presently en route.
Most Tekken games are fun in their own right, but Tekken 2 is among the most fantastic of the bunch. The sequel added a slew of new mechanics, as well as introducing big-name characters like Lei Wulong and Jun Kazama. Plus, there’s Roger, a kangaroo. That’s a tragic Tekken 2 exclusive if ever there were one.
11 Wild Arms 3
Enough time has passed since the last Wild Arms for the series to fade almost completely into obscurity, only for a recent Kickstarter success project to take the reins as its spiritual successor, Armed Fantasia. That… still might not mean a thing to some readers, granted, but it’s cool that it’s happening for Media Vision’s old JRPG series.
Wild Arms is a special thing, you see – it’s a distinctly Western JRPG. No, we don’t mean it’s influenced by The Witcher. We mean it’s set in a fictional planet’s rendition of the American Wild West. Take that, add loads of JRPG tropes, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for (modest) success. Wild Arms 3 is one of the best, and it’s available on PlayStation Plus Premium alongside its predecessors.
10 Mega Man 9
12 years. That’s how much time passed between the PlayStation’s colorful 32-bit Mega Man 8 and its surprising emergence from industry hibernation, the purposefully ‘old-looking’ 8-bit Mega Man 9. Capcom’s gamble on a peak NES-style aesthetic paid off in spades, with many complimenting the maneuver. (This was 2008, by the way, so the 8-bit indie scene was rather nascent!)
Everything about Mega Man 9 is one big retro throwback, but that alone wouldn’t make it a good game. The level design, boss variety, soundtrack, all those key Mega Man aspects, are all at their sharpest here. You can also play Mega Man 10 on PlayStation Plus, and it’s a pretty good game in its own right, but MM9 is in a league of its own.
9 BioShock Remastered
See where it all started with the first, and arguably still the greatest, entry in 2K Games’ outstanding BioShock universe. Rich visionaries and subsequent societal collapse – name a more iconic duo, right? BioShock is filled with heady themes and thoughtful moments, with one of the most imaginative settings in the gaming medium – surely the coolest underwater city at a minimum.
BioShock’s gunplay and puzzle-solving come together with a few hundred-year-old horror concepts to forge something that deserves to withstand the test of time, so thank goodness it’s remastered and available on the PlayStation Plus Catalog.
8 Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time
With a mesmerizing remake of the beloved second Star Ocean now out, there’s no better time to check out its PS2 sequel on PlayStation Plus. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time’s controversial third-act revelation aside, it’s a grand adventure that brought the franchise’s trademark action-centric battle system to interesting places. Motoi Sakuraba might’ve peaked with this soundtrack, too, and there’s plenty of those rad Private Actions from the first and second games to get to know your team better.
We know we’ve got a few JRPGs on this list, but then, the PlayStation brand is rich with so many good ones. Thankfully, a solid number of them are available on PlayStation Plus, and this is one of the best.
7 Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends
In 2018, Koei Tecmo sought to shake up the Dynasty Warriors series in a big way with its ninth mainline entry. It was a noble endeavor; the beat-em-ups set in Three Kingdoms era China typically change just enough between games to satisfy the hardcore fans, but from a more casual perspective, they all kind of blend together. Unfortunately, Dynasty Warriors 9’s ‘what if we went open world?’ question got a middling answer, and it just didn’t live up to its potential.
That leaves Dynasty Warriors 8 as the reigning champion until further notice. It’s perfected the stage-based formula of slaying hundreds of soldiers and a handful of important folks that’s made the Warriors franchise so prolific. Xtreme Legends adds a big chunk of content to the base game.
6 Batman: Return To Arkham
You might accuse of cheating here, as we’re including two games – but hey, they were bundled together. Batman: Return to Arkham is simply the first two of Rocksteady’s Caped Crusader classics in one package, though you do need to stream them separately on PlayStation Plus.
Arkham Asylum, the first game, is not the open world adventure that its sequel Arkham City became. But it’s more focused as a result, and as such, it’s not too surprising that the age old debate of whether open world’s a good approach has often centered in part on whether a person prefers Asylum or City. Our take? They’re both great games, so go play them.
5 Skullgirls Encore
Fighting game fans have several prime picks on PlayStation Plus Premium, and we swear we aren’t intentionally being alliterative here, it just keeps happening. Anyway, Skullgirls Encore is one of the best, a beast of a title with diverse modes, deep mechanics, and an art style all its own.
If you haven’t yet visited the Canopy Kingdom, give the PS3 version of this game a shot. If you like what you see, check out Skullgirls 2nd Encore, which is a PS4/Xbox One/PC port with continued support to this day.
4 Fallout: New Vegas
Sure, Microsoft bought Bethesda a few years back, and yes, Starfield and the eventual sixth Elder Scrolls entry will most likely remain PC-and-Xbox exclusives forevermore. That doesn’t mean you can’t play a few of the older entries in Maryland’s most RPG-savvy company’s terrific catalog. On PlayStation hardware, that includes Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas.
Developed by Obsidian, the makers of the first two Fallouts, New Vegas has a feeling all of its own, a sort of ‘dark sci-fi comedy’ vibe that neither Fallout 3 nor 4 can match. That’s not to say Bethesda’s in-house additions to this post-apocalyptic universe are by any means bad, but if you’re going to play one for the first time, let it be New Vegas. Revel in the outlandish, and enjoy some of the greatest dialogue options around.
3 The Last Of Us Remastered
Sure, The Last of Us has a full-fledged remake now on PS5 and PC. And yes, it’s totally worth checking out. But if you’d rather not splurge on it right off the bat – maybe you’re curious after watching the first season of HBO’s new show? – the PS4 remaster of the original PlayStation 3 masterpiece is available for streaming at no added cost.
Joel and Ellie’s cross-country tour of post-apocalyptic America is also a tour of the multifaceted and many-splendored beast that is humanity itself. It will thrill you, it will chill you, and it will make you cry; The Last of Us is excellence.
2 Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is the long-running 3D platformer adventure series at perhaps its highest point. The newest title, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, is up there as well, with breathtaking audiovisual elements that take full advantage of the PS5. But Ratchet & Clank’s heyday was on PS2 and PS3, and A Crack in Time is our favorite.
The tools are terrific, from the item-fixing Chronosceptor to the planet-drifting hoverboots, and the story’s both funny and genuinely engrossing. A Crack in Time’s a good one.
1 Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge
LucasArts’ perennially popular point-and-click adventure series Monkey Island managed to endure the apparent death knell of the genre, going dark for the bulk of the 2000s and 2010s before emerging with the sublime Return to Monkey Island just last year. The second game, LeChuck’s Revenge, got a fresh coat of paint as a Special Edition in 2010, which brought it to contemporary consoles including the PS3.
Guybrush Threepwood’s swashbuckling is the core of Monkey Island’s storytelling, and the cast of the second game will delight you to no end. You should play The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition first, mind you, but its follow-up is even better.