July is coming to an end and Sony's ready to unveil the line-up of free games arriving with August's round of PlayStation Plus titles, including Yakuza 5.
We've arrived at another PlayStation Plus oasis in the desert that is these summer months in the industry. Another six free games for PlayStation Plus subscribers spread across three different platforms: the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. While Sony may be saving their big PlayStation Plus plans for later this year when they can drive holiday sales, hopefully August's titles are enough to wet the parched throats of PlayStation gamers feeling the summer burn.
Two games per platform, as per usual, will grace August's PlayStation Plus line-up. Unlike recent months there will be some cross-platform support between games in August, but nothing major. And for the first time in a while, it seems like the PlayStation 3 line-up is the star of the show over the PlayStation 4 and Vita selections. Here's the full line-up, care of Sony:
- Tricky Towers (PS4)
- Rebel Galaxy (PS4)
- Yakuza 5 (PS3)
- Retro/Grade (PS3)
- Patapon 3 (PS Vita)
- Ultratron (PS Vita, PS3, PS4)
For PlayStation 4 we have both Tricky Towers and Rebel Galaxy, as well as the cross-platform twin-stick arcade shooter title coming from the PS Vita line-up, Ultratron. Tricky Towers will be debuting as part of the PS+ service on PlayStation 4. It's a multiplayer take on Tetris, but with proper rules of gravity and a bevy of magical spells to keep the action exciting. Rebel Galaxy is a take on space sims with trading and ship to ship combat. It had a bit of a rough reception during its October 2015 launch, but it has a dedicated fanbase that adores every bit of it.
On PlayStation 3 and PS Vita come some more familiar titles. Yakuza 5 is definitely the biggest release of August since it was only just released in late 2015 for North American platforms. But with the PS4's Yakuza 0 now confirmed for western release, Sega must be wanting to build up some brand power. Patapon is a mainstay PSP franchise, though some might be surprised there are even three of the quirky rhythm god games out. Retro/Grade rounds out August's games, another rhythm game featuring spacebattles in backwards flowing time.
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While the other titles in August's PlayStation Plus line-up may not be headliners, they're certainly all worth taking a look at. Tricky Towers in particular is an extremely fun idea, a throw-back to mutliplayer puzzlers from the early Sega and Nintendo years. It's an evolution of mobile game 99 Bricks: Wizard Academy, which is worth checking out if you're interested in the Tetris-like. Each of the other PlayStation Plus titles also have a ton of reason worth checking them out.
PlayStation Plus for August should go live on the first Tuesday of the month, which I believe is August 2. Make sure to download July's PlayStation Plus games before their download window expires.