The new games being added to the PlayStation Plus instant game collection on January 7th are Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Goat Simulator. Though the titles were initially released in 2015 and 2014, respectively, both titles are still fondly thought of even if for different reasons. Now, both games are going to get a new wave of players through PlayStation Plus.
Goat Simulator might not be a game that every PS Plus member will enjoy, but it still strikes a chord with a large audience because of its strangeness. The original launch trailer currently has 9.3 million views on YouTube alone, simply because the game looks out there and unconventional.
The entire purpose of the game is to break stuff in the game world as a goat; that is not really a premise that has appeared in a game before so it is pretty unique to say the least. The trailer also parodies the original Dead Island trailer for added comedic effect. However, critics did not seem to be too pleased with the title at the time, as it currently sits at a 62 on Metacritic.
As for whether or not this is a worthwhile addition to the PS Plus catalog of games, there is a predictable division of reactions between gamers online. For those PS Plus subscribers who have never played Goat Simulator, this month’s addition is a great opportunity to give the game a shot.
However, there is a vocal group of gamers that are not too pleased with this month’s announced titles (every month has its fair share of detractors and naysayers though). Some people feel that Goat Simulator is not a game worth their time or subscriptions. One common critique among the unsatisfied is that January 2020 is simply another month in which PS Plus gets one big title and one "joke" title (referring to December 2019’s PS Plus games - Titanfall 2 and Monster Energy Supercross The Official Videogame).
People also seem to be unsatisfied with this month’s inclusion of Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection, saying that the title is too old and is simply something Sony easily threw in because it owns the franchise. One further line of thought suggested that the title’s appearance is simply nothing more than a marketing opportunity for Sony, pushing for more PS Now subscriptions ever since Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy were announced to be joining that particular service’s catalog. Yet, this isn't entirely new and can be said for a variety of games that appear on services like this at convenient times.
Another point of criticism that people are drawing up is the fact that Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection is but rather one that is comprised of remasters of older PS3 games. The Uncharted trilogy of games that came out on PS3 launched on the console from 2007 to 2011. This means that two out of the three games in the collection are more than 10 years old with the third game being almost there.
On Metacritic, every mainline Uncharted game has a score above 90, with the exceptions of the first in the franchise, Uncharted Drake’s Fortune which holds a score of 88, and the standalone DLC for Uncharted 4 - The Lost Legacy which sits at a score of 84. The remastered trilogy collection itself holds a Metacritic score of 86. No one is questioning the greatness of the trilogy collection and its remasters, but people do seem to be upset that this month’s PS Plus games are both at least four years old.
As is the nature with PS Plus games, January 2020’s downloadable games are bound to receive another significant wave of people hitting up the player count of each title, regardless of how some people feel about these particular games. Though there will certainly be games newer than 2015 eventually hitting the PS Plus catalog throughout 2020, January’s line-up is a good indicator for what type of games will come to the service throughout the rest of the year.
January 2020’s PlayStation Plus games, Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection and Goat Simulator, will be available from January 7th to February 3rd, 2020.