PlayStation Plus free games for July include a must-play title with 85 on Metacritic

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup (opens in new tab) for July, and it’s offering a trio of games to PS4 and PS5 players. This is the first selection of monthly games announced since the revamped PlayStation Plus service launched on June 13, but these games will be available to all subscribers regardless of membership tier. 

PlayStation Plus members on the Essential, Extra or Premium tier will have access to Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan and Arcadegeddon. These games will be free to download from July 5 until August 1. Once claimed, you can download them anytime, so long as you still have an active PlayStation Plus subscription.

The flagship game this month is clearly Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. This long-overdue sequel to the iconic platforming series launched in 2020 and is a delightfully charming throwback to Crash’s PS1 origins. 

It was well-received upon release scoring an impressive 85 on Metacritic (opens in new tab) and was widely praised for its tight gameplay, abundance of collectibles and multiple playable characters. A quick word of warning if you’re a trophy hunter: prepare yourself. Crash 4’s platinum trophy is fiendishly difficult to earn. 

Next up is The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, a well-timed pick as The Quarry just launched earlier this month. From the creators of cult classic PS4 exclusive Until Dawn, Man of Medan is essentially a playable horror movie. Every character can live or die based on your decisions, and you can even experience this terrifying tale online with a friend. 

Finally, we have Arcadegeddon, an ever-evolving co-op shooter. You can play solo or with up to four friends online as you explore diverse biomes, compete in mini-games, discover hidden chests and battle against a colorful cast of enemies and challenging bosses. On the surface, Arcadegeddon is bright and flashy, but don’t be fooled by appearances. This multiplayer title still offers enough depth to keep you hooked for hours at a time. 

In a somewhat rare, but very welcome, twist this month’s free PlayStation Plus games have been mostly well-received by subscribers. Typically gamers find some reason to grumble about at least one of the picks, but July’s lineup has been warmly received over on Reddit (opens in new tab). The inclusion of Crash Bandicoot 4, in particular, is going down very well. 

Now that PlayStation Plus has been broken up into three distinct membership tiers, there will be more games added at more regular intervals. While these monthly games for all membership levels are continuing, it’s expected that additional titles will be made available to Extra and Premium subscribers at some point in the near future. 

At the very least, we know that cyberpunk cat-simulator Stray will be offered at no extra cost to PlayStation Plus subscribers on the Extra/Premium plan when it launches on July 19.