The options are challenging, but they can also be a bit overwhelming. The PlayStation Plus games catalog (included with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscriptions) contains dozens of great titles, including many great indie games. We're here to share some independent picks to help you find your next personalized piece of jewelry.
From spooky environmental experiments and explorations to bold and daring action-driven challenges, fun multiplayer games and anime-style ball blasts, you can get them on demand as an added bonus to your subscription. Here's a taste of the best and brightest indie games from the PlayStation Plus games catalog.
August
Exploring the vast beauty of the ocean is a dream for many, and at Abzu of Giant Squid Studios, that dream manifests as an unforgettable adventure. As an anonymous diver in a vast underwater world, you will find the remains of a lost civilization with a connection to the sea. As you explore and solve puzzles, you will find life and energy in this incredible underwater world. And don't worry about the oxygen - you can travel at your own pace and enjoy Abzu's lush graphical environments and vibrant sea life.
Publisher: 505 Games | ps4
Bugs
Snaktooth Island is home to many natural wonders, the most famous of which is the titular Bugsnax. These miraculous creatures are part dessert, part insect and taste as wild as they look. Take control of a Grumpus (a cute and lovable furry bipedal monster) and hunt and catalog every species of Bugsnax as you search for your lost mentor in this bizarre odyssey of young horses. Use creative tools like Willow Slinger, Lunchpad, and Snakegrabbler in your quest to catalog all Bugsnax for research (and tasting) purposes. These days, you even sing along to the game's infectious and catchy theme song.
Publisher: Young Horses | PS4/PS5
blue sky
Overcome your fears in this action platformer from Maddy Makes Games. Join Madeline on a metaphysical journey to scale the summit of Monte Celeste and face her insecurities. Your journey takes you through a series of side-scrolling platforming trials filled with all sorts of tricks and dangers: traps, vanishing terrain, conveyor belts, boiling magma and so many spikes. You'll need to skillfully use Madeline's signature race (and race-enhancing powers) to win. But don't worry if you're not a fast-paced expert - the extensive accessibility options are here to help if needed. Whether you're playing the thrilling platforming challenges or the gripping story, Celeste is an experience you won't soon forget.
Publisher: Maddy Makes Games | ps4
chicory
Something happened in Piekniek's kingdom: all colors were absorbed. And the worst part is that it lacks the powerful user brush that can restore order. It's up to the dreamy watchdog Pizza (or whatever you call it) to pick up the paintbrush, bring color back to the land, and battle the darkness in Greg Lobanov's enchanting art adventure, Chicory. You'll use unique brush and paint mechanics to navigate the world and solve puzzles, like making plants bloom with a light brushstroke or dark caves with glowing paint. And with tons of gorgeous dresses and brush customizations to discover, you'll look great on your artistic adventures.
Publisher: Finji | PS4/PS5
dead cells
A castle with ever-changing corridors, no checkpoints, no hiding places, and only you and your skills separate you from a miserable fate. The prisoner is a creature that can hold human corpses, which is rare on this stinky island. Time and again, armies of prisoners are destroyed, but they don't give up in their search for a way to end the misery of the island. Motion Twin's intense 2D action-platformer, Dead Cells, is a unique experience every time you try it, with the procedurally generated castle layout that morphs into something new every time you play . Each time you die, you return to the start, but with the valuable skills and knowledge you gained in your previous battle. It will take many tries to master your moves and attacks, learn how to use weapons and spells, learn enemy patterns, and discover new paths to take. Are you up to the challenge?
Author: Motion Twin SARL | ps4
enter the jail
The term “marauder” takes on a whole new meaning during this evening of recognition. Choose your Gungeoneer, each with unique gear and abilities, and get ready to delve into the depths of the Gungeon, a vast maze of rooms full of incredible secrets to uncover as you dodge ever-increasing bullets when you're not. you're not busy. Arm yourself with some of the most brutal weapons ever seen in video games: a crown of arms that fits perfectly on your head, the Transformer Serpent Maker, the main unlockable weapon AKEY-47 and the Elementaler, a weapon with destructive power. . cheese? Enter the Gungeon by Dodge Roll is a marvelous, endlessly replayable, darkly humorous adventure to find the ultimate treasure: the weapon to kill the past.
Publisher: Back digital | ps4
Void Knight Void Heart Edition
Experience one of the most popular indie classics ever made. Bugs inhabit the dark and beautiful world of Team Cherry's Hollow Knight. One of these creatures, the Nameless and Voiceless Horseman, is heading towards the ruins of the once-living kingdom of Hallownest. As the Knights explore the remnants of the fallen kingdom, they discover the infection, the sinister cause of Hallownest. Thrilling action-packed challenges, an ever-expanding array of new skills to learn and master, and a host of exciting and dangerous locations to explore have earned Hollow Knight a well-deserved reputation as a hard-hitting and rewarding action-adventure. . The Voidheart Edition includes all previously released DLC expansions, making the Hollow Knight experience the ultimate.
Publisher: Team Cerise | ps4
minutes
Minit, a retro-inspired whimsical journey from former Vlambeer creator Jan Willem Nijman and his team, begins like many great adventure games: a funny boy finds an epic sword and embarks on a fascinating adventure. Problem? This sword is cursed and will kill you in sixty seconds. At least you can respawn at home, but killing a lot is a problem, especially since there's a sword factory that makes more swords that you need to stop. But you will have to embark on your heroic journey to destroy a corrupt society step by step, explore a strange monochromatic world, meet its strange inhabitants and collect essential items and information before they perish again. Time management has never been so much fun.
Publisher: Back digital | ps4
my friend peter
They say bananas are inanimate objects and have no feelings about such concepts as "friendship" and "bloodlust". These people have never met Pedro, the best banana friend in the world, who tells you who to hit in the middle of a line of fire. Developer Victor Ågren's savage shooter and escape from glory offers wide paths to destroy anyone who stands in your way. Use your dual weapons, find objects in the environment that you can use to your advantage, or shoot them in the face and watch the bonus multiplier set in with every fool you eliminate. Of course, you also have plenty of targets on your back, so use your slow-motion focus skills to punch and dodge anything your enemies throw at you in style. You want to make Pedro happy, don't you?
Publisher: Back digital | ps4
nidhogg
In Mark Essen's bizarre world of Nidhogg, life's ultimate goal is devoured by a giant worm from Norse mythology. It's certainly not a life goal that everyone wants. Here, however, to earn the honor of being a meal, a warrior must travel a great distance, through traps and an endless supply of constantly regenerating opponents, to reach the great annelid. Nidhogg is a unique tug of war game where two players constantly compete for position in a side-scrolling 2D environment. Use your swords, kicks, and punches strategically to defeat your opponent and reach the objective, but if you miss, the focus will shift to your opponent, who is tasked with stopping their progress. The original, beautiful and simple Nidhogg and the bigger and more fascinating Nidhogg 2 are available in the game catalog!
Publisher: MESSHOF | ps4
wild nature
Another award-winning indie milestone can be found in the games catalog. Have you ever felt a sense of déjà vu, like time repeating itself in an infinite loop? Well, it can't be as bad as the situation the Outer Wilds protagonist finds himself in. They wake up to find that the sun in the solar system they've been studying will go supernova in 22 minutes, taking with it all the planets they (and they) have studied. To understand why the time loop exists and what causes this destruction, you'll need to explore every inch of the increasingly dangerous solar system as it disintegrates (both figuratively and literally), revealing a moving and unforgettable tale. . Don't miss this unforgettable experience.
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive | PS4/PS5
annealed 2
It's time to grab your cooking utensils and embark on a crazy culinary adventure like never before. The Onion King has summoned a lot of Junk and Unbread from the Necronomnomicon, and the only way to fix it is to collect various recipes. In Ghost Town Games' Overcooked 2, you and up to three friends (local or playing online) cook up delicious meals in the weirdest restaurants you've ever imagined. The Bakery Rockets are fast and furious as they work together to handle, cook and clean ingredients in wild and dangerous environments. Have you ever cooked food in a hot air balloon? In a raging river? At the bottom of a mine? While working with gates and conveyor belts? In the space? No matter how you look at it, Overcooked 2 delivers massive co-op fun.
Publisher: Team17 | PS4/PS5
slime farming
Farming and life simulation games are popular these days, but how many of them let you experience the wonderful joy of raising a sentient being? Monomi Park's Slime Rancher is a unique take on the beloved genre. Beatrix LeBeau is a fearless farmer who left the country for greener pastures light years away in the series Far, Far. A new animal is trying to blend in: the fantastical, swirling, neglected mud. You'll have to explore the world to collect slime growth materials, which you'll happily suck into your handy VacPacks. Grow your slime well and you'll get "plots" that you can sell or use to grow bigger, badder slimes, but be careful not to spawn destructive Tarr.
Publisher: Skybound Games | ps4
Sum
We've already talked about Abzu's deliciously relaxing underwater journey, but now it's the opposite: Frictional Games' Soma, a terrifying experience about the horrors of being alone in the depths of the ocean. Protagonist Simon survives a car crash only to wake up in the abandoned research and operations outpost Pathos-II at the bottom of the ocean. She soon discovers a terrible truth about what happened to the world while she slept. The future of humanity rests in the hands of Simon and other misfits, if they can survive the living nightmare that surrounds them in and out of Pathos-II. If you are looking for a unique scary experience, Soma will take you to new depths of terror.
Publisher: Friction Games | ps4
Idle
Yes, it's the cat game you've seen everywhere... Recently nominated for Game of the Year 2022 at The Game Awards and winner of Best First Indie Game for developer BlueTwelve Studio. If the cute kittens and viral videos on the internet weren't enough to sell you on this atmospheric adventure, the critical acclaim will. A wild cat escapes its clutches and falls into an underground city populated entirely by robots. With the help of a droid companion, our feline hero will use his feline reflexes and predatory movements to traverse the isolated town, avoid dangers, overcome mysteries and discover how and why this strange place exists. Plus: you'll love shooting down friendly robots.
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive | PS4/PS5
Touhou Genso Rondo: Ballet Ball
Enter the world of the Touhou Project, one of the most unique and exciting shared universes in indie gaming. The fantasy kingdom of Gensokyo is a separate place on earth where the magic and mystery of Japanese mythology survives to this day. The folks at Gensokyo are quite an interesting bunch, appearing in a lot of indie games from different developers, and Cubetype's Genso Rondo is a great way to get to know them. Choose from a rotating gallery of Touhou characters and prepare for a one-on-one arena battle. Use fascinating spells and careful maneuvers to dodge and shoot in fast-paced combat. Don't forget to crank up the volume because Genso Rondo continues the tradition of great Touhou melodies.
Publisher: NIS America | ps4
Tower: Ascent
If you have a group of friends and are looking for a big party, Towerfall Ascension by Maddy Makes Games will always suit you. Take control of an archer with one goal: to be the last one standing in a slingshot of arrows. Shoot, dodge, catch and collect arrows and use power-ups to turn the tide of battle. Don't have a whole group of friends or are you going alone? Single-player trial mode and single-player and co-op quest modes will hone your archery skills so you'll be ready when the challengers arrive. You'll laugh, cry and make (or maybe lose) lifelong friends in Towerfall Archery.
Publisher: Maddy Makes Games | These excellent PS4 games are just a sampling of the indie offerings found in the games catalog. You can explore the full menu of offers in the PlayStation Plus games catalog at playstation.com and try out the ones that catch your eye. Whatever your gaming taste, there's an indie masterpiece waiting to become one of your new favorites.