Sony has given PlayStation Plus members a pretty memorable year. With big hits like Stardew Valley, Lies of P, Cyberpunk 2077, and Diablo 4 coming to PlayStation Plus earlier in the year, October then saw a group of great horror and related titles hit the service for the Halloween season. Alan Wake 2, Until Dawn, Silent Hill 2 Remake and Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 were all added in the course of the month for the various tiers of PS Plus.
PS Plus' Essential titles for November have now been officially announced, and subscribers will be able to add Stray, EA Sports WRC 24, and Totally Accurate Battle Simulator to their collections when the latest batch becomes available on November 4.
Known insider and leaker Billbil-kun had already previously confirmed that Silent Hill 2 Remake would be on PS Plus for October as well as Stray for this month.
Stray
Read The Best War Games's Review of Stray
Stray was first released on PS Plus as a day one inclusion for the Extra tier a few years ago, with it joining the Essential tier for November. The title sees fans playing as a resourceful feline searching for its missing companions (with the help of its own cute drone) in an underground cyberpunk-styled setting where humans have apparently vanished due to a mysterious mutant bacterium. In the aftermath, android servants have become the inhabitants, adopting their own culture based on the isolated city's past. Players must navigate the titular stray through both urban and more natural levels with some platforming and light puzzle solving, all presented in a charming art style. Stray is a captivating experience that is equal parts heartwarming and thought-provoking.
- Genre: Third-person adventure
- Developer: BlueTwelve Studio
- Original release: 2022
- OpenCritic Top Critic Average Score: 84
- Average time to beat: 6 hours
Stray
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 85%
- Released
- July 19, 2022
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- BlueTwelve Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Annapurna Interactive
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
EA Sports WRC 24
With the official license of the World Rally Championship attached and developer Codemasters being well-known for its previous work on the Dirt Rally and F1 franchises, WRC 24 is one of the most robust and accurate racing sims on the market. Fans can design and extensively customize their vehicles, participate in famous historical races and courses, and work their way to the top of the charts in career modes. Earlier this year, Codemasters stated that it wouldn't be developing further WRC titles for the forseeable future, so WRC 24 hitting PS Plus gives racing game fans (and beyond) a chance to check out what is for now the latest and last entry in the series.
- Genre: Racing sim
- Developer: Codemasters
- Original release: 2023
- OpenCritic Top Critic Average: 78
- Average time to beat: 15 hours (main story mode)
EA Sports WRC
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 78 /100 Critics Rec: 76%
- Released
- 2023-11-31
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Codemasters
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Racing
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
As a more lighthearted and frantic take on traditional strategy sims, Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (TABS) has players recruiting and controlling groups of "wobblers" and sending them into hectic battles with a simililarly "wobbly based physics engine." Totally Accurate Battle Simulator features a variety of units from wizards to wooly mammoths and a diverse range of time periods and settings for them to clash on, including the medieval era, the Stone Age, the Wild West, and more. Like Goat Simulator 3 coming to PS Plus in October, TABS offers players tons of ridiculous fun with plenty of strategy still built into its core gameplay.
- Genre: Strategy sim
- Developer: Landfall (known for Peak)
- Original release: 2019
- OpenCritic Top Critic Average: N/A
- Average time to beat: 10 hours (main campaign)
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
- Released
- April 1, 2021
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
- Landfall
- Publisher(s)
- Landfall
- Engine
- Unity
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Strategy
PlayStation Plus has had an excellent year so far, and November's choices continue to offer a range of experiences that hit a variety of genres and preferences. The Extra and Premium inclusions will be announced in the coming weeks and members of those tiers can look forward to what PS Plus has in store soon.