For those of you not waiting for Dishonored 2 or spending another couple hundred hours on Skyrim never fear because the PSN free games for November are on the way. Last month was kind of all over the place from the remastered version of Resident Evil to the depressingly bad Transformers: Devastation. There were a few odd balls in the mix, From Dust and even Code: Realize are worth playing for the trophies if nothing else. I don’t know if Sony ever really has a plan for what they will release but it seems more and more random lately, case in point this month’s lineup.
First and most notably on the PS4 is Everybody’s Gone to Rapture. Dubbed a ‘walking simulator’ it’s a first person game where you walk around an abandoned town and figure out where everyone went. It functions a lot in the same way similar games like Gone Home, Ether One or The Stanley Parables do. Everybody’s Gone to Rapture received favorable reviews for it’s in depth plot but was criticized for its lack of basically everything else, especially humor or interactive items. While the story has depth it lacks the interactivity of say Gone Home but has nothing to make up for it like The Stanley Parables.
Second on the PS4 is The Deadly Tower of Monsters, probably one of the most confusing premises I’ve ever heard in my life. A third person top-down shooter you are an actor in a movie but playing a game about a crash landed space explorer. The planet is in some kind of monkey civil war but the bad guy is human and most monsters appear to be literally anything but monkeys? I don’t really have anything to compare it with because it appears to be all over the damn place. The driving force behind this game appears to be its realistic height and jumping mechanics, using a lot of wide shots and weird angles to emphasize how high up you are. The gameplay I saw looked extremely rough and clunky though.
First on the PS3 is Costume Quest 2, an adventure RPG a lot like South Park: The Stick of Truth or Grim Fandango, you play as a group of kids and must save Halloween. I feel like this game would have been better suited for last month but what do I know. Developed by Double Fine, Costume Quest 2 features a lot of exploring and a lot of humor for all ages. The game is fairly short but offers a decent story and combat for such a small space. In the end, Double Fine made Psychonauts and gets a pass either way.
Also on the PS3 is Dirt 3, what I’m told was an exceptional racing game. To be fair it does offer more than just pure racing action, such as capture the flag, smashing targets or a hardcore mode where players actually drive for real, inside the car, with no help. Dirt 3 was praised for most everything except some design choices. So if racing games are your thing give it a try.
On the Vita (also the PS4) is Letter Quest Remastered. A RPG style game with around 40 dungeons and multiple play modes, you play as the mini Grim Reaper and attack enemies by… spelling at them. You heard right, a side scrolling game where you have to spell out words to fight enemies. It’s fun and teaches at the same time, so bust out that dictionary and get cracking. The kind of scam that tricks kids into learning by putting a fun twist on it, kind of like playing a life or death version of scrabble or wheel of fortune.
Lastly on Vita, PS4 and PS3 is Pumped BMX+, although I’m not sure what the + is for. Essentially a side scrolling Tony Hawk game, players must perform bike tricks while moving in one direction. I thought the entire point of Tony Hawk games, before Activision ruined them, was exploring and being able to do tricks off of nearly anything? Seems like another game that should have stayed on mobile because if it wasn’t for a complete lack of decent games on the Vita (in this country) this never would have made it.
