Free PlayStation Plus Games for February 2016
By Rory Young 26 January 2016
February 2016’s PlayStation Plus free games are Helldivers: Democracy Strikes Back and Nom Nom Galaxy for PS4, GRID Autosport and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on PS3.
PlayStation gamers are quite likely still hibernating for the winter, comfortable playing their stash of holiday AAA titles until the spring barrage of big game launches arrive. Some groundhogs may have woken early to pick up The Witness, or are waiting for February’s line-up including Street Fighter V and Far Cry Primal. To fill the space in between, PlayStation Plus has once again arrived. Six new games are going into the Instant Game Collection, titles certain to warm all game players from the winter’s cold.
Only two of the six titles will be available for the PlayStation 4 this month, three available on the PlayStation 3, and three for the Vita. That is to say that only one of the six games has cross platform availability with PlayStation Plus, unfortunately. Hopefully the selection still manages to include something for everyone. Here’s the full list of titles available in February’s PlayStation Plus line-up:
- Helldivers: Democracy Strikes Back (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)
- Nom Nom Galaxy (PS4)
- GRID Autosport (PS3)
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3)
- Lemmings Touch (PS Vita)
- Nova-111 (PS Vita)
On the way out are January’s PlayStation Plus titles: Grim Fandango Remastered, Hardware Rivals, Dragon Age: Origins, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Legends of War: Patton and Nihilumbra. Make sure to download any of those titles in the next few days, otherwise the opportunity will be lost. And not downloading Grim Fandango while you have the chance gives you bad karma in the afterlife.
Headlining February is Helldivers: Democracy Strikes Back. Originally released as a PlayStation 4 timed exclusive, the game has since been released on PC as well. However, there’s no arguing that there’s value to be found in this co-op stick shooter. The Democracy Strikes Back edition includes the base game and its two expansions. That’s where the “free” ends and the “DLC” begins. Helldivers has an additional 14 DLC packs available for purchase which add classes, weapons and skins. Helldivers is absolutely a great game, so don’t let the DLC dissuade from downloading.
Nom Nom Galaxy is the second PlayStation 4 game of the month and it’s probably the least known of the whole selection. Note that Nom Nom is a PixelJunk jam, which should give it an immediate badge of quality. In Nom Nom the player crash lands on a mysterious planet and must rebuild their soup factory empire from the ground up. Through exploring a galaxy, players will fight, craft and explore their way to success. They can even bring their friends, as Nom Nom Galaxy offers 4-player co-op.
Everyone should be familiar with both of the PlayStation 3 releases for February. GRID Autosport is a racing simulator that covers a variety of racing disciplines, from street races to touring. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax delivers on both of its goals, providing a great anime fighting game and a solid story/character experience for fans of the RPG franchise. Both of these titles have been very well received critically and are a boon to any PlayStation 3 library of games.
For the PlayStation Vita, meanwhile, there are games! Isn’t the fact that there are still great games being released on the PlayStation Vita good enough for everyone? Lemmings Touch has some rough edges, but hopefully that Lemmings nostalgia will smooth them over. Nova-111 is a really exciting 2D rogue-like with a mixture of turn-based and real-time combat, creating some complex strategic gameplay that’s absolutely worth investing a weekend into.
Altogether another solid line-up for PlayStation Plus in February, though many will still likely be frustrated that no major AAA PlayStation 4 titles are being included. Maybe in March?
