On April 27, Sony will reveal the upcoming selection ofPS Plusgames for May. They will be replacing thePS Plus free games for April 2022, which includeHood: Outlaws and Legends, Slay the Spire, andSpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated. Many were not happy with this month’s selection, and they may be hoping that May comes with something better.
It’s certainly possible, but it’s also possible that fans are setting themselves up for disappointment. PS Plus tends to follow patterns month after month and sometimes year after year, as seen in March 2022. March tends to feature some of the best PS Plus games of the year, if not the absolute best, and March 2022 continued that streak. The flip side of that is May tends to feature some of the worst games of the year. It remains to be seen if Sony breaks from this pattern, but it may be best to wait for thePS Plus free games for May 2022to be revealed, with no real expectations as to quality.
RELATED:PS Plus Premium Release Date Revealed
PS Plus Free Games for May 2022 – A Month With a Long History
It should be noted that, on their own, these games are not “bad” games. They just didn’t mesh well with how a subscription service likePS Plusoperates. May tends to be a lackluster month, often because the games offered have such a limited appeal. If at least one of the games offered doesn’t strike a certain chord with fans, it’s an uphill battle when it comes to public opinion.
PS Plus Free Games for May – Controversial and Falling Short
Hands down, one of the worst and most controversial months in thehistory of PS Pluswas May 2020. It’s not necessarily Sony’s fault, to be fair, but prior to the reveal for May 2020, a huge rumor circulated online that the games would beDying LightandDark Souls Remastered. This lit a fire under many fans and the hype was palpable, but it was nowhere near close to true. Instead, Sony revealedCities: SkylinesandFarming Simulator 19to be the free games of the month. Both are fine simulators, but simulators are somewhat niche in the current gaming atmosphere.
Neither of these had the broad appeal that, perhaps,Dying LightandDark Soulswould have had. Many were incredibly unhappy as a result. This even resulted in a petition, signed by thousands, to haveSony change the PS Plus free games for May 2020. Needless to say, this month went straight to the bottom.
Come May 2021, the general appeal of the PS Plus titles was better. It featuredWreckfest, Battlefield 5,andStranded Deep, with the latter seeing a particular resurgence in popularity around the time too. However, it should be noted that 2021 was a special year for PS Plus. The PS5, as everyone knows, released in November 2020, and PS Plus had done its best to really support this release at the end of 2020/start of 2021. There were several great games released in this period. So, in comparing this month to other offerings throughout the year (Control, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Remnant,Star Wars: Squadrons, A Plague Tale, and many, many more), May 2021 still fell flat.
By and large, May tends to fall toward the latter half of PS Plus’ offerings—at the very least. Why this happens is anyone’s guess, but it could have something to do with the general timing or release patterns. Either way, combine this with theodd back and forth PS Plus free games for 2022 have had thus far, and it’s perhaps best to dial back expectations for the coming month.
