PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium add Watch Dogs and The Witcher in August

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Watch Dogs 2 headline the August update to the PlayStation Plus catalog available to Extra level subscribers. Elsewhere, the full run of Free Radical’s fan favorite TimeSplitters series for PlayStation 2 is available to Premium members.

These games, plus more, will be available to play beginning Aug. 20.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launched in 2015 and CD Projekt Red’s deep role-playing game hangs onto its replay value nearly a decade later. The PlayStation 5 version of the game launched in 2022 and introduced even more detailed visuals and higher-performance rendering, including real-time ray tracing. The PlayStation 4 version is also available to subscribers.

Watch Dogs 2 reviewed the most favorably of the three games in Ubisoft’s stealth/hacker adventure series. The story is set in San Francisco, where the menacing ctOS surveillance platform has been adopted and criminals are exploiting it to manipulate an unwitting population. A classic Ubisoft open-world adventure, Watch Dogs 2 promises a few dozen hours of gameplay for the exploration minded, and about 20 for those focused on its mainline quest alone.

Other games coming to PlayStation Plus Extra on Aug. 20 include:

• Wild Hearts (PS5): Hunt ferocious beasts infused with elemental powers in a game from Omega Force, the studio behind the Dynasty Warriors series.
• Cult of the Lamb (PS4, PS5): As a lamb rescued from slaughter, the player must repay their debt by developing a cult of worship for the benefactor who saved them. You can bet there’s a twist ending to this indie roguelite launched by Massive Monster in 2022.
• Ride 5 (PS5): Ride 5 is to MotoGP as Assetto Corsa is to Forza Motorsport or Gran Turismo. Both Ride 5 and Assetto Corsa are made by Milan-based racing game specialist Milestone (and in fact, MotoGP 23 was made by Milestone, too). This is a more open-ended treatment of high-performance motorcycle racing, as opposed to a simulation licensed by a real world racing series. Ride 5 includes 35 tracks and more than 200 motorcycles.

Extra-tier subscribers will also see Sword Art Online: Last Recollection (PS4, PS5), Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris (PS4), Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (PS4), Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization (PS4), and Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker (PS4) in the library beginning Aug. 20

The aforementioned TimeSplitters series spanned 2000 to 2005 and won a huge following for its first-person shooter gameplay and a sci-fi story leavened with as much self-deprecating humor as action. TimeSplitters 2 and TimeSplitters 3 feature local cooperative multiplayer as well as local competitive multiplayer modes. TimeSplitters 2 has more than 200 characters to choose from on your adventures, and TimeSplitters 3 is led by new character Sergeant Cortez, who is quite clearly a parody of VIn Diesel’s Riddick.

The TimeSplitters series is joined by Vacation Simulator for PlayStation VR2, and Sword Art Online: Lost Song (PS4).

PlayStation Plus Extra is a tier above PlayStation Plus Essential, which is the subscription players need for online multiplayer access on PS4 and PS5 (it also comes with 2 to 3 free games each month).

PS Plus Essential costs $9.99 per month; PS Plus Extra is $14.99 per month; and PS Plus Premium is $17.99 a month.

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