PlayStation Now, if you haven’t heard, is a cloud gaming subscription service developed by Sony. It is available in 1, 3, and 12-month packages starting at £8.99 for 1 month and going up to £49.99 for 12. It enables you to stream or download over 700 different PlayStation games to your PS4 console or PC. Although not all of the games on the service are available for you to download. Today we will be taking a look at how it has fared over the years and what improvements have been made since it was first released back in 2015.
I’ve recently subscribed to PlayStation Now again after I gave the 7-day free trial a go a couple of years ago. The first thing I noticed was that the main menu has had a bit of an overhaul. The games are still sorted into their genre-based rows for you to scroll through. But, they have now also been sorted into folders, making life a little bit easier. No longer will I have to randomly start selecting games to see which ones I’m actually able to download. Now there’s a folder for them, whoop, whoop!! Not only is there a folder just for that, but there are also folders for PS2, PS3, and PS4 games. As well as for PlayStation hits such as God of War, Uncharted, and many more.
PlayStation Now’s Triple-A Timetable
There is also the addition of some AAA games every month roughly around the same time as the monthly PS Plus games are available to download, although these games are only around for a certain period of time before they vanish forever. Previous additions have included God of War (2018), Control, and Spider-Man. And I’m personally excited about one of this month’s 3 latest games to join the service, along with Dishonored 2 and NASCAR Heat 4…Metro Exodus is joining the gang, which is a game I’ve been eager to play since its release.
Now for its downfalls. Seriously Sony, is it really too much to ask to be able to search for a game by its title?! Not its genre, not its PEGI rating, not by what it had for its bloody dinner last night…ITS GODDAMN TITLE!! You’ve had 5 years to fix it, surely with today’s technology it can’t be that difficult. Sort yourself out. And also, for myself anyway, even with its 700+ library, its lack of games I’m able to download to my console is a tad disappointing.
PlayStation Now Requires a Lot of Speed
Fallout 3/New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption, the BioShock series, and Dead Space are some of my favorite games, yet I’m unable to download them. Which brings me to my final point. Unless you have the same broadband provider as the FBI agents currently spying on you, then I’m sorry to say it, but you’re in for a rough ride if you’re planning on playing any of the games you’re only able to stream.
Through wireless connection, unless you have half-decent internet, you’ll be lucky to make it past the tutorial of a game. The connection has a tendency to up and walk out on you (like my dad when he disappeared like a fart in the wind when I was 7). You’ll be booted back to the home screen before you know it. Even when linked up via ethernet cable, it’s still mediocre at best, making it pretty tedious to deal with.
It’s safe to say that I have enjoyed the games I’ve been able to play and will probably continue to use PlayStation Now. However, what it makes up for in-game additions and some slight UI changes, it more than lacks in everything else. So, I’m sorry, Sony, but it looks like you still have some work to do.
If you’re interested in what PlayStation Now was like back in 2016, then you can check out our story on it. Do you think the service is worth the price these days? Let us know in the comments below.