Here's February's PlayStation Plus games line-up
Rime! Knack! More!
Sony has announced its full line-up of PlayStation Plus games for February, with infamous PS4 launch title Knack and gorgeous adventure Rime leading the charge.
Knack, as the official PlayStation Blog would have it, is "a fan-favourite of early PlayStation 4 adopters". Eurogamer's ex-editor-in-chief Tom Bramwell had a different perspective on the first-party action platformer however, bluntly stating that "Knack isn't the kind of game you'll want to take home with your PlayStation 4" in his 2013 review.
Despite its evidently divisive merits though, Knack is apparently a game that fans have been eagerly trying to get on PlayStation Plus (possibly ironically) for quite some time now - so well done for listening Sony, at the very least.
PlayStation Plus' second game for February is Tequila Softworks' wonderful adventure Rime. It's a real treat (and probably the game that's lingered longest in my memory from last year), immediately recalling the delicate charms of Ico, Journey, and their ilk.
In fact, it might be a little too familiar at first, and it's easy to dismiss its rather rote opening segments. It soon finds its own voice though, blossoming into something both beautiful and intricate, gliding from joyful to devastating and all the way back again. It's the kind of experience that gains even more on reflection, and Tequila Softworks' total commitment to its premise gives Rime immense texture that lends itself beautifully to repeat play-throughs.
As Christian Donlan put it when he awarded Rime a Recommended review last year, "It has a sense of wonder, of poise and, over time, a true sense of emerging character. And it has something to say. Something that is worth hearing."
Rounding off February's PlayStation Plus offerings are PSVR multiplayer space shooter Starblood Arena (which has rolled over from last month), Spelunker HD and Mugen Souls Z on PS3, Exiles End on Vita, and Grand Kingdom for Vita and PS4. And that, for now, is that.