Over the past few months,PS Plushas added a handful of games from now-Microsoft-owned studios. WhileDeathloop’s pre-acquisition exclusivity agreement certainly opened the door for its PS Plus Extra addition, there is no ambiguity regarding its recent additions ofPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire(Obsidian Entertainment) andSkyrim(Bethesda) and its newest addition ofFallout 76. ThePS Plus free games for January 2023includeFallout 76, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, andAxiom Verge 2.
It’s no doubt a good start to the year, with each title being a solid game in its own right. However, it’s hard to ignore that addingStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderis just build up for March 2023, whenJedi: Survivorreleases. Getting to play it as part of PS Plus, whether it’s a repeat playthrough ahead of the sequel or for the first time, is a strong argument for playingJedi: Survivoron PS5. But, that logic can also be applied toFallout 76,if not as directly.
RELATED:Starfield Playtesters Are Reportedly Loving the Game
It’s not unusual to play an original or predecessor before a sequel releases, as that lets players get a good story recap and refresh on finer plot details that may have been forgotten. PlayingA Plague Tale: InnocenceorGod of War (2018) beforeA Plague Tale: RequiemorGod of War Ragnarok’s releases in 2022would be a wise move, for example, and something that may happen withStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Orderbefore its sequel. In lieu of proper sequels, it’s not often a bad idea to revisit a developer’s last game before a new one, just so one can see how much innovation and improvement went into the next game. That’sFallout 76toStarfield.
Bethesda Game Studios' last foray was panned by many fans at launch, with some unhappy aboutFallout 76’s multiplayer approach, lack of content, and specifically lack of NPCs. It made Appalachia feel very empty and not exciting to explore, but the game has grown a lot since then. It could easily be considered an example of a game that redeemed itself in the post-launch window, likeNo Man’s SkyorCyberpunk2077, and this second chance for those still on the fence is a good thing. Ultimately, however, anyone playing it is going to be acutely aware that they are playing a Bethesda game, and that in turn leads to thoughts of Starfield.
PS Plus' Microsoft Games and Preparing for Starfield
Reportedly,Starfieldplaytesters are loving the Sci-Fi RPG, with supposed claims stating that it increases upon the ambitions ofThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutin the best of ways. Fallout 4is the one directly mentioned, so it would seem, but playing either it,Skyrim,orFallout 76would be a good way to see howStarfieldinnovates on the tried-and-true Bethesda formula. The irony here is that, whether one playsFallout 76orSkyrimon PS Plus, that’s preparation for aStarfieldlaunch exclusively on PC or Xbox Series X/S. But comparing the character models, quest design, story innovations, and more are essentially platform-agnostic comparisons. No matter how good a PC or a platform is, it all comes down to the game when seeing how much one has grown from the last one.
Fallout 76is that best point of comparison since it is a 2018 game vs. a 2023 game, as opposed toFallout 4’s 2015 release andSkyrim’s even older 2011 release. On the flip side of the coin, some may be unhappy to check out a BGS game on a PS4/PS5 knowing that the next game won’t be available on said platform. That would be a valuable point of critique too, but as with all ofPS Plus' Microsoft additions of late, it also shows how willing Microsoft is to play ball with Sony.
Despite offering concessions withCall of Dutyand publicly stating onlythree Bethesda games will be exclusive for the foreseeable future(those beingStarfield, Redfall, and an undisclosed third game, likely to beThe Elder Scrolls 6), Microsoft’s acquisitions are under a ton of scrutiny right now. This is where a lot of media attention currently lies and there is certainly room for scrutiny of any major company, but the fact is, Microsoft could put an end to Bethesda and its other games on PS Plus if it wanted to. Skyrim, Pillars of Eternity 2,andFallout 76are all evidence of Microsoft’s willingness to cooperate, and Sony is certainly aware of what it means to put Bethesda games on its services beforeStarfield’s release.
