I’m a sucker for fantasy. If a game allows it, I’ll create an elf mage because magic is awesome. This month I can do just that as Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is entering the Instant Game Collection. With a tale crafted by NY Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, stunning visuals from Todd McFarlane, and a customizable combat system, Reckoning has a lot to offer RPG fans. The mix-and-match combat means I can get my magic fix while also smashing things in the face with a hammer, or stabbing them with a sword and other various pointy weapons, which is pretty cool if you ask me.
You may remember that last month we added Team Ico’s original cult classic ICO to the IGC, so their equally beloved sequel Shadow of the Colossus seemed like a natural follow-up. Slaying the majestic Colossi should make you feel something (read: incredibly guilty), but hey, you gotta save your #1 girl, right? In a completely different vein, Plus members will also receive Poker Night 2, which is an amusing twist on the classic card game. With GLaDOS as the dealer and opponents like Claptrap from Borderlands and Ash from Army of Darkness you can sit back, have a laugh and bet all your fake money away.
PS Vita owners are in for a couple treats – both the gorgeous shmup Sine Mora and the critically acclaimed top-down shooter Hotline Miami are joining the Instant Game Collection later this month. Sine Mora boasts stunning backdrops and cinematics as well as a slightly different shoot-em-up mechanic – you are in a constant race against the clock and the only way to get more time is to kill enemies. Hotline Miami embraces hardcore twitch-based play, which means you may need to repeat levels multiple times, but once you get through it it’s incredibly satisfying. Since Hotline Miami is a Cross-Buy title, you’ll be able to download it for both PS Vita and PS3.
These games will hit the Instant Game Collection at various times throughout the month, so check back with us every Monday morning for that week’s update.
October PlayStation Plus Preview
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $19.99
Immerse yourself in an all-new massive universe from the minds of bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, world-renowned artist Todd McFarlane, and legendary game designer Ken Rolston. Choose your path and battle through a sprawling master-crafted world featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever.
Shadow of the Colossus (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $19.99
Experience a majestic journey through ancient lands, on a quest to bring a girl back to life. The only way to save her is to slay sixteen Colossi. Explore expansive landscapes and seek out each gigantic beast in its own natural habitat. Armed with only a sword, a bow, each Colossus presents a unique challenge to test your wits, determination, and skill.
Poker Night 2 (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $9.99
The chips are down and the ante is up in this sentence already bursting with poker clichés! Take the fifth seat in Poker Night 2, at a table featuring Claptrap (Borderlands 2), Brock Samson (The Venture Bros.), Ash (Army of Darkness) and Sam (Sam and Max series). Your dealer is GLaDOS (Portal), but at no point will you be considered as a candidate for a visit to Aperture Science’s Enrichment Center. Unless you lose.
Hotline Miami (PS Vita/PS3, Cross-Buy)
Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $9.99
Hotline Miami is a high-octane action game overflowing with raw brutality, hard-boiled gunplay and skull crushing close combat. Set in an alternative 1989 Miami, you will assume the role of a mysterious antihero on a murderous rampage against the shady underworld at the behest of voices on your answering machine.
Sine Mora (PS Vita)
Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $9.99
SINE MORA is a horizontal shoot’em up that provides a unique take on challenge, where time is the ultimate factor. Mixing classic shooter sensibilities with contemporary presentation, SINE MORA is a gorgeous shmup that offers a Story Mode that weaves an over-the-top tale and an Arcade Mode that provides deep, satisfying gameplay to challenge fans of the genre. With many ways to manipulate time, SINE MORA features over 60 weapon combinations to complete each beautiful stage that form fits to the player’s skills with scaling difficulty.
If you’ve got feedback on PlayStation Plus make sure you take the poll above as well as leave a comment below. To chat about all things PlayStation, including this update, you can head over to the PlayStation Community Forums. You’ll also find other topics you can contribute your thoughts to, or you can start your own discussion.
I AM SO FRICKING DONE WITH YOU GUYS, all these comments saying nice and sweet are FAKE no person in the right mind would want these games. I wasted $18 for this garbage
You wasted $18 anyway if your purchase was based solely on the IGC. I get way more than $50 worth of content for my $50/yr. Content I actually use. Opportunities to download games I never would have taken a chance on for cheap/free. Plus has introduced me to so many little games I can play in between AAA titles I usually have to pay for. I say “usually” because of Uncharted 3. Bought Uncharted 1 & 2, loved both. Was going to buy U3 at some point anyway, but now I don’t have to.
Okay, so some months aren’t that great. Others are. Geez, some of you guys need to take your meds.
Well, I’m a little disappointed, because I already own Amalur, but that’s definitely nothing that I can hold against Sony. I have my fingers crossed for a DLC discount though. I put over 100 hours into the game on the 360, and it’s definitely worthy of being praised as a free game.
I also had Poker Night 2, and so I’m happy to see that one come free here, as I wasn’t going to spend the money on it again…but now that I’ll be able to get some unlocks for the PS3, I’m more than happy.
Shadow of the Colossus will get a look from me; it’s nice to see another full-version PS3 game this month, though since I thought ICO was one of the most overrated games in PS2 history, I’m definitely not holding my breath for anything interesting. (Though again, this is definitely a “my preferences” situation, and not a slap at Sony.)
Hotline Miami is one that I’ve wanted to try for awhile, as it seems very unique. I’m not sure that it’s a game for me, but I’ll be intrigued enough to give it a try.
Either way, this is definitely a nice bump up from the past couple of months that were rather underwhelming (particularly in comparison to the EU releases).
Still, I hope that we rate a Far Cry 3 freebie at some point too.
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this month of games…! Also, many of us still have PSPs and really love getting those compatible games (none this month, but a few over the last couple months), Thanks!
A couple pages ago some guy said you’re “getting the games for free” and I’d like to point out that’s not actually true. PS+ requires monthly payments and you’re essentially “renting” them. Once PS+ sub exires so does your access to the game/s.
The games aren’t free nor are they yours to keep. Spreading misinformation won’t help things.
Also paying customers are entitled to their opinion on the service whether you couple of reposters like it or not. Fighting everyone that disgees with you does nothing to help your argument.
Great updates this month! I’ve been wanting to try Hotline Miami and Kingdoms, but now I’m glad I waited.
I understand that all these violent games are very popular, but isn’t there a good audience for softer, funny games anymore? I’m probably an exception, but I guess that at least one game out of five could be a sports game or something like disney or rayman type per month. Hope at least good discounts come along the way.
Very Bad month for PS Vita !!!!!!!!!!! i hate this
@405
Not disagreeing with what you said, but I would say the ps plus subscription is pretty much free for me. If I bought every game from the psn store that was given to me from the igc than it would cost me 1000 dollars. I’ve been keeping track of how much each game costs. So crazy to think about that when I only payed 40 dollars for a year. I don’t really mind the fact that I’m “renting” the games because I’ve already played the games I wanted to play before the subscription runs out. Everybody knows it is not technically free, but if somebody wants to say it’s free you shouldn’t have a problem with that. Free … not free… I still think it’s awesome value.
Having said that, Kingdoms of Amutar is the only game that I’m excited for this month. Not too interested in Poker or the Vita games. Maybe they will surprise me.
in my opinio these games are good but my only complain is that european PSN gets better games than us or you compare FarCry 3 vs Reckoning.
This service is not a very good deal for Vita owners….. Already used 5 months of my 12-month subscription, what I got so far is 1 AAA title Virtues last reward, the rest are indie/psp (rayman origins is BS since it’s 80% off sale 2 weeks before they put in IGC). While EU ps plus alone gets 2 AAA titles almost every month, this Oct it’s another 2 x AAA titles again, SxT and Touch my Katamari.
Definitely not gonna subscribe again. Just awfully waiting for my 7-month subscription left.
Great Month, the only one I already own is Sine Mora from a Plus discount a while ago and it is a GREAT game.
Just curious, will Shadow of the Colossus be the rereleased HD version or the original?
Ohhh great collection again! Thank you Sony! Becoming a Plus member was definetly the best choice I made this year!!
KOA is a massive offering for ps plus. It’s a really good game and I’ve played over 85 hours and still haven’t beaten it. Great ps plus offerings this month. Thanks ps plus!
Kingdoms – very surprising!!!!
However the PS Vita games are bad!!!
Rayman Origins and GTA were way better than the Atari game Miami whatever….
and same thing about this another Atari game, Sine Mora
it could be better to have PSP games such as Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, God Of War rather than these two
Very nice line-up, but I wish it could have a neater schedule in the US. Some of these games don’t arrive until the middle of the month and we don’t have a clue when exactly. In Europe they all come and go on the 25th of September.
@BeyondTheDepth I agree with you there. I think it would be better if we get the games right away in the beginning of the month than waiting every week just for that game. It was a pain for me to wait 2 weeks just to play Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories again and I’m pretty sure it will be the same with Poker Night 2 just for me to unlock the Borderlands 2 stuff.
@MiahHMan When you renew it, then the games will be yours again until your next subscription expires and so on. Unfortunately, hazelcabug is too much of a moron to find that out with Rayman Origins. I pity him.
@hazelcabug Says the person who is married by his mother that pays his games for him. Have fun never playing online on the PS4 if you don’t subscribe again.
I have to say this is the best line-up of this year so far!
@Lefoul-123
It’s increible how anyone that writes anything nice is an employee of sony, a fanboy, or/and some other stupid comment. Don’t be such a baby about what you get. It’s 50 a month for free games. I love Plus, period. I get my money’s worth. I buy all the games I want and receive games from Plus I never thought of playing. It’s a win, win.
Mann i am really excited for shadow of the colossus
VERY good month for both US and UK PS+! keep it up sony!
Sweet! Poker Night 2 & Hotline Miami have been on my “to purchase” list for some time now. Sine Mora & Shadow of the Colossus I’ve heard great things about, but have never played. Never heard of Kingdoms of Amalur, unfortunately…but It looks great & I can’t wait to try all these titles! Looks like an awesome month!
Wow. No Need for Speed, no Assasins Creed 3 and no Far Cry 3 for us but for EU. Good work sony! Keep up the garbage updates lol
Europe got Kingdoms of Amalur long ago and Shadow of the collossus came with ICO…
This month again you let me know you don’t care about me.
And PS Plus Europe loves me :D
I thank you by not continue my US subscription! :D
Like I always say on the Gamefaqs PS4 board, PS Plus is the killer app for PS4 at launch. Can’t wait for Amalur and Holtline Miami.
THANK YOU PLAYSTATION TEAM!!
I have to admit that the IGC isn’t as good as it could be, but it’s definitely worth it. Even if you buy plus for the 3 months, it’s only $6 month. If you like even one of the games each month you’re getting your money’s worth. Especially if you actually buy games. We’re getting tons of discounts every month and 5 games to rent for only $6 month. If you don’t get $6 a month value, that’s your problem.
So glad Fatal Frame III is coming, I could only get a hold of a physical copy of the second game, so I played the first one as a PS2 Classic and was hoping the third game would be released digitally as well.
The only one I own is KoA and I was thinking of buying Sine Mora and Hotline Miami so good month for me.
Another less than stellar month. Same issue with Shadow of the Colossus as with Ico (already own the disc version). If it was a cross-play with Vita, you might have something. Reckoning is a game I’ve never heard of before, though I suppose I shouldn’t write it off, and I already own the others on PC, but it will be nice to play Hotline Miami and Sine Mora on the go. I’ve been meaning to buy Hotline Miami since it’s PSN release, so I guess I can’t say this is a total bust, but sometimes, I feel like you guys could do better. I always come away from these announcements hoping for a couple good sales.
I finally get to play Shadow of the Colossus. I was actually gonna buy it this weekend, now I get to play it for free.
BOOM!!
Meh… another bad month. See no reason to subscribe again. EU is 100x better than this. Also, insulting to have a massive sale on SOTC and then give it away as part of the IGC a few weeks later. For all you Sony fan boys… you do realize once your sub ends these so called free games can’t be played anymore… seems everybody keeps calling them free. You rent them and pay for them every month… they’re not free.
Seriously the best deal ever. No regrets being a Plus member !
Yikes, Europe is still whipping us!
In June they gave their subscribers Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Shadow of the Colossus AND ICO, along with Demon’s Souls.
Why did we split up ICO and SotC when Europe got both at the same time? It just looks like we’re trying to pad the months.
Also tired of seeing all the “this month is wonderful” comments at the beginning of the blog, just looks like Sony employees are spamming the blog post as soon as it goes live to drown out the unhappy subscribers.
Not sure if I will continue my subscription next year, Europe is just beating the snot out of you guys and you seem content with it.
Oh…I was expecting some better games….but whatever…the only game I have there is Shadow…and I was wanting to try Sine Mora..actually I was about to download the demo but now I’ll just wait…well thanks for the update…overall its a really good update since there are 4 games that I dont have and that I never tried.
A retro overhead shooter, a retro side scrolling shooter, a poker game, the other half of a bundle NA PS+ split in half so they wouldn’t have to work on acquiring another games while EU got it all at once and an RPG I’ve never heard of until today.
I’m going to let my subscription lapse. No point in paying for something when I get only a few games a year I want to play. Might as well just spend my money on something decent rather than paying a premium for games I play 15 minutes before I delete them from my hard drive after 15 minutes of playing it.
A lot of people are happy for Kingdom of Amalur. I own the game too, it is great.
Why did they gone bankrupt in the first place?
And will the developers be happy that most people are glad to be getting the game for free? would they be sad seeing a lot of potential customers for the sequel that never coming? Will that fact make them bound back together?
In any case, please do enjoy KoA and lets hope somehow they can make a sequel out of it.
Great gaming month
I’ve already played Kingdom of Amalur on the PC version but I’ll try it again.
Can’t wait to play Shadow of the Colossus!
Sick update
This is my First year as a PSN Plus subscriber and i love it gonna pay a 2nd,3rd year as they keep coming
Awesome games good work guys
Thank you very much!! Fortunately I already own Shadow, Sine Mora and Hotline…they were too awesome not to snag at first sight. I highly recommend those 3!
And when are we even going to get these games
Looking forward to this months lineup. But i have a question. Can’t sony update the store and put an ICG collection section in it to show all the games i have available for download through ICG? Searching through the download list for a game i previously “purchased” is a P.I.T.A. It would be nice to see them all grouped together.
Woah! not bad Kingoms and Shadow :) The guys over at sony really are giving us a treat this month
PLEASE KRISTINE, ANYONE, DO DOMETHING ABOUT THIS CRAPPY LISTS. It can’t be that Europe has such an awesome lineup EVERY month and we don’t. Okay, so I kinda liked last month cuz I was thinking on buying all of the games. But come on, for example you could have added Shadow of the Colossus as the HD Collection like Europe did MONTHS AGO. You just CAN’T compare a month with Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Mafia 2 and Spec Ops: The Line with a lame Pinball, a weird game about running and Hitman, a game that they had months ago too. This month they are having Far Cry 3 and Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen while we have a follow-up that could have been made available last month, an RPG that doesn’t compare to Dragon’s Dogma, and a boring CARDS GAME! I paid 50$ for a year, and now I’m already considering buying 50€. What is wrong with you US PSPlus?
I really hope for all the lil baby whiners with their dirty diapers to let their subscription end like they say and never subscribe to Plus again…this way the ignorant comments will end on Plus posts.
ok hen i went to go and download kingdoms of amalur it says its only a full game trial? i mean really!? only a game trial? wow, that sucks, wish it was the full game! now i have nothing to look forward to!
Good line up. Waiting for LOTR War in the North
this is awesome game!!! UU===D