Sony have recently revealed that subscribers to their PlayStation Now service will be able to download almost all available PS4 games to play offline. Players have been awaiting this feature since the PlayStation Now service was launched in 2015, with Sony finally providing the news that those with intermittent internet signals have been craving. The modern is colliding with the classic, as players will also have the capability to download classic remastered PS2 games for offline use.
More flexibility than ever before
Players shouldn’t throw out their wireless routers in a display of exuberance upon downloading all of their desired games, however. Subscribers to the PlayStation Now service will still be required to access an internet connection every few days to verify that they are indeed subscribers to the service. Yet this news is a step forward for PlayStation gaming.
Bryan Dunn, the Senior Marketing Manager of PlayStation Now, detailed the new features on the official PlayStation blog. Dunn reassured gamers that all of their microtransactions and user-purchased DLCs will be supported in offline modes, ensuring that the offline experience will replicate all but the online multiplayer options of traditional PlayStation gaming.
PlayStation Now is the subscription service from Sony that allows customers to access a vast library of PS4 games to stream at their leisure. Just as physically buying DVDs has been replaced by online streaming services, PlayStation Now is Sony’s attempt to get ahead of the curve as the way people experience gaming inevitably changes. The benefits of this service are that the library is constantly updating and expanding, so there is always something new or something niche available to meet gamers’ individual tastes.
Subscribers to PlayStation Now can also access these games through their PC by obtaining a compatible controller. There is more flexibility than ever before for gamers. Subscription services have been on the rise across all media in recent years, with Forbes reporting that the subscription e-commerce market has grown by over 100% in each of the last five years. More gamers are likely to access their favourite titles via a subscription service. A subscription service like PS Now is perfect for the most passionate of gamers, who tend to complete entire games in a dedicated weekend. The ease with which players can discover new games in an instant and download them immediately will be crucial in encouraging gamers to explore a wider selection of titles.
A great year for PlayStation fans
You’d be forgiven for expecting this kind of novel feature to be a tentative measure at first, perhaps only offering the download feature on a small sample of games. Credit must be given to PlayStation for offering almost all of the games available on PlayStation Now for offline use. Games exclusively available via PlayStation include popular titles such as The Last Of Us and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. These are the type of games that immerse players in their universe, perfect for locking away the outside world one weekend to become lost in a gripping adventure. With the capacity to download for offline use, players now have more freedom than ever before. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception was one of the leading games of 2011, with its plot and narrative drawing clear inspiration from the Tomb Raider series. While Drake’s character will enthral many, he cannot compete with the legendary status of Lara Croft.
The world of Tomb Raider has enjoyed something of a resurgence in 2018. With the popularity of Croft in movies and games, it is no surprise that fans have been treated to a new PlayStation game in 2018 with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Lara Croft will always be one of the most iconic gaming characters. The cinematic incarnation of Lara Croft has been rebooted this year, with Alicia Vikander taking over from Angelina Jolie to star in the movie Tomb Raider. Croft has also inspired games of a different style to the adventures that made her character famous. Tomb Raider 2 – Secret of the Sword is a popular online slot game, with the title borrowing heavily from the iconography of the Tomb Raider world to take players on an adventure with Lara Croft.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the twelfth game to exist in the world of Lara Croft and features classic storylines and action that will please long-time fans. 2018 will be remembered as a year in which huge franchises have made significant additions to their roster, with the last few months of the year packed with releases of sequels to much-loved games. Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Fallout 76 all arrive in the latter months of the year. The numbers at the end of each title are an indication of the longevity of each franchise, although the Fallout game is the 9th instalment in the series rather than the 76th. While these games may not be instantly available for offline download via PlayStation Now, fans will be hoping that they don’t have to wait too long.
However, the diverse and deep catalogue of games currently available on PlayStation Now includes classic games in the aforementioned series that will be useful in brushing up on the narratives and characters before the newest instalments are released. Fallout fans can dive into Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas before Fallout 76, which acts as a narrative prequel to the series, arrives on PS4.
2018 has truly been a bumper year for PlayStation gaming, and there is much more to come. Red Dead Redemption 2 arrives on PS4 in October, with its release feeling long overdue to those who were mesmerized by the 2010 predecessor. Fans of open-world gaming who can’t wait until Red Dead Redemption 2 will find Spider-Man satisfying, with the rich graphics and diverse characters engrossing fans of superhero and action genres alike.
While 2018’s leading games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Spider-Man may not yet be available via PlayStation Now, players can explore some classic PS2 games and download them for offline use. Titles such as Rogue Galaxy, Kinetica and Everybody’s Tennis are a throwback to a different era of gaming, but it is easier than ever to indulge nostalgic feelings with the ability to download these games to play via a PS4 or computer.
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Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin is a freelance writer, living in Derby UK with his wife and his player 3. When time allows he likes nothing more than losing himself in a multi-hour gaming session. He likes most games and will play anything but prefers MMO's, and sandbox RPG's.
