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One of the best Lego games ever kicks off PS Plus’ 2024 additions

By Tomas Franzese January 10, 2024

The January 2024 lineup of new titles coming to PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra’s Game Catalog was just revealed. It’s a muted month for the service, with the loss of titles like It Takes Two being more noteworthy than the gains. The highest-profile game coming is the Resident Evil 2 remake, which is being added to Xbox Game Pass on January 16. Still, there is one dark horse addition that I’d highly recommend: Lego City Undercover.

Initially released for Wii U in 2013 by TT Fusion and WB Games and remastered for PS4 and other platforms in 2017, Lego City Undercover is a charming open-world game based on the official Lego City playsets. I have fond memories of playing this game on Wii U, as it’s a surprisingly focused yet robust open-world experience, essentially being a kid-friendly take on Grand Theft Auto that puts players in control of a cop instead of a criminal. Although it’s primarily aimed at kids, older players will get a kick out of all the references to TV shows and movies like The Shawshank Redemption.

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If your kid has been hooked on Lego Fortnite and is looking for more games to play, this is a potentially compelling alternative to play with them. If you just want to know what’s coming to the PS Plus Game Catalog on January 16, here’s the full list of titles:

Lego City Undercover
Resident Evil 2
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Just Cause 3
Session: Skate Sim
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong
Surviving the Aftermath
Rally Cross
Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection
Legend of Mana
Secret of Mana

Of course, several titles will also leave the service on January 16. The removal that stings the most is It Takes Two, a fantastic co-op platformer that won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021. This is the full list of games leaving the PS Plus Game Catalog next week:

It Takes Two
Devil May Cry V
Devil May Cry V: Special Edition
SnowRunner
Jett: The Far Shore + Given Time
Omno
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
Mitsurugi Kamui Hiake

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Gaming Staff Writer

As a Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…

Gaming

3 new PS Plus games you should play this weekend (September 6-8)

Draco Malfoy is a seeker in Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions.

We are entering another packed month for PlayStation Plus. Not only are we getting our typical monthly Essential and Extra batches of titles, but those will contain some games coming to the subscription service the day they launch as well. One of those launched earlier this week and it's the first Harry Potter game to be released on consoles since Hogwarts Legacy. On top of that, there are still some great games from August's PS Plus Premium lineup that you should get around to playing. Those are the games to check out if you're looking for something to play this weekend.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions

If you were bummed out by Hogwarts Legacy's lack of a quidditch mode, then you'll want to check out one of this month's PS Plus Essential games. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a full multiplayer game dedicated to the Wizarding World's favorite sport. Quidditch Champions does a surprisingly great job at adapting this fictional sport -- which originated as something to only be read about, not played -- into video game form. It can get surprisingly tense, capturing the energy of some of the Quidditch scenes from the Harry Potter films. Playing a Harry Potter game in 2024 does come with some baggage, but Quidditch Champions is worth it for those who have always found that corner of the Wizarding World enticing. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is available for PS4 and PS5 via PS Plus Essential between now and September 30. It's also available to purchase on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, and it's in development for Nintendo Switch.
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Gaming

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is September’s best PS Plus game

A young wizard rides a broom in Harry Potter Quidditch Champions.

I haven’t engaged with much Harry Potter media in recent years (the abhorent views of the series’ creator has soured me on all things Potter), but I still have fond memories of Quidditch, Harry Potter’s unique broomstick-riding sport. The Quidditch scenes in the movie adaptations were always my favorites, and one of the first games I remember playing consistently on PC was 2003’s Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup. I’m no longer actively seeking out Harry Potter media on my own, but when I saw Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions had launched into PlayStation Plus and was a spiritual successor to Quidditch World Cup, I was curious enough to check it out.

I’m glad I did so because developer Unbroken Studios understands just how entertaining the fictional game can be. Quidditch is a wildly novel sport that finds a magical middle ground between soccer, rugby, and racing. It makes the transition to video game form surprisingly smoothly. As a free PS Plus bonus, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is an enjoyable blast from the past for me.
Grab that snitch
In Quidditch Champions, two teams of six fly around on broomsticks, aiming to throw a ball called a Quaffle into one of their opponent's ring-shaped goals suspended high above the ground. Each goal grants players 10 points, and the team with the most points at the end of seven minutes or the first to reach 100 points wins. That alone is satisfying enough, as flying around on broomsticks and bashing into other players feels intuitive. It can feel like Rocket League at times as I drifted around the pitch in order to be the first to a Quaffle flying through the air.

Gaming

3 new PS Plus games you need to play this weekend (August 23-25)

Yennefer in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

This week, we received our monthly batch of new additions to the PlayStation Plus Premium and Extra game catalog. It's a great group of games that includes a fantastic RPG, underrated gems, Sword Art Online games, and some PS2 TimeSplitters games getting rereleased for the first time. If you're looking for something to play this weekend, that means there are plenty of new games to choose from, but I specifically want to highlight three worthwhile games that just came to the service. They can all maintain your attention for more than just a weekend too.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt Red's crowning achievement needs little introduction. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the best RPGs ever made, thanks to its fantastic world-building, writing, and characters. Geralt of Rivia is now one of gaming's most iconic protagonists, and this RPG also put book characters Ciri and Yennefer in a central role for the first time. It features some of the best sidequests in an RPG too, as most of them are given the same care as the main questline. We're over nine years out from its original release, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still holds up. If you somehow haven't played it yet, you need to this weekend. The PS4 and PS5 versions of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are now part of the PS Plus Extra Game Catalog. It's also available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
Wild Hearts