On the PlayStation Store, there is a massive Mid-Year Deals sale happening. It is really rather cheeky! There are also the LGBTQ+ picks that PlayStation has curated, our audience has picked out a few just for you! The PlayStation Store is full the brim of great games that will be discounted, the Mid-Year Deals end July 7th.
If you want to get involved in the Mid-Year Deals, the full list for your region is available from our slick and easy-to-navigate sales page. The PlayStation Store and Blog have also got lists, but just know that ours is immeasurably better. There is also the Games Under £20 (or local equivalent currency) going on, so feel free to nab a game from there. Now all you need to do is leave a comment with your game and a little note about why you picked it! Here are just a few...
Tiawyn: I bought Tales of Zestiria. Saw it on the sale article posted yesterday, and I have the PS3 version but not the PS4 version, so I was thinking for only £6, why not?
Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition
Detroit: Become Human supports the following screen and voice languages: English, Polish, Russian.
Heavy Rain supports the following screen languages: Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish.
Heavy Rain supports the following voice languages: English, Polish, Russian.
Digital Deluxe Edition includes:
• Heavy Rain on PS4™.
• Digital art book.
• Digital Deluxe Soundtrack.
• Avatars.
• Cyber Life and Main Character PS4™ dynamic themes.
HOW FAR WILL YOU GO TO BE FREE?
Detroit, 2038. Lifelike androids have replaced the human workforce.
They never tire, never disobey and never say “no”… until something changes.
Some of them have started to behave irrationally, as if they were feeling emotions…
Now you take control of three androids in their quest to discover who they really are.
Tell your own story and confront moral dilemmas and thought-provoking situations in a branching narrative where every choice you make has consequences.
Your actions and decisions shape the fate of the androids – and maybe even the future of the entire city.
From the makers of Heavy Rain and BEYOND: Two Souls, this is a spectacular and epic experience unlike anything you have played before.
Detroit has been given away with PS+ before, so I imagine many of you already have it stowed away in your libraries. However, this bundle also includes Heavy Rain. The bond between PlayStation and David Cage-led Quantic Dream was so strong that many thought that it might end up a Sony first-party studio. One can see why! Both games are branching stories about wildly different things: androids and serial killers... wait, maybe not so different after all. While the writing is occasionally clunky and the interactive systems can be a bit of a farce, don't let that take away from three engaging experiences. The stories can be incredibly powerful, and the narrative choices actually feel like they have an impact. For this low price, I would argue that you are essentially getting three weeks of great TV to binge if you play a little every night. Also, the trophies can be finicky, but ask you to fully explore the story in ways that actually make the games better.
Hotline Miami Collection
The Hotline Miami Collection includes both the first Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.
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.
Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is the brutal conclusion to the Hotline Miami saga, set against a backdrop of escalating violence and retribution over spilled blood in the original game. Follow the paths of several distinct factions – each with their own questionable methods and uncertain motivations – as unforeseen consequences intersect and reality once again slips back into a brilliant haze of neon and bloodshed.
This little bundle include two all-time greats — Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number — for less than you pay for your lunch. Speaking of lunch, a lot of bodyguards won't ever be able to consume theirs again because I have beaten them to a pulp in a nightclub. You see, that's what you do in these beautifully designed top-down shooters. You get given a room full of baddies and you have to navigate them, but it's mind-meltingly hard. It is in equal parts strategy and combat, but sometimes it turns into an action-rhythm game because you can't help but mush buttons to the sound of one of the sickest soundtracks ever. If you own a Vita, that is where the games are most at home. If you don't, buy it anyway — developer Dennaton Games deserve your money. Now, excuse me while I do some violence.
One for our UK lot, although keep an eye out for sales across the globe. Just to fess up, I haven't played either the first or second game, but I really want to! Level-5 and Studio Ghibli combined forces for the first high-fantasy RPG, while this sequel was just Level-5. It was reviewed slightly weaker than its predecessor, but in many ways that makes it more enticing because it provides a good foundation to go backwards. I know that this game has kingdom-building alongside the Pokémon-style combat featured in the previous game. This seems like a good price to pick up the game for a bit of a taster, but if any of you want to talk to me about it, get in the comments!
Community LGBTQ+ Picks
Over in the LGBTQ+ selection, a few of our community picked out some of their favourite games that represent the community. Don't forget there is a free theme celebrating Pride 2021, all of the details needed to grab it are in the article linked above!
KGI_KlikoNL: The Ballad of Gay Tony (GTA 4 DLC). He is back in
GTA Online! P.S. The theme in the picture feels better done than the one available in the store.
SilentJay76_: Most of the games seem pretty random to me. But of the ones that I've played and which would fit the subject, I'd have to pick
Life is Strange: Before the Storm, which I actually enjoyed more than the first game. (Although I'm probably in the minority).
Prem-aka-Prince: My recommendation, apart from the ones mentioned, would be
Gone Home. It dates back 8 years to 2013 so predates all of these I believe, apart from of course the early Mass Effects. It also explores the wider issues faced by the characters and doesn't hang on the point like a gimmick. It's a narrative adventure first and foremost, but features complex and interesting characters without prejudice or preference. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre and is interested in these themes.
So, those are our picks! But, really, I want yours. It doesn't matter if it is long or short, we just want to get you lot involved. Feel free to contribute and I will keep an eye out!