The TT Wishlist: PlayStation Plus monthly lineup for September

By Kes Eylers-Stephenson,

PlayStation Plus games are fun to try and predict, aren't they? You just sit back, stare at the ceiling, let your editor and co-workers stare at you while you spout seemingly random game names as you spin in circles on your wheelie chair. Well, now I have to write these prophecies and wishes in digital stone because I have been informed I am not paid to spin in chairs without typing about it.

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So, here is one PS5 game and two PS4 games that could be part of the PlayStation monthly service for September. These are half-educated guesses and half fantasy, things that we could see happen and want to happen at the same time. Naturally, we would ask that you leave your own guess below and we will try and incorporate it in future! So, here we go!

Saints Row: The Third Remastered [PS4 & PS5]

Saints Row: The Third seems like a reasonable shout because there seems to be a Saints Row announcement coming on Opening Night Live for Gamescom 2021. To get the series back in the minds and hands of PlayStation gamers ahead of release, giving this little bad boy out would be a good shout. The issue we run into is that we have F.I.S.T (see below) and Saints Row: The Third Remastered, which both have native PS5 editions. I would say that this is more likely to be given as the free PS5 game, as it has been out for a while and is a remaster. So, while I think that Saints Row is an inevitability on PS+ before release, it could be part of a lineup in any of the coming months.

Also, the game is super fun and I wouldn't mind heading back to Stockport City on PS5.

F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch [PS4 & PS5]

F.I.S.T: Forged in Shadow Torch was the easiest first pick we could have plucked out. The game releases on the PS4 and PS5 on September 7th, is of middling production size, and makes use of the PS5 functionality like haptics and adaptive triggers. That makes the Metroidvania platformer a good shout for a PlayStation Plus release, particularly as the release date and the normal monthly game drop are suspiciously on the same day. The only potential confusion here is which edition we might end up getting. A PS4 only release in the vein of PS+ upgrade-less Greedfall or Final Fantasy VII Remake might be irritating, but it would allow the developers to still earn money from a potential PS+ upgrade path.

On the other side of the coin, this game looks really cool! It features a humanoid rabbit with a mechanical fist, for crying out loud, which can be used in combat and upgraded. We are hoping that the game has one of those 2D environments that blissfully opens out as you become more powerful, making you excited to go back to areas previously uncompleted. Regardless of whether this ends up reaching the service, keep your eyes on this robo-bunny!

Streets of Rage 4 [PS4]

Ahead of the winter months, a nice little co-op brawler would be fun, wouldn't it? Where better to start than with a great return to a classic series with Streets of Rage 4. Publisher SEGA has actually put Streets of Rage 2 on the service previously, so it seems that the company is not unwilling to work with Sony. In addition, the game has spent several months already on the market and is surely not picking up any tail-end full-retail sales at this point. If a rerelease or expansion is inbound, then I cannot see why SEGA wouldn't want to just stick it in players' hands for a flat PS+ fee.

However, I also think my guesswork has some holes in it. Sony is very good at keeping the genres and style of the lineups for PS+ mixed. Even in a down month like August, there was a sports game, a cartoony shooter, and a fighting/MOBA-style battle royale game. If this theoretical lineup were to run, there would be two 2D games and I think Sony would shy away from that.

Well, what do you think of the TT wishlist lineup for PS+ for September? Do you like our choices? What would you choose? Let us know in the comments and we will see you there!

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Written by Kes Eylers-Stephenson

Editor Kes is our resident expert in PlayStation and other gaming news. He writes about PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Horizon, PS Plus news, and his favorite games — The Witcher, Assassin’s Creed, and God of War — before an evening swim.