Last week, gamers celebrated the first anniversary of the PlayStation 5 — the game-changing next-generation console that’s been outpacing PS4 sales up until very recently, and is expected to remain near-impossible to find on store shelves for at least another year. With major exclusives like Returnal and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, exciting first-party titles on the way such as Horizon Forbidden West, and stellar PlayStation Plus games from Oddworld: Soulstorm and Hell Let Loose, it’s been a hell of a year.

As the holiday season edges closer and closer, people are making plans for Christmas gift shopping, booking much-needed time off work, and preparing to pick up a controller, put on a headset, and dig into some great games. The Holiday season is one of the best months of the year for Sony to bring the goods on PS Plus, as new players open their brand new consoles and sign up for the subscription service.

Marvel’s Avengers

In a couple of weeks time, Marvel’s Avengers is due to receive its next major content update following the release of the War for Wakanda expansion in August, which will introduce a number of very exciting changes; from new ways to earn cosmetics in-game to a total rework of the gear upgrade system. On top of system updates, PlayStation owners are in for the biggest treat with Spider-Man releasing exclusively for Sony platforms as the next playable character in a new hero event called “With Great Power.”

Considering that Marvel’s Avengers was added to Xbox Game Pass not too long ago, and that December is the release month of Spider-Man: No Way Home with the end to the Tom Holland trilogy, what a perfect time to build hype and release on PlayStation Plus. Crystal Dynamics has put in a lot of work to make Marvel’s Avengers a better experience that what players got at launch, and this latest update looks like its going to be in the best shape that its ever been.

Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.

Solar Ash

From indie developer Heart Machine, best known for the beloved 2016 2D action-role playing game Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash is an upcoming adventure platforming game with a strong focus on movement over combat. Players will control Rei, a voidrunner on a quest to save her planet, and will “journey through a surreal, vivid and highly stylized world filled with mystery.” Players will engage in massive enemy accounters, master traversal, and meet a range of exciting and endearing characters.

Last month, Solar Ash became the latest game to fall victim to being delayed, but luckily it wasn’t pushed to far away and is going to be released at the beginning of next month. Like Oddworld: Soulstorm and Destructions AllStars, Solar Ash feels like a strong choice where Sony could learn from the mistake of The Pathless and give the game a push with PS Plus, in a time where players are looking for new games, or opening their new console for the very first time.

Solar Ash will release on PC, PS5, and PS4 on December 2, 2021.

Spiritfarer

One of 2021’s biggest surprise hits was Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a PlayStation exclusive action-adventure from animation studio-turned video game developer Ember Lab, that follows a young girl on a quest to help lost spirits move on from the physical world. While the gameplay couldn’t be more different from Kena: Bridge of Spirits, last year Canadian developer Thunder Lotus Games released the adorable Spiritfarer, an indie management simulation game with a similar premise about a girl helping the deceased accept their fate and move on to the afterlife.

Since the release of Spiritfarer in August 2020, Thunder Lotus Games has released two substantial free updates called the Lily Update and the Beverly Update. Each major update has introduced brand new spirits and story content that’s additive to the main games, as well as general quality of life improvements such as better visibility at night and a new room to store collectibles. Right now, there’s still more content on the way in Fall 2021 with the Jackie and Daria Update, the final free DLC update which will add another two spirits, a new island, new boat buildings and resources, and a brand new event.

Spiritfarer is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Don’t Forget To Pick Up The November Monthly Games

Next month’s PlayStation Plus lineup of free games is likely to be announced in the final week of November and made available to active subscribers starting from Tuesday, December 7. For subscribers that haven’t picked up any of the free games for the month of November, there’s plenty of time left to download Knockout City and First Class Trouble on PS5 and PS5, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning on PS4, as well as The Persistence, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, and Until You Fall on PSVR in celebration of the platforms fifth anniversary.

PlayStation Plus members receive a selection of free games on the first Tuesday of every month.