PS Now for something completely different
Leading this month’s PlayStation Now additions were Hitman 2 and Dead
Cells (both available until 1 February) and the RPG Greedfall. They were joined by The Sinking City, Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr, and more.
It was the indie addition Dead Cells that caught my attention this time. It’s a punishing roguelike action platformer that really puts your skills to the test, every death feeling like your own fault, constantly pushing you for one more go.
In many ways roguelikes are perfect for a subscription pass service as they’re geared around bitesized chunks of action that you can dip in and out of and still get a lot of fun from even if you never manage to complete a full run from the beginning of the game to the final boss.
It’s something of a surprise, then, that the only other big-hitter roguelike on the service is Spelunky, though it’s also one of the best in the genre (alongside Dead Cells). Slowerpaced, it’s about making your way through tombs and ruins as an explorer, mixing collecting resources with survival to try to make it through some of the toughest endgame areas we’ve ever seen in a videogame. Truth be told, it had been at least a year or two since I booted it up, but within minutes I was fully immersed in going for another few runs.
That’s what’s great about PS Now: not just being able to play a full game from start to finish, but having the ability to hop back into something you already love and re-experience the fun, whether that’s having a few goes on a roguelike, cutting down some extreme bosses in Metal Gear Rising, or going a round or two in Ultra Street Fighter IV.
That’s what choice can be bring.