PS Plus Premium is adding more retro games in September, but the Extra lineup is so much better

The next batch of classics and Game Catalog titles will show up on September 20

After neglecting retro game fans in August, Sony has several PS1, PS3, and PSP classics lined up for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers in September, as well as more games joining the PS Plus Extra tier’s Game Catalog. It’s not the splashy lineup I hoped to see.

Here are the PlayStation Plus Premium classics coming on September 20:

• Syphon Filter 2 (PS1)
• The Sly Collection (PS3)
• Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3)
• Bentley’s Hackpack (PS3)
• Toy Story 3 (PSP)
• Kingdom of Paradise (PSP)

And here are the Extra/Premium Game Catalog additions, also arriving on September 20:

• Deathloop (PS5)
• Assassin’s Creed Origins (PS4)
• Watch Dogs 2 (PS4)
• Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (PS4)
• Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition (PS4)
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale (PS4)
• Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5 (PS4, PS5)
• Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX (PS4, PS5)
• Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show (PS4)
• Rayman Legends (PS4)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition (PS4)

If you’re a PS Plus Essential subscriber, Sony also confirmed the monthly games, following a leak — they’ll be claimable from September 6 through October 3:

• Need for Speed Heat (PS4)
• Granblue Fantasy: Versus (PS4)
• Toem (PS5)

For summaries of every game, the PlayStation Blog has you covered.

As I’ve said before, if you’ve got the money and interest, Essential is where it’s at right now. The main limiting factor is time (and maybe storage or bandwidth caps).

Some of us were willing to take a chance on upgrading to PlayStation Plus Premium for this first year, but if Sony wants to keep people hooked long-term, it’ll have to do better. A lot better. The fact that there’s a treasure trove of potential classics to pull from makes it all the more painful to see stuff like Toy Story 3 for PSP instead of, say, Dino Crisis.

It is nice to see Sly Cooper return in any capacity, but you’re out of luck if you can’t (or won’t) do streaming, which remains the only way to play these PS Plus PS3 games.

On a happier note, I’m stoked to dig into Chicory, Toem, and Alex Kidd. I think September is a pretty good one for the Essential and Extra tiers. More fuel for the backlog. It’s a shame that the classics side of the equation isn’t — or at least doesn’t feel like — a priority.