PlayStation Plus Essential Games for April 2026 Announced

April 2026’s PlayStation Plus Essential lineup offers subscribers a varied selection of gaming experiences, featuring a Soulslike, a remastered collection of classic action games, and an online co-op action title. These titles, released a few years prior, all share a similar average review score.

Game Lineup & Availability

The games will be available to PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers from April 7th to May 4th, providing a month-long opportunity to explore these different genres.

Soulslike Challenge

The first game is a hardcore Soulslike title that originally debuted in 2023. It received a mix of reviews, ultimately achieving an average score of. Players will navigate a dangerous world, engaging in deliberate combat and collecting currency for upgrades, hallmarks of the Soulslike genre.

This game features a unique mechanic involving a special lamp that allows players to shift between the regular world and the Umbral realm, offering a second chance upon death. While innovative, this dimension-hopping mechanic can sometimes feel cumbersome. Despite initial criticisms regarding difficulty and enemy placement, the game has received substantial post-launch support.

Updates have included adjustments to enemy behavior, cross-platform play, improved sound effects, new spells and quests, gameplay modifiers, enhanced controls, and a new user interface. These improvements aim to refine the experience, though some challenges remain.

Classic Action Returns

Next, subscribers will receive a remastered collection featuring the first three installments of a beloved classic action series. Released to decent reviews, with an average score of, this compilation boasts visuals reminiscent of the PS1 era, enhanced with modern improvements like improved textures, lighting, and character models.

Players can toggle between the remastered visuals and the original graphics for comparison. While the collection retains the original tank controls, a more modern control scheme is also available. However, the controls and camera can still present difficulties. New save features have been added to mitigate some frustration.

Post-launch support has introduced new costumes, visual improvements, a photo mode, and a challenge mode. The challenge mode, however, faced criticism for bugs and low-quality costumes, which have been partially addressed in subsequent updates. Trophy hunters should note discrepancies between the PS5 and PS4 versions, with the PS5 version lacking Platinum trophies.

Online Action & Loot

Rounding out the selection is an online action game based on a popular light novel series. The game received mixed reviews upon release, earning an average score of. This multiplayer title caters to a niche audience with its distinct anime aesthetic and focus on loot collection.