It's been reported by TheGamer that the PlayStation Store for the PS3 will be closing down in a few months' time, and if this is the case, there will be casualties with this decision. You'll likely be able to play most of these in the future with PlayStation Now, but for those who want to own their games without a subscription model, this presumed event will be a critical blow.
1) inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood on PS3
inFAMOUS 2's spooky spin-off Festival of Blood will be gone forever unless you have a PlayStation Now subscription. This game gives Cole McGrath vampire-like powers as his friend Zeke makes up a fictional horror story about the anti-hero. It's all based on the city and engine of the original title but it was a standalone title that can only be downloaded. While it was included in the inFAMOUS Collection box set, there's only a digital code for Festival of Blood included. As you have to go to the Store to redeem it on PS3, this would be practically impossible; it could perhaps still work on the desktop version, but that's a big ask. And even then, you'll need a new copy of the collection. If you liked inFAMOUS: Second Son on the PS4, you may want to grab your PS3 and check this out before it's gone.
2) Datura on PS3
Developer Plastic toyed around with different concepts over the life of the PS3, and while they were critically panned, they are certainly interesting. Datura was a new narrative experience that used the recently released PlayStation Move controllers at the time and a DualShock 3 if you didn't have the wands. Players solved puzzles, drove cars, fired a mini-gun, and much more in a surrealist world. It also had choice-based mechanics, making multiple playthroughs different from each other. This game is currently not on PlayStation Now, so once the Store is gone, it will be forever lost.
3) Linger in Shadows on PS3
Another dream-like experience from Plastic, Linger In Shadows was a tech demo for interactive digital art in 2008. Lasting around only 15 minutes, this "game" was a graphical showcase for what the PS3 can output. In this playthrough, we see a flying dog, a relatively big city landscape, a highly detailed cat, and all sorts of dark creatures filling the screen. There were slight puzzle segments that, once finished, helped transition to the next scene. PlayStation Universe wrote in its review, "The artistry looks good if a bit random. Floating trees? Flying dogs? A stone octopus? For anyone who doesn’t get the demoscene, Linger in Shadows will prove a complete mystery." You can check out Linger in Shadows on PlayStation Now, but you won't be able to own a copy after the Store crumbles down.
4) Legasista on PS3
Dungeon crawler JRPG Legasista won't be available to download when the PlayStation Store goes down. NIS America is pretty solid when it comes to physical releases for its game, but this one missed that step. There is a Japanese physical copy if you speak the language, but we never got one in North America or Europe. This game has you climbing up the mysterious Ivy Tower and go through randomly generated levels. You can customize the characters as you see fit and give them specific jobs to help you on your way. The overall title has a chibi look and visual novel segments that animated each character's breathing.
5) Rain on PS3
Rain is a game that experiments with water and the rain as puzzle elements and when the game launched in 2013, PlayStation flexed their creative muscles with this smaller title. Developed by the now defunct Japan Studio and Acquire, you play as a boy who turns invisible whenever he goes into puddles. The rain creates a watery outline of the protagonist as he follows a girl and tries to find answers as to what has happened to them. The conflict comes in when monsters start chasing the two, and the puzzles begin when you have to figure out how to get past them. This all takes place in a haunting depiction of a French town. Rain is currently on PlayStation Now, but you'll lose access to it whenever the Store crumbles before us.
The PS3 was a time of experimentation, and it will be sad to see these titles go defunct. The only saving grace is that most will be on PlayStation Now for the foreseeable future. However, for those who care about keeping their games rather than purchasing a subscription service, it's a worrying sign of the future as most switch to digital.