Top 10 PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games

Immersive exploration is a key pillar of the best PlayStation Plus Premium adventure games, and there's plenty to go around, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and @5LivesStudios' Windbound.


Published: July 16, 2022 11:00 AM /

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Red Dead Redemption 2 PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure

After a stressful day, many gamers long for getting distracted by an adventure game. From the open exploration of Outer Wilds to the heroic combat of inFAMOUS Second Son, there are many PlayStation Plus Premium adventure games you can check out on PS4 and PS5.

10 - Ashen

Ashen PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure
Image via Annapurna Interactive

Are you finished with Elden Ring and want another grueling world to explore? Ashen might be your next Soulslike then. With an almost watercolor graphical style, you'll venture into a dark, adventurous world with all manner of foes and obstacles to defeat, roll, and dodge around. While it doesn't feel as good as a FromSoftware game, it's a good effort and still feels decent to control.

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9 - Wytchwood

Wytchwood PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via Whitethorn Games and WhisperGames

Set in a gothic fantasy world, Wytchwood delivers a fun mix of the adventure and crafting genres. You play as a witch exploring a storybook world as they collect ingredients and research new spells. There are many characters to meet across the fairy tale spectrum, who, according to the Steam page, have "colorful personas and fantastical narratives." There are also puzzles to figure out along the way and bosses that require your utmost attention to defeat. One of the most rewarding factors of the game is unlocking new recipes, so you can wreak havoc on to the world.

Read more about Wytchwood:

8 - Windbound

Windbound PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via Deep Silver

Windbound is an underrated PlayStation Plus Premium adventure game that sports a visual style like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It's vibrant and beautiful as you roam across the Forbidden Islands of Windbound. In this survival experience, you'll be crafting new weapons, tools, and even boats to succeed. "You’ll spend a lot of time sailing from island to island on your makeshift boat, and though Kara initially starts off with just a simple canoe, you’ll quickly find yourself building a large raft with multiple sails and accessories to navigate the dangerous waters," said George Glynn in his TechRaptor review.

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7 - Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Brothers A Tale of Two Sons PlayStation Plus Premium
Image via 505 Games

Before winning Game of the Year with It Takes Two, game director Josef Fares alongside his team worked on the critically acclaimed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Despite its age, the game still succeeds at telling a thought-provoking adventure that has two sons trying to save their ill father after tragically losing their mom. This game plays uniquely as you control both of the brothers at the same time with the analog sticks. You'll figure out tricky puzzles and gameplay sections throughout a fantasy world as you try to find a way to collect water from the tree of life. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is one of the most emotional PlayStation Plus Premium adventure games. 

6 - Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via Annapurna Interactive

Exploring space is one of humanity's greatest dreams, and Outer Wilds helps provide that in game form. You'll be exploring ruins, extraterrestrial societies, and all sorts of landscapes that will thrill your sci-fi loving mind. Part of what makes Outer Wilds great is that it lets you loose in this solar system and doesn't provide you with many tutorials, if at all. You'll also earn a bunch of gadgets that will help you traverse each planet, such as a nifty jetpack. 

Outer Wilds is a tough game to get into at first, but once you're enveloped in the game's world building and storytelling, you'll be invested. It has won a BAFTA award and multiple Game of the Year designations for a reason. 

Read more about Outer Wilds:

5 - inFAMOUS Second Son

inFAMOUS Second Son PlayStation Plus Premium
Image via PlayStation

Get ready to travel to Seattle because inFAMOUS Second Son takes you through a whirlwind of superhero action and a top-notch narrative. Sucker Punch, the developer behind Ghost of Tsushima and the Sly Cooper series, brought an exhilarating adventure in a world where superpowered humans (Conduits) roam the Earth. There's a task force called the Department of Unified Protection that is rounding up Conduits and putting them into confinement. As Delsin Rowe, you're tasked with stopping these oppressors and giving conduits freedom. 

The combat revolves around some unique powers that Delsin has. He can control the power of smoke, which lets him shift from place to place in an instant, whip enemies with an enflamed chain, and fly far up in the air. He also gains the ability to use neon, which allows Delsin to move super fast. This all wraps around entertaining combat against the Department of Unified Protection and some challenging bosses throughout the adventure. Despite being eight years old, inFAMOUS Second Son still succeeds as a gorgeous iteration of Seattle and a grand superhero tale.

Read more about inFAMOUS Second Son

4 - Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman Arkham Knight PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via WB Games

Becoming the savior of Gotham is quite the challenge, and you'll experience that firsthand as Batman in Arkham Knight. The city is expansive as you take on story quests, side missions, and find Riddler puzzles all over. The story, which continues after the surprising ending of Arkham City, continues as Batman is infected and needs to save the city from the hands of Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, and the Arkham Knight. It's dramatic, intense, and will keep you intrigued from beginning to end. 

The combat of Batman: Arkham Knight is arguably the best in the superhero adventure genre. Comboing attacks feels pristine and crisp, and if you reach a certain number, you can activate a special attack. You also have Batman's many gadgets that will help you escape or further cause trouble for your foes. These gadgets can also be used in puzzle situations. One of the disappointing factors of the game is the Batmobile, which is overly featured in the game, but it is cool at first to ride the iconic car.

Read more about Batman: Arkham Knight

3 - Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via PlayStation

Not often do we see feudal Japan appear in a video game, but Sucker Punch delivered it in spades on the PS4 and the PS5. Ghost of Tsushima is set on the titular island as the Mongol forces begin to invade with their massive numbers. The samurai struggle to fight back and lose their ground. With these immense circumstances, Jin Sakai decides to fight back and betray his honorable samurai teachings with stealthy tactics and poison. From these actions, a lot of drama occurs internally and externally, creating a captivating storyline. 

You can play the game in two ways. You can be stealthy like a ghost or attack forces head on like a samurai. The combat is spot on as you need to select the right tactics to counter the foe against you and parry blows whenever you can. Overall, Ghost of Tsushima is exciting to play, and if you're an open-world junkie, there are tons of collectibles and side quests to find along the way. This is one of the best PlayStation Plus adventure games at the time of writing as it places you in a stunning setting steeped with world building, intense combat, and interesting characters.

Read more about Ghost of Tsushima:

2 - Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via Rockstar Games

Rockstar Games is known for their gigantic games, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly not an outlier. The sprawling Wild West is waiting to be explored as you try to keep your community of cowboys safe and well nourished. You'll be taking up missions, following the engrossing storyline that will take you many hours to complete, and exploring the beautifully rendered world in front of you. 

The gunplay is not the best as it's not as precise as you'd like, but the situations that Rockstar Games puts your character Arthur Morgan in keeps you engaged in the third-person shooting combat. For example, at one point you're taking over a train or fighting in front of an enflamed building.

Part of what makes Red Dead Redemption 2 so special to adventure game fans is that you can come across a random stranger that needs your help or might be aggressive towards you. There are multiple moments of captivating narratives simply out of the blue. For the amount of worldbuilding and excellent script writing in Red Dead Redemption 2, it's hard to deny that it's one of the best PlayStation Plus Premium adventure games. 

Read more about Red Dead Redemption 2:

1 - Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus PlayStation Plus Premium Adventure Games
Image via PlayStation

On horseback, you venture forth into the fields, in search of a way to save the girl you love. However, as you arrive at your destination, a huge rocky creature looks down upon you. You're David, and this monster is Goliath. Shadow of the Colossus is arguably one of the best games that Sony has published. The environment is intensely atmospheric as you slay colossus after colossus to possibly save the girl that you love. The colossi themselves each have their own challenge and act as a moving level. 

You'll have to figure out how to climb on top of these mighty beasts, and when you finally discover its weakness, the music rises to a thunderous applause of percussion and strings with "The Opened Way." It feels triumphant, epic, and above all fun. Yes, your character fumbles as he climbs each colossi but it adds to the stakes of each battle. Bluepoint Games made the remake of Shadow of the Colossus, and it looks absolutely stunning in 60 frames per second, HDR, and an upscaled 4K resolution. The colossi look even more epic than they originally were. 

Get on the saddle, raise thy sword, and experience one of the best games ever created. This is certainly a PlayStation Plus Premium adventure game you need to download immediately.

Read more about Shadow of the Colossus:


That's a wrap on our list of the best PlayStation Plus Premium adventure games as of July 2022. Are there any that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.

PlayStation Plus Premium access was provided to the writer by PlayStation Canada.

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Chris Penwell TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

The British “Canadian” Chris Penwell has been a video game journalist since 2013 and now has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from MacEwan University.… More about Chris

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Red Dead Redemption 2
Developer
Rockstar Studios
Publisher
Rockstar Games
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release Date
October 26, 2018 (Calendar)
Genre
Open World
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