Image: Push Square
Has 2025 been a good year for PS Plus Essential so far? We’d certainly argue that the service has been on a solid run for at least a few months now, and August’s offering is mostly strong as well.
Without a doubt, this month’s biggest draw is Lies of P — the highly rated Soulslike action RPG that first released for PS5 in 2023. Proudly wearing its Bloodborne inspiration on its sleeve, you simply can’t go wrong with this surprisingly twisted outing if you’re in the mood for tense boss fights and creepy world building.
Then we’ve got zombie survival sim DayZ, which, unlike Lies of P, was absolutely battered by reviewers when it dropped on PS4 in 2019. Performance issues and bugs crippled the experience, and although improvements were made over the years that followed, we still think this is a hard sell here in 2025, when there are so many better survival and co-op titles out there.
Okay, so what about some anime to take the edge off? My Hero One’s Justice 2 is… well, if we’re being honest, it’s a rather average arena fighter based on the popular manga and anime property. Fun characters, cool attack animations, and mediocre combat mechanics. You know the drill.
But maybe we’re being a bit harsh. Is August’s PS Plus Essential lineup to your liking? How hard is Lies of P carrying this month’s selection? As always, vote in our polls, and then have your say in the comments section below.
Are you happy with your PS Plus Essential games for August 2025? (2,153 votes)
- Yes, very happy20%
- Yeah, mostly happy23%
- Meh, they’re okay16%
- Nah, they could be better16%
- No, it’s a crap selection23%
- I don’t have PS Plus2%
Which PS Plus Essential game for August 2025 are you most looking forward to? (1,910 votes)
- DayZ7%
- Lies of P53%
- My Hero One’s Justice 21%
- None of them, to be honest37%
- I don’t have PS Plus2%
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Robert (or Rob if you’re lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s played ’em all. A little too much, some might say.