July’s Playstation Plus lineup brings Rocket League to the masses

Sony’s monthly catalog of PlayStation Plus games can be pretty hit-and-miss. Some months bring us big-name titles like Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, while others barely squeak by with mediocre indie games.

While this month’s lineup may appear at first to be another disappointment, I’d venture to say that it’s a selection of hidden gems worthy of our appraisal. So let’s dive in, starting with Psyonix’s vehicle-based soccer game, Rocket League.

Rocket League is a game that I keep seeing pop up on Reddit, filling my front page with ridiculous gifs of incredible clutch plays. It’s the kind of game that I’ve been anxious to try, but hesitant to buy, making it a perfect title to feature on PlayStation Plus.

If you haven’t seen it for yourself, Rocket League is basically soccer with rocket-powered dune buggies. It’s also multiplayer, allowing up to eight players to complete online, or four players on a single system. Combined with cross-play between the PS4 and PC versions of the game, Rocket League looks like an addictive multiplayer experience with a lot of potential.

Following Rocket League is Styx: Master of Shadows, a game I’d never heard of until this month’s PlayStation Plus lineup. In Styx, you play as a goblin thief tasked with stealing the heart of the World Tree. 

In a world of generic stealth-action games driven by brooding hooded protagonist, Styx the goblin is just different enough to get my attention. Though Metacritic reviews for the game have been mixed, I plan on giving it a chance for myself. 

By developer Crunching Koalas’ own admission, MouseCraft is “a cross between Tetris and Lemmings,” and it looks the part. Use strategic block placement to help your mice get to the cheese, avoiding explosions, acid, and robotic rats along the way.

I’ve got to say, I wasn’t particularly interested in this title until it arrived on PlayStation Plus. Now I’m actually a little excited to give it a chance. File it under “might be cool.”

Entwined, announced at last year’s E3, is a dual-stick rhythm game reminiscent of Rez on PlayStation 2. Unlike Rez, which was fueled by the thumping bass of trance music, Entwined is set to a more tranquil score of orchestral music, accompanied by colorful imagery and visual symbolism.

These four PlayStation 4 titles are joined by Rain on PS3 and Geometry Wars 3 on PlayStation Vita. For for a closer look at these games, make sure to check out the videos below.

All six titles will be free to PlayStation Plus users starting July 7th. For more information, make sure to visit out Sony’s official PlayStation Plus announcement for the month of July, and always check back with GameSkinny for the rundown of each month’s lineup.

Rain (PS3)

Geometry Wars 3 (PS Vita)