Playstation Plus
Available starting January 3rd through February 6th
- Axiom Verge 2 (PS4/PS5) [ESRB: T for Teen|
- Fallout 76 (PS4) [ESRB: M for Mature]
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4/PS5) [ ESRB: T for Teen]
Xbox Games with Gold
- Iris Fall (Xbox One/X/S) (January 1 to 31) [ESRB: E for Everyone ]
- Autonauts (Xbox One/X/S) (January 16 to February 15) [ESRB: E for Everyone]
Xbox Games Pass
- Persona 3 Portable (Console, PC, Cloud) (January 19) [ESRB: M for Mature]
- Persona 4 Golden (Console, PC, Cloud) (January 19) [ESRB: M for Mature]
- Monster Hunter Rise (Console, PC) (January 20) [ ESRB: T for Teen]
- Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition (Console, Cloud) (January 31) [ESRB: T for Teen]
- Inkulinati (Console, PC) (January 31) [ESRB: E for Everyone]
- Roboquest (Console) (January TBA) [ESRB: E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Up]
Welcome to the New Year! It’s 2023 and we’ve got some new games coming out this month already! Let’s start with what Playstation Plus has to offer us: a teen rated exploration game sequel, Axiom Verge 2, a mature series favorite rpg, Fallout 76, and a “new” Star Wars series teen action adventure, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Out of these three, I’ve only had personal experience with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s made by Respawn, the same studio who did Titanfall, and it carries over some of the physics and combat mechanics from that game. It has a strong story line and isn’t too graphic, so it’s definitely a good fit for your teens. Nothing offered this month really fits the bill for anyone less than 13 however. Next up, we have Xbox Games with Gold, which has 2 games that are both E for Everyone (now we’re getting somewhere). Iris Fall is a dark puzzle game that looks very stylized and has my interest peaked. I’ve never heard of it before but I might check it out (reminiscent of Don’t Starve style, but I doubt it’ll be as challenging). The second game is Autonauts, which is a survival/strategy game. It is very cute-looking, but looks like it could be a time consuming management game where you colonize planets. I’m never big into the strategy/management games, but this one might be alright for the younger audience. I think both of these titles would be appropriate for 7+. Lastly we have Xbox Games Pass, which doesn’t have as many titles this month, but quite a few good ones. Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden make their grand debut on the Xbox, as these titles were originally Sony exclusive. They are very popular JRPGs, but keep in mind these are both mature (definitely not for anyone under 16). Following popularity on the Switch and PC, we have another game we reviewed, Monster Hunter Rise! This teen action adventure RPG is one that I don’t think anyone should miss out on, and as it’s very low on graphicness (plus you can lower the blood effect). We have 2 more new games that both look kid friendly, Inkulinati and Roboquest. I had not heard of either of these, but Inkulinati is a medieval-styled turn based strategy that is rated for everyone (think Disney’s animated Robin Hood except a turn based game) and Roboquest is an E10 FPS that looks a lot like Borderlands but without everything that makes it mature. I’m definitely excited for both of these, and there’s a demo out for Inkulinati now!
What a way to ring in the new year! I think overall Xbox Games Pass has the best spread for games your kids could play, but the Xbox Games with Gold isn’t too bad either this month! Though I will say that they just announced a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, so if you never tried it, I would definitely recommend checking it out (Playstation Plus or otherwise).
See you again in February!