PlayStation Plus (Extra) gets Star Wars Outlaws and Time Crisis next week

Sony is adding Star Wars Outlaws, Red Dead Redemption 2, and a handful of other titles to the PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers on May 19. The Premium tier is also getting the original PlayStation port of Time Crisis. This brings a 1990s arcade staple to modern hardware.

The big open worlds

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws is the headliner for PS5 owners. The game launched in late 2024 and puts you in the boots of scoundrel Kay Vess as she navigates the galactic underworld. Developer Massive Entertainment built a sprawling open-world game that skips the Jedi mysticism in favor of sneaking around syndicate bases and shooting stormtroopers. You get to explore distinct planets across the galaxy, including familiar locations like Tatooine and new environments built for the game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is also returning to the service. Rockstar's 2018 Western prequel follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as they flee across a fictionalized America. The download includes Red Dead Online, so you can form a posse and roam the map with friends. It is still a PS4 application, but it runs well on modern hardware via backward compatibility. The game is famous for its deliberate pacing. Players have to manually clean their weapons, feed their horses, and brew their own coffee at camp.

Folklore and early 1900s Warsaw

The middle of the pack includes some strong narrative games. Bramble: The Mountain King is an adventure game heavily inspired by dark Nordic fables. You play as a young boy trying to rescue his sister from twisted mythological creatures. It looks like a whimsical platformer at first glance, but it gets incredibly grim. The game forces you to confront massive, grotesque monsters in tense hide-and-seek sequences.

The Thaumaturge is an isometric role-playing game set in 1905 Warsaw under Russian imperial rule. You play as a detective who can see and command ethereal beings called Salutors. Developer Fool's Theory (the studio currently handling the upcoming Witcher remake) built a deep turn-based combat system around investigating crime scenes and manipulating people's flaws. The historical setting is highly detailed. It blends real-world political tensions with dark fantasy elements.

Premium subscribers get access to the PS1 version of Time Crisis. Namco originally released the arcade cabinet in 1995 before bringing it to the home console in 1997. The arcade machine stood out because of its physical foot pedal. Players used this pedal to duck in and out of cover to reload.

The home port famously launched alongside the GunCon. This peripheral plugged into the PlayStation's controller port and the composite video line for precise CRT tracking. Players used a button on the side of the plastic gun barrel to simulate the arcade pedal.

Playing a dedicated light gun shooter with a DualSense analog stick is going to feel deeply wrong. Sony's emulation wrapper usually maps the D-pad or analog stick to the crosshair, with the triggers handling the cover system. It works, which is the nicest thing I can say about it. Still, having a legal way to play Time Crisis on a modern console is a step in the right direction.