PlayStation Plus Essential Games for April 2026, Explained

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April 2026’s PlayStation Plus Essential lineup offers a variety of gaming experiences, including a challenging Soulslike game, a collection of beloved classic action titles, and an online co-op game centered around collecting loot. While different in style, these games share some similarities – they all received roughly the same average review scores and were originally released several years ago. The games are Lords of the Fallen, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream.

Here’s a look at the three free games PlayStation Plus Essential members will receive in April 2026. They’ll be available to download and play from April 7th until May 4th.

3) Lords of the Fallen

The 2023 game Lord of the Fallen – which is a remake and shouldn’t be confused with the 2014 title of the same name – is a challenging action RPG in the style of the Souls series. While reviews were mixed, it generally received a score of 73.

The game clearly takes inspiration from Dark Souls, similar to many other games in the genre. Players explore a challenging world, battling enemies with a deliberate, impactful combat system to earn money for improvements. While it’s a fairly typical example of a ‘Soulslike’ game, it stands out a bit thanks to its eerie enemy designs and beautiful graphics. The game’s unique feature is a special lamp that allows players to shift between the real world and a dark, parallel dimension called the Umbral Realm, offering a second chance after death. However, moving between dimensions can be clunky and restrictive.

When Lords of the Fallen was first released, it had a lot of problems. Enemies were often placed unfairly, and players were constantly swarmed by large groups of weak enemies, making fights feel drawn-out and frustrating. It seemed the developers prioritized difficulty over fun, relying on tedious encounters rather than engaging challenges. Overall, poor design choices turned what could have been a great RPG into a very unpleasant experience.

CI Games essentially treated Lords of the Fallen like an ongoing service game for two years after its release, continually updating and improving it. These updates weren’t just bug fixes – they added significant features. For example, they reduced the range of enemy snipers, made enemies less aggressive, decreased enemy numbers in certain areas, and even added save points for New Game Plus (which were missing at launch). They also included cross-platform play, improved graphics and sound, new spells and quests, a boss rush mode, and numerous gameplay tweaks like stronger bosses, better combat controls, and a dedicated jump button. The game received a refined tutorial, a less punishing Umbral realm, and support for the PS5 Pro. Thanks to all these changes, Lords of the Fallen is now a vastly improved game, even though it still isn’t perfect.

In addition to a large number of free updates, Lords of the Fallen offers some optional paid downloadable content. PlayStation Plus subscribers will need to purchase these separately. The Dark Crusader Starting Class is available for $7.99, and the Legendary Pack, which includes a digital artbook, soundtrack, and model viewer, costs $14.99. You can also get both of these with the $19.99 Deluxe Edition upgrade.

2) Tomb Raider I-III Remastered

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is an updated collection of the original three Tomb Raider games. It received generally positive reviews, with an average score of 75.

This remastered collection stays true to the original action games while offering several enhancements. Similar to other recent remasters, it aims for a look that recalls the PlayStation 1 era, but with enough updated features to feel modern. You’ll notice improvements in textures, lighting, and character models, and you can instantly compare the old and new visuals with the press of a button.

The game still offers the classic ‘tank’ controls, but now includes a more modern option. While welcome, neither control scheme feels truly good, especially with the frustrating camera. New save features help a little, but you’ll likely need a fondness for older games to fully enjoy it. As a bonus, this updated version also features a photo mode and subtitles, which aren’t related to how the game plays.

The remastered versions of the original Tomb Raider games have received several free updates since launch. These updates added new outfits, visual enhancements, more options for the photo mode, a way to easily select outfits, improved modern controls, quicksave features for console players, and a challenge mode where levels can be replayed with different modifiers. While the challenge mode aimed to add more replay value, it initially received criticism due to bugs and the quality of the added costumes. The developers, Aspyr, have already released one update to address some of these issues, and another patch is currently in development.

PlayStation players who enjoy unlocking trophies might find this release a bit challenging. There are a whopping 285 trophies to collect on the PS5 version (including DLC) and 287 on PS4. Most of these trophies are the common Bronze type, and surprisingly, there aren’t any Gold trophies at all. It’s a huge number to aim for, even for dedicated trophy hunters.

Another source of disappointment is the difference between the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 versions of the game. The PS4 version includes three Platinum trophies – one for each individual game – but the PS5 version doesn’t have any. Like some older Call of Duty games, each game within this collection is considered downloadable content, which is why the PS5 version lacks its own Platinum trophy.

1) Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is an online action game inspired by the well-known light novel series. When it launched, reviews were generally mixed to positive, with an average rating of 70.

This multiplayer game is the most specialized of the three, appealing strongly to fans of anime and collecting items. It features fast-paced, visually exciting combat with lots of special effects, and constantly gives players rewards. However, this focus on rewards means it can become repetitive, as much of the game revolves around getting better loot. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a lot of content, which makes the repetitive gameplay even more noticeable. While the game has a solid foundation, it likely won’t keep players engaged for very long.

Fractured Daydream has received a lot of both free and paid updates. The free updates have improved the game by increasing the chances of finding powerful gear, letting players reach higher ranks, adding new raids and quests, tweaking challenges, and making it easier to upgrade equipment, along with many smaller changes. The paid DLC usually includes a variety of cosmetic items, new characters, missions, and weapons. The Premium Upgrade pack offers even more, including a mini-game, artbook, soundtrack, and a special costume. Players also have the option to purchase in-game currency with real money.

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2026-04-02 20:11