PlayStation Plus Essential Games for December 2025, Explained

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Okay, so the PlayStation Plus Essential games for December 2025 are… weird. They’re giving us five games this month instead of the usual three, which is a nice surprise, but kinda random. What’s even stranger is that three of them are really focused on multiplayer, and honestly, a couple of them didn’t get the best reviews. The games are Neon White, LEGO Horizon Adventures, The Outlast Trials, Killing Floor 3, and Synduality Echo of Ada. We can grab them all starting December 2nd and they’ll be available until January 5th, 2026.

Here’s a brief explainer on the PlayStation Plus Essential games for December 2025.

5) Neon White

Among this month’s new games, Neon White has received the most praise. Released in 2022, this fast-paced, first-person game is built around quick completion times and has an impressive average score of 89.

Though it features guns, Neon White isn’t a typical first-person shooter. Each short level contains cards that function as both weapons and ways to move around. You might find a submachine gun, or a card you can use to perform a powerful ground pound. Levels are designed around quickly and skillfully using these cards, and your performance is scored when you complete each stage.

Neon White is designed for both hardcore speedrunners and players who just want to enjoy the game at their own pace. It’s challenging enough to encourage improvement without requiring hours of studying advanced techniques, but also offers plenty of hidden shortcuts and difficult levels for those who want to push their skills to the limit. This broad appeal is a testament to the game’s excellent design.

Neon White features a surprisingly deep story filled with anime references and clichés. The voice acting is strong and intentionally over-the-top, which adds to the fun without interrupting the fast-paced platforming. These story elements, presented like a visual novel, also make the game more approachable for players who aren’t focused on achieving the fastest possible times.

Neon White did not receive any DLC after launch nor did it get any big updates. 

4) LEGO Horizon Adventures

Released in 2024, LEGO Horizon Adventures is a LEGO-themed take on the popular Horizon video game series. Reviews were mixed to positive, with the game receiving an average score of 71.

Okay, so this game is basically Horizon meets LEGO. It plays a lot like the LEGO games – you know, that over-the-shoulder camera and simpler controls – but it’s set in the Horizon universe. You still hunt robotic creatures, but aiming is way more forgiving than in a regular Horizon game, which makes sense for LEGO, I guess. Honestly though, it doesn’t quite pull you in as much as a normal Horizon title. I also missed the huge open world. The levels look like the post-apocalyptic Horizon setting, but they aren’t as breathtaking as the landscapes in Forbidden West. The good thing is everything is built out of LEGO bricks, so at least the whole game has a consistent style.

The new game changes up the gameplay and overall feel of the original Horizon, and unfortunately, it loses much of what made the first game special. LEGO Horizon retells the story with a focus on silly, slapstick comedy, but the jokes fall flat. While Aloy feels more developed as a character, it isn’t enough to make up for the weak and often cringeworthy humor.

LEGO Horizon Adventures didn’t get any DLC or major updates after launch.

3) Killing Floor 3

Released in 2025, Killing Floor 3 is a shooter where players work together to fight off waves of enemies. Reviews were mixed, with the game receiving an average score of 70.

Though fighting waves of zombies with friends can be fun, Killing Floor 3 is generally considered a disappointing sequel that doesn’t live up to the original. It feels much more generic, trading the unique British style of the first Killing Floor for bland, futuristic environments. Many of the changes seem designed to encourage spending or make the game fit in with other ongoing, online games. This is especially noticeable with the limited number of specialist classes, which were initially locked behind purchases. While the game has faster movement and exciting shooting, it suffers from performance problems and feels incomplete, as if Tripwire Interactive removed what made the series special. Ultimately, Killing Floor 3 lacks the long-term appeal you’d expect from a game of this type.

Despite a disappointing launch in July, Tripwire continues to improve Killing Floor 3 with regular updates. They’ve given players more customization options by separating perks from specialist classes, significantly boosted weapon power, and introduced a new movement system that allows for more interaction with enemies. Three new, less futuristic weapons have also been added. Tripwire plans to add even more content in the future, including new maps, characters, upgrades, weapons, customization options, enemies, rewards, and bosses. Whether these changes will ultimately make the game more enjoyable remains to be seen.

2) The Outlast Trials

The Outlast Trials is a horror game designed for multiplayer, officially released in 2024 after a period of early access. Because it was in development for a while before its full release, it’s difficult to get a clear picture of how critics feel about the final game, but it currently has an average score of 72.

The Outlast Trials stands out as a truly unique online horror experience. Unlike games like Predator: Hunting Grounds or Friday the 13th: The Game where you’re hunted by another player, this game focuses on cooperative gameplay against computer-controlled enemies. These enemies range from basic grunts to powerful and terrifying villains known as Prime Assets. Successfully sneaking past or overcoming these threats can be incredibly exciting, capturing the same feeling as the original Outlast games. While some of the villains are more compelling than others, and the objectives can occasionally feel repetitive, The Outlast Trials offers a horror experience unlike any other.

Red Barrels has significantly expanded The Outlast Trials with a wealth of new content. Players can now enjoy eight premium skin packs, plus numerous updates including new in-game resources, maps, objectives, limited-time events, customization options, a redesigned menu, improved game balance, new enemies, and various quality-of-life improvements. The developers have also added a complete roguelite mode and a unique invasion system similar to Dark Souls, allowing players to enter other people’s games and hunt other players.

1) Synduality Echo of Ada

Synduality Echo of Ada is a shooting game where you control mechs, and it’s based on the 2025 anime series, Synduality: Noir. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t very well-received, earning an average score of 67.

Synduality has several flaws. Its focus on making money feels excessive for a game you have to pay to play. The character designs look awkward and don’t quite fit the bland backgrounds. The gameplay, which involves venturing out and trying to collect resources, will likely be inconsistent – it relies on players cooperating, and getting constantly defeated is frustrating and could easily discourage players.

While you can carefully play within the safe zones and still gather good rewards or take out distracted opponents, Synduality ultimately becomes repetitive and doesn’t hold your attention as long as other similar games. It does offer some single-player missions that don’t rely on the high-risk gameplay of extraction shooters, but these aren’t a major part of the experience. They’re locked behind multiplayer progression and feature enemies that are overly difficult to defeat.

Since its release, the online game Synduality has received regular updates and improvements. These include new mechs, missions, maps, weapons, character customizations, and different levels of mech rarity. The game’s balance has also been adjusted, and new bosses and PvE arenas have been added. Players can also customize helpful NPCs called Magus at their base. Synduality is currently in its third season.

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2025-12-02 20:16