The PlayStation Plus game catalog is a complete mess

• PlayStation Plus has many inconsistencies in the way it brands and presents games on the service.

• Some games contain misleading labels for the system they are installed on or have the wrong cover art in the library.

• The catalog includes exclusive streaming versions of games as well as proprietary ports and does not contain downloadable versions of classic games.

PlayStation Plus is a pretty good deal, giving subscribers access to new and classic games, plus exclusive discounts and other benefits. But the service also has some pretty obvious problems, mainly with its game catalog, which is hampered by poor organization and accessibility.

Games in the wrong categories

One of the first things I noticed while looking through the PlayStation Plus game catalog recently was that quite a few games appear in sections that don’t make much sense.

For example, while browsing PlayStation Portable games, I saw Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection And Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, both modern games that were obviously never released on the system. It’s unclear exactly how these games ended up here, but it’s likely some kind of logistical error.

Meanwhile, plenty of other games are listed as PSP games that, while receiving PSP ports at some point, are the original home console versions. Lego Star Wars 2 appears, for example, in a category that received a port on the PSP, but the version included is the PlayStation 2 release.

This may not be an issue for some as both versions are comparable in terms of gameplay, but they are far from identical. It’s a little misleading to see it next to PSP games like Daxter And Killzone: Liberation.

Including games you can’t even play

PlayStation Plus has a serious FOMO problem. Without a filter to show only the games you have access to as a member, it’s easy to get frustrated when you come across a game you’re excited about and find that it’s not available for your level.

Premium subscribers will have access to everything, but mid-tier Extra subscribers have a smaller, more curated catalog and don’t have access to streaming. Despite this, you will still see everything listed in one directory, regardless of your subscription level.

There are no tags or filters to let you specify what tier you’re a member of or exclude games you won’t have access to, which can be frustrating. Xbox Game Pass allows members to browse catalogs specific to each tier, but with PlayStation Plus, it feels like Sony is using the fear of missing out to entice people to upgrade to the maximum tier.

Distortion of information about games

The way many games are presented to consumers in the PlayStation Plus catalog is somewhat misleading throughout the service.

Many of the games featured in the PS3 catalog are not original PS3 games, but rather HD ports of PS2 games, so calling them PS3 games is a bit of a misnomer. Some of them have improved graphics, but they are essentially the same games as their PS2 versions, sometimes with technical problems that weren’t there before.

Some of them have inaccurate titles or covers when added to your library, such as the recent port Siren. It shows up fine on the store page, with the correct artwork and title for the US release, but as soon as I added it to my library, it was labeled with the European PAL region name. Forbidden siren.

Inaccurate depictions of games don’t stop there, as Lego Star Wars 2 contains screenshots of levels that are not even in the game. It is possible that when listing the game, screenshots were taken from The complete saga which mistakenly contains levels from both games. These are not major hindrances, but they could have been handled better.

Port doubling in multiple categories

As I mentioned earlier, many games listed as PS3 games are actually remastered versions of PS2 games. However, to make matters even more confusing, many of them appear in both categories, potentially confusing subscribers who may not notice the difference.

Many of Ratchet and Clank games that are staples of the PS2 era don’t even appear in the PS2 catalog but end up in the PS3 library, while others appear in both. These may be graphically enhanced versions of these PS3 games, but it would be a little unfair to present them as original games for that console.

This might not be so bad if the catalog at least indicated where these games appeared. However, even there they are often scattered across both PS2 and PS3 categories, making the game even more confusing for those fans looking for games for one console or the other.

Streaming-only versions of games that already exist on PS5

Browsing through the list of games in the PS Plus catalog, mostly at the premium level, was interesting at first, as it was full of classic exclusives and third-party games from a variety of genres. However, upon closer inspection, I began to notice some strange variations in the catalogue, mostly in the versions that Sony decided to include.

Resident Evil 4, 5, And 6 everyone appears on the service along with Devil May Cry HD Collection, which made complete sense at first. That is until closer inspection revealed that these were PS3 versions of each game only available via streaming, despite already having their own downloadable versions on PS4 and PS5.

The PS Plus streaming service is performing better than I expected, but I always assumed that Sony’s use of the service was a concession to make it easier to release games that were difficult to port in the first place. It makes much less sense to choose the streaming-only PS3 version for games that have already received their own ports.

An interesting choice for home ports

On the other hand, many of the games that received their own downloadable versions on PS Plus also don’t make much sense. The Premium and Extra catalogs feature classics from all eras of the platform’s history, but those that have their own ports compared to the streaming versions sometimes seem a bit arbitrary.

It’s nice to have classic series like Sly Cooper And God of War on the service, but it’s strange to see them being relegated to streaming while more obscure games are getting their own ports. While major PlayStation franchises remain streaming exclusives, films like Disney Up and many other third party games have downloadable versions.

Streaming through PS Plus Premium is surprisingly decent, but gaming performance never matches that of the original games. It’s even more unpleasant to see headlines like Ice Age: Scrat’s Crazy Adventure be chosen in favor of iconic games such as notorious when it comes to porting.

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I’ve really enjoyed my PlayStation Plus Premium subscription and still trust it despite its problems, but the service is far from perfect. Especially after last year’s price hike, Sony still has a lot of work to do to make the service easier to navigate for paying subscribers.