Game trials included in Sony's revamped PS Plus subscription service will allow you to play a selection of titles for hours before purchase, but their length will vary wildly.
As the new version of PS Plus rolled out in Asia, Premium subscribers were able to try the game for themselves. As shared on Twitter (Opens in a new tab) by user @PS_Vortex, PS Store screenshots show trial times for several currently available games (thanks Eurogamer (Opens in a new tab)).
Horizon Forbidden West and Cyberpunk 2077 are listed as compatible with full five-hour playtests. Meanwhile, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection and WWE 2K22 offer less than half that time with just two hours of free access.
Like full game trials, demos give you full access to full games, only limiting how long you can play them. This could partly explain the disparity between trial lengths. As an open-world RPG, Horizon Forbidden West and Cyberpunk 2077 offer players a lot to do and see, and they can't necessarily be captured in a short two-hour span.
OMG😇 Horizon: Forbidden West and Cyberpunk 2077 have free "5 hour" PLAY TRIALS while all other games including Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves and WWE 2K22 have a "2 hour" PS PLUS Deluxe trial now LIVE on Hong Kong PSN! w? #PS5Share pic.twitter.com/gdppYYstAFMay 23, 2022
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demos are back
Limited-time play trials are a great way to experience titles without committing to a full purchase. Five hours gives you plenty of time to dig into a game and see if it's worth thriving on, and even two hours is more than enough time to see if linear games like the Uncharted series are right for you.
We can also expect more playtests to be added in the future. Sony requires that all games sold on its platforms at a retail price of €34 (approximately €27 / AU$48) also be made available through limited-time trials. Developers looking to bring their big-budget triple-A games to PS4 and PS5 will need to start offering free trials that last at least two hours.
Developers have up to three months after their game launches on the PS Store to launch a timed test and must ensure that they are available for at least 12 months. However, the decision is not retroactive and does not apply to PSVR games.
Although the PS Plus Asia relaunch gave us our first look at its library of games, we're still waiting to see the full list. Currently, only around 200 PS4 and PS5 games are included in the Asian list, which is significantly less than the 400 games originally promised by Sony. We expect more to be added when PS Plus arrives in the US on Monday, June 13, and in Europe on Thursday, June 23.