PlayStation Plus Replacement Free Game Isn't At All What We Expected

PlayStation Plus’ essential tier titles for September are now available.

This month, all users of the subscription service can nab Psychonauts 2, Viewfinder, and Stardew Valley.

I’m pretty happy with this line-up; I’ve had my eye on Viewfinder for a while.

Released during 2023, this delightful puzzle title won British Game and New Intellectual Property at that year’s BAFTA Games Awards, so I’ll definitely be picking that up.

But I digress.

Some users may find that Stardew Valley isn’t actually available to them.

In Japan and Southeast Asia, that title has been replaced with Dragon Marked for Death.

As for why, well, it's to do with Stardew Valley’s availability digitally in the region.

From what I can gather, the publisher of the title in the Japan and Southeast Asia regions didn’t renew the digital license on PlayStation so it’s no longer available on the PlayStation Store.

You can, however, pick up Stardew Valley on PS4 via a physical edition - and it is available digitally on other platforms including, for sample, the Nintendo Switch eShop.

As for that replacement title I mentioned, Dragon Marked for Death is a 2D side-scrolling action RPG that can be enjoyed by up to four-players.

“The characters, known as the Dragonblood Clan, have forged a pact with the Astral Dragon, which granted them special new powers,” the synopsis teases.

I’ve not actually tried this game out myself but by all accounts, it sounds pretty good.

Well, it boasts a score of 69 over on Metacritic, so while it’s not the greatest game on the planet, it’s definitely worth sampling given that certain PlayStation Plus users can do so for free.

Naturally, I’m sure you’re all now looking ahead to the service’s next extra and premium tier update.

The joining titles are due to be unveiled on 10 September and will join the service one week later on 16 September.

We’ll be sure to bring that breaking news to you as it happens.