PlayStation Plus subscribers’ free Essential games for October are The Callisto Protocol, Farming Simulator 22, and Weird West, Sony announced on Wednesday. Players can download the trio of PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 games beginning Tuesday, Oct. 3.
The Callisto Protocol is Striking Distance Studios’ spiritual successor to the sci-fi survival horror of the Dead Space games. As Jacob Lee, players fight their way out of a high-tech space prison on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. The Callisto Protocol was released in December 2022 to mixed critical response. In Polygon’s review, we dinged the game for its clunky, inconsistent melee combat and frustrating enemy encounters, but praised its visuals and well-told story. Striking Distance has since released multiple updates to the game, adding a new game plus mode and higher difficulty options.
Farming Simulator 22 from Giants Software is a popular simulator of agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry, and features real-world farming equipment from manufacturers John Deere, Case IH, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, and many others. Farming Simulator 22 added seasonal cycles and production chains to the long-running sim.
Weird West is the debut title from WolfEye Studios, whose co-founder, Raphaël Colantonio, worked as a creative director on Dishonored, Prey, and more at Arkane Studios. It’s a gunslinging Western role-playing game that’s a messy, magical mix of gothic horror and RPGs, we said in our review of the 2022 game.
October’s PS Plus Essential games will be available to download through Nov. 6.
PlayStation Plus subscribers can still pick up September’s PlayStation Plus Essential games — Saints Row, Black Desert: Traveler Edition, and Generation Zero — until Oct. 2.
PlayStation Plus Essential is the base tier of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s subscription service that offers online multiplayer access, a monthly assortment of free PS4 and PS5 games, cloud storage, and discounts on PlayStation Store purchases. PlayStation Plus Essential costs $79.99 annually, $24.99 for a three-month subscription, or $9.99 monthly. Sony recently raised the price of all PlayStation Plus 12-month subscription plans, with the Essential tier getting a $20 price bump from $59.99 to $79.99 annually.