The PlayStation Plus Essential game lineup for July 2025 coincides with the service’s 15th anniversary. Regardless of the timing, these three titles check off three different genres, meaning there’s likely something in here for most players. These games are Diablo 4, The King of Fighters XV, and Jusant.
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Here’s what to expect from each as they come to PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers on July 1st. All three will be available until August 4th.
1) Diablo 4
Diablo 4 is the heavy hitter of the month and the one with the most name recognition. This 2023 entry in the long-running action RPG franchise was received well at launch, earning an average score of 88.
Diablo 4 was beloved for its combat, mostly because of how it lets players customize their own build, which is important for a game like this. Flexibility is king here (the respec option also makes sure choices aren’t final), as players dispatch with the thousands of unfortunate souls who cross their path. It’s often quite chaotic, but that is where careful ability management and cooldown monitoring come into play. More loot, the lengthy skill trees, a plethora of quests, and additional world tiers that make the game harder mean this treadmill of a game will likely keep many busy for dozens — if not hundreds — of hours.
Games like Path of Exile have made a name for themselves in the loot-focused, action RPG genre, so Blizzard is not purely in a league of its own league anymore like it was a few decades ago. But Diablo 4 does contain a level of production value that only a team of Blizzard’s size can provide. It’s one of the best-looking games in the genre and has immaculate sound design, making for an audiovisual feast. Some of these qualities make the narrative more immersive, complementing the best story and most complicated villain in the series.
And even though it had a decent launch, Blizzard Entertainment, as is customary for the studio, has spent the last two or so years updating the game. The game is just about to start its ninth season on July 1st, but past seasons have already added many features. These include new bosses, items, a Mercenary mode that aids solo players, and modes like the wave-based survival mode Infernal Hordes and The Pit, which gives players a timed dungeon run. There have also been a ton of balance changes, quality-of-life changes, and reworks.
These changes have been free, but Diablo 4 has also gotten one big paid expansion called Vessel of Hatred. This is obviously not included in the PlayStation Plus lineup (it’s $39.99), but it includes the mystical Spiritborn class, jungly Nahantu region, more enemies, extra dungeons, and more. Another expansion is planned for 2026.
2) The King of Fighters XV
The King of Fighters XV is the 2022 sequel in a long-running franchise. This fighting game came out to solid reviews, as shown by its average score of 80.
The King of Fighters XV is a fighting game where players pick a team of three and must knock out all three opponents in one-on-one fights to win, making it unlike other multi-fighter games like Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3.It sounds like a more complicated fighting game because it is. Even though it has a generous auto-combo system, it requires new players to learn three characters to be effective.
The practice mode has plenty of options, but its tutorial is rather bare-bones, and the combo trials are vague, which makes YouTube a better way to learn the ins and outs. Like some other fighting games, The King of Fighters XV relies on legacy skill, once again making it tougher for newer players.
The King of Fighters XV also doesn’t have much for those who don’t want to play competitively. There’s not much to do outside of the punishing Boss Challenge mode and dated story mode that make it feel like a port of an arcade game. Thankfully, its online offerings are relatively strong and contain replay options, rollback netcode, and all sorts of modes that are for different types of competitive players.
The King of Fighters XV, like many of its contemporaries, has seen many free updates since launch, in addition to paid DLC. Cross-platform play was one of the bigger post-launch features, but it also received two free characters and the aforementioned Boss Challenge mode. The premium DLC consists of two stages and 20 characters. It’s unlikely that the game is getting more DLC since nothing has been announced, an ultimate edition was released, and SNK is currently supporting the recently released Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves.
3) Jusant
Jusant is the smallest game in this lineup, but size doesn’t dictate quality. This 2023 game from Life Is Strange developer Don’t Nod came out to a great reception, averaging a score of 84.
Jusant is all about climbing a massive mountain and has players using various tools and stamina management skills to get over each section. Managing these two aspects is what makes ascension satisfying. Making progress requires decent stamina management and clever use of the belays that act as mini-checkpoints, making each wall a puzzle to solve. Death is not an option and the colorful art style evokes a calm atmosphere, but it’s not a mindless experience since success still requires focus and skill. Mismanaging stamina or any other sort of lapse of judgment is still punished, but players will only fall down to their last belay rather than violently splat on the rocks below. Through these systems, it’s able to strike a balance between soothing and stressful.
Each stage introduces new tools and mechanics that continually change how climbing works without overcomplicating things and artificially prolonging the game. One level makes sunny areas drain stamina faster, while another has powerful gusts of wind that can both help and hinder the player. The narrative is similarly taut, as the intriguing worldbuilding is doled out through the level design and collectible notes, while the plot is subtly conveyed and wraps up with a heartwarming finale. All of this demonstrates how shorter games with more streamlined design are often more effective than bloated experiences that confuse “more” with “better.”
Being a single-player adventure, Jusant didn’t see much free or paid support after it came out. However, some accessibility features were implemented in a post-launch update that added simplified climbing controls, a toggle for stamina management, jump assistance, and easier interactions, in addition to options that aided with colorblindness.
