PlayStation Days of Play Sale: 10 Essential Pick-Ups

Yesterday marked the kick-off for Sony's annual Days of Play event, which sees the hardware manufacturer and publisher providing deals on both PlayStation software and hardware over the next two weeks. The Days of Play sale runs until June 11, 2025, meaning players have 13 days in which to cash in on some of the best ongoing deals as part of the promotion, and we've combed through the hundreds of software listings on the PlayStation store to highlight some of the best discounts on essential games for any PlayStation library.

• Release Date — September 2, 2022
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Action, Stealth, Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $29.39 (Normally $69.99, 58% off)

Sony and Naughty Dog's decision to remake/remaster The Last of Us for a third time might have been met with some backlash from fans, but there's no denying that the visual upgrade this latest version presents is a major upgrade even over the PS4's The Last of Us Remastered. And, at its core, The Last of Us, Part I is still the same incredible game it's always been. Sony first-party titles rarely ever go on deep discount, and The Last of Us, Part I is currently an impressive 58% off, making it an essential pick-up for anyone who has yet to add it to their library.

• Release Date — August 30, 2024
• Developer — Massive Entertainment
• Publisher — Ubisoft
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $34.99 (Normally $69.99, 50% off)

Thanks to some technical hiccups and forced trial-and-error stealth sections, Star Wars Outlaws was subject to a bit of mixed reception at launch. However, Massive Entertainment has continued to support the game through regular patches and updates, which have mostly corrected the performance issues and bugs while also making the stealth segments far less punishing. As a result, Star Wars Outlaws is now in its best-ever state and is a fun, if not slightly formulaic, open-world game with a great Star Wars story. Thanks to the Days of Play sale over on the PlayStation Store, it's also currently 50% off.

• Release Date — October 11, 2024
• Developer — Studio Zero
• Publisher — Sega
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Price — $45.49 (Normally $69.99, 35% off)

One of 2024's best games and the winner of Best RPG at The Game Awards 2024, Metaphor: ReFantazio blends elements of Studio Zero founder Katsura Hashino's previous work on the Persona series with the setting and gameplay of a classic, high fantasy-inspired JRPG to create an unmissable experience. Metaphor: ReFantazio shines in all aspects, from its incredible art direction and presentation to its amazing narrative and compelling gameplay, and it's currently down to its lowest-ever price on the PlayStation Store at 35% off. If you have yet to play this modern masterpiece, now is the perfect time to grab it.

• Release Date — November 10, 2020
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Character Action
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $9.99 (Normally $39.99, 75% off)

The Devil May Cry series is both synonymous with the Character Action subgenre and one of its forebears, so to see its latest entry frequently land on "best of" lists for games of its type should come as no surprise. For many, Devil May Cry 5 is the peak of the series and has some of the all-time greatest combat and encounter design in the long-running hack-and-slash series, and its Special Edition on the PlayStation 5 looks and runs incredibly. Players can currently grab Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition for just $10 during the Days of Play sale event, and it's $10 well-spent for anyone who's even remotely a fan of action games.

• Release Date — January 26, 2024
• Developer — Bandai Namco Studios, Arika
• Publisher — Bandai Namco Entertainment
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Price — $35.99 (Normally $59.99, 40% off)

While the Tekken series has somewhat moved away from its more technically complex aspects in favor of widespread, mainstream appeal, it's hard to deny that it's still arguably one of the most fun fighting games available. Whether playing in single-player story mode or competitive matches (either local or online), Tekken 8 offers an impressive variety of fighters, some eye-popping spectacle, and a large variety of modes and unlocks to keep players busy. Currently, Tekken 8 is back down to its previous all-time low of 40% off, making it one of the best "bang for your buck" deals of the Days of Play event.

• Release Date — October 27, 2023
• Developer — Remedy Entertainment
• Publisher — Epic Games Publishing
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $31.99 (Normally $79.99, 60% off)

Remedy's Alan Wake II is nothing short of a masterpiece; an incredible, story-rich survival horror game both like and unlike anything else in the genre and a masterclass in game design. It also happens to be one of the best-looking games in the survival horror genre, which its art direction and environmental design work overtime to make obvious. Alan Wake II doesn't often go on a deep discount, but it's currently 60% off as part of PlayStation's Days of Play sale, and that includes the Deluxe Edition that grants access to the excellent Night Springs and Lake House DLC, as well as the equally excellent Alan Wake Remastered.

• Release Date — February 26, 2019
• Developer — Platinum Games
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Price — $15.99 (Normally $39.99, 60% off)

Another essential game in any player's library, NieR: Automata's Game of the YoRHa Edition is back down to its all-time low on the PlayStation store at just $15.99. For anyone who has yet to play NieR: Automata, it's one of the all-time great games of the 8th console generation and features an unforgettable narrative to accompany its excellent, genre-switching take on the character action/action RPG subgenres. I put off playing NieR until I picked it up on a similar sale a few years back, and I was immediately kicking myself for not playing it sooner.

• Release Date — January 26, 2024
• Developer — Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
• Publisher — Sega
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $27.99 (Normally $69.99, 60% off)

Another of 2024's best RPGs is down to its all-time low on the PlayStation Store as part of the Days of Play sale, with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth a whopping 60% off. The sequel to the Yakuza series' JRPG pivot with Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Infinite Wealth bridges the two eras of the franchise by letting players control not just the lovable Ichiban, but also the Yakuza series' longtime (and much-loved) protagonist, Kiryu. While Infinite Wealth is as goofy and off-the-wall as you'd expect a new Yakuza/Like a Dragon game to be, its narrative and rock-solid JRPG gameplay are surprisingly serious, and it also packs a staggering amount of content.

• Release Date — March 25, 2022
• Developer — Gearbox Software
• Publisher — 2K
• Genre — FPS, Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $17.99 (Normally $89.99, 80% off)

The Borderlands games are incredibly fun first-person looter shooters that are, admittedly, a bit predictable and formulaic, which is what makes Tiny Tina's Wonderlands so refreshing in comparison. While Tiny Tina is undoubtedly a Borderlands spin-off, the ways that it incorporates more traditional RPG progression elements into its high-fantasy setting and tabletop RPG premise are genius, and its shooting and combat are just as fun as the best moments across the mainline Borderlands games. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands might be a bit of a big ask for those turned off by the Borderlands franchise at full price, but its current 80% off deal makes taking a chance on this incredibly fun game far less risky.

• Release Date — December 1, 2023
• Developer — Crystal Dynamics
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Stealth, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $12.49 (Normally $49.99, 75% off)

Perhaps the best deal to be found during the PlayStation Days of Play sale, just in terms of the amount of content players get for what they pay, is the Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy. This compilation/bundle packages together the three modern Tomb Raider games (Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider) and is currently just $13. Any one of these titles would be worth well more than that asking price on its own, so to get the whole modern trilogy of Tomb Raider games for less than $15 is a steal too good to pass up.