It is well known that Sony makes up for the general annoyance of requiring a paid online subscription to play games online by offering free games every month as part of its PlayStation Plus service. However, did you know that there are some great online multiplayer games available on PS4 that don't require a PlayStation Plus subscription at all? Yes! Here are our top picks for PlayStation 4 games that you can enjoy without spending a dime.
Apex Legends
Image via RespawnApex Legends is in its sixth season at the moment and continues to ramp up. It's already one of your best options for battle royale games on PS4, and it's only growing, with new content, characters, game modes and features added every month. A brand new map is also reportedly on the horizon for the upcoming Season 7.
Apex Legends now offers cross play, so you can head to the arena with your friends on other platforms.
Intrepid
Image via Phoenix LabsDauntless is a fresh and slightly less hardcore version of the Monster Hunter genre. The game has a large list of otherworldly creatures to track and hunt, and a plethora of unique equipment options to help you with this task.
Dauntless can be played solo or with friends, and offers full cross-play and cross-progression across all platforms.
Destiny 2
Image via BungieDestiny 2 is currently the first looter-shooter you can play on any platform. With a massive community and an active update schedule, the game is perfect for players who like to dig their teeth into a world and unlock its secrets every day. The game has solid PvE content and a sprawling world and lore to explore. If PvP is more your speed, Destiny 2 delivers on that front as well, with a solid competitive background in Crucible mode.
Fortnite
Image via Epic GamesFortnite has been the alpha game for a few years now, and while it has to share its stardom with other titles more and more frequently, it remains one of the biggest games around.
It's the best time ever to dip your toes into this towering monster of a game in 2020. Fortnite is constantly receiving new updates and content drops, most for its free battle royale half.
Impact Genshin
Image via miHoYoIf you've been turned down by early detractors calling Genshin Impact a Breath of the Wild scam, you should come back. The game is much more than that. Genshin Impact has a huge open world to explore, a hero party system to complement its hack-and-slash RPG gameplay, and lots of fun mechanics to learn, like cooking and expeditions.
Genshin Impact also provides a great co-op experience for players who don't want to walk around their beautiful world on their own. The system unlocks once you reach Adventure Rank 16 and lets you explore other players' worlds.
Let him die
Image via Supertrick GamesLet It Die is… something. It's been compared to Dark Souls, perhaps because it's a tough and sometimes grindy action game, but there's a lot more to do beyond that. Some highlights include an insane setting, complicated and extremely bloody combat, and an after-death mechanic that turns your deceased adventurer into an enemy in another player's world.
At least with this one, you will know right away whether you want to keep playing, or uninstall and possibly take a long introspective walk.
Paladins
Image via Hi-Rez StudiosPaladins of Hi-Rez Studios: Champions of the Realm has long been called an “Overwatch clone,” claiming that the game borrows heavily from Blizzard Entertainment's team-based shooter. While this isn't an unfair comparison, it's worth noting that both games are heavily inspired by Team Fortress 2. All of this should give you a good idea of what Paladins is: a free team-based hero shooter. and funny.
Paladins has everything you would expect from the genre: a great roster of characters, a variety of game modes, tight objective-based gameplay, and tons and tons of cosmetics. If you're a competitive player, the one area where Paladins certainly have the edge over Overwatch is hero balance: almost all champions are viable in high-level play, and the competitive meta is very flexible.
Hit
Image via Hi-Rez StudiosArguably the only successful third-person MOBA still around, Smite puts the player in the shoes (or more often, in the sandals) of a deity from human myth and folklore. Aside from, Smite is a straightforward MOBA, with heroes pushing against the flow of enemy minions on three-way maps.
Smite is at its biggest and best right now, with a great community and an active esports scene.
Spellbreak
Image via the proletariatA rather unusual new battle royale, Spellbreak pits players in a swift battle of magical superiority across a beautiful fantasy landscape. Instead of weapons and grenades, players use an array of deadly spells to shatter themselves. Although Spellbreak is very different from Genshin Impact, it has a similar elemental interaction system: throwing one element into another could create a unique effect. For example, casting a wind spell on a cloud of venom could turn it into a poisonous tornado, and so on.
Warframe
Image via Digital ExtremesIn Warframe, you play as an ancient Tenno warrior, just awake and ready to fight his way through the galaxy. The core gameplay focuses on crafting and upgrading your Warframe, a super smooth, highly customizable biomechanical combination that gives your character unique abilities. You'll travel through the stars, shoot bad guys, complete missions, and collect loot, blueprints, and other items needed to further strengthen your Warframe. Or you can make an entirely new combination and customize this one too.
Warframe offers an absolutely excellent co-op experience. If you're looking for people to play with, the Warframe subreddit and its massive roster of Warframe communities are great places to start. It's nice that the game has a reasonably welcoming community, as it can seem ridiculously complex at first with its vibrant user interface and open-ended gameplay.
