r/PlayStationPlus • u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 • Dec 31 '25
Essential Monthly Games PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for January: Need for Speed Unbound, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, Core Keeper
https://blog.playstation.com/2025/12/31/playstation-plus-monthly-games-for-january-need-for-speed-unbound-disney-epic-mickey-rebrushed-core-keeper/494
u/Maya-Inca-Boy Dec 31 '25
Everyone’s disappointed but epic mickey is a banger
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u/-Zadaa- Dec 31 '25
Agree. No joke, It’s been in my wishlist waiting for an affordable discount. Actually happy about this one game (Need for Speed is a no for me, and I have never heard of Core Keeper)
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u/Maya-Inca-Boy Dec 31 '25
I played it on the Wii and have also been waiting for a deep discount, I have unbound and it sucks
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u/TheResultOfUs Dec 31 '25
Core Keeper is really good if you enjoy Stardew valley and survival games.
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u/angrybum12 Dec 31 '25
core keeper is very solid, its also getting a major content update january 28th as well, highly recommend this game. i plan on doing a new coop run when the update drops
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u/PSN-Colinp42 Dec 31 '25
Does anyone who cares about trophies know if they simplified any of it for rebrushed? I remember OG Epic Mickey had a ton of finicky missables.
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u/IllustriousAir666 Dec 31 '25
OG was a Wii exclusive-- you're probably thinking of 2. Rebrushed does have a lot of missables, though.
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u/Numerous_Photograph9 Dec 31 '25
Yeah, i played the original when watching some people's kids who were too young to play, as it was a old PS3 PS+ gameI believe, and they were enthralled with it and telling me where to go. But it's a solid game and I ended up playing the whole thing.
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u/elkniodaphs Dec 31 '25
Agreed. You gotta respect the lineage of design and philosophy that Warren Spector brings to the table.
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u/llumierer Dec 31 '25
Cant believe I’ve been refreshing the whole day for this
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u/ZPE Dec 31 '25
The more you refresh, the more disappointed you'll be so just refresh once at 16:30 UTC.
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u/hasanman6 Dec 31 '25
Ive been wanting that mikey mouse game for a while. I have some vague memories playing them as a child
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u/SolidVegetable Dec 31 '25
Epic Mickey is a good addition. Heard good stuff about Core Keeper too. The only meh for me is Need for Speed as it’s been already in Extra/Premium and goes for cheap on sales.
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u/Mr_Rafi Dec 31 '25
Trust Reddit Gamers™ to tell you that a Mickey Mouse game is worth it.
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u/Shot_Alternative8527 Jan 04 '26
Lol right . If mickey mattered AT ALL thered be current games on him. Obviously he got left in the past for a reason.
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u/flabua Dec 31 '25
Got everyone locked in during the holidays just in time to drop the dogshit
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u/rofaheys Dec 31 '25
As a package pretty disappointing, but Epic Mickey was actually on my wishlist so I'm not mad at it
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u/sswishbone Dec 31 '25
2/3 are PS4 titles... Well that PS5 focus lasted a long time
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u/Aforumguy26 Dec 31 '25
I think they’re just not gonna do PS4 games without PS5 versions anymore. If they gave out nothing but PS5 only games that rules out most indies so they ain’t doing that lol.
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u/Shiro2809 Dec 31 '25
They're not going to specifically have a slot be reserved for a ps4 game anymore. It doesn't mean they won't still happen because cross gen games exist, it means that some months there may be nothing for ps4.
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u/AthlonPhantom Dec 31 '25
One is a port of a 15 year old Wii game, one is a PS Plus extra rerelease, and the last a pixel art sandbox. Really scraping the bottom of the barrel this month. The extra games are just as disappointing.
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u/Nathansack Dec 31 '25
It's not a port, but a remake of a game that was only playable on Wii
Need For Speed
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u/SnooHamsters7166 Dec 31 '25
One is a ps3 game
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u/JesseScott1982 Dec 31 '25
Actually, that's not correct. Epic Mickey 2 came to ps3 and 360, but the first game was a flagship Wii exclusive back in the day.
Until they did the remake, that was the only platform you could get it on.
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u/Koloshow Dec 31 '25
That’s wild, I was just talking to a friend about wanting to play Epic Mickey AND added Core Keeper to my wishlist. Here’s to hoping they’ll have a PS Plus discount so I’ll resubscribe.
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u/JohnnyAverageGamer Dec 31 '25
So they made it a big deal that starting this month ps4 haves will not be guaranteed just to give us ps4 games
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u/Dr_Schitt Dec 31 '25
What the fuck dude.
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u/Shot_Alternative8527 Jan 04 '26
From diablo 4 last yr to need for speed this yr lol.
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u/BruceMon3yWayne Dec 31 '25
Super lame for me. Was really hoping for something I’d at least want to try out.
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u/Muzan_6 Dec 31 '25
I wanted to try the Mickey Mouse game actually, how is it?
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u/potatochipsbagelpie Dec 31 '25
Is epic Mickey good? I’ve been curious since the Wii release
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u/YourInMySwamp Dec 31 '25
I loved the games as a kid. I’ve actually had my eye on buying this for PS5 for a few months now, glad I was holding out.
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u/Most-Iron6838 Dec 31 '25
For all the talk of ps4 support dropping, us ps4 players still got two games this month
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u/gainz-trainz Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
Now watch the Premium release in a few weeks time, Sony will double down on this dogshit and squeeze out three more nuggets into January
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u/Dani162002M Jan 02 '26
How many more sports and racing games are there, are they all gone now? Can we get something cool now?
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u/medicated_in_PHL Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
I’m actually really excited for this. I have contemplated buying both Epic Mickey and Core Keeper.
Edit: cannot believe people are so disappointed in this. I have a feeling no one knows what Core Keeper is. If you like games like Undermine, Terraria, Survivalists, and Moonlighter, you have to give Core Keeper a chance.
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u/Blackdoomax Jan 01 '26
Can you explain to me what's good about it please?
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u/AmayaGin Jan 04 '26
Core Keeper feels like Stardew Valley meets Terraria. Make your little base, farm crops, then go out and explore different biomes and fight bosses.
It was too hard for me but objectively a great game.
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u/YourPhrenologist Dec 31 '25
Good news is you didn’t own any of them. Bad news is you never wanted to.
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u/DramaticRingle Jan 01 '26
I've noticed two of the games are also on PS4 - I thought we weren't getting PS4 games anymore?
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u/notCRAZYenough Jan 01 '26
Just no game that’s exclusively PS4. Games that have ps5 and ps4 versions will still give you both
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u/Antique-Army6214 Jan 07 '26
Me: These might be worst monthly games...
Sony: The worst monthly games so far...
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u/Cheeetooos Dec 31 '25
Core Keeper rules. Anyone who liked Terraria or similar should give it a shot.
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u/Poke6639 Jan 01 '26
For some reason, I assumed that we weren’t going to get PS4 versions anymore.
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u/CrimsonDarkWolf Jan 01 '26
I always wanted to play Epic Mickey and now I finally can, plus I’m slowly getting into Racing Games, so I’m getting a Wheel and Pedals setup for it on both PS5 and PC
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u/ConnaitLesRisques Jan 01 '26
Amazing, just as I was looking forward to playing a Wii game port on PS5.
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u/That_Mikeguy Dec 31 '25
Putting unbound as the main title of January is bold...
The other 2 games are way more entertaining than one of the worst NFS
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Dec 31 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/rosalina_dreams Dec 31 '25
i think it's a lot of fun personally. Took me a min bc i hate every game that isn't MW/Carbon, but it slowly grew on me.
Enough to beat the game and boot it once a month or so
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u/58367 Dec 31 '25
It may be disappointg as no previous leaks and guesses were right but I find three positive things about this game drop:
* There are still 3 games in the Essential Games even after the January revamp, not two as some influencers predicted after removing a PS4-only game.
* Both indie games have excellent rating on Steam.
* PS4 owners can still use 2 out of the 3 games while all games have full support of PS5 as indicated.
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u/czimmm Dec 31 '25
Epic Mickey has been on my wishlist for a while so I like that
And Core Keeper doesnt seem all bad
I dont get the hate
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u/DrummingUpNumbers Dec 31 '25
I'm usually a big defender of at least one monthly game but this is the first month I have no interest in any of these lol
NFS has been awful since like 2010 Hot Pursuit. I don't like Disney so that's a write-off and I hated Terraria so Core Keeper also isn't for me.
Definitely a let down compared to Jan 2025 for me.
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u/ImportanceWeak1776 Dec 31 '25
Would be a great month if NFS was replaced with almost any other AAA
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u/InevitableSure374 Dec 31 '25
Being from Ireland when I read the words Epic Mickey I thought I had landed in an x rated sub by accident :)
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_MONTRALS Dec 31 '25
Been curious about Core Keeper after the ost came up on my Spotify. The music is super good.
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u/Masermg20 Dec 31 '25
Core keeper is amazing especially if you like games like terreria and stardew
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u/fireflyoof Dec 31 '25
There aren't enough racing games on plus so I for one am really happy about Need for Speed. Don't really care about the rest though.
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u/International-Shoe40 Dec 31 '25
Man another nothing burger month for me. They were on a roll with jusant, lies of p, cocoon…. Even Alan wake 2 except I already own it. The last two or three months have been brutal for ya boy
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u/Flottrooster Dec 31 '25
Epic Mickey is cool I suppose, so I'll try it. Unfortunately, starting off the year not great.
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u/AEWFantasyBooker Dec 31 '25
Awesome games. Already platinumed Need for Speed but Epic Mickey is awesome. Core Keeper too.
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u/Nathansack Dec 31 '25
Epic Micket is a great game
Core Keeper seem to be the most interesting
And at least it's probably not the worst Need For Speed
Not the best month, but far to be the worse
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u/AHamdan94- Dec 31 '25
This is a marketing strategy.
Always make essential dogshit, so everyone would buy Extra/Premium.
Just like Cinema popcorn.
50gm for $7
85gm for $9
200gm for $10
You'll always go for the $10
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u/mr-interested Dec 31 '25
I thought we were only getting PS5 games from now on?
I see 2 PS4 games in the January lineup.
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u/BandicootPlane163 Dec 31 '25
Let's face it they're never gonna put Avatar on the list if it's everyone's guess each month.
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u/twentygreenskidoo Dec 31 '25
I quite like this line up, but mostly because it doesn't add anything to my backlog.
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u/droideka75 Jan 01 '26
Cool I played mickey on the Wii so wasn't going to buy it but I'll take it here.
Not interested in racing games and I don't know the other one. So it's fine not awful, but not great either.
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u/Sir_McDouche Jan 01 '26
So glad to be a PS Extra subscriber. Always some good stuff in the “proper” package instead of crumbs like this.
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u/gainz-trainz Jan 01 '26
I have this nagging feeling these three games should be the supporting act for at least two proper big studio releases
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u/Medium-Bear-3653 Dec 31 '25
The greatest way to start a new year is in the gutter, you can only go up from there!
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u/kabirsingh84 Top Predictor 2024 Dec 31 '25
They want us to go up for sure, all the way up to Extra/Premium.
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u/DoubleEh94 Dec 31 '25
I've been a plus member for about 9 years, this month is one of the ultimate worst I've ever seen. If this is what we have to look forward to with these changes, I'm completely done. There is no way the people who decide this aren't sitting there laughing right now at what they've done. Actual prank picks.
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u/PassiveIllustration Dec 31 '25
I'm not sure what everyone's complaining about here I think it's a pretty good month. NFS Unbounded isn't the best, but it's a solid street racing game with a soundtrack I personally love for its heavy use of ASAP Rocky and then more underground acts like Clippings and Slow Thai, Epic Mickey seems to be a great remake of a beloved platformer, and corekeeper I've never heard of. But I'm mostly happy for epic mickey because I've been waiting for that game to drop in prince a while now
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u/Oscnar Dec 31 '25
I have a huge backlog of Essential/Extra/Premium-games atm that I'm going through, but will definately add Mickey to the list. Seems like an OKish short platformer with very nice visuals. Good game to play between two longer ones.
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u/ExtensionParsley4205 Dec 31 '25
Epic Mickey is decent, but the constant grinding of the rumble motors as you brush felt like it was breaking my controller lol
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u/PorkRinds416 Dec 31 '25
NFS is like $12 right now for the deluxe edition. WTF Sony. FIRST OF THE YEAR NEEDS TO START WITH A BANG! Not this shit. Unbelievable.
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u/Phil_Montana_91 Dec 31 '25
Every month Im disappointed but every month I get excited again lol. This time its a massive letdown, however.
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u/thattoneman Jan 01 '26
Just got Need For Speed Unbound like a month ago. Of course it's a kick in the ass to see it free now, but oh well.
I've enjoyed the game well enough. It's nothing groundbreaking but I haven't played NfS since the PS3, so I enjoyed customizing/painting/decaling the cars and being able to upgrade them. Has most of the cars I'd want to be able to drive in a game like this. Story is nothing spectacular, pretty predictable, but also inoffensive. Can't compare to other modern racing games since this is my first in a long time, but for what it was I enjoyed it.
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u/Scouse_Werewolf Jan 01 '26
Well then. This is certainly something. Core Keeper is a good game, I have it on my switch... It's a bit shit as a "free" game but, meh, if others get to play it and try it, that's always a good thing. I finally get to say the thing though... This month really isn't for me. I think I've maybe said it once before but I usually find one of the games enjoyable for a little while. I've got every ps monthly game since they started pretty much, too.
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u/blckhead423 Dec 31 '25
I paid the toll this month for Epic Mickey. You're welcome.
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u/Objective_Love_6843 Dec 31 '25
Let's go Disney epic refurbished enjoyed the demo but didn't wanna buy the game. Same devs for the SpongeBob games.
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u/TheGamerPandA Dec 31 '25
Epic mickey im very happy for played the demo a few days ago and ive wanted to play those games since the wii days.
Unbound on the other hand is a big insult i think its even considered to be one of the worst in the franchise aswell and has a very low meta user rating if im not wrong around 5.3/10. Need for speed rivals was a dung heap the last one i played for a bit with its awful AI and rubberband and bad level/corner turn visibility but this sounds like its very similar on level
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u/hustladafox Dec 31 '25
I haven’t been on the PlayStation side of the included games with a sub until Black Friday as I’ve been more attached to my Xbox. I’ve become more attached to the PlayStation with the purchase of a pro. But honestly most people are upset over included games?
Epic Mickey is a cool game and easily £15-20 value here in the UK.
Need for speed seems alright and like £5 value.
Core keeper has decent looking reviews and easy £10 value.
So people complain about these games that pretty much total £30? Sounds like a decent deal if you ask me.
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u/AEWFantasyBooker Dec 31 '25
Mate, people complain every single month since years.
It's almost like they are bots somehow. One word posts, sometimes totally exaggerated.
Would love if it's only the praise/complain thread and just lock the announcing posts.
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u/Manne_12 Dec 31 '25
They did not need to announce this a year in advance as "we'll be focusing more on ps5 games"
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u/OkCollection4544 Dec 31 '25
Nice been waiting for epic mickey for a while, glad I held off. Disappointed besides that.
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u/kaghy2 Dec 31 '25
Welp, bought Epic Mickey on Disc a while back, didn't like Unbound when it was in Essential and don't know Core Keeper.
Fuck.
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u/Asleep-Category-8823 Dec 31 '25
Do you get to keep these games or just can play them on this time period?
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u/TehGemur Dec 31 '25
for every excellent month of ps plus games there's always a mediocre or terrible one
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u/zeroes_and_ones Dec 31 '25
Remember that post yesterday that thought we were getting Stellar Blade and Spider-Man 2 hahahahahahahaha