3 hidden PS Plus gems you need to play on PS5

Signing up to Sony’s PlayStation Plus service unlocks an enormous library of games for you to download or stream. Unsurprisingly, the PlayStation big hitters included on the service get most of the attention. Think God of War, The Last of Us, and Marvel’s Spider-Man.

However, PS Plus is also absolutely jam packed with great games that could easily have passed you by. And that’s where we come in.

Read on for our pick of the hidden PS Plus gems you should download to your PS5 or PS5 Pro right now.

Cursed to Golf - Official Launch Trailer - YouTube

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Cursed to Golf

Whatever you think of real-life golf, its relative simplicity makes for a really good fit for video games. AndCursed to Golf is a golf game unlike any you've played before – it’s also a roguelike.

Rather than somewhere green and pleasant like St Andrews, Cursed to Golf takes place in Golf Purgatory, where the ill-fated professional golfer you play as is told they must complete an 18-hole course in order to escape.

Each hole is randomly allocated from a bank of prebuilt levels, so you never know exactly what you’re going to get, and to make matters worse you’ll encounter “cursed” holes that attempt to halt your progress.

If that all sounds very stressful, it’s supposed to be, but Cursed to Golf’s creative level design and well-tuned 2D golfing mechanics ensure that all the suffering is fun.

Maneater - Next Gen Launch Trailer | PS5 - YouTube

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Maneater

June marks the 50th anniversary of the film Jaws, and what better way to mark the occasion than by downloading Maneater – an open-world action RPG that lets you live the power fantasy of prowling the ocean floor as a hungry apex predator.

The shark you play as in Maneater arguably has a slightly better reason to cause chaos than Jaws’ Bruce, with the plot quickly established as a tale of revenge. However, don’t expect any weighty themes here. Maneater is a gleefully mindless romp in which gobbling up everything (and everyone) in sight is the key to evolving your shark until it reaches its final form of mutant mega monster.

It isn’t very deep, and it’s very stupid, but Maneater’s arcade thrills, compelling underwater exploration and light RPG systems make it a breezy summer romp. It's also the best Jaws simulator you’ll find.

Monster Boy - Gameplay Trailer | PS4 - YouTube

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Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a spiritual successor to Sega’s Wonder Boy series from the ‘80s and ‘90s, specifically taking inspiration from 1989’s Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap on the Master System.

It’s a 2D side-scrolling adventure game in which you play as a young boy tasked with saving his kingdom from a mad uncle who’s turned everyone into animals. To do this, he himself assumes the form of various animals, from a clue-sniffing pig to a powerful lion, each with a special ability used in combat and puzzle scenarios.

Gaining a new animal form also allows you to access new areas, Metroidvania-style, in what is, for our money, one of the most underrated entries in the genre.

With consistently fun and varied gameplay and delightful hand-drawn visuals, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom brilliantly modernises a beloved retro series.