Let’s take a look at what you’re going to get in March with your PlayStation Plus membership. To start, PlayStation 4 owners can enjoy the Apocalypse Edition of the critically acclaimed PS3 twin-stick zombie shooter, Dead Nation. The PS4 version includes updated visuals and controls, as well as a sweet interactive broadcast mode, so hit that “Share” button when you start playing!
PS3 owners get Tomb Raider, one of last year’s most praised titles. This reboot showcases Lara’s transformation from a recent anthropology graduate to a battle-hardened adventurer as her expedition crashes on a mysterious island. You’ll hunt animals, upgrade weapons and choose perks to increase Lara’s chances of survival.
Also on PS3: Thomas Was Alone, an adorable puzzle platformer that showcases the camaraderie of artificial intelligences depicted as various shapes, and Lone Survivor: Director’s Cut, a 2D adventure style survival horror game. Bonus! Thomas Was Alone and Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut are Cross-Buy titles, so you’ll get both the PS3 and PS Vita versions of those games.
For PS Vita this month, you get Unit 13: a third-person mission-based shooter where you’ll need to complete specified objectives, like staying in stealth or completing levels as quickly as possible. Then there’s Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite, a massive experience where you can — you guessed it — kill monsters, and then use their body parts to craft new weapons & armor to take down bigger baddies.
March PlayStation Plus Preview
Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS4)
Free for PS Plus members
Run-and-gun through the zombie apocalypse as hit arcade shooter Dead Nation shuffles onto PlayStation 4. Fight for your life alone or with a friend as Jack McReady or Scarlett Blake as you step onto the streets of a city overrunwith undead flesh-eaters. And, if you’re feeling really brave, take a walk down the Road of Devastation – a deadly experiment that pushes your survival skills to the absolute limit as you face hordes of zombies with no extra lives and no second chances. The dead may walk – but you can make sure they don’t walk very far.
Tomb Raider (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
This newest rendition of Tomb Raider explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to the hardened survivor that she would become known as. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold.
Thomas Was Alone (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
Thomas Was Alone is the critically acclaimed indie platformer about friendship and jumping. Guide a group of sentient rectangles through a series of environments, combining their skills to reach the end of each level. Listen to awesome music by David Housden, negotiate obstacles meticulously placed by Mike Bithell and immerse yourself in the characters’ journey with a voiceover read wistfully and amusingly by Danny Wallace.
Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut (PS3)
Free for PS Plus members
In this psychological survival adventure, the masked protagonist must escape from a city ravaged by disease, by any means necessary. Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut is a new kind of adventure where the choice of how to survive is up to you. Sneak through without firing a single shot, or kill everything in your path. Eat and sleep well, or resort to drugs to keep going. Search for survivors, or try to escape the city alone. Look after your mental health, or descend into madness. Lone Survivor is a game where your choices genuinely matter.
Unit 13 (PS Vita)
Free for PS Plus members
Jump into the action with Unit 13 for PlayStation®Vita and conquer 36 tactical missions and 9 high value target battles as you help take down global terror networks and earn your place in the military elite. With the precision of the PlayStation Vita systems’s dual analog sticks and unique touch interface, Unit 13 is the perfect on-the-go action shooter. Wi-Fi connectivity adds fast 2-player co-op action, and 3G compatibility keeps you connected for instant social updates and new daily mission challenges.
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite (PS Vita)
Free for PS Plus members
In the world of Monster Hunter you’re never alone.
-The biggest Monster Hunter title to date with over 500 hours of gameplay.
-Huge variety of character customizations including 1400 weapons and over 2000 armor sets.
-Players can form a team of up to 4 players through Ad-Hoc play and experience the social gaming phenomenon.
-AI Felyne companion, who will accompany players on quests and provide aid through the challenging battles. With the ‘Felyne Exchange’ feature players can share their companions with other players, transferring data using the PSP’s sleep mode.
-Fans of the series can transfer their data from Monster Hunter Freedom 2.
If you’ve got feedback on PlayStation Plus make sure you take the poll above as well as leave a comment below. To chat about all things PlayStation, including this update, you can head over to the PlayStation Community Forums. You’ll also find other topics you can contribute your thoughts to, or you can start your own discussion.
Tomb Raider for me :)
on a side note…..when will we get the option to organize our download list? I have 250 games/dlcs/demos and it’s a pain in the a** to look for something in particular. I’m sure a lot of people have way more than me and we’d all appreciate any mean to sort that list
Well…at least the Vita games are good…Don’t really care for indie platformers or survival horror…and idk about Tomb Raider. Oh well, at least I’ll have a reason to buy a new Vita cable for my charger.
Drakor180’s comment (#150 as of right now) is why Tomb Raider being in the March IGC makes sense for the publisher: Many people will choose to buy the PS4 version after playing it on PS3 for free. Even if buyers wait for a sale, that’s more money for the publishers vs. nothing. Think of it as a free game trial that lasts as long as your Plus subscription.
The same basic concept rules all decisions regarding sales leading up to the inevitable IGC inclusion: They’re doing it on purpose, and they have no reason to stop. All I ever saw anyone from Sony post on the matter was that they would “look into” (or some such) the idea of not having sales just before a game joins the IGC.
The cold financial reality is that publishers will try to get the last few dollars out of people’s pockets just before they know it will join the IGC. Sony doesn’t really control this directly. They simply set up and run the apparatus that allows companies to do this. And there’s no incentive anywhere in that system for them to tell us beforehand that games will be on sale for less or join the IGC.
So…once we know this, it comes down to what we do about it. Bottom line: Stop buying inexpensive games if you know it will bother you seeing them join the IGC soon. Like many people, I bought Thomas Was Alone in January. And while I somewhat understand people’s frustration with all of this, in the end I don’t really miss the $2 or so I spent on it.
WOOT!!! Free “Monster Hunter Freedom Unite!” This is the GREATEST handheld gaming experience of ALL TIME!!! I can’t wait to see if there’s some more peeps to play with via AdHoc Party next month. :)
Speaking of AdHoc Party, will that app be making its way to the PS4?
I’m glad I didn’t buy Tomb Raider this month even though I was totally tempted for it. Stoked for that and Monster Hunter! Thanks!
Hey, does anyone know if “Dark Souls” (the first game) has ever been in the Instant Game Collection? I know it was released a couple of years back but I don’t remember having seen it before. I was hoping it was going to be in the March lineup, especially given that it would be good publicity for “Dark Souls 2″‘s release on March 11. Wondering if I should just buy the first one, rather than wait for it.
@ neuropunk.
Wrong. I’ve been gaming since the PS1 was out in 96′, even being a PS fan, I never caught on to JRPG’s I remember buying FF7(and being so bored with it, that would be my first experience with an JRPG) and even after trying out different ones(Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, Xenogears). While I can understand that some people love them I am not going to type that one is somehow better than the other. Unlike you, I can make the distinction that my thinking that western games is better is just my opinion and not a fact.
So vita only gets 1 game this month?
Monster Hunter is a PSP game not a Vita game.
Nice try though.
PS Plus on Vita is starting to suck.
“I wholeheartedly disagree. And I’m not a new gamer (3 decades deep) or a casual gamer. I don’t care about graphics at all, and just like you I’m not too fond of first-person shooters.”
JRPGs usually have a ton of stuff to do, so that leaves quite a feeling of accomplishment finding secrets and such. Young children? You’ve been playing the wrong JRPGs, don’t base all JRPGs on Ni No Kuni and FFXIII series. Thing is that your shooters and “mature” games are really the games made for children.
Lost Odyssey, Xenoblade, Xenogears, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, the Tales series, etc. aren’t childish games at all.
Grind away? You’re not forced to grind. Take skill? Shooters don’t require any skill since you just aim a crosshair at things and fire, so freaking easy, and it’s no wonder online CoD matches are full of offensive screaming 10 year olds. I play Ninja Gaiden and Dark Souls, and can say that JRPGs do require skill. Western games all you do is press the trigger button and forward.
“@ neuropunk.
Wrong. I’ve been gaming since the PS1 was out in 96′, even being a PS fan, I never caught on to JRPG’s I remember buying FF7(and being so bored with it, that would be my first experience with an JRPG) and even after trying out different ones(Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, Xenogears). While I can understand that some people love them I am not going to type that one is somehow better than the other. Unlike you, I can make the distinction that my thinking that western games is better is just my opinion and not a fact.”
So you like bad games and you have bad taste. You’re not special. Millions of people have bad taste and you’re no exception.
Also, I am objective and not subjective. Games with substance over flash are better than games that focus more on presentation above gameplay that are just shallow. JRPGs have depth and exploration and aren’t linear hallway simulators like your western “games” if they really have enough gameplay in them to be called games.
So much for ONLINE COMMUNITY. Shutting down the Socom servers says alot about what community means to Sony. I paid for a online game only and you shut it down. What a JOKE.
Kristine this is the best month ever !! I just love platformers.
And by the end of the month I just have to get another year ps plus, it´s so worth.
Thanks for the great news!
Come on guys dont complain about march, after Metro, Remember me and Payday 2 having only Tomb Raider ( and 2 indies )…
February wins by far ! Anyway waiting for April already !
And btw still on the hope for Dark Souls or Skyrim or maybe even a recently final fantasy !
Decent PS+ update. Not the best, but it ain’t worst either. For Dead Nation, I didn’t start getting PS+ until 2012, so at least I’ll get a chance to play it when I get a PS4. As for Tomb Raider, I would have bought the game a couple of months ago, but decided not to due to some Sony game not having her as playable character even though it would match. Bad excuse I know, but it would have motivated me to. To me, I think it’s fair that we got two indie games for March. After all, we never got a single one since Payday 2 took it’s place.
@Greeny83 Agreed. Even though I own a Vita now, I still have my PSP and use it to play my UMDs, PSone classics, and digital games I bought that I have no plans to bring to the Vita. Kind of cool we get Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite though. Been wondering if they are still offering them because I want to replace a PS+ PSP game that I don’t play anymore on my Vita.
@TooLegit505 Are you stupid? The indie games are cross buy so you get Vita versions as well. So that makes 3 for this month. 4 if you included Monster Hunter.
@Toe_Tag_ Suck it up and play newer games. Also, Socom sucks. I can never get into that series because it’s so boring.
Hi, I enter the PSN and didn’t find Thomas was alone for free. I have PS+ but it’s not free. What I’m doing wrong?
#318 @Monsieur_Kornu
This is a preview for what will be free during March 2014. Unlike Europe where they all show up first Tuesday of the month, with NA it’s usually 1 or 2 games a week over the course of the month.
Thomas will probably show up free during the 2nd or 3rd week of March.
Thank you very much, #319.
^^
#307 @rudetoy
Dark Souls has not been in the IGC but Demon Souls, its predecessor, has.
I only wish that we were getting tomb raider for the ps4, because I hate having to constantly delete stuff from my ps3.
Understand opinions but calling this “the best month” is a joke in itself.
It’s far from it… two awful generic indie games that have been done thousands of times.. NO THANKS, will try them (merely to get trophies honestly) but MEH MEH MEH!
Dead nation does look fun (never played it on ps3) and I’ll have a coop partner for that so that’ll be the best for me this month, Tomb Raider looks decent as well.
Vita doesn’t pertain to me, and never will.
@312
People like you are what cause me to never want to game again, complaining about a 3 year olds games servers closing when it probably was pretty dead (the cause.. don’t say “Well there was 12,000 playing!” 12,000 is nothing honestly.)
Nice Selection! Do you take requests? I’d love to see a Ratchet and Clank release for the PS3 :)
@ neuropunk
Uhh… dude, you must have missed the part where I said, “JUST LIKE YOU, I’m NOT too fond of first-person shooters.”
I said I prefer games that require skill, which is one reason I don’t play FPS or RPGs very often. Funny thing though, shooters actually do require just a tad more skill than JRPGs…
OMG I Love you guys, it makes me so glad to be a PS+ Member its always nice to see some awesome games available.
I also love so you now present the games coming for the month. and can’t wait for Tomb Raider <3 Keep up the awesome guys.
“Funny thing though, shooters actually do require just a tad more skill than JRPGs…”
No they don’t. JRPGs actually require strategy. In shooters you just move down a narrow corridor the entire game and pewpew stuff. That is the very definition of shallow, regarding video games.
I don’t know if I can handle another zombie game. -sarcasm-
And when it will come March is allready?????????????
please explain to me why you chose to only make the ps3 version of lone survivor free.
wait, it’s cross-buy? damn sony you amazing!
Newcomers: To get an idea of how this works…
Scroll to the top of this page and find Post Stats. Then under Tagged, click playstation plus. You’ll see a bunch of posts made on Mondays & Tuesdays. Monday we find out which game(s) will be joining the IGC that week, and Tuesday it actually happens when the store updates (usually by 2pm PST, Pacific Standard Time, US, GMT -8).
It’s not like EU Plus where everything drops all at once when the month starts. Here (NA) we get 1-2 games from this list each week.
Wow, another month of amazing games.
Playstation Plus is the best value in video gaming. I just want to thank everyone at Sony for taking care of us in a way that must make non Playstation gamers green with every different flavor and variety of envy. You have raised the bar in a way other companies can only weakly attempt to copy.
Sony has shown it cares about its customers and earned my loyalty because of it.
Long Live Playstation!
PS You have convinced me that i need a PS Vita. Im saving my nickels as of today.
I own all of the games except Monster Hunter, but the offerings this month are still pretty awesome, guys. I’ve been a subscriber since day one of PS Plus, and we didn’t receive any games like we do now. Tomb Raider is awesome and deserved more attention than it received. The indie games are honestly pretty fun and Unit 13 is good 3rd person shooter to take on the go (although, let’s be honest, Killzone Mercenary is the best shooter Vita has to offer). As probably one of the few day one subscribers, I don’t believe we need AAA games every month. Quality, variety, and no repeats is at the top of my agenda. Plus has given me a lot of games I would have never thought twice about playing. I can’t keep up with the gaming options Plus gives me, and that’s a positive quality, Morgan Haro!
I hope someday, Sony would add Brave Fencer Musashi and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 available on PSN….
@ neuropunk
While I mostly agree with your description of shooters, it is a little deeper than that. Let’s be real here. You can’t just run through recklessly blasting everything or you’ll be quickly gunned down by the enemy. A bit of tact and skill is essential if you want to see your way through the whole campaign. It’s just that it isn’t all that hard to develop a strategy for survival in these games since they’re so linear and shallow by design (and indeed they are repetitive as hell), thus, I don’t consider shooters to be very challenging or even worth playing, but that’s still more of a task than those goofy turn-based JRPGs could ever provide.
There isn’t a single RPG that can’t be completed without a little time invested in it. There isn’t any eye/hand coordination or other legitimate reflexes/skills required… a lack of which would mean you absolutely WILL NOT finish other games. Press X a few thousand times to advance through all the text and it eventually comes to an end. Press X to confirm an action and watch the AI do the rest.
Sure, you may need a strategy as to how you’re going to approach a certain battle, but even if you fail, there are infinite chances to reorganize your plan and eventually get it right. Seriously, RPGs present no challenge whatsoever.
Overall, RPGs feel like playing through an interactive book. Now, I understand that can be appealing and satisfying to some people and I’ve played through a few myself, but they just don’t feel like legitimate “games” to me. To me, “game” implies a challenge of some sort, with a set goal in mind. An activity that shaprens physical and/or mental skills while stimulating emotion, and providing a sense of reward when completed successfully. RPGs are more of a fantasy land wanderer type of experience with an interactive story and environment that seemingly provides more of a distraction from reality than a valuable asset that can actually supplement your real life.
*sharpens
Why give us two games from the recent 14 for 14 sale? Makes me feel dumb buying them so recently. Tomb Raider is a nice offering though.
Looks like a great month to me! I’ve recently gotten back into Monster Hunter Freedom unite on my vita, and have been wanting some people to quest with! This should help with that! If you’re looking for people to play Monster Hunter with though, I suggest using the PS3 app AdHocPlay or whatever it is called, it’s pretty great for helping with that game. I’ve been wanting to play Unit 13 but just haven’t wanted to buy it, so this is awesome for that! I’ve been playing Tomb Raider lately, so I’m not as excited for that, but am glad more people will enjoy it. It’s pretty great those other two PS3 games are cross-buy aswell! Thanks guys for the great month of games. (Still playing Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen from a few months ago) xD So if you’ve got a Vita, play Monster Hunter! It is worth it, graphics not the best, but it’s overall a solid game that I’ve sunk over 800 hours into in the past. :p
I’m a bit disappointed with this month’s lineup, for one I already have Tomb Raider because a couple of months ago they put on sale for $10 for PS Plus members and of course i bought it, great game. I can’t say the same for the other free PS3 games, Thomas was alone looks awful as I like a well produced, long, and entertaining games. Lone survivor is truly a waste of space for what could have been a great lineup. Not hating on indie games but they can never be better than big-budget games which i enjoy, indie games are paving the way with good ideas and the big-budget games are just making them better. PS needs to flip the switch and put more good quality games out there instead of just putting 1 or 2 good games every month and just filling the rest. Also Dead nation really blew it on PS3 hope it’s not the same on PS4.
Also, to correct myself it’s called AdHoc Party. You can’t find it via search in the Playstation Store, it’s under PSP-Addons. in the store. It’s a bit of work to get to. But worth it. It’s the only way to play MHFU online with people. So Share this as much as you can with people!
Great service looking forward for these games
Hopefully PS will have some good deals in the store for PS Plus, if not I guess I will just renew my membership next month.
I just recently bought a Vita and would like to ask , When do we usually get the free games? i already have my PS Plus active and got all the free games for february
Monster Hunter, Lone Survivor, and another game I already own that I can trade in now. Not a bad March.
WTF that is such BS, how come PS3 get Tomb Raider but PS4 get whack Dead Nation, come on Sony get your head from where the sun don’t shine & start hook up the PS4 with better games. Tomb Raider could of been free on both PS3 & PS4, you guys are really lagging with PS Plus on the PS4 & giving everything to the PS3, I paid good money for the PS4 & PS Plus so I would expect better game especially something like Tomb Raider.