PlayStation Store discounts: three games to buy at a discount at Christmas

Sony wastes no time chatting and, well in advance of the start of the new year, has already moved forward by launching the new January Sale on PlayStation Store. The video games on offer are, as usual, hundreds and there is no shortage of productions of great media and qualitative prominence such as Elden Ringfresh winner of the 2022 Game of the Year award at The Game Awardshowever for our regular shopping advice article we chose to draw three Hidden Gems, less flashy video games but equally worthy of attention. Here are our proposals for the Christmas holidays!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge (PS4 and PS5) – 19.99 euros

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is a real declaration of love both towards the Ninja Turtles, whose deeds have exalted more than a generation of young people, as towards the scrolling fighting games of the past, which exuded blows and fun from every pixel.

Developed by Dotemu, a Parisian studio that has already shown that they know how to deal with the scrolling fighting game genre with the excellent Streets of Rage 4, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge exhibits an 80s-style vintage aestheticwith pixel art characters, vehicles, weapons, objects and environments directly inspired by the iconic 1987 animated series. From Manhattan to Coney Island, from the roofs of the skyscrapers to the dank sewers, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo are called to stop Krang and Shredderwho have ordered Bebop and Rocksteady to steal high-tech devices from Channel 6 to implement a new evil plan.

The gameplay, of clear old-school inspiration, does not give up a certain degree of accessibility to meet even the youngest gamers who have not frequented arcades at the end of the last millennium. The story mode consists of 16 stages and makes replayability one of its trump cards, especially in multiplayer, given that Shredder’s Revenge games can host up to six participants simultaneouslyboth online and locally (in addition to the four turtles, April O’Neil and Casey Jones are also playable. Read ours review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge if you want to know more.

Cult of the Lamb (PS4 and PS5) – 19.99 euros

Among the undisputed phenomena of the past year, which saw the flourishing of independent productions of absolute thickness, Cult of the Lamb is an irreverent and sacrilegious roguelite dungeon crawler whose protagonist is a tender (only apparently) possessed lamb.

A powerful demigod force known as The One Who Waits she saved him from a gruesome sacrificial death and now she must repay him by building a cult in his name. Like? By creating a cult in a land of false prophets and entering unknown regions to subjugate communities of furry animals. Drawing inspiration from products such as Hades, Animal Crossing and Binding of Isaac, the work of Massive Monster brilliantly mixes roguelite combat and management elements. The action component comes into play during the raids in the woods in search of monsters to kill and infidels to convert, while the management aspect is expressed in the administration of the faith of the followers, the greatest resource ever. The gameplay loop, we assure you, is engaging and inspiring.

The intent of the work produced, needless to say, by those wags of Devolver Digital, is clearly to offer a provocative and mocking look at religionbut Giulia Martino spoke about it in much more depth in hers Cult of the Lamb review.

Soulstice (PS5) – 27.99 euros

We close this brief review with a surprising all-Italian action, Soulsticewhich just three months ago was able to amaze us with a gameplay stylish engaging and innovative inspired by genre staples such as Devil May Cry and Bayonetta.

Purchasable on PlayStation Store only in the PS5 version, Soulstice is set in a dark fantasy world full of mystery where the “Chimeras”, hybrid beings forged by the union of two different souls, represent humanity’s only hope. The protagonists are Briar and Lute, two sisters who have been transformed into a Chimera. The gameplay revolves around their particular condition: Briar, endowed with superhuman strength and resistance, fights in melee and unleashes lethal combos, while Lute, who was sacrificed to bind her soul to that of her sister, has become a Spirit from mystical powers capable of dominating the battlefield with otherworldly abilities.

The combat system works properly, while the game world and the story, inspired by Japanese dark fantasy, manage to fascinate and intrigue while not being particularly elaborate and imaginative. The only flaws can be found in the camera and in the readability of the action which is reduced in some circumstances, but we feel equally of recommend Soulstice to all action game lovers.