My 90-Plus PS Plus Extra Shortlist for 2026
As a PlayStation Plus Extra subscriber in 2026, I have learned that the catalog is less a museum and more a tide pool: the shape changes with every month, and you have to look carefully before the water pulls back. That is why I keep a personal shortlist of the highest-rated games that have passed through the Extra tier. The scores below come from OpenCritic, and they are not magic spells. A 90-plus rating is a lantern, not a lighthouse: it shows the next few steps, not the whole coastline. Still, when I am staring at a huge library and cannot decide what to download, a cluster of 90s is a very good place to start. I always check the current catalog before committing, because in 2026 the lineup is not frozen, and version differences matter.
Here is the shortlist I keep coming back to:
| 🎮 Game | ⭐ Score | Why I keep it on the list |
|---|---|---|
| God of War | 95 | A blockbuster with a quiet center; the storytelling, combat, and visuals still hold up |
| Celeste | 93 | A tiny clockwork heart in a cabinet of blockbuster machinery |
| Demon's Souls | 92 | Bluepoint's PS5 remake is a handsome, punishing restoration of a classic |
| Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | 92 | Nathan Drake's cinematic send-off; on Extra it is the native PS4 release |
| Bloodborne | 91 | Faster, nastier Soulslike energy from FromSoftware |
| Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition | 91 | A Metroidvania with Soulslike bones and a huge, quiet world |
| Shadow of the Colossus | 91 | Another Bluepoint remake; a sparse, monumental classic |
| Tetris Effect | 90 | The puzzle comfort food I did not know I needed, dressed in light and sound |
| Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition | 90 | Open-world action-RPG plus the Frozen Wilds expansion |
🪓 God of War still earns its top spot
God of War is the one I recommend first when someone wants a big, confident PlayStation game. The 2018 release earned rave reviews, and I understand why: it has an engrossing story, hard-hitting action, and visuals that still look absurdly good on modern hardware. I remember being skeptical of the quieter, more personal direction, then finding that the restraint made the louder moments hit harder. It is also the kind of game that can swallow a weekend before I notice the clock. In a subscription catalog full of choices, that kind of focus is rare.
🧗 Celeste is the indie counterweight
Celeste sits near the top of the list for a different reason. It is a tough-as-nails platformer with retro graphics and a heartwarming story, and it proves that a 90-plus score does not require a blockbuster budget. I can play it in short bursts, fail repeatedly, and still feel like the game is on my side. The main story is a decent challenge; chasing 100% is where my skills get put on trial. Celeste won numerous awards when it launched, and it remains one of the clearest examples of how precise movement and a warm story can coexist without either one softening the other.
🕯️ The exclusives and the Soulslike shelf
Demon's Souls and Uncharted 4 both earned 92 ratings. Demon's Souls on Extra is the PS5 remake developed by Bluepoint Games, not the original PS3 release. That distinction matters if you are hunting for a specific version. Uncharted 4 on Extra is the native PS4 release, while the PS5 version in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is a separate consideration. I treat both as reminders to read the fine print before I clear space on my SSD.
Bloodborne has a 91 rating, and I still think of it as the game that makes FromSoftware's style feel like a fever dream in a Victorian city. A remake or remaster has been rumored for years, but I would not wait for it. Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition also sits at 91, and it plays like a Metroidvania-style twist on Soulslike design: patient exploration, sharp combat, and a world that rewards curiosity. Shadow of the Colossus, another 91, is a PS4 remake of the classic PS2 game, and like Demon's Souls on PS5, it was developed by Bluepoint Games.
🌅 The two 90s that round out the list
Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition is the fully featured version of Guerrilla Games' open-world action-RPG, and it includes the well-received Frozen Wilds expansion. Tetris Effect is the other 90, a modern twist on the classic puzzle game with impressive graphical upgrades. I like having both on my radar because they represent two different kinds of comfort: one is a sprawling adventure, the other is a focused, almost meditative puzzle session.
🧭 How I choose from PS Plus Extra in 2026
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✅ I verify current availability first. Subscription catalogs rotate, and a game that was available last year may not be there today.
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✅ I check the version. PS4 and PS5 releases can be different entries, and remakes are not always the same as originals.
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✅ I use scores as a filter, not a verdict. A 90-plus score tells me a game is worth investigating; it does not tell me whether I have the time or mood for it.
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✅ I plan around removals. PS Plus Extra is not a keep-forever library. It is more like borrowing books from a friend who is very bad at saying goodbye.
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✅ I let smaller games share the schedule. A 95-rated epic and a 93-rated indie can both fit if I stop treating my backlog like a checklist.
Most of the games on this list were published by PlayStation, which historically made them likely to stay in the Extra catalog for a long time. But the catalog is always changing, and new games with 90-plus scores can arrive at any point. In 2026, my advice is simple: treat this shortlist as a starting point, confirm what is actually available, and then give one of these games a real evening. The best subscription game is not the one with the highest score. It is the one I actually start.