PS Now PlayStation Now May 2021

Subscription service PlayStation Now has reloaded with three new titles today: Nioh, Jump Force, and Streets of Rage 4. As was the case with Marvel’s Avengers last month, Koei Tecmo’s samurai slasher will be the PS4 version and not the recently released PS5 remaster. It seems it’ll be a permanent addition, while Jump Force will leave on 2nd August and Streets of Rage 4 will depart on 1st November.

The good news is that these are mostly decent games: “Nioh is about as approachable as a game of this ilk can be, and while that may offend the hardcore sensibilities of some Souls fans, it's a title that will likely appeal to many players who want a gameplay challenge but are turned off by the obtuse nature of Dark Souls' storytelling and the murky explanations of its mechanics,” we wrote in our 8/10 Nioh PS4 review.

We had similarly positive things to say in our 7/10 Streets of Rage 4 PS4 review: “Streets of Rage 4 makes a valiant attempt to drag the old-school franchise into the modern age. We've ended up with a beautiful beat-'em-up that's perhaps a little too loyal to the original games, but is ultimately a blast to play, especially with others. The appeal might wear off after a little while due to repetitive gameplay, but it's a huge amount of fun while it lasts.”

Unfortunately, our 5/10 Jump Force PS4 review wasn’t quite as glowing: “Jump Force can be fun with friends when you're just looking for a quick and easy scrap, but as a celebration of all things Jump, it's a borderline embarrassment. Thanks to a truly egregious art style and comically bad story presentation, this is an accessible and often fun crossover brawler let down by its disappointingly shoddy packaging.”

[source blog.playstation.com]