Sony Is Giving Away Free PS5 Game Trials
If you want to try before you buy, Sony is trialling free AAA games before you part with your cash. Not sure whether you want to battle robot dinosaurs in Horizon Zero Dawn? Not quite convinced you want to swing across the New York City skyline as Miles Morales? Don't worry, Sony has you covered.
Cast your minds back to the release of Resident Evil Village, where you got to explore the grounds of Castle Dimitrescu and be stalked by Lady D in a demo of the game's (arguably) most iconic level. This gave fans a taste of what's to come and undoubtedly helped push the title's sales through the roof. Seeing method in the madness, it sounds like Sony is rolling this out to even more games.
What is the Sony game trial?
First reported by Eurogamer, there's an option to try out certain PS5 games before forking over the full price. It's a clever mechanic for those that might've heard a lot about a game, but what to dip their toe in its world before stumping up the dollar.
Currently, it's limited to just two games, with Death Stranding Director's Cut and Sackboy: A Big Adventure on offer. There's also another catch, because apparently, it's only available in the United Kingdom right now. With both of these being Sony exclusives, it could be that the gaming giant will continue this kind of model for future releases. If this is the case, it means you could jump in for an amuse-bouche of Horizon Forbidden West and God of War: Ragnarok.
How can you use the free Sony game trial?
If you want to try either Death Stranding Director's Cut or Sackboy: A Big Adventure, simply head to the PlayStation Store, navigate to their various pages, and select the free download option. Be warned though, there's yet another catch (annoying, eh?). Death Stranding a six-hour playthrough, while Sackboy is five. The timer will begin as soon as you hit "download trial" on console or "add to library" on the web.
For those who plan on making the most out of these trials, you'll want a pretty speedy internet and some time put aside to enjoy your free trial. As pointed out by Eurogamer, it was going to take about three hours to download Death Stranding, which would cut their trial in half. It's also one trial per game per account, so there's no going back for another go.
Over on Reddit, one gamer came up with a clever workaround to avoid the download timer, but still, we should hardly have to go to these lengths just to enjoy a free trial. As with most free trials, game data will be carried over if you decide to buy the full game.
It's unclear whether Sony will adjust the fine print or keep the strict timings. Either way, it's still good news that you could be able to play parts of a AAA game without shelling out the full price and getting bored when you realise it isn't your kind of game.