Image: Round 8 Studio/Neowiz
Michael McWhertor is a journalist with more than 17 years of experience covering video games, technology, movies, TV, and entertainment.
PlayStation Plus subscribers’ free Essential games for August 2025 are Lies of P, DayZ, and My Hero One’s Justice 2, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Tuesday. Players can download the trio of games beginning Aug. 5.
Lies of P is NeoWiz’s 2023 Soulslike action-adventure game based on The Adventures of Pinocchio. The titular P travels to the Belle Époque-inspired city of Krat in search of his missing maker, only to discover a land consumed by madness and killer puppets. In our review of the game, we praised Lies of P for “breathing new life into an overcrowded genre.” Lies of P will be available through PS Plus for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
DayZ is a multiplayer online survival video game from Bohemia Interactive that tasks players with enduring a post-apocalyptic world with two major threats: frenzied infected zombies and other human survivors. First released on console in 2019, DayZ will be available through PS Plus for PS4.
My Hero One’s Justice 2 is a 3D arena fighter based on the manga series My Hero Academia. It will be available through PS Plus for PS4.
August 2025’s PS Plus Essential games will be available for download through Sept. 2.
PS Plus subscribers can still pick up July 2025’s PlayStation Plus Essential games — Diablo 4, The King of Fighters 15, and Jusant — through Aug. 4.
PlayStation Plus Essential is the lowest tier available in Sony’s subscription service. It offers online multiplayer access, a monthly assortment of free PS4 and PS5 games, cloud storage, and discounts on PlayStation Store purchases. PlayStation Plus Essential costs $79.99 annually, $24.99 for a three-month subscription, or $9.99 monthly.
