This New Free PS Plus Game Is an Underrated Gem You Don’t Want to Miss

It’s the first Tuesday of the month, and for PlayStation Plus subscribers, that means one thing – new games. The latest additions to the free game catalog for PS Plus Essential subscribers arrive today. Gamers will have a month to add these new games to their PlayStation libraries for free. The lineup features three new games: Need for Speed Unbound, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed, and Core Keeper. And in my opinion, one of these is an absolute must-play.

Core Keeper originally launched in Early Access back in 2022, hitting 1.0 in August 2024. At its full launch, the pixel-art survival and base-building game expanded to multiple platforms. It is now available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, with full cross-play support for up to 8 players. Honestly, this game deserves more hype, and its arrival on PS Plus Essential should be your sign to give it a go.

Core Keeper Is Ideal for Terraria Fans Looking for a New Game

Many gamers who’ve played and enjoyed Core Keeper compare it favorably to the iconic sandbox survival game Terraria. And for good reason. Core Keeper delivers many similar elements that will satisfy Terraria fans. Its gameplay centers on exploring an underground cavern, mining your way to new discoveries. You will build up a base, craft new items, and of course, farm, as you work to uncover the mysteries that lurk in this expansive open world.

Core Keeper has a very open-ended, sandbox-style of gameplay, which will be familiar to fans of games like Terraria. You’re not given a ton of guidance, but rather, you get to choose how you build up your base and expand your world. Its gorgeous pixel art style makes it popular among cozy gamers, and it can definitely be a relaxing game to play. Because you set your own pace, you can spend hours building up your base, farming, and tending the cute pixel animals.

But that’s not to say Core Keeper doesn’t bring in challenges, too. You can run into all kinds of trouble as you work to explore the vast underground cavern. Like Terraria, the game incorporates combat, and some of those bosses are pretty tough to contend with in my experience. But it’s a rewarding challenge, one that adds another surprise as you mine your way to new areas and explore what awaits.

Like many survival games, Core Keeper is fun on your own, but really shines in co-op. With multiplayer that supports up to 8 players working together, this is a great game to play with your pals. And given its cross-play support, new PS Plus players will be able to craft an ever-expanding base with friends on all platforms. As someone who originally played on Steam, I’m pretty tempted to start a new world on PlayStation just because.

As Time Goes On, Core Keeper Keeps Getting Better

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In my experience, the world of Core Keeper really opens up as you play. After all, it’s exploration-driven, and the game encourages you to mine to find new biomes, new materials, and more. This, along with the satisfaction of setting your own goals and building up your home base, means that Core Keeper is one of those games that just keeps getting better as you go. And that’s not just the gameplay experience, either. The game itself continues to improve.

If you checked out Core Keeper back in Early Access like I did, now is actually a great time to jump back in. The 1.0 launch brought the game to more platforms, but it wasn’t the end of new content updates. Core Keeper still gets regular updates to improve quality of life and address bugs. But more importantly, the game also gets occasional free content updates that add more to explore. In 2025, the game’s Bags & Blasts update added a new sub-biome, a new boss, and more. And just a few weeks after it comes to PS Plus, Core Keeper is getting another influx of new content.

The next big free update for Core Keeper is set to arrive on January 28th for PC and consoles. That means that gamers can enjoy the existing and new content while the game is free for PS Plus Essential members. And like any monthly free game for PlayStation Plus, you can keep playing Core Keeper as long as you still have an active subscription. So even if you don’t think you’ll have time for it this month, you should make sure to add Core Keeper to your PlayStation library while it’s free with PS Plus Essential.

Core Keeper is available for both PS4 and PS5 via PS Plus Essential. It supports cross-play across platforms and is also available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. A new Switch 2 edition will launch on January 28th alongside the Void & Voltage update.

Have you played Core Keeper yet? Will you jump in while it’s available via PS Plus? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!