On Thursday, Sony announced November's line-up of PlayStation Plus game releases for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. The line-up includes Knockout City and First Class Trouble for both PS5 and PS4, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning for PS4, and three VR games, which was a surprisingly controversial line-up. So fans were surprised to find that the PlayStation Hong Kong regional version of PlayStation Plus, as well as PlayStation Asia, were receiving a different free game for November.
A promotional image for PlayStation Hong Kong's upcoming November line-up for PlayStation Plus confirms that it won't be receiving Knockout City. Instead, Hong Kong will get The Sexy Brutale, an adventure puzzle game revolving around using time travel to solve and prevent various murders. PlayStation Plus subscribers in Hong Kong will still receive the other two games, First Class Trouble and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, though. It's unclear why Hong Kong didn't also receive Knockout City, but it likely involved red tape.
The PlayStation Asia line-up of games for PlayStation Plus is also interestingly altered. It's said to include not just Hong Kong's swapped-in game The Sexy Brutale, but the three non-VR games being released in the west, too. It won't, however, get the three VR games that western subscribers are getting. Regardless, a four-game line-up of The Sexy Brutale, Knockout City, First Class Trouble, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a decent reward.
The reason why this is a notable topic at all is, of course, the ever-present discourse surrounding the quality of PlayStation Plus games. PlayStation Plus subscribers have very high expectations from the games released each month. November's line-up, for at least a vocal minority of fans, didn't meet those expectations. Knockout City, in particular, was a topic of criticism, largely because it was presented as the biggest of the month's games and some subscribers would rather see a game from a more popular brand.
Ultimately, both Knockout City and The Sexy Brutale are games developed by indie studios, though Knockout City did have the benefit of being published by Electronic Arts. Knockout City is a multiplayer sports game that's akin to dodgeball, which is a challenging niche for a studio smaller than a AAA company to break into. It is also worth noting that Knockout City is free-to-play up through level 25 of its progression track, however, which in some's view cheapens its value.
The six new PlayStation Plus games, including Knockout City, First Class Trouble, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, will unlock on November 2 barring subscribers are located in Hong Kong.
