PlayStation Store sale slashes prices on critics’ favorite games

The PlayStation Store is prepping console owners for the 2017 Academy Awards with a timely set of deals. The “Critics’ Choice” sale runs from now until 8 a.m. PT on Feb. 28, marking the end of a notable Oscar season with a bunch of discounted, top-notch video games to distract you from this Sunday night’s big show.

There are deals on PlayStation 4, Playstation 3 and PlayStation Vita games beloved by critics, celebrating the best of the best that the consoles have to offer. PlayStation Plus subscribers get up to 70 percent off on a diverse array of well-regarded titles, from Polygon’s 2016 Game of the Year Doom to one of our runners-up, Titanfall 2.

We’ve rounded up some of the games on sale that are most worthy of your time. If you’re going to skip out on the Academy Awards to play a video game, you better make sure it’s for the best of the best. (Note: All prices listed are for PlayStation Plus members.)

Doom — $29.99 (50 percent off)

id Software/Bethesda Softworks

This is an easy critics’ choice pick for us to make, considering Polygon’s collective critical body voted Doom our best game of 2016. This PS4 game, which is half off this week, is a dream come true for old-school first-person shooter lovers.

Inside — $7.99 (60 percent off)

Playdead

Our number two pick for Game of the Year 2016 was this lovely atmospheric platformer. Inside is funny, gory, moving and scary — and it’s a must-play, especially at this price.

Titanfall 2 — $23.99 (60 percent off)

Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts

Although the folks behind Titanfall 2’s Twitter game have done some curious things in the past, that shouldn’t undermine the game’s quality. While reviews were mixed, it stuck with enough of us all the way through the year’s end, making it onto the back-half of our Game of the Year list.

Dishonored 2 — $40.19 (33 percent off)

Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks

Dishonored 2’s most recent free update added some highly requested new features to the game, so now’s a good time to jump in. We also gave it our vote of confidence as one of our Game of the Year 2016 picks.

Rez Infinite — $20.09 (33 percent off)

Enhance Games

One of the best PlayStation VR-compatible games is this reworking of Rez, which is, in turn, one of the best games ever made. This discount isn’t quite as deep as some of the other games in the sale, but this Rez redux promises Infinite pleasures. (Sorry.)

Darkest Dungeon — $9.99 (60 percent off)

Red Hook Studios

At least one member of Polygon called this his favorite game of last year, which is high praise enough. Darkest Dungeon is brutal, both physically and emotionally. The promise of some intense emotional investments shouldn’t scare you off this roguelike role-playing game; just think of it as like one of the heavier, artsier Oscar nominees.