The Ultimate Sony RPG Sale Is A Backlog-Busting Gamble You Can’t Win

Hello everyone. Let’s talk about the elephant in the virtual room – the Gamescom 2025 Sony RPG sale. You can’t seem to breathe on the internet without being smacked across the face with yet another “UP TO 75% OFF!!!” banner, which, quite frankly, is starting to feel like the gaming equivalent of a doctor prescribing antibiotics for every sniffle – unnecessary, overdone, and possibly a conspiracy concocted to fatten your digital backlog until it explodes.

Sony’s tying this discount circus to Gamescom, running deals through August 27, with a “refresh” planned around August 19. And yes, “refresh” is marketing speak for “we’ll swap a few titles, take away the ones people actually want, and throw back in the ones that failed to shift units last year.” So, here’s a look at the supposed crown jewels of the current sale – prepare yourself for both genuine treasures and the usual suspicious looking loot drops worthy of a shady in-game merchant.

The Discount Line-up

• Bloodborne – $10 (50% off)
• Persona 5 – $10 (50% off)
• Monster Hunter Rise – $10 (75% off)
• Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers – $8 (60% off)
• Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark – $7.50 (75% off)
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 – $10 (80% off)
• Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age – $20 (60% off)
• Tales of Arise – $20 (50% off)
• Soul Hackers 2 – $15 (75% off)
• Grandia HD Collection – $20 (50% off)
• Dungeon Encounters – $12 (60% off)
• Unicorn Overlord – $24 (60% off)
• Star Ocean: The Second Story R – $25 (50% off)
• Persona 3 Reload – $32 (55% off)
• Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance – $27 (55% off)

The Heavy Hitters

Bloodborne is here and yes – the debate rages on: is it an RPG or just an action game that hands you stats to give the illusion of role-playing? Technically, it scratches the criteria – if leveling up after being mauled by Lovecraftian horrors counts. At $10, it’s a steal, unless you value your personal sanity.

Persona 5 is still every bit the stylish time sink, dripping in jazz and loading screens, though I personally find Persona 3 Reload sharper, better paced, and less like the JRPG equivalent of chewing scenery for a hundred hours. Still, ten bucks for Persona 5? That’s almost criminally cheap – like a late-game merchant selling you a legendary sword for a handful of copper coins. Suspicious, yet tempting.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is easily the sale’s “comfort food at 2 a.m.” pick. It plays out like a single-player MMO – you explore fantastical scenery, listen to orchestral bliss, and let automated party members do the thankless stabbing. For anyone who appreciates exploration over endless menu fiddling, this is a no-brainer.

The Questionable Calls

Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers remaster… ah yes, yet another “remaster” that squints at nostalgia like a half-forgotten medical chart – the vitals are there, but you wonder if the patient should really be walking around. It’s a PS1 classic under the hood, but the repackaging? Questionable.

Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark? A tactical RPG in the shadow of Final Fantasy Tactics, except this clone actually understands the job system better than some AAA releases. Still, it’s not going to win over the Fortnite crowd – which is probably why it’s 75% off and looking like a loot chest nobody wants to open without a guide.

Soul Hackers 2 is a budget buy dripping with PS2-era weirdness – in a good way, if you’re the sort of player who still insists on inverting the Y-axis because that’s how “it used to be.” Expect archaic design, grind walls, and the vague feeling that you’ve wandered into a pre-patch MMO just for the fun of suffering.

Final Diagnosis

As your friendly sarcastic gaming doctor, I’d call this sale a mixed bag of essential must-haves, niche curiosities, and the digital equivalent of “eh, we’ll check on that patient in six months.” For those with even a passing interest in JRPGs and action RPGs, there are some absolute steals here, but be warned – backlog bloat is real, and the symptoms present as untouched icons staring at you for years.

Verdict? Good overall – but only if you shop smart. Don’t grab everything just because the number next to it is smaller. Remember, dear gamers: in loot terms, not every purple drop is worth equipping.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.

Article source: A Ton Of Great RPGs Are Half-Price On PlayStation Right Now, kotaku.com