It’s been fall for almost a full week now, and if you aren’t communing with spirits and gathering all the pumpkins, then you’re falling behind. Yep, October is right around the corner and the spookiness is already in full swing across PS Plus. Artists are posting all their scary drawing prompts and people are trying to push their various spooky games on us. And you better believe PlayStation Plus Essential is getting in on the action with three new free games to download next month. As fate (or obvious planning) would have it, two of the games in the trio are somewhat recent entries to the horror genre.

PlayStation Plus | Free Games for October 2023

The PS Plus Essential freebies for October 2023 include The Callisto Protocol, Weird West, and Farming Simulator 2022.

The Callisto Protocol Trailer

Before Starfield came out, the big new sci-fi game everyone was waiting for was The Callisto Protocol by Striking Distance Studios. While it wasn’t received highly enough to match the hype, you’d still be hard-pressed to play this game alone at night in a dark room.

It follows the struggles of Jacob Lee, a prisoner several centuries into the future. He’s been sentenced to Black Iron Prison which is located on Jupiter’s desolate moon, Callisto. It doesn’t take long for a mysterious and malicious mutation to begin to consume all the people in the prison. Using what little he can find and his own physical skills, Jacob must fight his way out of prison and figure out what happened while trying not to die a horrible death.

Weird West Trailer

While Western games never had a trend as strong as mining or farming, they never seem to go out of style. And yes, this is true even among PS Plus subscribers. This was proven when the game Weird West by WolfEye Studios drew a lot of eyes to it. This is largely in part due to the setting which is the Weird West.

Simply speaking, this is a version of the Wild West that’s plagued with numerous supernatural elements like evil spirits, monsters, and magic. The game follows a group of heroes on a journey through this world, each one having their abilities and baggage to bring on the journey. Follow each character’s story as you take on quests, ride across the West, and deal with all a manner of otherworldly creatures.

Farming Simulator 2022 Trailer

After two horror entries, we need something to calm us down, and what better way to do that than with farming? Specifically, a game called Farming Simulator 2022 by Giants Software. This series has been going on for years and this remains the most recent entry.

It’s a very thorough and detailed experience that lets you create your farm from the ground up. Start with a small farm plot and aim to turn it into a thriving farming empire. Do this using whatever resources, tools, machinery, and facilities that you can create or afford. Learn the true value of a hard day’s work… but, you know, digitally, thanks to PS Plus.