PlayStation Plus Essential tier subscribers get a curiously lore-rich trio this April: Lords of the Fallen, where demon gods and dual realms promise a narrative denser than most soulslikes; Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, dusting off Lara Croft's blocky beginnings with modern polish; and Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream, twisting the anime's timeline into co-op chaos—all claimable from April 7 to May 4.

Lords of the Fallen stands out for lorehounds, tasking Dark Crusaders with invading the demon god Adyr's domain across an interconnected world five times larger than the 2014 original. Colossal bosses guard secrets of the living and umbral realms, backed by nine classes and endless weapons, though its 2023 launch was marred by technical woes now hopefully patched into oblivion.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered revives Croft's debut trilogy complete with expansions and secrets, toggling between upgraded visuals and nostalgic polygons. A new Challenge Mode adds replay value with modifiers and ability-boosting outfits, letting players dissect Lara's foundational myths without the era's clunky controls.

Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream mashes 21 characters from the series' arcs into Galaxia's glitching simulation, demanding co-op raids against timeline-disrupting bosses with up to 20 players. X users already eye its online trophies, anticipating a subscriber-fueled server surge. An eclectic spread, but one that rewards narrative dives over shallow splashes.