Sony’s PlayStation Plus is a subscription-based service that allows members to get weekly and monthly access to discounted games on the PlayStation Network, as well as the occasional free game. Sony has calculated that the $50/year service has granted thousands of dollars in savings.

Everyone loves free games, but nobody likes a free game that’s a piece of HDD-hogging garbage. “In PlayStation Plus We Trust” is a weekly feature outlining the new free addition(s) to the Instant Game Collection to help you decide whether that newest freebie in the Store is worth your time.

This week is a bit of a repeat on a different system, but still a treat for adventure gamers: Machinarium.

Machinarium

This game was free for Plus members a few months ago on the PS3, but now we’ve got a far better version on the Vita. Using the cursor on the PS3 was clunky and weird, far inferior to the PC game’s mouse-and-keyboard setup. While it might not quite match the functionality of a PC, the Vita version is still a lot easier to use than the PS3 version, making great use of both touch surfaces to interact with the environment. To boot, the already beautiful graphics, a highlight of any version, look even more phenomenal on the Vita’s screen.

The game itself is a classically-styled adventure game featuring a young robot and his quest …and any more than that would spoil too much. Like the classic adventure games, there’s a lot of joy here in learning the little pieces of the story, and quite a bit more in the interactions of the mostly dialogue-free characters. That said, only genre enthusiasts need apply, as this game has a steep learning curve and a high, mostly unforgiving difficulty (though the hints do help).  For the adventure fan, however, this is a huge nostalgia rush.

Verdict: Not For Everyone

Deals

Spelunky (Cross Buy)

$11.99

There is nothing but praise for Spelunky across the board. In fact, the only criticism that appears to exist for it is the difficulty level, which makes this randomly generated roguelike quite brutal for even some of the most talented gamers. Like many roguelikes, there is always something new to discover and new challenges to overcome. Just make sure to keep a firm grip on your controller so it doesn’t find itself flying across the room. Up to three friends can join in on the rage/fun. It’s hardly a steep discount, but given the high ratings it might be worth it.

Draw Slasher

$3.00

We’re quickly losing count of the number of times Draw Slasher has been discounted, and I’m running out of ways to describe it. Again, this game (a port of an iOS title, and it shows) is almost entirely touch-based and features a ninja slashing his way through a multitude of “Pirate Monkey Zombies” that kidnapped his family. The Vita’s touch screen is used to trace slashes and special attacks, so this could be quite the novelty title for touch enthusiasts.

PAX 2013 Discounts

Plus continues its trend of mass markdowns on certain titles, and this week it takes down a handful of random (but mostly good) games. Journey is a must own title, and at $3.75 it’s downright foolish not to bite. Limbo is also a very great, moody puzzle platformer, and Tokyo Jungle is just plain great fun. Retro City Rampage has its problems but is still worth the price for some old-school fun.

Tell us what you’re going to pick up in the comments, and check back next week for the next round of goodies!