PlayStation owners warned NOT to play free game over ‘wiped saves’ as players reveal they’ve deleted it from consoles

PLAYSTATION fans are urging gamers to avoid a free title they say is glitchy – and not even worth playing.

The irate gamers have blasted the popular game, with one frustrated player moaning “I should have listened” before installing it.

Sony PlayStation / Studio Wildcard

Some players are disappointed with May 2025 PS Plus freebie Ark: Survival Ascended[/caption]

Ark: Survival Ascended is one of the free games available to play with PlayStation Plus this month.

That means PS Plus subscribers can enjoy the title without paying a penny extra.

But some gamers say they’re having trouble with the action-adventure survival title on PlayStation consoles.

One player posting to Reddit said that they spent hours playing the game – only to lose all of their progress, as spotted by ComicBook.

“I love crafting survival games, so I was very excited when this was announced to be on PS Plus,” the user explained.

“I played it for about five hours. Save and close out, take a break.

“When I come back to it? Save file is gone completely.

“I looked all over forums for answers and it just seems like this is something that happens on console.”

Other games responded to the post with similar concerns.

One said: “Genuinely stay away from this game. You might think there is something good about it, but I can assure you there is nothing.”

Another wrote: “I played Ark on my PS5 for about half an hour. Afterwards my PS5 screen started flickering, even outside the game.

“Only powering down the console, waiting, and restarting fixed it.”

One added: “I can’t even get it to start right. It’s really glitchy for me right from the main menu. I said screw that and deleted it.”

And another said: “Well-known issue since launch.”

Sony PlayStation

PlayStation gamers get free titles every month through PS Plus[/caption]

Ark: Survival Ascended is a remaster of 2015’s Ark: Survival Evolved, and sees players trying to survive a world inhabited with dinosaurs, monsters, and other players too.

The original game was first released as an early access title on PC, but eventually landed on Xbox, Windows, iPhone and Android, and PlayStation consoles too. The Ascended remaster is out on Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 (now more expensive after a recent UK console price hike).

The Sun has asked game-maker Studio Wildcard for comment and will update this story with any response.

BALATRO BONANZA

Gamers are much more positive about another May entry to PS Plus: Balatro.

This poker-themed deck-building game has earned rave reviews since it launched in 2024.

And it currently holds an Overwhelmingly Positive score on Steam based on more than 93,000 reviews.

The game is also available for free via PS Plus this month, and players are loving it.

One PlayStation owner said: “Balatro on PlayStation was my first time. I absolutely love it not going to lie. If it wasn’t for other major games taking up my time I’d be playing it 24/7.”

Balatro / Playstack

Balatro is one of the biggest gaming hits of the last year[/caption]

Another wrote: “This month has only one good game. Balatro.”

And one added: “Balatro should be the main game of the month.”