SONY
Sony PlayStation PlayLink: The essential PS4 party games you play on your mobile phone
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What is PlayLink?
Revealed at E3 2017, PlayLink is a new system from PlayStation that allows players to connect with the PS4 via their smartphone.
Sony's mission statement when creating the service was to bring in players that perhaps aren't used to playing games and giving them casual games to play and enjoy.
The idea behind PlayLink is to offer fun multiplayer games that can be played be a greater number of people than traditional console games allow (and without players having to invest in more DualShock4 controllers).
You must download an app to use PlayLink on your phone.
Here's how Sony explains the service:
'From quick-fire quizzes to immersive multiplayer experiences, PlayLink titles are all about social gaming that everyone can enjoy. Pop a game into your PS4, pick up your smartphone or tablet, gather around your TV and prepare for a refreshingly different experience – without the need for multiple DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controllers.
Grab those friends and family members who dont usually play video games – PlayLink titles are the perfect way to bring them into the mix… but if youre already gamer youll have a blast too."
PlayLink screenshots: 'That's You', 'Frantics', 'Hidden Agenda', 'SingStar Celebration'
PlayLink combines your smartphone or tablet device, TV and PS4 console, with a collection of brand new games that take advantage of the smartphone or tablet devices touchscreen and camera capabilities. 
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How does PlayLink work?
PlayLink allows you to sync your phone up to your PlayStation 4 console and effectively use them as an extra controllers.
Games let you use the camera functionality of your phone to create profile pictures, and you can use the tilt functionality to move characters around on the screen to.
Kareoke games – such as SingStar – use the phone's in-built microphone to track the player's voice.
All you need to do is download and app and sign into your PS4, and you can sync as many phones as you like.
You will need a player with an active PlayStation Plus subscription signed in on the PS4 to be able to use PlayLink.
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Heres PlayStation's quick and easy guide to get you playing with Playlink on PS4 in no time:
Step 1: Purchase/download your PlayLink game of choice onto your PS4 and start it.
Step 2: Download the games free app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Step 3: Connect your mobile device to your PS4 either by:
- Using the same Wi-Fi network as your PS4 console (go to Settings < Network < View Connection Status and check the SSID option to confirm the network name), or,
- Using your PS4 as a Wi-Fi hotspot by pressing the OPTIONS button on your DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller and selecting Wi-Fi hotspot < Yes < Yes to show hotspot details. On each smartphone or tablet that you want to play on, go to settings and select the PS4 hotspot under Wi-Fi settings.
Step 4: Get playing!
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Thats You!
• For two to six players
Get hilariously personal in an audacious quiz with up to five of your family and friends, and find out what you really think about each other.
Grab your smartphone or tablet, snap a selfie and reveal your daring side in over 1,000 funny questions, drawing challenges and texting games.
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Knowledge is Power
• For two to six players
Answer a massive variety of trivia questions to outsmart your opponents, with tactile challenges thrown in to keep you on your toes. This is all about speed and accuracy – are you up to the task?
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Hidden Agenda
• For one to six players
Blending elements of movies and games, this narrative-driven adventure drops you into a tale rife with chilling moral dilemmas. Up to six of you can join in and influence the story, but beware – not all of you will be working towards the same objective…
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SingStar Celebration
• For one to eight players
Hit the high notes with a singing game featuring upbeat tracks, foot stomping hits and your favourite party pumping classics. No mic? No worries – download the SingStar Mic App for your smartphone, and get ready for your big moment.
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Frantics
• For one to four players
Arcade-style fun and madcap mini-games are all the rage in Frantics, where you and up to three friends have to face off in a variety of challenges. Bluff, battle, negotiate and co-operate your way to victory, but beware – wise-cracking host The Fox is also on hand to stir things up.
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Erica
• For one player
Become Ericas conscience in a dark and gritty adventure where your choices seamlessly craft the story through the live action unfolding on your screen. Each decision you make affects Ericas path as you desperately search for the truth in a branching narrative full of tricky moral quandaries.
Want to know more? Check out our interview with Ericas Creator Jack Attridge who talks about storytelling, working with Sonys Shuhei Yoshida and some new details about how the gameplay works on PS4 thanks to Playlink.
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Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier
• For one to four players
Lead both apes and humans through morally and ethically challenging situations in a tense interactive drama set between the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes movies.
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Chimparty
• For one to four players
Swing into monkey mayhem for all the family, with this hilarious bunch of mini-games, which will have you doing everything from firing your chimps at a target, to keeping a coconut away from your foes for as long as possible.
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UNO
• For two to four players
Up to four people can now play UNO together locally, using their smartphone to conceal their hand! Download the UNO Playlink App and connect your phone to your PlayStation 4 to enjoy a truly authentic UNO experience.
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Just Deal With It!
• For one to ten players
Just Deal With It! delivers a whole new twist on five classic card games. Play Poker, Blackjack, Crazy Eights, Rummy and Hearts locally or on-line. Team up with friends and family, launch attacks, sabotage the competition, and go all in for the win in this riotous card game party!
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Word Hunters
• For two to six players
Face off against friends and family in a series of competitive minigames set in different cities around the world. With beautiful art, moreish gameplay and a deep metagame thatll keep you hooked for weeks, this is just the thing for you wordsmiths out there.
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Melbits World
• For two to four players
Rhythm and coordination are the key to success in Melbits World, a cute and colourful collaborative puzzle-platformer. Collect and guide the digital creatures through a series of fiendish levels by teaming up with friends to control platforms, obstacles and traps; all that while dodging viruses, gathering seeds and spreading good vibes across the internet.
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Ticket To Ride
• For two to five players
Simple, elegant gameplay and intense strategy come together in Ticket to Ride, the railway-themed board game now on PlayLink. Collect various types of trains and use them to claim railway routes across the map. The longer the routes, the more points you earn!
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