A few months back we wrote about Playstation working on an app called PlayLink, which allows players to use their smartphones in innovative ways when playing certain PS4 games. The latest game that uses this technology is Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier, an upcoming Telltale-like narrative game where players can vote on the choices using their smartphones. And when the vote is a tie, players can use specific tie-breaker tokens to overrule the rest. People who’ve been playing early builds of the game say that the PlayLink feature really makes the game stand out, so it looks like Sony is smart to lean into using smartphones to enhance gaming experiences beyond just using them for your usual gimmicks.

There’s already a PlayLink companion app for That’s You (Free), a party game that’s all about answering funny questions about each other, and bigger games are coming in the near future. Hidden Agenda, launching October 24th, is a gritty crime thriller where (like Planet of the Apes) you get to vote on tough decisions and on where you want the investigation to go next. Knowledge is Power, launching October 24th, is a combative trivia game where you can use your mobile device to mess with your opponent (“freezing" their screen for instance), SingStar Celebration (October 24th) PlayLink side enhances the already fun karaoke game, and Frantics (March 13th) uses smartphones as innovative controllers.

I’m glad to see Sony using smartphones as more than just your typical AAA companion app. I especially like the idea of using smartphones to influence the direction of the story in games like Hidden Agenda. If you have a PS4, keep an eye out for more PlayLink games coming our way in the next few months.