Sony PlayStation just presented the first-look at their new PlayStation 5 console alongside the upcoming title reveals and gameplay for the same. The event, PS5: The Future of Gaming was held in association with Geoff Keighley’s E3 alternative, Summer Game Fest. Before we get into the details, we need to give props to the production value for this event. It was fascinating to see what people could do from the comfort of home to produce such an amazing event during tough times as such. Beautiful animations, sleek transitions between trailers and loud-thumping music. Unlike other digital events, this event was a pre-recorded high quality one, playing at 1080p resolution at 30fps.
The event kicked off with an introduction video showcasing a highlight reel of the past 25 years of PlayStation. After which, Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment welcomed everyone to the event. He spoke about Sony’s newly forged partnership with Rockstar Games. Rockstar’s 2013 title, Grand Theft Auto V will be coming out on the PlayStation 5 as well and owners of the new console will be getting GTA Online for free at launch in 2021. PlayStation 4 owners, on the other hand, will be getting $1 million in GTA cash every month until the new console launches.
As for the event, Jim stated, “The content we have curated for today’s event showcases how PS5 has inspired developers to create new experiences that are transformative in how they look, sound and feel.” With further ado, let us now take a look at the games that were revealed at PS5: The Future of Gaming.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The first announcement for this long-awaited event came from Insomniac Games. After a bunch of rumours and speculations floating around for an upcoming Spider-Man 2 game, the company finally announced one – Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The trailer starts out by showing Miles trying to push or break into what looks like a whole different dimension. Which is followed by a bunch of action sequences of the web-slinger swinging around across buildings, punching bad guys and jumping over a bunch of cars. The trailer also showcases some of his combat mechanics such as the camouflage ability which makes him practically invisible and his venom strike ability, which passes some form of current through his gloves inflicting higher damage to his victims. Towards the end, Miles takes off his mask before revealing the logo and the official working title. The game is scheduled to come out on the PlayStation 5 during Holiday 2020. Similar to the previous Spider-Man game, this one is a PlayStation exclusive as well.
Gran Turismo 7
The second title announced during the event is also a PlayStation exclusive – Gran Turismo 7. The trailer for the popular racing simulator starts out by showing some high-res close-ups of the internals of a race car while constantly switching to some action sequences every now and then. It then proceeds to show the beautiful lighting and reflection quality within the game before showcasing some of the world aspects. Interestingly, the trailer also gives a sneak peek into the gameplay by showcasing the new campaign mode and a whole bunch of customization options for your car. As of now, no release date has been revealed for this game.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
The third title also comes from Insomniac Games – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. The game is a completely new full-length inter-dimensional story that has been built from scratch exclusively for the PlayStation 5. The trailer showcases some of the beautiful world elements and brightly coloured alien creatures before giving a first look at the dynamic duo. What follows next is a series of action sequences involving jumping and sliding across inter-dimensional portals, riding dragons, fighting alien pirates and gunning down wild mutts. It seems like the story revolves around exploring and traversing through new dimensions while destroying everything in front of you. Towards the end, you are also introduced to a female version of Ratchet. Probably from a different dimension. The game will also be introducing ray tracing technology for further intensifying the reflections on Clank’s metallic body.
Project Athia
For the fourth reveal, Square Enix came out with a new third-person action/adventure IP – Project Athia (working title). The game features a female protagonist introduced into a rather dead world filled with giant bloodthirsty monsters. The trailer also showcased a few of gameplay mechanics which included jumping across cliffs and what looks like an ability to summon earth elements to defeat enemies. Square Enix has not given much else to go about in regards to the game or its release date. The game will be exclusive for PS5 for a limited period of time, after which it will be available for PC as well.
Stray
Stray is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where robots have taken over. You take control of a stray cat who is stuck in a cyberpunkish world, to uncover a bunch of mysteries and get back to your real family. The game has got beautiful graphics, stunning neon lighting, relaxing music and it’s from Annapurna Interactive. That’s how you know it will be good. The game will be exclusive to PlayStation for a limited time before it is available on PC.
Returnal
The sixth title reveal comes from Housemarque – Returnal. Returnal is a third-person shooter, where you take control of a female space voyager who is stuck on a death loop. Based on the trailer, it seems like every time she dies, she wakes up again. But on a completely different hostile planet. This soon takes a toll on her mental health. So, she decides to fight back and end the loop before it destroys her mind. As revealed in the trailer, it looks like your job as the player is to fight against the aliens in each of those hostile planets and uncover the mystery behind this loop. This game is a PlayStation exclusive and there is no release window for it yet.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure
The iconic character from PlayStation’s LittleBigPlanet comes back in his solo iteration – Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The trailer starts out by jebaiting the audience into thinking that it is a furry game. Soon after, it reveals itself to be the much-adored anthropomorphized creature made of fabric. The game features a whole bunch of platform mechanics such as jumping on top of the incoming enemies, grappling hooks, walking on tight ropes and even riding ship and train cart apparently. The game will be a PlayStation exclusive and it does not have a release date yet.
Destruction AllStars
Destruction AllStars is a high-impact vehicle combat game. The trailer starts out by showing a bunch of wacky-looking characters within the game. It is then followed by those characters jumping into their brightly coloured cars and crashing into each other to be the last one standing. The map showcased in the trailer features a ton of colour and character and a whole bunch of challenging obstacles to pass through before your vehicle gets shattered to pieces. It seems like the game also offers a lot of customization options as well to increase your chances of winning. This indicates that the game has to be an online multiplayer experience. This game is a PlayStation exclusive. The release date for this game has not been revealed either.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
The ninth title reveal is a third-person action game coming from an indie company called Ember Lab headed by two brothers Mike and Josh Grier. The trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits starts out by giving a first look at the protagonist, Kena meditating on a rock with cute tiny little creatures with black fur and huge eyes surrounding her. It then proceeds to give some hint of the primary plot of the game, which is to fight troubled spirits and set them free. The trailer showcases the environment, the otherworldly elements, magical creatures and some boss fights as well. As for gameplay mechanics, it seems like it is an exploration game with items littered throughout. Combat wise, it seems like her weapon of choice is a staff. Which can either be used as a melee weapon or bent to be used as a bow to shoot arrows created by her energy. Other than that, it looks like she possesses telekinetic abilities as well which looks sick. Kena: Bridge of Spirits is exclusive to PS5 for a limited time. There is no release date for this game for yet.
Goodbye Volcano High
The abundance of furry related content in this presentation is actually scary if you think about it. Goodbye Volcano High is a cinematic narrative game involving anthropomorphized dinosaurs in a high school setting. Based on the narration, it seems like an end of highschool tear-jerking story which will impact the player heavily. It has got a quite decent hand-drawn art style similar to anime art and great music as well. The game will be exclusive on PlayStation for a limited time and is scheduled to come out in 2021.
Oddworld: Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm is the latest game in the Oddworld franchise which got revealed at this presentation. As stated by the creator Lorne Lanning, this iteration of the 2.5D action-adventure platformer will be highly story-centric. The game will be featuring a completely new emotionally engaging story which should keep you glued to your seats and instil new memories for the age-old franchise. Oddworld: Soulstorm will be exclusive to PlayStation for a limited time.
GhostWire: Tokyo
GhostWire Tokyo is a first-person supernatural action game where your primary objective is to fight evil spirits in Tokyo. The trailer starts out by introducing the city, where 99 percent of the population has vanished. They are instead replaced by some ghosts or spirits that you need to fight to uncover the mystery behind the mass disappearance. In order to defeat them the player has to use the supernatural abilities at his disposal. The trailer showcases a bunch of abilities including fire-spouting (exorcism by fire), water-spouting, fire arrows, spiritual incantations and telekinesis to name a few. As for your enemies, you have a headless school girl, a Japanese rain doll, humanoid electronic appliances and a creepy kid in a yellow raincoat to name just a few. The game is set to come out in 2021 and is exclusive to PS5 for a limited time.
JETT: The Far Shore
JETT: The Far Shore seems like more of an experience rather than a game. Based on the trailer the premise looks like – two explorers from a small village were sent on an intergalactic mission. After they launch into space, the trailer then cuts ahead hundred of years where the two continue to explore several planets. It is not clear from the trailer as to what they were searching for or what their mission was. But it sure does look interesting. The game is set to come out in Holiday 2020 and is exclusive to PlayStation for a limited time.
Godfall
From Gearbox publishing, Godfall is a third-person fantasy looter-slasher RPG set in a fantasy universe with heroic knights. After a couple of character close-ups in the game, the trailer proceeds to show the gameplay. The gameplay involves melee combat using a wide arsenal of weapons including swords, staffs and axes to name a few. The game also offers a bunch of player upgrades including armour sets and weapons for better combat. Godfall can be played either in solo mode, duo or three-player coop as well. The game is set to come out during Holiday 2020 and is exclusive to the PS5 for a limited time.
Solar Ash
Solar Ash is the latest game from Heart Machine, creators of Hyper Light Drifter. Based on the trailer, Solar Ash seems like another one of those narrative-based experience games, where there is no real objective. But you just go with the flow. It looks like in this case, the player travels through space via rifts, explores different planets and meets interesting characters that tell a unique story. Solar Ash is set to come out in 2021 and is exclusive to PlayStation for a limited time.
Hitman 3
The sixteenth reveal comes from IO Interactive – Hitman 3. The third instalment of the game marks the dramatic conclusion to Agent 47’s reboot story. The game sends the player to numerous locations worldwide with a contract to assassinate someone using their skills in a sandboxy environment. The trailer starts off by showing some flashback sequences from the previous iterations. It then cuts off to a forest where it looks as if a bunch of ICA agents are trying to hunt down Agent 47. They are all taken down one by one methodically before Agent 47 reveals his face on camera. The trailer then cuts off to show some of the world and important characters to look forward to in the game. Hitman 3 is set to come out in January 2021.
Astro’s Playroom
Astro’s Playroom is a fun platformer that comes pre-loaded on the PlayStation 5. It is somewhat of a walkthrough/tutorial game to introduce you to your brand new console. The game has four different maps, with each of them based on the PS5’s different console components. Each area in the game introduces and forces the player to use the new features of the DualSense wireless controller. This seems like a fun, interactive and innovative way to pull off a tutorial. As you would guess, this is a PS5 exclusive.
Little Devil Inside
Originally pledged as a Kickstarter campaign, Little Devil Inside is an action-adventure RPG with survival elements set in a semi-open world. Based on the trailer, it looks like your job is to hunt for monsters in the wild for either money or food. The trailer showcases some of the locations and monsters in the game such as a dragon in the forest, a giant octopus in the depths of the ocean, a werewolf in the moonlight and a yeti in the coldest regions. The trailer also showcases some gameplay elements such as deep-sea diving, rappelling, patching up your wounds, using animals for transportation and rock climbing to name a few. As for combat, you have sword fighting, using fishing hooks and shotguns. Little Devil Inside will be exclusive to PlayStation for a limited time.
NBA 2K21
There is not much to say about sports games in general. They’re all the same every year. Guess we could say the sweat in this game looks realistic and better this time? NBA 2K21 is set to come out in Fall 2020.
Bugsnax
From the creators of Octodad: Deadliest Catch comes Bugsnax. Bugsnax is a first-person exploration adventure game where you are cast as a journalist to investigate the latest discovery on Snacktooth Island and apparently, consume humanoid strawberries for sustenance. The game offers a lot of customization options for your character and it also lets you sing campfire songs with other characters in the game? Bugsnax will be out during Holiday 2020 exclusively on PlayStation for a limited time.
Demon’s Souls
This remake of an all-time PlayStation classic has been coming a long time. The trailer starts out by showing some of the less creepy world elements accompanied by orchestral music. The music and visuals then switch abruptly to reveal all the monsters within the game in full glory. Before revealing the official title. Demon’s Souls will be a PlayStation exclusive. No news on its release date though.
DEATHLOOP
For the twenty-second reveal, creators of the Dishonored franchise, Arkane Studios revealed their new game. DEATHLOOP is being advertised as a first-person shooter game, which is completely different from their past games, which were based on pure stealth. Based on the trailer, we can see that the game still does maintain the Dishonored stealth feel though, with the silenced weapons, swords and aerial takedowns. You can also see that it still uses the prime gameplay mechanics from Dishonored such as teleportation and lifting off enemies. Although the primary game mechanics shown in the trailer is the gun game it is very evident that stealth is still a viable option. DEATHLOOP will be available exclusively on PS5 for a limited period of time. No details on the release window though.
Resident Evil Village
After numerous leaks and rumours surrounding the game, Resident Evil VIII finally got announced at this presentation. The trailer starts off by introducing us to the creepy deeply dense forest location the game is set in. It then proceeds to give a small glimpse of the gameplay where it becomes clear that this iteration of Resident Evil will be in a first-person perspective. The trailer then proceeds to showcase a series of quick jumpcut sequences highlighting some important locations and characters within the game in sync with the music. Based on the footage shown it seems like we will be dealing with a cult this time. And for some reason, a werewolf as well? Resident Evil Village comes out in 2021.
Pragmata
The twenty-fourth game to be revealed instantly gave off a Death Stranding vibe with the main character’s bulky suit and backpack. The trailer for Capcom’s Pragmata starts off by an astronaut looking figure shooting something that looks like spores into the air, which reveals some silhouettes in what seems like a post-apocalyptic world. Based on the events transpiring, it looks like the game has something to do with time travel or memories. Soon after, certain unfortunate events transfer the characters to the moon which leads us to believe that this could be a lunar adventure game. Pragmata is currently in development for the PlayStation 5 and will be launching in 2022.
Horizon Forbidden West
This long-awaited sequel to the 2017 action-adventure RPG was the final announcement at this presentation. The trailer showcases some footage of the beautiful world elements where the game will be based upon with a narrative from Aloy. You then see a series of clips showing the newly born creatures, more majestic machines, underwater secret locations, exploration features, a looming apocalypse and a gigantic mammoth to top that off. Similar to the previous iteration of the game, this one will be a PlayStation exclusive as well.
We would say that this event by PlayStation was an overall success. A total of 25 title reveals, well-produced presentation and finally a first look at the new sleek looking PlayStation 5 console. Similar to this event, Microsoft had also held a conference for the Xbox Series X earlier this month, showcasing a bunch of new game titles for their upcoming next-gen console. The event had received a ton of backlash for false advertising gameplay footage for Ubisoft’s upcoming title, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which you can check out here. Additionally, feel free to sign up to the Summer Game Fest here, to keep up to date with new gaming events as and when they pop up.
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