Alex Birlo on February 26, 2021
Today we will have ourselves another shortened version of gaming presentation. This time it’s last weeks PlayStation State of Play.
They started off with a video narrated by Louis Studdert the creative producer at Toys for bob, who gave us a rundown of the improvements that will come to the PS5 version of “Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time”.
Amongst them are:
4k resolution at 60 frames per second.
The use of the Dualsense’s adaptive triggers.
Actual 3D audio.
And of course, some incredibly fast loading screens.
You will obviously be able to bring your saves from the PS4 version over to the PS5.
If you already own the PS4 version, then you will be able to upgrade at no additional cost.
Comming March 12th.
Next, they showed off some new gameplay for the highly anticipated Returnal. It is something of a roguelike game, with elements of horror and “bullet hell” of all things.
In this video the developers explained more about how the game will work. You play as an “Astro Scout” that crashed on an unknown alien planet and tries to escape.
But the combat is so intense, and coupled with extremely varied enemy types, are almost guaranteed to get you killed some time throughout your journey.
But that is also part of the game.
Every time you die the crash landing repeats, and you start the game again, but the character has all her memories from the previous run. But all of this is accompanied by an additional twist – the entire game shifts and changes.
All the stages are generated again, while the types and numbers of enemies are also altered. So you never know how your next run will go.
What is most interesting to me, is how the story bits also adapt to what you have already discovered and to the shifting levels, letting you explore it in your own pace.
Coming on April 30th.
Now, Knockout City is a game that was recently announced by EA and is getting quite a lot of attention.
This is a team-based game of futuristic dodgeball.
It has the, oh so popular these days, Fortnite visual esthetics and will place two teams of players in a creatively designed game of dodgeball.
The controls are of the “simple to pick, but hard to master” kind of variety, and give you the ability to time your throw and catch moves to eliminate players, and a variety of different balls that have different qualities – some are timer bombs, some have lock on etc.
It comes out May 21st, but you can try signing up for their cross-play beta and play early on PlayStation.
And there is a game I am quite excited for called “Sifu”, which in Chinese stands for something like a master (of martial arts and stuff).
Not much is known about it right now, but we do know that this is a third-person action game, focused around very detailed and impactful hand-to-hand combat.
What makes me excited about it is that the developers behind this game are the guys at Sloclap, they are the creators of a highly underrated game called Absolver – which I personally spent countless hours in and can testify that it has some of the deepest and most complex yet fun skill-based hand-to-hand combat I ever saw in a video game.
The story seems simple; the character is a young martial arts practitioner on a path for revenge.
But the interesting part is obviously the gameplay. In the trailer we got to see some of the amazing combat that we can expect in the game, and I am so happy because these guys seem to transition all of their balancing and animation experience from Absolver into this new package called “Sifu”.
The game comes out for the PS5 and PS4 somewhere this year.
Then we saw some gameplay for Solar Ash, another gorgeous game, from another Indie studio.
It is stylish 3D platformer, extremely focused on speed, timing and fluidity.
You play as Ray, a Void Runner who enters a black hole to stop it from consuming her home.
The game uses surreal but colorful landscapes as a backdrop for some sweet platforming action and combat that requires timing and speed to make your way through levels filled with puzzles and monsters that each require you to time your movements and react quickly.
Also comes to the PS5 and PS4 later this year.
Now it’s time for the odd one, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach. They showed us a new trailer, but this time included some gameplay, so we now know all we essentially need to about this game.
This is a first person “run and hide simulator”, continuing my least favorite horror trend of games like Amnesia, SOMA and Outlast – where the tension is artificially elevated by stripping of the ability to fight back, living you vulnerable to the horrors that chase you.
Some get the kick out of it – I don’t.
In this game you play as a kid that is trapped in an amusement center based on the Freddy’s animatronics franchise. With the help of the night-shift guard lady you try to escape the center and not get caught by the creepy animatronics that come alive at night.
Also comes at an unspecified date later this year.
Next up was another look at Oddworld Soulstorm. The charming platformer that has got many excited for its revival, since the last one was around 6 years ago.
It’s a 2.5D platformer that places you in the shoes of a fish-like shaman character that tries to save his people from labor enslavement at industrial factories owned by the main villain.
In this video they explained more on how your fellow Mudokons, that you are trying to save, are not just fragile idiots that either act as meat shields or are a nuisance you have to protect, but are useful allies that can be equipped with weapons and assist you in solving puzzles and fighting the bad guys.
There is a nice chunk of gameplay examples in the video, so I recommend you go check out the full video.
Comes out April 6th.
Then we had yet another trailer for “Kena: Bridge of spirits”, showcasing more combat gameplay and story details.
This is one of these games I don’t like to know too much about before I actually get to play it.
Because risking this gorgeous Pixar animation-style game to be spoiled like all the Disney cartoons these days, that essentially show you the entire thing in a bazillion trailers.
All we need to know is that it looks amazing, the cinematics look like high production animated movies, and you play as a Spirit Guide girl traveling through a beautiful spirit world with puzzles and awesome fights against lost spirits.
Out August 24th.
And yet again we get another incredibly stylish trailer for Deathloop. A game developed by Arkane Studios, the creators of Dishonored and Prey.
It’s a dynamic first-person shooter, with incredible wacky retro visuals and magical abilities. In this game you keep on reliving the same day on an island where the villains have a never ending party thanks to some sort of machine that turns back time repeating the day.
Your goal is to traverse the island and figure out the optimal way to kill all the bosses within one day and break the loop before the day starts again. All while you are being hunted by another assassin hired to prevent you from breaking the loop.
I did not think much of it at first, but with each time I see this game, the deeper and more charming it becomes.
Releases on May 21st, and is a one year timed-exclusive for the PS5.
Last but definitely not list we have “Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade”. Now what is this?
It’s basically them announcing the amped PS5 version of FFVII Remake.
But alongside it they announced – a new story expansion.
At the presentation we saw a trailer that showcased all the graphical and quality of life improvements that will come to the enhanced PS5 version, and the new story content.
In relation to the graphical improvements – I hate being that one guy who is not entirely sure whether the graphics became any better or not in a visual comparison.
Some scenes looked a tad better on the PS5 and some actually better on the PS4, because they did not even care to perfectly match the time of day and camera angles, so I recommend you go check it out for yourselves… it’s weird.
But the Story content in undeniably and objectively great!
The game will have a new episode featuring Yuffie, a fan favorite character that in the original is featured later in the story, but was not present in the episodes so far in the remake.
The new Episode will be available for purchase only for the PS5 version, while the upgrade from PS4 to PS5 itself is free if you already own the game.
Comes June 10th.
Source:
The complete State of Play stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuJqHuANkyw&has_verified=1
