Another month, another half-baked videogame showcase. This time, in the run-up to the Summer Game Fest, it was Sony with a new State of Play, showcasing some upcoming titles for the PlayStation 5, and its richer cousin, the PS5 Pro. Not to mention its somewhat estranged, distant relative, the PSVR2.
There were around two dozen trailers in the lineup — ranging from reworked classics to brand-new IPs — but here, in an effort to improve upon the showcase experience, we’ll only be wasting words on the ones that caught our (and by our I, of course, mean, me, myself and I) eye, for better or worse.
First up, from the developers behind Tetris Effect, was the reveal trailer for Lumines Arive, a revival of Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s musical block-dropper series from back in 2004 (and a subsequent remaster in 2018). The new game was described as “synesthetic sensory wonderland”, and to be honest, that’s as good a description as any of what unfolded during the two-minute trailer. There’s a free single-player and multiplayer demo coming this summer, and the game is scheduled to launch for PS5 and PSVR2 this autumn.
Next up was my fellow website maintainer Karan Pradhan’s most anticipated game of the past decade, Capcom’s Pragmata, that was finally dragged out of the freezer. You can read all about it here. The only thing I would add to his moving tribute is, it was too little to get genuinely excited about it. Compared to the very first concept trailer the game received back in the day, I would go as far as to say it didn’t do itself any favours with this new one, especially considering it’s almost a soft relaunch of sorts. But at least it’s seemingly alive and well, and we’ll be looking forward to it.
Now for the first real (good) surprises of the show — Romeo is a Dead Man, by Grasshopper Manufacture. Wacky, weird, brutal, bloody, cartoonish, action-packed. A blend of styles and genres reminiscent of the likes of Into the Spider-Verse, if said film was made on acid. A true delight.
Silent Hill f was on the menu again, this time with some new visuals and gameplay footage. The much-anticipated third-person horror title still looks pretty sick (and that’s really the word). Creepy, beautiful, terrifying, and out as soon as September 25.
But if even that’s too far away for you, enter Baby Steps. A humorous exploration game where you (only) control the leg movements of the protagonist as he ventures out to climb a mountain. A walking simulator, literally (and delightfully). Out on September 8.
And if you ever wanted to play a survival rock climbing simulation adventure, The Game Bakers’ got you covered with Cairn, and there are some beautiful graphics and a great soundtrack to go with it. Out on November 9. There’s a demo available if you want to see what it’s all about. And while you wait for the full game, why not give Anna Fleming’s brilliant Time On Rock a read to get in the spirit.
And for all you soulslike sickos out there, Team Ninja’s Nioh 3 is coming out early next year. Set in Japan’s Sengoku period, and giving players two combat styles — Samurai and Ninja — to pick from this time around, things are looking good. Better yet, you can give its demo a spin right about now.
Another visual treat was Sea of Remnants by Joker Studio, described as an “ocean adventure RPG”. There are islands, sailing, mythical creatures, turn-based combat, and a host of other activities to partake in. And did I mention, you play as a pirate! What’s not to like?
And then it was time for the big one, a new James Bond game, First Light 007 by IO Interactive. And boy, it did not look very interesting. The title looks like a Hitman game with a “007” skin. Thrown in were some atrocious dialogues straight out of a B-movie, giving it a borderline parody feel. And then it was the man himself, who seemed more like a wannabe Nathan Drake than a young Bond with personality. One could almost see him crack wise in the ballpark of Marvel’s superheroes. Now I understand why a studio would wanna stick to what it knows best, and if it indeed is a more polished Hitman, there’s little to complain about. I only wish the game had a bit more personality besides a well-known name and an MGM logo.
Finally, it was time for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a superhero tag team fighter out next year. Developed by Arc System Works (of Guilty Gear fame), the game features 4v4 tag fighting and an all-star roster of Marvel characters. Now, I’ve never been big on fighting games, but I have to admit, this looks cool as hell.
So there you have it: The ones that made our hearts flutter (which, again, is not always a good sign). Now, there were a few other titles that stood out, but not quite as much. The likes of Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, Digimon Story Time Stranger, Hirogami, Tides of Tomorrow and Sword of the Sea. We’ll be keeping an eye out for them as well. Meanwhile, you can check out the entire showcase here:
