Sony’s State of Play: What did we see?

Sony’s recent State of Play reveal stream has come and gone, and in a word it was explosive. Recently I claimed that the magic of E3 has been lost and naturally I now feel like a fool. Many gamers have been used to generally lacklustre reveal streams that place the focus on singular titles, and while Sony had marketed this one as a Wolverine showcase, it turned out to be so much more.

With a mix of third-party and first-party titles, the future of gaming is certainly looking bright

This stream was absolutely packed with thrilling new titles, as well as the welcome return of some familiar faces. With a mix of third-party and first-party titles, the future of gaming is certainly looking bright.

Kicking off with an extended look at Insomniac’s upcoming Wolverine title, playing as the iconic wild anti-hero looks to be fluid, frenetic and not to mention absolutely brutal. Some have argued that the sheer amount of blood on show is excessive and – pardon the pun – overkill, yet to me it feels as if the full capabilities of the adamantine claws are finally on show, with Wolverine embodying the true force of nature that he is.

Slated for September 15, the linearity of the title will undoubtedly be an interesting departure from Insomniac’s open-world formula that has been integral to the success of their Spider-Man games.

This exciting new entry in Marvel’s game catalogue was followed by another trailer for Arc System Works’ own superhero title: Marvel Tōkon Fighting Souls. Oozing with all the style that ASW has become synonymous with in the fighting game sphere, Fighting Souls looks to be a thrilling new title for fighting game fans, bursting with colourful supers as well as a host of unique designs for the heroes that many know and love.

Next was a remake of the title that served as my entry into video games: Rayman Legends Retold. While I, like many, felt slightly sceptical towards the new 3D art style, the remake’s promised additions of a voice-acted narrative and entirely new levels demonstrate that Ubisoft means business. Releasing in October, Ubisoft have publicly stated this title to be a test of public interest in Rayman, with subsequent titles contingent on this release’s success – a prospect that fills me with a strange combination of hope and fear.

A prequel to Dave the Diver featuring Bancho the Chef looks to be another vibrant wacky venture into cuisine. Learning the secrets of a master sushi chef has never looked so funky.

The first look at Kemuri: Hunt the Unseen demonstrated a fast-paced adventure into a world where creatures from Japanese folklore are converging on a colourful urban cityscape. Toting up to three player co-op, and what seemed like a variety of superpowers, it is hard not to see the Jujutsu Kaisen parallels – something that is far from a negative.

If you felt there weren’t enough dinosaurs in the new Tomb Raider trailer, The Lost Wild – True Fear is Primal seems like it will scratch that itch

Lara Croft’s return has now been marked in gigantic letters in my calendar following the reveal of an absolutely stunning-looking re-realisation of her original expedition. Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis marks a new era for the iconic adventurer. Sporting a new design following the Survivor trilogy, Croft’s upcoming journey through verdant jungles and snowy peaks is a promising return to the character. Hide your ancient artefacts come February 12!

And if you felt there weren’t enough dinosaurs in the new Tomb Raider trailer, The Lost Wild – True Fear is Primal seems like it will scratch that itch. Where Lara Croft looked to be dancing around velociraptors and elegantly evading an enormous tyrannosaur, this new title puts you right at the bottom of the food chain, hiding from fearsome scaly predators in a chilling new first-person survival horror.

Survival RPG Dune Awakening had its console port announced, alongside a brand new single-player mode for those who fear ruthless Harkonnen players looking to steal their spice. Bungie’s controversial extraction shooter Marathon received its Season 2 trailer; will a new shell, map and a couple of weapons be enough to claw some of its player base back?

The gritty “Kung-fu Punk” action RPG Phantom Blade 0 appeared with a brief teaser trailer, with a longer trailer promised later in the summer. This was closely followed by a new trailer for Capcom’s Onimusha reboot – another action RPG providing flashy sword-based combat against all manner of monstrosities.

Capcom persisted with a new look at an upcoming Silent Hill sequel: Townfall, set all the way up in Scotland. Players will take the role of Simon as he ventures through the fog that Silent Hill players will be all too familiar with, attempting to get to the bottom of this new fishing town’s mysteries. New protagonist, new location, new dedicated first-person perspective, same incredibly creepy atmosphere; Silent Hill: Townfall will be invading your nightmares from 24 September onwards.

While I’m not typically a driving-game fanatic, the appearance of the DeLorean has certainly grabbed my interest

Saber showed off the first entry in the Stuntman franchise since 2007, with Stuntman: Hollywood taking players on high-octane races through various film sets. While I’m not typically a driving-game fanatic, the appearance of the DeLorean has certainly grabbed my interest. With no definitive release date, Stuntman: Hollywood will be drifting onto consoles sometime in the near future.

While Silent Hill: Townfall captured an exciting sense of the eerie, the trailer for ILL – a debut title for developers Team Clout – looked flat-out horrifying. Including all the classics of walking corpses dripping with gore, run-down claustrophobic spaces and undead babies (perhaps not so classic), ILL caters to the “this game looks genuinely scarring, I can’t wait to play it” crowd. Players will look to be avoiding its monsters in 2027.

Ready for your brain to be turned inside out? Remedy’s sequel to Control looks to have grander stakes and familiarly surreal environments. With the focus switching from Jesse Faden to her brother Dylan, players will be sent into a Manhattan where the only certainty is instability as well as the guarantee of uncanny creatures. Releasing on the same day as Silent Hill: Townfall, Control Resonant will double up the eeriness this September.

The two final reveals of Sony’s stream were perhaps the biggest surprises, as well as the greatest selling points in Sony’s future. Until Dawn 2 came first, promising another interactive slasher story with a new cast of acting talent including Baldur’s Gate 3’s Neil Newbon and Dacre Montgomery of Stranger Things fame.

The snowy forests of Glore Valley from the first game have been traded for the sun-soaked tropics of a haunted island in this sequel. The ghost-hunting cast seems to come face to face with a real threat: being pursued by yet another masked killer with a violent agenda. Many, many savage deaths ahead in 2027!

And finally, Sony saved the best until last. THE jaw-dropping, show-stopping grand reveal of God of War Laufey. The words Santa Monica Studio signalled to all, the titanic announcement that would soon commence. But what followed was not a simple trailer, but instead an uncut look at the first twenty minutes of the title.

Deborah Ann Wool is set to return as Kratos’ wife Faye in a new adventure set in the afterlife of the gods – “the Everywhen”. Appearing to pick up from her cremation in God of War 2018, the twenty minutes shown have demonstrated that Faye is every bit as fierce as Kratos has said. Graphically, the game retains the same vibrant realism of the previous Norse entries, yet the gameplay has seen serious innovation with a dedicated jump button and a combat system with moves that wouldn’t look out of place in the Ghost of Sparta’s original trilogy.

While lacking a definite release date, it surely won’t be long before players are thrust into Faye’s journey of survival through the “Everywhen”, or rather, we can hope not at least.

Needless to say, the future for gamers, but more specifically PlayStation gamers, looks very promising.

The PS5 has been criticised for its lacklustre exclusives catalogue: falling short of the high bar set by its predecessor. So, do these reveals herald a new era for Sony, one where the gaming space might once again be inundated with PlayStation system-sellers? Only time will tell. Until then, plenty of these titles will be making their way to consoles soon – both a blessing and a curse for those of us with backlogs that only seem to grow!