Sony has kicked off its first State of Play for this summer – heralding a month-long video game announcement bonanza.
The 30-minute event saw no announcements made about God of War Ragnarok, which is expected to be released this year, but there were plenty of other reveals.
The first trailer PlayStation lined up was the Resident Evil 4 remake – a teaser showed Leon Kennedy dispatched to Europe to find the US’ president’s daughter before mayhem happens.
The fact that it was announced came as no surprise – plans for the project were leaked back in 2020 when Capcom was hit by a ransomware attack – but this is the first time the Japanese studio has officially announced its development and given us a launch date: 24 March 2023.
PlayStation also showed off some of its VR2 games in development, like Resident Evil: Village, which…seems great for horror fans and also of Lady Dimitrescu.
And as if one horror game in VR2 wasn’t enough – Sony also said the Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners (Retribution) will also be released for its impending virtual reality headset.
We also finally got to see more of PlayStation’s VR2 exclusive – Horizon: Call of the Mountain, including plot and some gameplay.
Ben McCaw, the narrative director at Guerrilla Games, also made a brief cameo to plug Horizon: Forbidden West’s latest update, including new game+ and a brand new mode called “ultra hard difficulty”.
PlayStation also announced that a “fan-favourite” was being ported to PC – but instead of Bloodborne – it turned out to be Spiderman remastered instead.
The game was formerly a PlayStation exclusive.
PC gamers can get their hands on Spiderman remastered from 12 August.
We also got a better look at Street Fighter 6, after Capcom teased us with a brief trailer earlier this year,
And unlike previous Street Fighter games, SF6 will not only feature one-on-one fighting but also what looked to be a single-player story that apparently lets you travel around the game in search of more street battles.
Fans might also enjoy this new feature in SF6: in-game commentary recorded by popular figures in the fighting game community.
SF6 launches next year.
PlayStation showed off some indie games as well, like Stray – a cute, somewhat ethereal game in which you play a cat exploring a dystopian cyberpunk-ish city in a bid to find your way home.
There’s Rollerdrome, which combines everything I ever wanted: battle royale and roller derby. A fight to the death on wheels.
For those who like their dating sims with a slice of adventure – there’s Evernights.
And a very chill trailer was shown for Season: A Letter to the Future, although the studio behind it, Scavengers, has been battling allegations of harassment and toxicity.
And to cap off the event, Square Enix finally unveiled more details about Final Fantasy XVI, which was first announced back in 2020 but was hit by delays due to Covid-19.
The trailer featured the usual Square Enix flash, lots of dragons, talk of war and giant creatures known as “eikons” – which are summons the player can use.
Square Enix also showed off gameplay from FFXVI – which looked to feature some high-octane battles.
The game will launch in the summer of 2023.
*Featured image from PlayStation
By Samantha Chan \ 10:00, 6 June 2022