With E3, the largest summer gaming expo, being canceled this year the Summer of Gaming is the place to be for all of the big game reveals, updates and news. Yesterday, PlayStation held the first of many showcases we’ll be watching over the next couple of weeks. Next week, we have Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest, and the Xbox + Bethesda Showcase — along with a few others.
Although yesterday’s State of Play had some exciting announcements, I’m still holding out for a full-on PlayStation Showcase later this year. That’s where we get the big stuff! God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, [some awesome upcoming game we’ve never heard of]. Those are all part of a PlayStation Showcase that is hopefully in the works. Either way, I’m always excited for more game trailers and premieres, even for games I don’t plan on ever playing.
This State of Play was about thirty minutes total and went over some PSVR2 games and experiences, as well as a couple of third party PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games coming in 2022 and 2023.
Let’s see what we got during this State of Play:
RESIDENT EVIL 4
In recent years, we’ve seen the original Resident Evil games receive the remake treatment. Although I’ve only played a bit of the demo of these Resident Evil Remakes, I’m a bit more excited about this one.
Resident Evil 4 may be my first Resident Evil title I really played. I remember trying the original and the sequel at a friend’s house, but I actually remember owning Resident Evil 4. It may be time to try out those previous remakes.
This new version of Resident Evil 4 comes to PS5 on March 24, 2023 with PSVR2 content to come.
Now for some upcoming PS VR2 Games
Next came the PS VR2 portion of the State of Play. Here, we got four trailers for upcoming PSVR2 experiences, with no new updates on the PS VR2 unit itself. No release date, no price, no visuals. I’m sure that all of that information will be handled in an upcoming PS VR2 State of Play.
Resident Evil Village (PS VR2)
This trailer looks like it could be the full Resident Evil Village game in VR. I think that VR is great for horror games, I just don’t see myself playing many of them in VR. I have a hard enough time exploring these spooky worlds on my TV screen.
The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Ch2 Retribution (PS VR2)
Here comes another scary PS VR2 title, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinner Ch2 Retribution. I believe I have the first TWD: Saints and Sinners game (or chapter) somewhere. Maybe I should give that a try first.
No Man’s Sky (PS VR2)
I purchased No Man’s Sky for PlayStation 4 on day one. I remember playing it for a couple of hours during its initial release, but I quickly put it down after that. No Man’s Sky is like a chameleon. They’ve changed what the game is so many times. It’s very cool that this game is receiving so much support, and I do plan on going back to it one day — maybe on Nintendo Switch, or maybe in VR.
Horizon: Call of the Mountain (PS VR2) + Horizon Forbidden West (Update)
One thing that has always turned me off of VR is the floating hands. Not every game does it, but I’m just not a fan of floating hands with no arms in VR. It just doesn’t look right. I’m still holding out on Horizon: Forbidden West, but it’s nice to see Guerrilla Games is adding new content to the base game while working on a PS VR2 title.
Back in February, I chose to purchase Elden Ring over Horizon: Forbidden West, even though I am now 100% sure that Horizon would have been a better game for me. I was just really hoping that I would get into Elden Ring. I see myself buying Horizon: Forbidden West in the near future. The first Horizon game was one of my favorite PS4 games.
*I’m not totally against VR, I just really like how beautiful games look on my 4KTV and feel on my DualSense controller. I still have never tried out the original PSVR, but I hope to give PS VR2 a try when it arrives.
Marvel’s Spider-Man (PC)
It’s great that Sony is bringing some of their big hitting exclusives to PC. This news just doesn’t really affect me, since I’m a PlayStation console owner. I don’t currently own an Xbox console (other than my Xbox 360), and that’s because most of their exclusives are also on PC. It’s neat to see Sony doing the same thing, even if games do come to PC later on.
Now I’m ready for Insomniac to hit us with some Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine news.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is coming to PC on August 12, 2022.
Stray
Another trailer (with a release date) for Stray, the upcoming cat and robot game. Now that we’re less than two months away from the release of Stray, I’m excited but also a bit hesitant about this game. What is it? I still don’t really know. It looks like traversing this great big world as a cat might be fun. It’s sort of like a puzzle game, where you’re trying to make your way from point A to point B, however a cat would do that.
This is the first game we’ve seen as available to PS Plus Premium and Deluxe members (sort of the “Available on Xbox Game Pass Day One” announcement, but for PlayStation). If I decide to go Premium or Deluxe, then I will most likely be playing Stray.
Stray is coming to PlayStation consoles on July 19, 2022.
The Callisto Protocol
When this trailer started I thought I was watching another Resident Evil, Dead Space or some other remake. The Callisto Protocol looks great, but also a bit too spooky for me. At least it isn’t a PS VR2 experience. I always tell myself I want to try more horror games, but after a few minutes I realize it was a bad idea.
The Callisto Protocol comes to PlayStation consoles on December 2, 2022.
ROLLERDROME
I’m not sure if I’ll be super into this game, but I am surely in love with the art style. The art direction totally reminds me of the last game I played from Roll 7 and Private Division Games, Olli Olli World. This is some sort of roller skating shooter competition that takes place inside of malls? It’s also got a killer soundtrack.
Rollerdrome will release on PlayStation consoles on August 16, 2022.
Street Fighter 6
While I love the look of the previous Street Fighter V, I am still terrible at that game. Fighting games aren’t what they used to be for me, maybe they are just too complicated these days. Even with all of the changes that the Street Fighter franchise has gone through over the years, this seems to be the greatest shift in visual style — and I’m totally down for it.
This new look of Street Fighter 6 has me ready to dive in and fight.
Street Fighter 6 is scheduled to release in 2023.
Tunic
Tunic is a game that I have heard so many great things about, I was just waiting for it to come to my consoles — PlayStation and/or Nintendo Switch. I was able to give the demo a try on Steam before the PC release, but that’s it. I will definitely be playing this game once it’s released on one (my) consoles.
Tunic is coming to PlayStation consoles on September 27, 2022.
Season A letter to the future
I’m not exactly sure what this game is, but I love the way it looks and I want to learn more about this story. I’ve played a couple of recent games that are heavily focused on story, and not as action-packed as the games I’m used to. Season: A letter to the future seems to be more like one of these story games. I’m also interested in riding my little bike through the fields and meeting these different characters.
Season: A letter to the future is coming in Autumn 2022.
Final Fantasy XVI
I guess it’s time to start my journey into Final Fantasy XV. I actually downloaded it last night after watching this presentation. The only Final Fantasy experience I’ve had is with the original Final Fantasy VII (on Nintendo Switch) and Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4).
I’ve always wanted to get into JRPGs, but every time I try one out I end up loving the beginning until I get stuck somewhere and quit. I was really enjoying Final Fantasy VII: Remake, but that’s when I picked up my PlayStation 5. I will one day get the upgraded PS5 edition and begin all over again.
Final Fantasy XVI is coming next summer (2023), so I guess I still have time to prepare with other JRPGs.
If you missed the PlayStation State of Play here’s a full recap:
This wasn’t the biggest PlayStation announcement event, but it was what I was expecting. The showcase featured some games I’m down for and others I didn’t really care for, but overall we got to see some new games and experiences to get excited about.
VIDEO GAME BOOK CLUB 