Despite PlayStation’s recent remarks telling us to not expect any new, big first-party titles this fiscal year, I couldn’t help but be a little excited for a new State of Play. Of course, there will always be new games whether they come from first-party studios or third-parties.
Thinking of the previous State of Plays, I am usually only excited about 30-40% of the announcements. I have never owned a PSVR or PSVR2 so that takes away about 10-20% of the content. There are always a few JRPGs and other titles or series that I know nothing about that are announced — they look nice, but I know I don’t have the time for multiple RPGs/JRPGs at once.
Here are my TOP ANNOUNCEMENTS from yesterday’s PS State of Play:
Astro Bot in the Spotlight!
Astro Bot is a character we usually see in launch titles. The bot has previously been used to showcase new tech, such as PSVR (Astro Bot: Rescue Mission) and the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller (Astro’s Playroom). I never played Rescue Mission, but for a tech demo Astro’s Playroom also happened to be a top-tier 3D platformer.
I’m glad that Team Asobi is working on a brand-new Astro Bot adventure that isn’t just a fancy new tech demo. Of all of the announcements yesterday, this was the most exciting.
I was thinking PlayStation’s announcement about first-party titles meant nothing was coming until 2025. I’m happy to report that Astro Bot is set to release later this year on September 6, 2024.
Two New Overwatch 2 Competitors
Not too long ago, Overwatch was my most played game — and it stayed that way for a couple of years. The launch of Overwatch 2 with season passes and sponsored events (or the “Fortnite model”) has turned me off of the game. The gameplay is still great, but I don’t care for the new layout and gameplan.
From last year’s Concord teaser I did not get a 5v5, first-person shooter (aka an Overwatch competitor) vibe. I was instead expecting more of a story-driven narrative, where the player would travel from planet-to-planet on their dirty spaceship. Even from yesterday’s cinematic trailer I still got those vibes.
After seeing some interesting characters — aliens, robots, humans — I was thinking of something a la Guardians of the Galaxy. A gang of space misfits on the run. Next, they gave us the gameplay trailer which totally threw me off.
While this isn’t what I was expecting, it still looks like an interesting concept and it could be a fun time. The risk is, will this game catch on? I will most definitely give this one a try and I hope I can get into the upcoming beta.
Concord is set to launch on PS5 and PC on August 23, 2024.
The second Overwatch-like game is one we already knew about, Marvel Rivals. Which also has a beta incoming. I have not played this yet, but I have heard some good feedback from those who have played some form of it. What this game has over any other is the Marvel Universe of characters.
The Marvel roster is gigantic and continues to grow. I’ve already seen some of the most well-known heroes and villains in this game (Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Loki), as well as some not-so-mainstream characters (Peni Parker, Luna Snow, Magik).
The closed beta on PS5 will happen some time in July 2024.
Couch Co-op Action RPG
I’m always looking for new games to play with my girlfriend — on the couch. We have a few loaded up in our backlog at the moment, since we’ve been focused on winning crowns in Fall Guys lately.
Path of Exile 2 looks like an awesome way to introduce my girlfriend to an intense action RPG. We have played the more beginner-friendly Minecraft Dungeons, and really enjoyed it. Now it’s time to defeat some monsters and demons together.
Early Access begins in late 2024.
Those were the big three announcements to me. There were also some new remakes (Silent Hill 2 and Until Dawn), God of War: Ragnarok is coming to PC (with all the PC bells and whistles), there were a few PSVR2 titles (Skydance’s Behemoth, Alien: Rogue Incursion, two new entries in popular series (Monster Hunter Wilds and Dynasty Warriors: Origins.
There were three RPG-looking games that presented beautiful landscapes and wondrous worlds: Where Winds Meet, Infinity Nikki, and Ballad of Antara.
You can catch the entire presentation right here:
VIDEO GAME BOOK CLUB 