The much anticipated PlayStation Showcase has been and gone, and it certainly met the hype bar that PlayStation had set for it. True to form, Matt and Paul are getting together to break down each announcement, pulling the showcase apart bit by bit. Join them for their thoughts
Player 2 Vs The Playstation Showcase 2021
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Remake
Paul: Heard rumblings about Aspyr and KOTOR for quite some time, and I was glad to see the game finally announced. I was incredibly surprised to see that they’re working with PlayStation and that some form of exclusivity is a part of the deal though. Disney clearly loves working with Sony (as we’ll discuss later) so maybe I shouldn’t be entirely surprised, but it’s still interesting to see a once Xbox exclusive completely shift to become a (presumably timed) PlayStation exclusive. The console wars rage on
Matt: This one has a slightly odd feel to it. Much like when Tomb Raider became an Xbox exclusive, this becoming a PS exclusive feels weird. Not bad, just weird. I won’t lie though, to get confirmation after all this time was sweet. The two KoToR games are the best Star Wars games ever in my opinion and to get another shot at them in a newer form is amazing. I have to think though that the game won’t be in the old CRPG style of the original titles and probably closer to something like Mass Effect.
Project Eve
Paul: Parasites… Eve… Parasite Eve anybody? We didn’t see a publisher listed here so I wonder if this is some stealth tactic from Square-Enix concealing the return of Parasite Eve. Whatever it’s ultimately called, Project Eve looked pretty awesome in that Bayonetta X DMC X Nier kind of way. Definitely keen to learn more about it
Matt: I had to double-check this wasn’t a Platinum game because boy-o-boy does it give off those feels. It looks like a slick action-adventure game but the proof will be in the moment to moment action with this one. I am keen to see more but not yet sold.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Paul: The Tiny Tina DLC from Borderlands 2 is still the very best piece of content that franchise has produced so far, and I’m incredibly keen to get more of it in the form of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. I’d expected a potential change of perspective given it’s a spin-off, a potential opportunity to change things up, but not to be. I’m happy and keen
Matt: Well it really is fantasy Borderlands. If that idea excites you then you are in for a treat. The Cell shaded look really suits the Fantasy theme and it is perhaps the most colourful Borderlands game yet.
Forspoken
Paul: Loved Forspoken when it premiered this time last year, and I’m loving what I’m seeing now. The game is shaping up incredibly well, tonally it’s hitting the right marks, and the talent working on it is really promising too. Can’t wait to get my hands on this one next Autumn
Matt: Potentially the most interesting thing in the show for me. It is giving off an almost Doctor Who sense of wonder, helped by an armband that sounds like Stephen Merchant. The whole presentation for this game has me dialled in and ready to go. This could be Sony’s next big thing, in much the same way Horizon during the last gen. (though it is a Square Enix title)
Rainbow Six: Extraction
Paul: Look, it’s co-op which makes it more appealing to me than Siege was, but that said, I’m in no great hurry to get onto this one. It looks cool, but it’s just not a Paul game.
Matt: I like the look of this game, but I am still kind of bothered by the fact it is a Tom Clancy title. This could have been called anything and didn’t need the branding, but for some reason, Ubisoft has jammed it under the Tom Clancy brand, a brand that has always been about realistic military scenarios, and that just feels odd. The game looks like a hell of a lot of fun though.
Alan Wake Remastered
Paul: I’ve been longing to play this on a PlayStation console for a very, very long time. Played and loved Alan Wake on Xbox 360 back in the day and was a big fan, but I’m a Sony Pony at heart, and so I’d love to dive into it (and American Nightmare if that’s coming too) on my PlayStation. Now, after way too long, I can finally do it.
Matt: I want it, I want it now, I want to play Alan Wake again. At this point, Remedy is just about my favourite developer. If we can just convince Rockstar to let them remaster Max Payne then I will be a happy boy.
GTA V
Paul: Noooooooooooooooooooope. Can we all please stop buying GTA V!
Matt: I will not be buying this again, but if there is an upgrade path from my last gen copy I might consider it. Really it just looks like the PC version finally making it to consoles. I know this is somehow still in the top 10 games every month but I just can’t muster any more enthusiasm for such a played out title.
Ghostwire Tokyo
Paul: No date, but I’ll bet things that I really shouldn’t be betting with that Ghostwire ends up being the PlayStation exclusive Q3/4 game for 2022. The game seems to be shaping up well, we certainly have a better idea about what this game is based on the showcase, but there’s still a crazy amount of unknown about this one. Keen to learn more
Matt: Still looks great, I still have no idea what is going on, but at least we have an idea on gameplay. A kind of magic FPS creepy sci/fi adventure, this one could go either way but I have high hopes.
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
Paul: Begin the flood of Marvel content. Guardians of the Galaxy really hyped me up at E3, but this latest showing wasn’t anywhere near as impressive. The humour didn’t work, and while the game certainly looks fun to play, when you’re leveraging the Guardians, you need to hit the mark with humour, and this one was a fumble. Hopefully, it comes good for the final release in October.
Matt: Is it sad that I am kind of getting burnt out by this one already? I mean they have been flogging the hell out of this one so it had better be good upon release otherwise there is going to be a swell of internet anger not seen since… well Saints Row a couple of weeks ago.
Vampire The Masquerade: Blood Hunt
Paul: Not interested at all in Vampire The Masquerade, and Blood Hunt has done nothing to change that perspective.
Matt: An odd thing to promo, especially when it is still very much in early access on PC. Not sure that Playstation is the right home for it if I am honest.
Deathloop
Paul: We’re 4 days from Deathloop as of the time of writing – why are we still getting giant, expansive trailers for the game this close to launch. It shouldn’t have been there and it consumed time that could’ve better been spent on an indie or something with less of a marketing budget.
Matt: Won’t say much here, just stay tuned to Player 2 for more soon.
Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
Paul: What was even going on here? These weird experiments that pop up in conferences and tell us nothing really shit me. If you’ve got a cool hustle going that’s great, but use a different platform to properly explain what it is… otherwise you’re just wasting my time.
Matt: Weird is an understatement. Not sure that the world is in the right place for the depression that is likely to come from playing a Radiohead video game. Always keen to see how experiments like this pan out though.
Tchia
Paul: I love the look of Tchia. Mechanically it’s quite weird and I’m not quite sure that it’s to my taste, but I like the inventive approach, and I hope for the team’s sake that it works out.
Matt: Another game looking to capture that Windwaker magic. Getting lots of Zelda vibes on this one. The problem there being, if you are going to imitate Zelda, you had better do a darn good job because that is going to be a tough comparison to win.
Uncharted
Paul: The PlayStation to PC transition continues, but it’s nice to see the games getting some PS5 love too. Gives me another trophy list to chase down!
Matt: I was going to replay these games on my PS5, but I guess I may as well go PC this time and see the difference. Not a huge surprise, but still a nice one. Already gorgeous games, they are going to sing on better hardware.
Marvel’s Wolverine
Paul: Some awesome expectation subverting going on here. The love-in between Disney and Sony continues here, but frustratingly, it’s so obvious that the game is 2-3+ years away. Given the announcement that followed, this one really didn’t need to show up. Keen to see Insomniac’s take on Wolverine though
Matt: Tease, tease, tease. If we see this before Spring 2023 I’ll eat my hat. Exciting though.
Gran Turismo 7
Paul: I’m no racing sim guy, so GT7 does nothing for me but it’s nice to see that they’re inching towards a release date. It doesn’t feel right to launch a first-party title so close to Horizon: Forbidden West, regardless of the likely lack of crossover in audiences, but I hope they can make themselves what they claim to be, “the real driving simulator”
Matt: Look, I reckon there is still at least one more release date delay in this one. What’s a GT game without 19 delays? GT has a lot of ground to make up on Forza so here’s hoping that this one is a winner.
Spider-man 2
Paul: The Marvel fun continued with the announcement of Spider-Man 2. Hardly surprising, but we learned more about it than I’d expected. I really only foresaw a splash screen and a logo, but we learned about Venom, and we see Miles and Peter rolling together. That’s enough for me. Bring on 2023!
Matt: This will be a winner and it looks like we are going to get to control Venom as well. I have to think the bad guy is Kraven the Hunter. I actually see this one hitting the projected release date, simply because Insomniac clearly has a grasp on what it needs to do with PS5 hardware, probably more so than any other dev at this point.
God Of War: Ragnarok
Paul: BOY was I happy to see this! The gameplay was sweet, but interestingly the scope of combat has blown out a bit. There seems to be more enemies on screen here so I wonder if there will be a little transition in combat towards old-school combat from the PS2/PS3 era here. Not a hard switch, but just easing the pendulum back the other way just a touch. Either way, get God of War: Ragnarok in my veins now!
Matt: Time to yell BOY again. Pumped with what we saw, but seriously I was always going to be excited for the sequel to one of my top 3 games from the last generation. The trailer was put together masterfully, with lots of teases at character reveals as well as the return of old friends.
Closing Thoughts
Paul: Many of Sony’s first parties are in a weird spot right now thanks to COVID. The likes of Bend, Media Molecule, Naughty Dog, Asobi, Sucker Punch, London and more all released shortly before the pandemic, or in the early days of it, meaning that establishing your next project with everyone scattered is a bit more difficult. Thankfully for them, they’ve got the unstoppable force of Insomniac keeping them going, and some great strategically picked third-party exclusives pad the calendar out well until the big internal hitters come down the pipeline. They’re meticulously compiling an impressive exclusive calendar. Get excited Sony fans
Matt: Great games, without doubt, some real cracking titles. That said it suffered from the same problem I see with a lot of Sony shows and that is vague, far-off release dates for a lot of the big games. It is something Sony does a lot of and I feel they need to reign it back just a touch because almost every game they announce gets delayed. That said there is no doubt there are some hot looking titles on their way and some really exciting developments for people who have invested in the PS5.
