(Square-Enix)
One might think that Sony's State of Play would dazzle and impress, what with the Tokyo Game Show right around the corner, and Nintendo hosting its own Nintendo Direct on the same day. Will Bloodborne get a performance patch for PlayStation 5? Are we going to get a new trailer and release date for Stellar Blade, the bombastic action game from South Korean developer Shift Up? How about footage of Wolverine, Insomniac Games' highly anticipated superhero action game?
If you tuned in to the State of Play hoping for new announcements, you were not alone. But sadly, while the show concluded with a genuinely awesome trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the overall presentation was disappointingly familiar. Where are the new games?
State of Play: What We Saw
The State of Play didn't inspire much confidence from the start. Sony has always embraced the weirder side of gaming, when its studios aren't cranking out CW-tier cinematic masterpieces, that is. Perhaps to no one's surprise, the show opened with a literal walking simulator. No, not Death Stranding 2. We got our first look at Baby Steps, a walking game reminiscent of QWOP, from the same team behind Get Over It.
Not a fan of the quirky gameplay and weird millennial humor? Sony's got you covered. Roblox is finally coming to PlayStation 4 on Oct. 10, with cross-platform support.
After this, we were reminded that PS VR2 still exists, with trailers for two VR games: Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord and Resident Evil 4 VR. We also got a trailer for Separate Ways, a new DLC add-on for Resident Evil 4 that follows Ada Wong's misadventures in rural Spain.
Sony revealed new footage of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a first person action-adventure set in James Cameron’s Avatar universe. The first-person action shifted to Ghostrunner 2, a cyberpunk ninja game that blends parkour, gunplay, and melee action into one non-stop race. Helldivers 2 then showcased a promising, Starship Troopers-esque third-person multiplayer shooter. The gameplay looks good, though the player voiceovers during the segment were inexcusably awful.
Mid-show, Sony revealed three new DualSense controller colors, with matching PS5 console covers, called the Deep Earth Collection.
(Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games)Spider-Man 2 swung onto the scene next, giving us a blend of previously released footage as well as all new gameplay clips of our beloved web-slingers. In addition to new moves, seamless character switching, fast travel, and two new boroughs to explore, we also learned that the game will have over 65 suits to earn from across the films and comics. We’re hoping Venom is playable when the game launches on Oct. 20.
Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco’s engrossing action-RPG, is getting a DLC expansion. While a new game would have been a more welcome announcement, Arise was genuinely fun, and more of the same in this case is not a bad thing.
Honkai: Star Rail got a plug next. This outrageously stylish, turn-based RPG is free-to-play, delivering countless hours of content to grind through and story to enjoy. It also uses gacha mechanics to recruit new player units, so play responsibly.
Foamstars got an open beta announcement during the show, which is scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 2. Check the PlayStation Blog for specific dates and times. This cooperative multiplayer shooter riffs off of Splatoon and Overwatch, giving you foam-spraying guns and hero-like special abilities to master as you splatter opponents.
The highlight of the show was Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. This is the sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake (Final Fantasy VII-2, in other words). If you’re a fan of the original PS1 Final Fantasy VII, you’ll find this trailer packed with amazing and impressive details. Expect huge zones to explore, rich action combat, countless mini-games, and some fascinating story beats. The game is shaping up to be an absolutely massive adventure when it lands on PS5 in February.
What's Next for PS5?
That was it for game announcements. We saw nothing for Granblue Fantasy Relink, Lost Soul Aside, Stellar Blade, or Wolverine, which were all previously announced and curiously absent from the presentation. We can hold out hope for some interesting reveals at the Tokyo Game Show, but if that turns out to be true, then what was the point of having a State of Play ahead of the show? Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Spider-Man 2 could have simply had trailer reveals to generate hype. Instead, we got this oddly cobbled-together showcase.