“Well that was something,” is the nice way of putting what echoed through the minds of many gamers as they watched last week’s PlayStation showcase wrap up without a mention of a number of first party projects that they’ve been anxiously waiting to get updates on. Instead they got a look at new live service multiplayer projects, a plethora of indie titles, a handful of CGI trailers, and a new cloud-based handheld among other things. While it wasn’t the strongest showing and the showcase lacked some pazazz overall, there were still plenty of things to be excited for, let’s dive in.
Pulling in the most post-showcase views is the CGI reveal of Bungie’s latest project, a revival of the Marathon IP reimagined as a PvP extraction shooter. Bungie has had its fair share of up-and-downs with its handling of Destiny 2’s live service, but there is no denying that Bungie has a strong following and based on the views alone it’s obvious that gamers are intrigued to see what they launch next. Sticking with cinematic CGI reveals from PlayStation’s first party studios, we also got a look at Firewalk’s upcoming PvP multiplayer FPS Concord and Haven’s first project, a competitive heist experience titled Fairgame$. While PlayStation has become best known for its 3rd person action adventure games like God of War, Uncharted, and the Horizon series, they used this showcase to show gamers that they have some multiplayer projects in the works as well.
Moving from first to third party reveals, the showcase gave us new looks at previously announced titles Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Final Fantasy XVI, and The Plucky Squire, as well as some big new sequel reveals including Dragon’s Dogma 2, Ghostrunner 2, and my personal favorite, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
While we didn’t get a look at the rumored “PlayStation 5 Pro” or the attachable disc drive, hardware was still on the showcase menu with reveals of the first official PS5 wireless earbuds, as well as “Project Q”, a handheld device for playing games installed on your PS5 and streamed over WiFi. Neither seemed to be a big initial hit with fans, but “Project Q” could gain more traction with a reasonable price tag and further cloud gaming announcements to come.
Held as the “one more thing” moment of the showcase was an extended look at Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 with a heavy focus on new abilities available in the heavily anticipated sequel. In typical web-slinging fashion the Spider-Man gameplay reveal held the show together. Read all about that reveal in detail here. All said and done, the showcase wasn’t as bad as some on social media would tend to make you believe, but it was underwhelming given the fact that this was the first “PlayStation Showcase” since September 2021 and it was lacking the strong first party showing that many dedicated gamers have come to expect.
Image from: PlayStation
