Schlagwort: english

  • The PS5 features bringing A Plague Tale: Requiem to life

    The PS5 features bringing A Plague Tale: Requiem to life

    Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Hi everyone! I’m Nicolas Bécavin, Lead Engine Programmer on A Plague Tale: Requiem. The game launches on October 18, and I’m here to give you a little preview of what you can expect tech-wise! 

    Taking the next-gen leap 

    We decided to develop A Plague Tale: Requiem on PlayStation 5 to set ourselves completely free from last-gen constraints and make the most out of the features brought by the new gen. The potential it offers is incredible! Take the load time for instance: it is reduced in a way that makes new map and level design possible. With an increased memory on top, we get better draw distance which means you’ll be able to see way farther. Horizons will literally expand! The result is a much more open environment than introduced in the first game.

    Unleashing the rats 

    Rats are a key feature of A Plague Tale, and for this second game we wanted to push new-gen possibilities to the max to bring the rats-induced horror and trauma to a next level. The number of rats on-screen has been multiplied by 60, growing from 5,000 to 300,000! It’s a good number to convey the vision of the apocalypse which keeps increasingly oppressing our heroes. We’ve also changed the aspect of their movement, so that they look like a giant wave, much like a tsunami crashing down on you. We’re lucky to work with our own, in-house engine and rely on it to tackle challenging renderings like this one, of an element which is completely specific to A Plague Tale. 

     

    Shedding a new light on an overcast world 

    Thanks to the power of the new GPU, the quality of lighting can be drastically improved. With a wide array of technical tools and reduced constraints, we can accentuate the role of light, and new situations which involve light can be introduced. Hugo and Amicia will discover new sensations as they travel south, and so will the player! Thanks to this new level of detail, they’ll experience an atmosphere enriched with beams of lights and enhanced lighting over atmospheric elements such as volumetric fog.

    A new-gen feast for the eyes 

    Requiem’s tech doesn’t only take players to a setting with a more vivid atmosphere, but it will also bring more depth to the visual simulation in general. This includes increased geometric quality: technically, there are more polygons over the mesh! The resolution of textures is also improved. A good example of how these advancements affect in-game experience is the high level of details with which terrains will be rendered. For instance, we heavily rely on parallax occlusion mapping to add tiny volumetric details over terrain and props. There will also be more physical and dynamic objects, which will affect how clothing is rendered.

    3D space

    On top of all this magic, the spatial experience will be enhanced thanks to 3D Audio. That means you’ll be able to perceive where the character who is speaking is located: behind or in front of you, above or below…  Players will be completely surrounded by the game and engaged in a much more realistic and immersive way.

    The PlayStation 5’s new controller, the DualSense, has also been one of our central points of focus. It brings exceptional immersive tech through haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. I’m going to hand it over to two of my fellow studio members to explain this further. 

    Using the DualSense controller to break down barriers between screen and player

    Hey everybody! We’re Asobo Studio’s Cyril Doillon, Lead Programmer, and Aurelien Piters, Audio Director. We’re super excited about everything the next gen brings to the game… with a special mention to the PS5 DualSense controller! It brings a whole new level of realism and immersion to A Plague Tale, with a whole bunch of new features added following Innocence. It’s been incredible to work on and we’ve strived to make the most of this brilliant technology. Here to let you in on DualSense innovations we’ve got in store for you in A Plague Tale’s next chapter!

    Haptic feedback and Adaptive Triggers 

    One of the most ground-breaking innovations brought by the DualSense controller are haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. We’ve started thinking about their implementation while working on the next-gen adaptation of Innocence, which gave us an idea of the most relevant choices for our new game. Requiem will introduce real physical response and gameplay improvements tied to it. The sensory feedback provided will create realistic sensations in the use of weapons and tools. 

    If a weapon requires more pressure for instance, adaptive triggers will adjust the sensation of effort given to the player. Concerning the sling, if you hold the button too long, you’ll lose precision. Adaptive triggers will give the impression that shooting becomes harder, which also works for the player as a marker to measure the right time to shoot.

    Amicia will also have a new weapon: a crossbow, which will answer to the same law. At the same time, its physics are not the same as the sling’s. It’s more powerful but it’s slower to use and to equip. Such sensory qualities will find their place in the simulation thanks to adaptive triggers. You’ll have to press a first time to equip the crossbow, then a second time to shoot. This next-gen vibration technology allowing us to tie a physical reaction to the player’s input is quite incredible for us developers. We were used to working with image and sound, now we can create direct effects on the player’s fingers to simulate a real tool.

    There are also refreshing features coming to communicate character movement: haptic feedback is used to simulate the effect of every step while sprinting, producing little jolts for the player to feel the sprint’s rhythm, giving the impression to be right by the side of the characters and share their sensations.

    Haptics-enhanced audio 

    The audio is also fully reworked with haptic feedback. Swarms of rats can be subtly felt through the pad, through stereo vibrations. It’s as if you could touch sounds. That’s also the case with explosions and real-time cinematics; they’ll affect you physically thanks to the range of sensory input offered by the DualSense controller. The opportunities it presents brings a whole new dimension to the gameplay; you’ll be able to feel movements around you, such as where the rats are coming from! The game will offer richer situations thanks to a heightened perception of the environment which will include not only direct interaction but also semi-distant elements. 

    DualSense Speaker 

    Another innovation brought by the DualSense is its built-in speaker. We use it to play the sound of weapons when no headset is used, giving audio feedback to the player when using the sling and the crossbow. It delivers a far more dynamic experience, with the possibility to hear an arrow or a stone in the air. It’s a third speaker given to the player, which allows for subtle feedback to be delivered on top of the rest of the soundtrack, acting independently of the music and the ambient sound.

    A Plague Tale 2.0

    To sum it all up, we’ve been fully embracing all new tech opportunities in order to provide a more open environment, with more light, more details, more geometry, more texture. Oh, and more rats!

    We hope you enjoy all these prospects and will be ready to embark on Amicia and Hugo’s next journey on October 18! You can pre-order the game now on PS5.

    Website: LINK

  • Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.23 headlined by Porsche Vision GT Spyder, Volkswagen ID.R, and Nissan Silvia K’s Type S

    Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.23 headlined by Porsche Vision GT Spyder, Volkswagen ID.R, and Nissan Silvia K’s Type S

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Gran Turismo players! The 1.23 update for Gran Turismo 7 arrives today September 28 at 11:00pm PDT* (September 29 at 7am BST / 3pm JST). 

    Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.23 headlined by Porsche Vision GT Spyder, Volkswagen ID.R, and Nissan Silvia K’s Type S

    Three New Added Cars!

    Volkswagen ID.R ’19

    The prototype EV that rewrote speed records around the world.

    The ID.R’s body is made from carbon-fibre with oversized wings placed on the front and rear to produce maximum downforce. At 5.2 m long, the car is relatively large but actually weighs less than 1,100 kg. The dual-motor 4WD system produces a maximum 500 kW (670 BHP) / 650 Nm (66.3 kgfm), allowing for a 0-62.1 miles/h acceleration time of just 2.25s. These performance statistics put it well on par with race cars using internal combustion engines. In the real world, the ID.R competed in numerous motorsports events around the world with record breaking results. At the 2018 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, driver Romain Dumas set a record of 7m57s, the first ever run to break the 8 minute mark. Again at the Nürburgring Nordschliefe, the ID.R set the record for fastest lap by an EV at 6m5s. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the car became the first to ever finished the legendary hillclimb in under 40 seconds with a record of 39.9s. 

    Nissan Silvia K’s Type S (S14) ’94

    The 6th gen. Silvia presents heightened luxury in a wide body format.

    The S14 is 1,730 mm wide compared to the S13’s and the track width has also been increased to match. The new model is also 30 mm longer at 4,500 mm, and 5 mm taller at 1,295 mm for an overall larger body. The softer lines of the body design though makes the width of the car stand out the most. The K’s grade model also featured 16-inch wheels as standard. The engine is a retuned version of the S13’s SR20 series. The highest grade K’s model features an intercooled turbocharger and produces 14 BHP more than the previous generation at 216 BHP/28 kgfm with the naturally aspirated Q’s and J’s models producing 157 BHP/19.2 kgfm. The basic suspension structure has also been carried over from the S13 utilising front struts with a multilink system on the rear. The car was also available with the ‘Super HICAS’ electronic rear wheel steering system.

    Porsche Vision Gran Turismo Spyder

    Porsche’s modern yet daring statement on the future of the sports car.

    The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo follows in this tradition of the German manufacturer and is at the same time a truly modern and bold statement about the future of the sports car. It merges elements of the iconic design of historic Porsche sports cars with race car genes of the record-breaking 919 Hybrid and the pioneering spirit of Porsche’s first electric sports car, the Taycan, into a high-performance lightweight sports car. Exterior and interior design flow seamlessly into one another and provide drivers with the feeling of becoming one with the car ‒ especially once they take a seat in the cockpit of the state-of-the-art carbon monocoque chassis. The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo’s dual electric engine layout delivers a system power output of 820 kW (1,098 BHP) and a maximum torque of 1,090 Nm (111 kgfm). An innovative active aerodynamic system dynamically reacts to all driving situations to enhance the car’s performance. Perfectly suited for the demanding corners and high-speed segments found on tracks like the Nürburgring Nordschleife or on alpine roads. 

    California II and Tokyo II Scapes

    Also included in today’s Update are two new Scapes. Check them out below. 

    Website: LINK

  • Stockpile is back with a twist in Destruction AllStars’ brand new event!

    Stockpile is back with a twist in Destruction AllStars’ brand new event!

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Stockpile is back, with a twist, in our brand-new event which launches today in Destruction AllStars! Our second event, Unite, wrapped up last week and now our new event, Survive, is bringing back an old game mode with a new twist as Stockpile Frenzy joins the Trios playlist. This latest event is also adding new game mode “special rules” to add a bit of spice to our existing game modes along with brand new cosmetics for you to earn and unlock, be it through the weekly challenges or our new AllStar Pass! Finally, our competitive mode will be receiving brand new rewards this season, so there’s a lot to dig into in today’s blog post!

    Stockpile is back with a twist in Destruction AllStars’ brand new event

    Tornado warning in effect

    Stockpile is one of our team based game modes with more of an objective focus, it revolves around collecting gears from damaged opponents and depositing them into your team’s bank to score points. Stockpile Frenzy has been designed from the ground up for the trios playlist where three teams of three players battle it out in the arena with one bank each. Deposit gears in your own bank to score points or drain gears from your opponents banks! Whilst it sounds straight forward, the arena is working against you as a vehicle-destroying tornado tears through the map, devouring anything in its path! You’ll need to show off your driving skill and navigate the arena to get your gears safely to your bank, or execute a close drive by to collect gears near the tornadoes for some last minute points. We’re really excited to get this version of Stockpile back into the multiplayer playlists as we’ve seen lots of requests from our community for its return. The team at Lucid can’t wait to see how everyone reacts to the new danger of the tornadoes and to the new dynamic trios brings to the mode!

    Spice up the arena

    Tornadoes aren’t the only way in which we’re changing things up in the arena. We’re also adding a series of special rules to our Quickplay and Trios playlists. The idea behind these special rules is to give players ways to earn extra points during a game of Destruction AllStars by mixing up their playstyles a little. Here’s a breakdown of these new special rules:

    • Team Targets (Mayhem Trios)
      • Each team is given a “rival” team to target.
      • Taking out that team awards bonus points.
    • Most Wanted (Mayhem Quickplay)
      • Players that wreck 3 opponents will become marked on the HUD for all players in the arena.
      • Players who then wreck or KO the marked player will be awarded bonus points.
    • Team Break Pack (Any Trios Game Mode)
      • At fixed points during a game, the Team Break Pack item will spawn in the arena, marked for all players on the HUD.
      • If a player collects the Team Break Pack, their team will have their Hero Vehicle and AllStar breakers filled and made instantly available.

    We’re interested to see how these new special rules affect your choice of AllStar! Special rules will be active from next week, so you and your friends have got some time to plan how you’re going to tackle these new objectives!

    Competitive Season Three

    With our third event comes another refresh of our competitive rewards. As with last season, your performance in the competitive Blitz playlist will earn you competitive currency that you can spend exclusively on cosmetic rewards from the competitive store. The higher your rank, the more you get to show off in style with new player glows and effects for some of our highest ranked players!

    Outside of competitive mode, we have brand new skins and cosmetics available in the store along with a brand new AllStar Pass packed full of cosmetics and currencies in both the free and premium tiers. You can also earn rewards by completing the weekly challenges, with brand new challenges added for Survive. However you choose to play, you’ll always be making progress towards completing challenges and earning new rewards!

    The Survive event is live in Destruction AllStars right now! PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium members can download Destruction AllStars from the Game Cataloug at no additional charge. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest news and updates and we’ll see you in the arena!

    Website: LINK

  • 15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Reading Time: 11 minutes

    It might be getting a bit colder outside, but 2022 is far from over–and the stacked lineup of upcoming PS4 and PS5 titles attests to this. The next few months are set to some of the best for PlayStation gamers, offering top-class FPS action, critically acclaimed indie adventures, the return of fan-favorite JRPG classics, and beloved characters exploring new gaming frontiers. And, of course, there’s that little game called God of War Ragnarök coming too. With so many exciting new games launching in 2022, let’s check out some of the most noteworthy titles to round out the year.

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Tunic

    An itty-bitty fox in bright green garb goes on a great big adventure in one of the most talked-about indie hits of the year. Tunic is a labor of love from independent creator Andrew Shouldice, who–along with his talented team–has created a delightful isometric action-adventure game that pays homage to genre classics and forms a beautiful and unique world of its own. Find tools, treasures, and abilities, solve environmental puzzles, battle fierce monsters, and even decode a mysterious alphabet to uncover clues to aid you on your quest.

    Release Date: September 27 | Publisher: Finji| PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Post Void

    Have you ever just had an eye-searing, brain-pounding headrush where blood seems to be pumping and pulsing through your head, and your heart is pounding… but, like, in a good way? Welcome to the world of Post Void, a mix of classic FPS gameplay and brightly-colored, high-contrast visuals designed to make you blissfully uncomfortable. The neon scenery and delightfully grotesque enemies will sear into your eyeballs as you race through retro-styled FPS levels as quickly as possible. Because if you don’t move fast and kill everything even faster, your brain will melt (literally in-game, figuratively IRL). Post Void is truly a discordant experience you won’t soon forget. (Please note that this game is inappropriate for players with sensitivity to flashing lights.) 

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Super Rare Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Valkyrie Elysium

    There will be plenty of Norse mythology to go around on PlayStation these next few months, starting with Square-Enix’s action-RPG revival Valkyrie Elysium. Ragnarök draws near, and a desperate Odin summons a Valkyrie warrior, Maria, the last hope of a world filled with ruin and despair. Aiding Maria are the Einherjar, souls of fallen warriors, each with their own stories and motivations. They grant boons to Maria as she engages in skillful, action-driven, combo-heavy combat. Use the companions and skills at your disposal to build up the Arts Gauge and unleash the glorious Divine Arts upon your foes! Be vigilant, however, because Maria isn’t the only Valkyrie in this world with a mission to fulfill. (Don’t forget: The digital deluxe edition of Valkyrie Elysium also includes the original all-time PSP classic Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.)

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    A Plague Tale: Requiem

    In this highly anticipated follow-up to fan-favorite adventure game A Plague Tale: Innocence, child heroes Amicia and her younger brother Hugo have escaped the oppressors at home. The Provence region of France seems like a good place for the pair to settle down initially. But the black plague is still spreading, and Hugo’s supernatural powers are proving difficult for his young mind to control. Does the secret of Hugo’s strange abilities lie on a mysterious island? The duo will again need to go on a dangerous journey, aided only by a few trusted friends. There will be challenging environmental puzzles, new weapons and tools to combat threats, loads of emotional story moments, and rats. Oh, so many rats.

    Release Date: October 18 | Publisher: Focus Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Gotham Knights

    Batman is dead, and without its most prominent crime-stopper, Gotham City’s gone to hell in a handbasket. Batman’s various proteges–Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood–now work to clean up the streets and investigate Batman’s supposed death. Choose among the four heroes, each with unique combat abilities, and embark on action-RPG missions, uncovering hidden mysteries and confronting a rogue’s gallery of famous villains in a stunning open-world Gotham City. But what is a superhero story without an epic team-up? Gotham Knights offers seamless drop-in, drop-out co-operative play so you and an intrepid companion can explore and fight for the future of Gotham City together. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    New Tales from the Borderlands

    Things are getting weird in the Borderlands universe–weirder than usual, anyway. New Tales from the Borderlands brings players back to one of gaming’s weirdest and wildest settings in an all-new narrative adventure set in Promethea. Rather than simply shooting your way out of problems, New Tales from the Borderlands will offer a branching storyline where your dialogue choices will determine where affable jackasses Anu, Fran, and Octavia wind up stumbling next during an extremely miserable day. Well, miserable for them, not for you–you’ll be enjoying the bizarre situations, snappy dialogue, and pervasive strange humor that’s made Borderlands such an enduring hit as our would-be heroes get themselves into (and out of) another fine mess. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

    Call of Duty certainly needs no introduction among gamers–it’s the biggest and most influential first-person shooter series. In Modern Warfare II, players will experience some of the most sweeping and exciting revisions to classic COD gameplay that the series has ever seen. Improved AI, new movement options like swimming and sliding, better vehicle interactions (like being able to fire out of windows), realistic damage, and a huge overhaul to the Gunsmith that will allow players to fine-tune their weapon attachments to create their ideal firearms. 

    CoD’s much-beloved multiplayer is getting a shot in the arm as well with all-new modes: Knockout, a 6v6 competition to be the last team standing holding a precious package, and Prisoner Rescue, where one team of players attempts to breach a compound to rescue hostages from a heavily fortified structure, while the opposing side defends their turf and works to put them down. Whether you’re in it for the campaign or eager to dive into the multiplayer competition–or both–Modern Warfare 2 offers plenty to get excited over.

    Release Date: October 28 | Publisher: Activision | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Skull and Bones

    Do you hear it? The call of the high seas… the waters are begging to be conquered and plundered! It’s the end of the 17th century, the Golden Age of Piracy, and the Indian Ocean is filled with traders hauling exotic wares from the far east–prime marks for the pirates of the era. Starting as a no-name scoundrel, you will work your way up to becoming the most feared name among the region’s seafarers. Sail the vast open waters in a ship you customize, taking quests from various figures of ill repute to build your fortune and your infamy. But beware–rival pirate crews, naval armies, and even the forces of nature threaten to dash your dreams of ocean glory upon the rocks.

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Ubisoft | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Sonic Frontiers

    The most famous hedgehog on Earth needs little introduction. Sonic’s latest adventure takes him and his posse to the Starfall Islands in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Longtime nemesis Dr. Eggman, while trying to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization, tripped the island’s advanced security system, opening rifts between the island world and the digital realm of Cyber Space. Sonic Frontiers is the first Sonic game to embrace open-world exploration, allowing players to use various new movement and attack skills to dash, smash, and crash through gorgeous free-roaming environments. You’ll also tackle traditional linear 3D platforming challenges in the Cyber Space levels, which hearken back to classic Sonic stages. Can Sonic rescue his friends from Cyber Space, solve the secret of the Starfall Islands, and stop Dr. Eggman’s ambitions? 

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Sega | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    God of War Ragnarök

    The long-awaited follow-up God of War Ragnarök follows the adventures of Kratos, his teenage son Atreus, and their advisor Mimir in their journey to stop the impending apocalypse and reveal the secrets of Atreus’s destiny. Faces familiar and new will appear on this epic journey through the Nine Realms, including the terrain of Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and the legendary Asgard. 

    As tempting as it may be to take in the (stunning) scenery, these are lands of conflict and strife, and Kratos will have to engage in the visceral combat that God of War fans have come to love. New abilities and weaponry, such as the Dauntless and Stonewall shields and new summons for Atreus, add more flair and intensity to fighting than ever. God of War Ragnarök aims to captivate players come November, so be sure you’re there to witness the twilight of the gods.

    Release Date: November 9 | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Goat Simulator 3

    Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were a goat with an appetite for fashion and destruction that just happened to have a complex physics engine applied to their daily activities of causing mass chaos? Probably not, but you’re definitely curious now. Goat Simulator 3 (don’t ask about Goat Simulator 2) is perhaps the weirdest, wildest sandbox game yet. As the titular goat, it’s up to you to do something. Anything, really. 

    The island of San Angora is your playground for goat-y and not very goat-like activities. Jetpacks! Vehicles! Explosions! Weird alien slime! Sports! Customizable Fashion! It’s all here for some reason. And what’s even better is that you can get together in a herd with your friends for multiplayer madness to lick, headbutt, and have a goat-tastic time.

    Release Date: November 17 | Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

    Gaming’s premiere horror anthology series continues with a brand-new, standalone story. A group of young, naive documentary filmmakers receives an invite to a modern-day recreation of notorious conman-slash-serial-killer H.H. Holmes’s infamous “Murder Hotel”–a historical building laden with all manner of diabolical killing devices and traps. Inside the hotel, the film crew soon finds themselves as subjects in the palm of a sick mastermind determined to become the most notorious murderer of all time. Can your posse escape the “killing rooms” and survive a stay in the hell hotel? You can play through this story solo or share the terror with friends: enjoy simultaneous online co-operative play, or see which of you makes it out alive in controller-passing couch co-op. No matter how you play, you’re in for the stay of a lifetime, provided your protagonists actually live. 

    Release Date: November 18 | Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Callisto Protocol

    The survival horror genre returns to the cold, sprawling vastness of space in the Callisto Protocol. Headed up by Striking Distance Studio’s Glen Schofield, co-creator of the original Dead Space, this game takes you far, far away to Callisto, a moon orbiting the planet Jupiter, in the year 2320. Protagonist Jacob Lee is serving time at the Black Iron prison colony when a swarm of monstrous creatures begins appearing within the heavily fortified prison walls. 

    Something truly terrible is going on within these anguish-filled halls, and Jacob needs to discover the prison’s hidden secrets–and somehow use the limited resources he can scavenge to escape with his life. But even if you find a means to break out, you still have to contend with an ever-increasing army of rapidly evolving bio-horrors. Remember: they might not be able to hear you scream in space, but your downstairs neighbor will definitely hear you losing it when you’re playing The Callisto Protocol at 3am in the dark. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: Krafton | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns

    When we think of comic-based games, we tend to think of epic superpowered action-adventures. Marvel’s Midnight Suns, however, is taking its titular heroes into a different dimension: turn-based strategy. Developed by Firaxis, the masterminds behind the legendary X-Com series of games, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a massive crossover spectacular that offers deep, strategic gameplay that’s every bit as challenging and intense as Marvel action games. 

    Step into the shoes of the Hunter, an otherworldly demon slayer you create and customize as you work to prevent the resurrection of the elder god Cththon. Interact and forge alliances with legendary heroes like Wolverine, Iron Man, Blade, Captain America, and Spider-Man, then command them in battles that test mind and mettle alike. Plan your steps carefully, then leap into combat with a unique card-based action system to utilize your team’s powers to their fullest. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

    Zack is back. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remake of the PSP classic that follows Cloud’s buddy and up-and-coming Soldier through the turbulent series of events that directly lead into the main story of Final Fantasy VII. A top-ranked Soldier named Genesis has deserted the organization, and Zack needs to track them down and find out what they’re up to and uncover some unpleasant Shinra corporate secrets in the process. Old and new players alike will find plenty to love in this comprehensive update, including fully-voiced cutscenes, completely re-done graphics, and a revised combat system that brings elements of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s ferocious fights into the mix. And, best of all, you get to spend quality time with Zack, one of FFVII’s most beloved (yet often “forgotten”) characters. 

    Release Date: December 13 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    What title launching in 2022 are you looking forward to most?

    Website: LINK

  • 15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Reading Time: 11 minutes

    It might be getting a bit colder outside, but 2022 is far from over–and the stacked lineup of upcoming PS4 and PS5 titles attests to this. The next few months are set to some of the best for PlayStation gamers, offering top-class FPS action, critically acclaimed indie adventures, the return of fan-favorite JRPG classics, and beloved characters exploring new gaming frontiers. And, of course, there’s that little game called God of War Ragnarök coming too. With so many exciting new games launching in 2022, let’s check out some of the most noteworthy titles to round out the year.

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Tunic

    An itty-bitty fox in bright green garb goes on a great big adventure in one of the most talked-about indie hits of the year. Tunic is a labor of love from independent creator Andrew Shouldice, who–along with his talented team–has created a delightful isometric action-adventure game that pays homage to genre classics and forms a beautiful and unique world of its own. Find tools, treasures, and abilities, solve environmental puzzles, battle fierce monsters, and even decode a mysterious alphabet to uncover clues to aid you on your quest.

    Release Date: September 27 | Publisher: Finji| PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Post Void

    Have you ever just had an eye-searing, brain-pounding headrush where blood seems to be pumping and pulsing through your head, and your heart is pounding… but, like, in a good way? Welcome to the world of Post Void, a mix of classic FPS gameplay and brightly-colored, high-contrast visuals designed to make you blissfully uncomfortable. The neon scenery and delightfully grotesque enemies will sear into your eyeballs as you race through retro-styled FPS levels as quickly as possible. Because if you don’t move fast and kill everything even faster, your brain will melt (literally in-game, figuratively IRL). Post Void is truly a discordant experience you won’t soon forget. (Please note that this game is inappropriate for players with sensitivity to flashing lights.) 

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Super Rare Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Valkyrie Elysium

    There will be plenty of Norse mythology to go around on PlayStation these next few months, starting with Square-Enix’s action-RPG revival Valkyrie Elysium. Ragnarök draws near, and a desperate Odin summons a Valkyrie warrior, Maria, the last hope of a world filled with ruin and despair. Aiding Maria are the Einherjar, souls of fallen warriors, each with their own stories and motivations. They grant boons to Maria as she engages in skillful, action-driven, combo-heavy combat. Use the companions and skills at your disposal to build up the Arts Gauge and unleash the glorious Divine Arts upon your foes! Be vigilant, however, because Maria isn’t the only Valkyrie in this world with a mission to fulfill. (Don’t forget: The digital deluxe edition of Valkyrie Elysium also includes the original all-time PSP classic Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.)

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    A Plague Tale: Requiem

    In this highly anticipated follow-up to fan-favorite adventure game A Plague Tale: Innocence, child heroes Amicia and her younger brother Hugo have escaped the oppressors at home. The Provence region of France seems like a good place for the pair to settle down initially. But the black plague is still spreading, and Hugo’s supernatural powers are proving difficult for his young mind to control. Does the secret of Hugo’s strange abilities lie on a mysterious island? The duo will again need to go on a dangerous journey, aided only by a few trusted friends. There will be challenging environmental puzzles, new weapons and tools to combat threats, loads of emotional story moments, and rats. Oh, so many rats.

    Release Date: October 18 | Publisher: Focus Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Gotham Knights

    Batman is dead, and without its most prominent crime-stopper, Gotham City’s gone to hell in a handbasket. Batman’s various proteges–Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood–now work to clean up the streets and investigate Batman’s supposed death. Choose among the four heroes, each with unique combat abilities, and embark on action-RPG missions, uncovering hidden mysteries and confronting a rogue’s gallery of famous villains in a stunning open-world Gotham City. But what is a superhero story without an epic team-up? Gotham Knights offers seamless drop-in, drop-out co-operative play so you and an intrepid companion can explore and fight for the future of Gotham City together. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    New Tales from the Borderlands

    Things are getting weird in the Borderlands universe–weirder than usual, anyway. New Tales from the Borderlands brings players back to one of gaming’s weirdest and wildest settings in an all-new narrative adventure set in Promethea. Rather than simply shooting your way out of problems, New Tales from the Borderlands will offer a branching storyline where your dialogue choices will determine where affable jackasses Anu, Fran, and Octavia wind up stumbling next during an extremely miserable day. Well, miserable for them, not for you–you’ll be enjoying the bizarre situations, snappy dialogue, and pervasive strange humor that’s made Borderlands such an enduring hit as our would-be heroes get themselves into (and out of) another fine mess. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

    Call of Duty certainly needs no introduction among gamers–it’s the biggest and most influential first-person shooter series. In Modern Warfare II, players will experience some of the most sweeping and exciting revisions to classic COD gameplay that the series has ever seen. Improved AI, new movement options like swimming and sliding, better vehicle interactions (like being able to fire out of windows), realistic damage, and a huge overhaul to the Gunsmith that will allow players to fine-tune their weapon attachments to create their ideal firearms. 

    CoD’s much-beloved multiplayer is getting a shot in the arm as well with all-new modes: Knockout, a 6v6 competition to be the last team standing holding a precious package, and Prisoner Rescue, where one team of players attempts to breach a compound to rescue hostages from a heavily fortified structure, while the opposing side defends their turf and works to put them down. Whether you’re in it for the campaign or eager to dive into the multiplayer competition–or both–Modern Warfare 2 offers plenty to get excited over.

    Release Date: October 28 | Publisher: Activision | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Skull and Bones

    Do you hear it? The call of the high seas… the waters are begging to be conquered and plundered! It’s the end of the 17th century, the Golden Age of Piracy, and the Indian Ocean is filled with traders hauling exotic wares from the far east–prime marks for the pirates of the era. Starting as a no-name scoundrel, you will work your way up to becoming the most feared name among the region’s seafarers. Sail the vast open waters in a ship you customize, taking quests from various figures of ill repute to build your fortune and your infamy. But beware–rival pirate crews, naval armies, and even the forces of nature threaten to dash your dreams of ocean glory upon the rocks.

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Ubisoft | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Sonic Frontiers

    The most famous hedgehog on Earth needs little introduction. Sonic’s latest adventure takes him and his posse to the Starfall Islands in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Longtime nemesis Dr. Eggman, while trying to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization, tripped the island’s advanced security system, opening rifts between the island world and the digital realm of Cyber Space. Sonic Frontiers is the first Sonic game to embrace open-world exploration, allowing players to use various new movement and attack skills to dash, smash, and crash through gorgeous free-roaming environments. You’ll also tackle traditional linear 3D platforming challenges in the Cyber Space levels, which hearken back to classic Sonic stages. Can Sonic rescue his friends from Cyber Space, solve the secret of the Starfall Islands, and stop Dr. Eggman’s ambitions? 

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Sega | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    God of War Ragnarök

    The long-awaited follow-up God of War Ragnarök follows the adventures of Kratos, his teenage son Atreus, and their advisor Mimir in their journey to stop the impending apocalypse and reveal the secrets of Atreus’s destiny. Faces familiar and new will appear on this epic journey through the Nine Realms, including the terrain of Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and the legendary Asgard. 

    As tempting as it may be to take in the (stunning) scenery, these are lands of conflict and strife, and Kratos will have to engage in the visceral combat that God of War fans have come to love. New abilities and weaponry, such as the Dauntless and Stonewall shields and new summons for Atreus, add more flair and intensity to fighting than ever. God of War Ragnarök aims to captivate players come November, so be sure you’re there to witness the twilight of the gods.

    Release Date: November 9 | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Goat Simulator 3

    Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were a goat with an appetite for fashion and destruction that just happened to have a complex physics engine applied to their daily activities of causing mass chaos? Probably not, but you’re definitely curious now. Goat Simulator 3 (don’t ask about Goat Simulator 2) is perhaps the weirdest, wildest sandbox game yet. As the titular goat, it’s up to you to do something. Anything, really. 

    The island of San Angora is your playground for goat-y and not very goat-like activities. Jetpacks! Vehicles! Explosions! Weird alien slime! Sports! Customizable Fashion! It’s all here for some reason. And what’s even better is that you can get together in a herd with your friends for multiplayer madness to lick, headbutt, and have a goat-tastic time.

    Release Date: November 17 | Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

    Gaming’s premiere horror anthology series continues with a brand-new, standalone story. A group of young, naive documentary filmmakers receives an invite to a modern-day recreation of notorious conman-slash-serial-killer H.H. Holmes’s infamous “Murder Hotel”–a historical building laden with all manner of diabolical killing devices and traps. Inside the hotel, the film crew soon finds themselves as subjects in the palm of a sick mastermind determined to become the most notorious murderer of all time. Can your posse escape the “killing rooms” and survive a stay in the hell hotel? You can play through this story solo or share the terror with friends: enjoy simultaneous online co-operative play, or see which of you makes it out alive in controller-passing couch co-op. No matter how you play, you’re in for the stay of a lifetime, provided your protagonists actually live. 

    Release Date: November 18 | Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Callisto Protocol

    The survival horror genre returns to the cold, sprawling vastness of space in the Callisto Protocol. Headed up by Striking Distance Studio’s Glen Schofield, co-creator of the original Dead Space, this game takes you far, far away to Callisto, a moon orbiting the planet Jupiter, in the year 2320. Protagonist Jacob Lee is serving time at the Black Iron prison colony when a swarm of monstrous creatures begins appearing within the heavily fortified prison walls. 

    Something truly terrible is going on within these anguish-filled halls, and Jacob needs to discover the prison’s hidden secrets–and somehow use the limited resources he can scavenge to escape with his life. But even if you find a means to break out, you still have to contend with an ever-increasing army of rapidly evolving bio-horrors. Remember: they might not be able to hear you scream in space, but your downstairs neighbor will definitely hear you losing it when you’re playing The Callisto Protocol at 3am in the dark. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: Krafton | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns

    When we think of comic-based games, we tend to think of epic superpowered action-adventures. Marvel’s Midnight Suns, however, is taking its titular heroes into a different dimension: turn-based strategy. Developed by Firaxis, the masterminds behind the legendary X-Com series of games, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a massive crossover spectacular that offers deep, strategic gameplay that’s every bit as challenging and intense as Marvel action games. 

    Step into the shoes of the Hunter, an otherworldly demon slayer you create and customize as you work to prevent the resurrection of the elder god Cththon. Interact and forge alliances with legendary heroes like Wolverine, Iron Man, Blade, Captain America, and Spider-Man, then command them in battles that test mind and mettle alike. Plan your steps carefully, then leap into combat with a unique card-based action system to utilize your team’s powers to their fullest. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

    Zack is back. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remake of the PSP classic that follows Cloud’s buddy and up-and-coming Soldier through the turbulent series of events that directly lead into the main story of Final Fantasy VII. A top-ranked Soldier named Genesis has deserted the organization, and Zack needs to track them down and find out what they’re up to and uncover some unpleasant Shinra corporate secrets in the process. Old and new players alike will find plenty to love in this comprehensive update, including fully-voiced cutscenes, completely re-done graphics, and a revised combat system that brings elements of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s ferocious fights into the mix. And, best of all, you get to spend quality time with Zack, one of FFVII’s most beloved (yet often “forgotten”) characters. 

    Release Date: December 13 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    What title launching in 2022 are you looking forward to most?

    Website: LINK

  • 15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Reading Time: 11 minutes

    It might be getting a bit colder outside, but 2022 is far from over–and the stacked lineup of upcoming PS4 and PS5 titles attests to this. The next few months are set to some of the best for PlayStation gamers, offering top-class FPS action, critically acclaimed indie adventures, the return of fan-favorite JRPG classics, and beloved characters exploring new gaming frontiers. And, of course, there’s that little game called God of War Ragnarök coming too. With so many exciting new games launching in 2022, let’s check out some of the most noteworthy titles to round out the year.

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Tunic

    An itty-bitty fox in bright green garb goes on a great big adventure in one of the most talked-about indie hits of the year. Tunic is a labor of love from independent creator Andrew Shouldice, who–along with his talented team–has created a delightful isometric action-adventure game that pays homage to genre classics and forms a beautiful and unique world of its own. Find tools, treasures, and abilities, solve environmental puzzles, battle fierce monsters, and even decode a mysterious alphabet to uncover clues to aid you on your quest.

    Release Date: September 27 | Publisher: Finji| PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Post Void

    Have you ever just had an eye-searing, brain-pounding headrush where blood seems to be pumping and pulsing through your head, and your heart is pounding… but, like, in a good way? Welcome to the world of Post Void, a mix of classic FPS gameplay and brightly-colored, high-contrast visuals designed to make you blissfully uncomfortable. The neon scenery and delightfully grotesque enemies will sear into your eyeballs as you race through retro-styled FPS levels as quickly as possible. Because if you don’t move fast and kill everything even faster, your brain will melt (literally in-game, figuratively IRL). Post Void is truly a discordant experience you won’t soon forget. (Please note that this game is inappropriate for players with sensitivity to flashing lights.) 

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Super Rare Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Valkyrie Elysium

    There will be plenty of Norse mythology to go around on PlayStation these next few months, starting with Square-Enix’s action-RPG revival Valkyrie Elysium. Ragnarök draws near, and a desperate Odin summons a Valkyrie warrior, Maria, the last hope of a world filled with ruin and despair. Aiding Maria are the Einherjar, souls of fallen warriors, each with their own stories and motivations. They grant boons to Maria as she engages in skillful, action-driven, combo-heavy combat. Use the companions and skills at your disposal to build up the Arts Gauge and unleash the glorious Divine Arts upon your foes! Be vigilant, however, because Maria isn’t the only Valkyrie in this world with a mission to fulfill. (Don’t forget: The digital deluxe edition of Valkyrie Elysium also includes the original all-time PSP classic Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth.)

    Release Date: September 29 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    A Plague Tale: Requiem

    In this highly anticipated follow-up to fan-favorite adventure game A Plague Tale: Innocence, child heroes Amicia and her younger brother Hugo have escaped the oppressors at home. The Provence region of France seems like a good place for the pair to settle down initially. But the black plague is still spreading, and Hugo’s supernatural powers are proving difficult for his young mind to control. Does the secret of Hugo’s strange abilities lie on a mysterious island? The duo will again need to go on a dangerous journey, aided only by a few trusted friends. There will be challenging environmental puzzles, new weapons and tools to combat threats, loads of emotional story moments, and rats. Oh, so many rats.

    Release Date: October 18 | Publisher: Focus Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Gotham Knights

    Batman is dead, and without its most prominent crime-stopper, Gotham City’s gone to hell in a handbasket. Batman’s various proteges–Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood–now work to clean up the streets and investigate Batman’s supposed death. Choose among the four heroes, each with unique combat abilities, and embark on action-RPG missions, uncovering hidden mysteries and confronting a rogue’s gallery of famous villains in a stunning open-world Gotham City. But what is a superhero story without an epic team-up? Gotham Knights offers seamless drop-in, drop-out co-operative play so you and an intrepid companion can explore and fight for the future of Gotham City together. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    New Tales from the Borderlands

    Things are getting weird in the Borderlands universe–weirder than usual, anyway. New Tales from the Borderlands brings players back to one of gaming’s weirdest and wildest settings in an all-new narrative adventure set in Promethea. Rather than simply shooting your way out of problems, New Tales from the Borderlands will offer a branching storyline where your dialogue choices will determine where affable jackasses Anu, Fran, and Octavia wind up stumbling next during an extremely miserable day. Well, miserable for them, not for you–you’ll be enjoying the bizarre situations, snappy dialogue, and pervasive strange humor that’s made Borderlands such an enduring hit as our would-be heroes get themselves into (and out of) another fine mess. 

    Release Date: October 21 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

    Call of Duty certainly needs no introduction among gamers–it’s the biggest and most influential first-person shooter series. In Modern Warfare II, players will experience some of the most sweeping and exciting revisions to classic COD gameplay that the series has ever seen. Improved AI, new movement options like swimming and sliding, better vehicle interactions (like being able to fire out of windows), realistic damage, and a huge overhaul to the Gunsmith that will allow players to fine-tune their weapon attachments to create their ideal firearms. 

    CoD’s much-beloved multiplayer is getting a shot in the arm as well with all-new modes: Knockout, a 6v6 competition to be the last team standing holding a precious package, and Prisoner Rescue, where one team of players attempts to breach a compound to rescue hostages from a heavily fortified structure, while the opposing side defends their turf and works to put them down. Whether you’re in it for the campaign or eager to dive into the multiplayer competition–or both–Modern Warfare 2 offers plenty to get excited over.

    Release Date: October 28 | Publisher: Activision | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Skull and Bones

    Do you hear it? The call of the high seas… the waters are begging to be conquered and plundered! It’s the end of the 17th century, the Golden Age of Piracy, and the Indian Ocean is filled with traders hauling exotic wares from the far east–prime marks for the pirates of the era. Starting as a no-name scoundrel, you will work your way up to becoming the most feared name among the region’s seafarers. Sail the vast open waters in a ship you customize, taking quests from various figures of ill repute to build your fortune and your infamy. But beware–rival pirate crews, naval armies, and even the forces of nature threaten to dash your dreams of ocean glory upon the rocks.

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Ubisoft | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Sonic Frontiers

    The most famous hedgehog on Earth needs little introduction. Sonic’s latest adventure takes him and his posse to the Starfall Islands in search of the Chaos Emeralds. Longtime nemesis Dr. Eggman, while trying to uncover the secrets of a lost civilization, tripped the island’s advanced security system, opening rifts between the island world and the digital realm of Cyber Space. Sonic Frontiers is the first Sonic game to embrace open-world exploration, allowing players to use various new movement and attack skills to dash, smash, and crash through gorgeous free-roaming environments. You’ll also tackle traditional linear 3D platforming challenges in the Cyber Space levels, which hearken back to classic Sonic stages. Can Sonic rescue his friends from Cyber Space, solve the secret of the Starfall Islands, and stop Dr. Eggman’s ambitions? 

    Release Date: November 8 | Publisher: Sega | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    God of War Ragnarök

    The long-awaited follow-up God of War Ragnarök follows the adventures of Kratos, his teenage son Atreus, and their advisor Mimir in their journey to stop the impending apocalypse and reveal the secrets of Atreus’s destiny. Faces familiar and new will appear on this epic journey through the Nine Realms, including the terrain of Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and the legendary Asgard. 

    As tempting as it may be to take in the (stunning) scenery, these are lands of conflict and strife, and Kratos will have to engage in the visceral combat that God of War fans have come to love. New abilities and weaponry, such as the Dauntless and Stonewall shields and new summons for Atreus, add more flair and intensity to fighting than ever. God of War Ragnarök aims to captivate players come November, so be sure you’re there to witness the twilight of the gods.

    Release Date: November 9 | Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Goat Simulator 3

    Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were a goat with an appetite for fashion and destruction that just happened to have a complex physics engine applied to their daily activities of causing mass chaos? Probably not, but you’re definitely curious now. Goat Simulator 3 (don’t ask about Goat Simulator 2) is perhaps the weirdest, wildest sandbox game yet. As the titular goat, it’s up to you to do something. Anything, really. 

    The island of San Angora is your playground for goat-y and not very goat-like activities. Jetpacks! Vehicles! Explosions! Weird alien slime! Sports! Customizable Fashion! It’s all here for some reason. And what’s even better is that you can get together in a herd with your friends for multiplayer madness to lick, headbutt, and have a goat-tastic time.

    Release Date: November 17 | Publisher: Coffee Stain Publishing | PS5

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me

    Gaming’s premiere horror anthology series continues with a brand-new, standalone story. A group of young, naive documentary filmmakers receives an invite to a modern-day recreation of notorious conman-slash-serial-killer H.H. Holmes’s infamous “Murder Hotel”–a historical building laden with all manner of diabolical killing devices and traps. Inside the hotel, the film crew soon finds themselves as subjects in the palm of a sick mastermind determined to become the most notorious murderer of all time. Can your posse escape the “killing rooms” and survive a stay in the hell hotel? You can play through this story solo or share the terror with friends: enjoy simultaneous online co-operative play, or see which of you makes it out alive in controller-passing couch co-op. No matter how you play, you’re in for the stay of a lifetime, provided your protagonists actually live. 

    Release Date: November 18 | Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    The Callisto Protocol

    The survival horror genre returns to the cold, sprawling vastness of space in the Callisto Protocol. Headed up by Striking Distance Studio’s Glen Schofield, co-creator of the original Dead Space, this game takes you far, far away to Callisto, a moon orbiting the planet Jupiter, in the year 2320. Protagonist Jacob Lee is serving time at the Black Iron prison colony when a swarm of monstrous creatures begins appearing within the heavily fortified prison walls. 

    Something truly terrible is going on within these anguish-filled halls, and Jacob needs to discover the prison’s hidden secrets–and somehow use the limited resources he can scavenge to escape with his life. But even if you find a means to break out, you still have to contend with an ever-increasing army of rapidly evolving bio-horrors. Remember: they might not be able to hear you scream in space, but your downstairs neighbor will definitely hear you losing it when you’re playing The Callisto Protocol at 3am in the dark. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: Krafton | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Marvel’s Midnight Suns

    When we think of comic-based games, we tend to think of epic superpowered action-adventures. Marvel’s Midnight Suns, however, is taking its titular heroes into a different dimension: turn-based strategy. Developed by Firaxis, the masterminds behind the legendary X-Com series of games, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a massive crossover spectacular that offers deep, strategic gameplay that’s every bit as challenging and intense as Marvel action games. 

    Step into the shoes of the Hunter, an otherworldly demon slayer you create and customize as you work to prevent the resurrection of the elder god Cththon. Interact and forge alliances with legendary heroes like Wolverine, Iron Man, Blade, Captain America, and Spider-Man, then command them in battles that test mind and mettle alike. Plan your steps carefully, then leap into combat with a unique card-based action system to utilize your team’s powers to their fullest. 

    Release Date: December 2 | Publisher: 2K Games | PS5, PS4

    15 most wanted games still coming in 2022

    Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

    Zack is back. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remake of the PSP classic that follows Cloud’s buddy and up-and-coming Soldier through the turbulent series of events that directly lead into the main story of Final Fantasy VII. A top-ranked Soldier named Genesis has deserted the organization, and Zack needs to track them down and find out what they’re up to and uncover some unpleasant Shinra corporate secrets in the process. Old and new players alike will find plenty to love in this comprehensive update, including fully-voiced cutscenes, completely re-done graphics, and a revised combat system that brings elements of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s ferocious fights into the mix. And, best of all, you get to spend quality time with Zack, one of FFVII’s most beloved (yet often “forgotten”) characters. 

    Release Date: December 13 | Publisher: Square Enix | PS5, PS4

    What title launching in 2022 are you looking forward to most?

    Website: LINK

  • Valkyrie Elysium: your primer to the RPG series ahead of this week’s launch

    Valkyrie Elysium: your primer to the RPG series ahead of this week’s launch

    Reading Time: 5 minutes

    In many respects, the Valkyrie series is synonymous with PlayStation. The acclaimed first two games – Valkyrie Profile and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria – appeared on the PS1 and PS2 respectively. Now, after a 16 year absence from consoles, the series is back with Valkyrie Elysium. 

    The new action RPG features an evocative world inspired by Norse mythology, thrillingly fast-paced combat, stunning audio-visual presentation, and a dark, thought-provoking narrative. It’s a fantastic RPG that has its own very distinct vibe, and we can’t wait for you to play it.

    While long-term Valkyrie fans are probably already exploring the mysteries of the game’s beautiful world via the recent demo, some of you may be wondering: what’s all the fuss about? Why’s this series so beloved? 

    With that in mind, and to celebrate the series’ return to its ancestral home on PlayStation, we thought it would be interesting to take you through the history of this revered franchise.

    It all started way back in the year 1999…

    1999: Valkyrie Profile – a classic is born

    Just before the turn of the millennium, a new bold, new RPG was released in Japan: Valkyrie Profile. 

    By this point in the PlayStation’s life, the console had made a name for itself as a haven for RPGs, with multiple series, including Final Fantasy, having achieved new heights of popularity on this burgeoning platform.

    Valkyrie Profile immediately stood out from the crowd. Developed by tri-Ace (the Star Ocean series), this was a game that dared to be different. It offered a distinctly original take on the genre, combining a stylish setting inspired by Norse mythology, innovative battle system and a narrative structure that rewarded players for their initiative and curiosity.

    You took control of Lenneth – a recently awakened Valkyrie, who serves Odin and the pantheon of gods known as the ‘Aesir’. Lenneth is sent out to collect the souls of fallen warriors – known as Einherjar – to aid the gods in their war against the Vanir. 

    Over the course of her mission, she encounters many warriors – some worthy of joining the gods, others who fight by her side, and starts to piece together the mystery of the force that threatens the gods, and her life before rising as a Valkyrie.

    Although it was just the first game, many of the elements that would come to define the Valkyrie series started right here including fast-paced, combo-based combat systems, the recruitable Einherjar, themes of life, death and identity and a richly melancholy tone. 

    Audiences responded positively to these elements, both in Japan and in North America where the game was released in 2000, and the game sold well. It’s often cited as one of the greats of the RPG genre – something that even more people would discover in 2006…

    2006: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth – the original returns

    Fans had to wait a few years for more Valkyrie adventures, but in 2006 the original game made a return for the PSP as Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. 

    The original PlayStation version had only been released in Japan and North America, but this perfectly portable port came out in Europe and Australasia too, making it the first time players in these regions could experience the game. 

    And fun fact: it’s back again! A PSP port of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth will release later this year for PS4 and PS5, available as either a bonus for owners of the Digital Deluxe Edition of Valkyrie Elysium or a standalone purchase. 

    2006: Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria – a worthy sequel

    Also in 2006, the much-anticipated follow-up to Valkyrie Profile released for PlayStation 2: Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. 

    Despite that prominent number in the name, the game’s actually set hundreds of years before the original game, and in an alternate timeline. It features many new characters and a new protagonist to control… or should that be two new protagonists?

    The story focuses on the Valkyrie Silmeria and the Princess of Dipan, Alicia – two women trapped in the same body. Pursued by the Valkyrie Hrist, the two must work together to prevent a catastrophic war between their two realms.

    The game built on many of the elements introduced in Valkyrie Profile, including new Einherjar, updated side-scrolling exploration, and strategic battles that combined the combo-based battle system with new movement options.

    The game was a critical success, with reviewers praising its richly detailed world, super-fun combat system and stellar soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba.

    2008 / 2016: Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume and Valkyrie Anatomia – on the go gaming

    The series returned to handheld devices for its next two entries: Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume (released in Japan in 2008, North America and Europe in 2009) and Valkyrie Anatomia, released on mobile in 2016. The former featured a dark, mature story of a young man named Wylfred, and his quest to destroy the Valkyrie Lenneth, who he blames for the loss of his father and his family’s subsequent misfortune. The latter is set in an alternate world to the original game. It follows a similar setup, with Lenneth charged with recruiting einherjar to fight for the gods. 

    Valkyrie Elysium: your primer to the RPG series ahead of this week’s launch

    2022: Valkyrie Elysium- the series comes home to PlayStation

    …all of which brings us to now – and the long-awaited return of the Valkyrie Series to PS5 and PS4.

    Valkyrie Elysium presents a completely original story, set in a world that teeters on the brink of destruction. Ragnarok – the end of all things – looms on the horizon. With the last of his strength, the All-Father Odin creates a Valkyrie to become an emissary of redemption. Her task: save this doomed world. Descending to the land below, this brave warrior encounters many challenges as she starts to discover the truth behind its impending demise. What will she think of this world… and what end will she choose for it?

    The game presents a fresh take on the series that combines many of the series’ defining elements with exciting new ideas. For example, the combat system fuses series stables like finishing moves and combos, with brand new real-time action combat. Recruitable Einherjar are also present and correct and it’s all scored with a remarkable soundtrack by long-time series composer Motoi Sakuraba.

    _____________________________________________________________________________________________

    And that ends this very quick run through of the Valkyrie series. Of course, you don’t need to have played any of the other games to enjoy Valkyrie Elysium – it’s a completely standalone title that draws on the rich legacy of the series to create a new adventure that anyone can enjoy.

    Valkyrie Elysium launches this Thursday, September 29, and is available physically and digitally for PS5 and PS4.

    Website: LINK

  • Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 440: Virtual Horizons

    Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 440: Virtual Horizons

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

    Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS, or download here

    This week the team interviews Ben McCaw and Felix Riga van den Bergh from Guerrilla on Horizon Call of the Mountain, in development for PS VR2. Plus, a look at our most anticipated games still to come in 2022.

    Stuff We Talked About

    • Tunic
    • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
    • Sly Cooper’s 20th anniversary
    • Horizon Call of the Mountain (interview begins at 11:30)
    • Cyberpunk 2077
    • Tinykin
    • Bloodborne

    The Cast

    Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE

    Tim Turi –  Manager, Content Communications, SIE

    Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.

    [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

    Website: LINK

  • Share of the Week: The Last of Us Part I – Left Behind

    Share of the Week: The Last of Us Part I – Left Behind

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Last week, we asked you zoom in on Left Behind, the prequel chapter in The Last of Us Part I, and share highlights of Ellie and Riley’s moments together using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

    Grover20Nik shares a black and white photo of Ellie smiling at Riley.

    crisg_art shares a portrait of Riley, with the lit up carousel in the background.

    TheFourthFocus shares Riley jumping over something while Ellie follows along behind her.

    GameOnPortugal shares Ellie smiling while Riley stands behind her.

    Charlucaszard shares Riley and Ellie wearing evil clown and werewolf Halloween masks.

    Blackstar2212_ shares Ellie standing next to a Jak and Daxter arcade unit.

    Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

    THEME: Robots and Machines

    SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on September 28, 2022

    Next week, things are getting technical. Share robots, droids, and machines from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

    Website: LINK

  • Warzone 2.0 introduces triple Circle Collapse, aquatic combat, new Gulag fights, and more

    Warzone 2.0 introduces triple Circle Collapse, aquatic combat, new Gulag fights, and more

    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Call of Duty: Warzone is making its grand return as part of the first season of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. After becoming a prominent player in the battle royale genre, the spinoff is receiving a sequel update dubbed Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. This new entry gives fans of the original more free-for-all action and adds new innovations to the pre-existing Warzone formula that shift certain familiarities and adds even more surprises to the genre.

    With an all-new map filled with diverse terrain and vehicle options, Warzone 2.0 offers a remixed and more refined experience than before. Strategies will change and become more varied, new locations will join your routes, and a new Circle Collapse feature throws everyone into memorable Warzone finales. Alongside all this, every single upgrade from Modern Warfare II’s engine is also present.

    Where are we dropping, and how are we traveling?

    Warzone 2.0 is taking players to a new location called Al Mazrah. This sprawling map elevates Warzone exploration to a new level. The free-for-all island has you venturing across deserts, towns, cities, and everything in between. How you advance through this vast land is up to you and what terrain and vehicles you find.

    This entry in the Warzone universe expands on the previous vehicular and travel options. Wheeled land vehicles are no longer the only option. Want to take to the skies with your squad in a helicopter? You’re free to do so. Want to take a slow destructive approach in a tank? Go for it. And like in Modern Warfare II, players have new aquatic combat options and can use boats to travel by water. 

    Remember to keep an eye on your fuel gauge because each vehicle can run out of fuel, forcing you to refill at a gas station.

    A new way to plan your route

    Another significant change coming to Warzone 2.0 is how you find items in Al Mazrah. Gear is now placed more logically and realistically throughout the world. For example, Stims and Medical Syringes are stored in medicine cabinets, while weapons and other equipment are typically in armories and military bases. This new placement philosophy is consistent across all of Warzone 2.0’s loot, challenging you to look to specific areas to gather necessary supplies.

    Though it seems minor initially, these new placements shift your travel routes and offer a new way to play Warzone. Instead of going from one random location to the next, you may want to map out a path that hits more gas stations to fill up your vehicle or look to areas where you can gather more medical supplies. Like the inclusion of more vehicles, this change adds yet another strategic layer that’ll shift how you play.

    Enemies can become allies or your final boss

    The Gulag has changed substantially since you’ve been away. A new rule forces you to put your second life in the hands of a possible future foe. Instead of fighting alone to return to the battle, you’ll sometimes team up with a rival player. You can use their help to either defeat the other team or go for another Gulag escape objective by defeating the AI combatant known as “The Jailer”, who holds the key to your escape.

    The dynamic circle system is another way you may cross paths with more opponents. This new Circle Collapse randomly shifts Al Mazrah’s safe zones. Instead of always being a single circle of safety that every player must fight to remain within, the zone occasionally splits into multiple circles. The teams that survive within the separate circles then get corralled into the final single circle to end the match in dramatic fashion. This last singular zone serves as the battleground for each remaining team. This gameplay twist gives a final boss-like vibe to showdowns against human-controlled teams stocked up on the best look they can find.

    Prepare to jump into Warzone 2.0 when it lands on PS5 and PS4 on November 16.

    Website: LINK

  • Crafting Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ new outfits for next week’s Anniversary Update

    Crafting Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ new outfits for next week’s Anniversary Update

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    The day is almost here! The free “Anniversary Update” for Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be live on PS4 and PS5 on Tuesday, September 27. We were very excited to see fans’ positive response to the announcement last month, and now we can’t wait for everyone to experience the new content!

    To celebrate the release, we wanted to share an inside look at the creative and technical process behind the creation of Kena’s new outfits for the “Anniversary Update.” If you missed our announcement detailing all the other new content, be sure to check it out!

    Our approach in developing cosmetics for Kena really boiled down to three main goals. First, it always feels good when an outfit takes some real expertise to obtain. We wanted wearing them to feel like badges of honor. Next, we felt that each one should remind us of the story and characters encountered along the way – constant reminders of who we’ve met and where we’ve been. Lastly, we love having a good variety of options that enable self expression and the ability to switch things up as we go. With these ideas in mind, we got to work!

    To make sure all of the outfits represented a real sense of success, we decided to tie them to the Spirit Guide Trials, (another major new addition included in the “Anniversary Update”). As players progress through the main story, new Trials become available at the central Mask Shrine. Only by succeeding at these challenges can players unlock the new outfits. Players who have mastered each of the Trials will ultimately gain access to the full array of outfits, signifying their notable skills.

    We next turned to the visual designs. During initial development, we devoted a lot of attention to the design of our cast of characters. We decided these characters provided perfect inspiration for Kena’s outfits. Each new outfit players unlock takes inspiration from a different spirit that Kena helps during her journey, but reworked and uniquely catered to her. This way, even after players have moved on from a particular story, they still get to keep a memento they can wear.

    For example, one of the earliest new outfits players can unlock takes inspiration from the village attire worn by the twins Beni & Saiya and their older brother Taro. Later on, other cosmetics become available, like the Archer and Bombmaker outfits inspired by Rusu and Hana. Each one takes details from their inspiration character like Hana’s unique satchel or Rusu’s owl-crested cape. (We won’t spoil all of them.)

    These new outfits provided an excellent opportunity for our art team and character artist to shine. Incorporating such a variety of new textures, fabrics, and accouterments while still balancing the designs with Kena’s design really brought out our team’s attention to detail. We’re very happy with the results!

    But it’s not just about visual design. Hunter Schmidt, our Animation Director, shares more details about the development of Kena’s cosmetics:

    “Of course another big aspect of the new outfits is how they move… and it was an opportunity for our team to get more practice with cloth and physics. We found the most success with bone drivers and Unreal Engine’s Anim Dynamics. 

    But Kena’s original animations presented some challenges when combined with the layered clothing like we see in these designs. Sometimes, for an exaggerated, stylized effect, the animations push her posture beyond what’s normally possible, with some leaping or twirling at unnatural speeds. Even sitting cross-legged while meditating, resting, or some of the new poses we added in the enhanced Photo Mode were particularly tough.

    So while Anim Dynamics and bone drivers offered a good blanket solution for most cases, we wanted to ensure Kena and the new outfits looked good at all times. In these scenarios we selectively animated these details by hand, blending between physics and hand-animation where needed. Old habits die hard.”

    Finally, once we’d landed on our outfit designs and worked out the animations, we still wanted to make sure we were providing a good amount of variety. We decided the best way to keep the quality of all the cosmetics high while also getting more versatility was to create special color variants for each base-game outfit. 

    At first we weren’t sure if this would yield the variety we hoped for, but by really curating the color variations, we ended up with an exciting array of different outfits that allow for a great feeling of diversity and expression. The color variants can be unlocked by completing Bonus Objectives within the Spirit Guide Trials.

    We even created an entire outfit exclusively for Deluxe Edition owners! (featured at the top of this blog).

    We hope our existing and new players enjoy all the new content included in our “Anniversary Update,” including Kena’s new cosmetics. It has truly been a fantastic first year sharing Kena: Bridge of Spirits with the world.

    Website: LINK

  • Sly Cooper celebrates 20 years today

    Sly Cooper celebrates 20 years today

    Reading Time: 7 minutes

    Happy 20th birthday, Sly Cooper! Today we are so happy (and a little bit shocked) to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus! Where does the time go? Originally shipped on September 23, 2002 for PS2, this was Sly’s original adventure (known as Sly Racoon in some parts of the world) and our studio’s first-ever PlayStation game!

    Before we ready our party hats and cake, we have some brand new Sly Cooper merchandise to reveal today to celebrate the milestone. But first we wanted to look back on Sly’s legacy across the whole franchise and share memories from some of our team who helped shape Sly Cooper into the series we know and love, back when some of them had a little more hair or a little less gray in it:

    Doing level design for Sly 1 was a great learning experience. From prototyping using LEGO for the Muggshot rooftop to countless level iterations that took place to get the feel and gameplay just right. I remember so many different variations of levels I worked on that even when I play it now I can be surprised at what the final versions are!

    – Rob McDaniel, Senior Technical Artist

    Sly 1 was our first BIG game, and there were multiple milestones where the game was very clearly at risk of getting canceled. To me, the biggest breakthrough was the milestone we invented the “Binoc-u-com” where Bentley and Sly would hatch plans – but really it was a great way to give the player directions without it feeling ham-fisted.

    At the time we were building Sly, so many games had been pushing the visual execution bar upwards in their cutscenes – way beyond what we were capable of at the time. One of our best decisions was to reverse that trend and make our cutscenes more graphic instead—which gave us something distinct and unique, but also avoided fighting an arms race we’d never win. Great choice, and one we used for all the Sly games, and evolved for InFamous and beyond.

    Sly was our first game with skinned characters – and getting his TAIL right turned out to be one of the trickiest bits. We created a bunch of failed solutions including custom spline controls for the animators. The “right” answer ended up being to animate just the very base of his tail, and build a real-time simulation for the rest. To this day we still have “tails” simulations we use in places!

    Favorite moment? The ending of Sly 1 – that’s gotta be one of my favorite sequences we’ve ever shipped! The final bit with the 10-second head-start is perfection.

    Finally, I remember how small the team was! The 25 of us in the credits was the entire studio, including our testers and the office staff! Seems a long time ago!

    – Brian Fleming, Co-Founder

    For one mission in Sly 3, I animated a lemonade drinking game. Bentley had to button mash through some poses to out-drink several NPCs before a bar room brawl broke out. It was primitive, but it was good enough to get us to about 3 weeks before we shipped when one of the animators finally replaced it with something better. I’m not sure if it was a good idea or cautionary tale, but it was a fun example of the focus on teamwork that drives Sucker Punch to this day. We had a ton of custom mechanics in Sly 3 like psychic NPC control, sailing pirate ships, treasure maps, biplane combat, disguises, firework combat, red-blue 3D and hotseat multiplayer. That wouldn’t have been possible without a ton of teamwork.

    – Adrian Bentley, Programming Director

    Back in the Sly Cooper days, the team was much smaller, and as a result each of us got to work on a wide variety of things. It felt great laying out city streets one week, then helping tune pirate ship combat the next. Sly’s cartoon reality allowed us to put in whatever piqued our interest that month. We’d make decisions around whatever got the most laughs. It was a bohemian atmosphere I am deeply grateful to have been a part of. Also, the voice actor who played Bentley (Matt Olsen) worked at a record store near my house. It was cool catching up with him on weekends and getting tips on bands I’d never hear of.  

    – Nate Fox, Creative Director

    It’s hard to believe two decades have passed since the world first met Sly, but we wanted to make sure to throw him a birthday party in style. We kicked off the celebration earlier this week with The Sly Collection, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and Bentley’s Hackpack joining the Classics Catalog for Premium members on PlayStation Plus*. Beyond that, today we’re happy to debut some new art and merchandise to honor the franchise’s legacy.

    First, original Sly Cooper art director Dev Madan created an absolutely stunning tribute to 20 years of Sly, with a beautiful original piece of art jam-packed with references and easter eggs.

    It’s easy to get lost staring at all of the amazing details, and today we have two different ways for you to get this gorgeous poster for your home.

    First, we’ve partnered with our friends at Cook & Becker for an ultra high-quality fine art print of the anniversary art. The print, on FSC-certified Radiant White 270gsm paper, will be available in two sizes: a 28” x 40” version limited to 40 hand-numbered pieces available starting at $225 USD, and a 20″ x 28″ version limited to 150 hand-numbered pieces available starting at $120 USD. Both versions will only be available while supplies last, and will include a Certificate of Authenticity signed by artist Dev Madan.

    The prints will begin shipping in early October 2022. You can pre-order starting today at Cook & Becker with shipping available worldwide.

    We also have an alternate poster print of the art available on the PlayStation Gear store – an 18″ x 24″ print on pound 100 gloss text paper. It will be available for $24.95 USD with an estimated ship date of December 2.

    Dev Madan has also created a brand new Sly Cooper 20th Anniversary t-shirt design available on the PlayStation Gear store, featuring brand new art of Bentley, Murray, Carmelita Fox and Sly himself! This 4.3-ounce, 100% combed ring-spun cotton shirt also features the Sly Cooper 20th Anniversary logo on the right sleeve. This will be available for $33.95 USD with an estimated ship date of December 2.

    Shipping for PlayStation Gear is available in the following regions:

    • NA: Canada, USA
    • LATAM: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay
    • EU: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK

    Pre-orders for both the shirt and poster are available starting today on the PlayStation Gear store!

    And finally today, our friends at Fangamer have created a brand new Sly Cooper 20th Anniversary Plush! This adorable version of Sly sits at about 9 inches tall, and includes a plush cane that can attach to Sly’s hands via a magnet. Fangamer will begin shipping the Sly plush worldwide early next year, and you can sign up now at Fangamer to be alerted as soon as orders become available!

    Thank you for 20 years of support for Sly Cooper! In just a few weeks, Sucker Punch will celebrate our 25th anniversary overall, and while we’ve moved on to new worlds since then, our work on Sly is an incredible part of that legacy that we’ll always be proud of. We hope everyone enjoys revisiting the series or discovering it for the first time on PlayStation Plus, and if you pick up any of the merchandise we announced today, please show us your collection on Twitter by sending pics to @SuckerPunchProd!

    *Game library varies over time, region/country and plan. PS Plus is subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms

    Website: LINK

  • Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection arrives on PC October 19, 2022

    Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection arrives on PC October 19, 2022

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Grab your passports, fortune hunters! We’re honored to announce that Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection arrives on PC October 19th. PC gamers will be able to experience Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazer’s globe-trotting adventures in this collection that includes the remastered and PC-optimized, full-length, single-player games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

    It’s been a thrilling adventure with our partners at Iron Galaxy as we explored Uncharted territory for our studio’s first PC title. Iron Galaxy’s immense talent and meticulous attention to detail make both games in this collection truly shine on PC!

    Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection arrives on PC October 19, 2022

    Whether you’re a first-timer or experienced Uncharted player, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection showcases plenty of new PC features to make your adventure epic – and absolutely stunning.

    This version of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is optimized for PC with PC-centric quality-of-life enhancements such as reimagined UI, scale sliders, GPU and VRAM detection, Variable Load Speed, and so much more.

    Discover the breathtaking sights with enhanced visual fidelity. Immerse yourself in the cinematic storytelling with super-sharp true 4K resolutions*. From thick jungles to snow-capped mountains, exotic islands to rain-soaked streets, take in all the views of Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection’s stunning environments with Ultra-Wide Monitor support**. For the first time, enjoy a host of graphical adjustment features designed specifically for PC such as adjustable Texture and Model Quality, Anisotropic Filtering, Shadows, Reflections, and Ambient Occlusion.

    PC players may play their way with all new controls and customization options for Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Experience haptic feedback and dynamic trigger effects designed for Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection by playing with the  DualSense controller through a wired connection to your PC. With support for the DualShock 4 controller***, a wide range of other gamepads and keyboard and mouse, you can leave your mark on the map any way you like and further customize your experience with full control remapping, controller icon lock, and ignore input options. For those that want to brighten things up even more try out RGB support for Razer Chroma peripherals and Chroma Link compatible devices, as well as for Logitech and Corsair models.

    Supercharge your framerates with the next-level temporal upscaling solution, the AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2. FSR 2 uses cutting-edge temporal algorithms boost your framerates and deliver high-quality, high-resolution game experiences in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection across a wide range of compatible graphics cards. With this much power, prepare yourself for some epic Photo Mode shots!

    To ensure you have a smooth and beautiful experience, we recommend the following PC specifications:

    UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection | PC Specs

    Minimum Recommended Performance Ultra
    Performance Goals 30 FPS @ 720p Medium Settings 30 FPS @ 1080p High Settings 60 FPS @ 1440p High Settings 60 FPS @  4K Ultra Settings
    CPU Intel i5-4330 AMD Ryzen 3 1200 Intel i7-4770 AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Intel i7-7700k AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Intel i9-9900k AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    GPU NVIDIA GTX 960 (4 GB) AMD R9 290X (4 GB) NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6 GB) AMD RX 570 (4 GB) NVIDIA RTX 2070 (8 GB) AMD RX 5700 XT (8 GB) NVIDIA RTX 3080 (10 GB) AMD RX 6800 (16 GB)
    RAM 8 GB (16 GB Recommended) 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB
    OS Windows 10 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit
    Storage 126 GB HDD (SSD Recommended) 126 GB SSD 126 GB SSD 126 GB SSD

    If you’re ready to seek your fortune and play both games in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on PC the moment it releases on October 19, 2022, you can pre-purchase on both Steam and Epic for $49.99/€49.99. If you pre-purchase on Epic, you can take your adventure beyond land and sea with Sully’s “New” Seaplane, an in-game Glider that you can use in Fortnite! Click the links below to pre-purchase on your preferred platform so you can start your journey on Day 1:

    ● Steam

    ● Epic

    We cannot wait to share more about Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection on PC over the next month. It’s incredible to see Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazer’s standalone adventures debut on a new platform with a whole new community of PC gamers. To new players and passionate fans alike, we’re ready to see you seek your legacy. Sic parvis magna!

    *Compatible PC and 4K  display device required.
    **Compatible PC and display device required.
    ***Use DualShock 4 USB wireless adaptor or a compatible micro-USB cable to connect to PC.

    Website: LINK

  • The creation of Tunic’s invaluable in-game manual

    The creation of Tunic’s invaluable in-game manual

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hi everyone! My name’s Andrew, and I’m the primary developer on Tunic, which is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on September 27. 

    Tunic is an isometric action-adventure about a tiny fox in a big world, where you explore, fight monsters, and find secrets. At its core, however, the game is about mystery and discovery. Well before I started work on the project (which was originally named Secret Legend) I wanted to make a game that captured the feeling of the vast unknown — that delicious feeling of being dropped into a world full of secrets. A stranger in a strange land, ready to uncover its mysteries.

    One of the ways I wanted to help players feel like they were in a world that wasn’t meant for them was to fill the game with a strange, unreadable language. Instead of a signpost telling you what’s around the next corner, it would show you some baffling symbols. Instead of the inventory screen labeling things sensibly, it would use the same unknowable runes. It was meant to evoke a feeling of transgression — like you were playing something you shouldn’t. When I was a young kid learning to read, I would play games and be bewildered by the words in them. What better way to evoke that feeling of childlike wonder than to have the text itself be a mystery!

    The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that my love for this kind of mystery came not just from the games, but from the manuals they were packaged with. (Or “Instruction Booklets” as they were often called.) I would pore over these documents endlessly, while my friends were playing the games themselves. They filled my head with thoughts of grand adventures, incredible treasures, and terrible creatures — all untempered by the realities of the cartridges the actual games had to fit on.

    And so, within the first few months of development, Tunic had its own language, and the beginnings of its own manual. In its final form, the manual is something you collect gradually as you play through the game. Just like those instruction booklets of old, each page is packed densely with information — illustrations, tips, maps, and of course, secrets.

    One of my favourite things about those classic manuals is their layout sensibilities and variety of art styles. 8-bit sprites left a lot up to the imagination, so there would often be illustrations: some of them lavish, some of them charmingly doodley. We tried to capture that same variety in Tunic’s manual, with professionals handling the lavish side of things, and me providing the doodles.

    Another important part of capturing the feeling of leafing through an old-school manual was its physicality. It’s all well and good to look at a nice clean image, but it’s more delightful to flip through something that feels like a real object. We put extra effort into reproducing the artifacts of old print processes, even going so far as to have visible staples in the middle of the book. By pressing the X button, you’ll be able to zoom in on each page and drink in the details. To help make it feel as real as possible, I built a real-world version of the manual and then proceeded to destroy it. Folded it, ripped it, taped it, and stained it. Then, I scanned each page individually to use in the game. The effect is subtle, but I think it was worth it!

    The real-world version of the manual is blank! That way, we could composite whatever we needed to without reprinting and re-distressing a new manual — important for a game localized into 27 languages!

    If you’re thinking “wow, it sure sounds risky to make a game that keeps everything secret, and only provides help with an unreadable instruction booklet,” you’d be right. However, it seems like we kind of hit the sweet-spot with Tunic! When players find a secret that was hidden in plain sight, they feel like they made a real discovery. It’s true that the job of a game is to communicate its mechanics and systems, but if you frame that communication as a mystery to be solved, then the revelation is all the sweeter.

    We really hope you enjoy Tunic!

    Website: LINK

  • How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s multiplayer offers more creative ways to play

    How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s multiplayer offers more creative ways to play

    Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Player expectations are high for Activision and Infinity Ward’s upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. With the game sharing a similar name to what some consider the best entry in the Call of Duty series, it undoubtedly has much to prove. At the recent Call of Duty Next event, however, Infinity Ward showed it’s rising to the challenge, adding meaningful options and innovations to the franchise’s formula.

    Much like the 2019 Modern Warfare, this new title  sets out to give you greater creativity to provide an extra edge, which means even more fun. The additional pieces appear in the form of various in-game tools that allow you to move, attack, and strategize in ways not seen in prior installments.

    These new options are also amazingly balanced, keeping the entry barrier low but masterfully raising the high-level skill ceiling.

    Move how you want

    The defining word for Modern Warfare II is “choice.” You have so many options present that you can define your playstyle and gameplay across every mode. One of those options is movement and how it plays into every aspect of the game.

    Mantling has evolved, so you can use it in more ways than just getting around obstacles. Now it’s possible to hang from ledges where it was previously only feasible to jump right over or not be able to scale at all. This allows you to not only peek over at potential threats and survey the land but also pull out a one-handed weapon like a pistol and ward off or even finish off opponents.

    Hanging isn’t the only new option present in the movement toolkit either. Actions out of tactical sprint have been expanded as well. You are no longer restricted to only a slide to mix up and evade enemies; you can also dive. The difference is in the ground covered and the position you’re left in. Whereas the slide keeps you to the ground, diving gives a bit of airtime and leaves you in the prone position. This tool comes into play in many areas, such as quick escapes, gunfights, and hiding. One remarkable instance witnessed during the initial gameplay reveal stream featured many players diving behind obstacles and even out of windows to avoid gunfire, explosions, and other opposition.

    The biggest game-changer happens under the sea. You can swim above and underwater, with the option of amphibious vehicles also being available. While riding a speedboat above the water is pretty sweet, diving with the fishes to avoid enemy fire is even sweeter. This is especially useful in larger maps and higher player count modes like Invasion, where water travel is a constant variable in the grand battle that spans the land, sea, and sky.

    Unique tricks of the trade

    Another significant expansion to how Modern Warfare II plays comes from all new lethal, tactical, and special equipment. These new weapons are the drill charge, shock stick, and inflatable decoy, and each adds a new variable to the fight that changes things up in fresh ways.

    ●       Shock Stick: The shock stick is tactical gear that can be thrown on any surface. Once it sticks, it emits a lengthy electric shock that will slow down anyone approaching it. It also makes them lose control of their weapon.

    ●       Drill Charge: The drill charge is a lethal grenade that bores its way into walls and explodes on the other side, ruining the visuals or downright putting down unsuspecting enemies in other rooms.

    ●       Inflatable Decoy: The inflatable decoy is the cheekiest of all, popping up a balloon model soldier that can catch any opponent off guard.

    Like the new movement options, these weapons expand what you can do in a match and makes room for even more creativity in play. While each can be used offensively, they can also be effective in evasion attempts, scare tactics to push away incoming opposition, or merely trolling enemies and friends alike.

    Keeping it real and balanced

    One of the main objectives of Infinity Ward, when it came to implementing these new options, was to bring even more authenticity and immersion to the Call of Duty series.

    “These tools bring more realism into the game,” multiplayer design director Joe Cecot states. “If you’re a soldier climbing a ladder with a pistol, you’ll get that out and arm yourself. That’s why we wanted to add things like the ledge hang. You wouldn’t actually throw yourself over as we see in previous games. By giving players these choices, we not only make it more realistic, but we give them the ability to do the things they want to do instead of being forced to do something.”

    But it’s not as simple as making the game as realistic as possible. Both Multiplayer Design Directors Cecot and Smith explained how a balance must be met to ensure that you keep enjoying the competitive experience.

    Cecot emphasized the importance of the game feeling fluid and smooth. However, there also needs to be some weight to the soldier and weapon. It’s a constant battle for the team to make it as approachable yet skillful as possible.

    This case is seen extensively with the attachment system in Modern Warfare II. You must monitor the assets you’re attaching to a gun when looking to reduce recoil, for example, but have to deal with the incurred negatives to utilize the positives. These hints of approachable realism make this title one of the most intriguing in the franchise, and the optional expansions make the player experience an easy cut above the rest.Fans can jump, mantle, dive, ledge hang, and more into the new world of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II when it releases on October 28. Learn more about weekend two of the Multiplayer Beta, running September 22 to 26 by checking out this PS Blog article.

    Website: LINK