This morning, PlayStation broadcasted its latest State of Play event. The livestream was 30 minutes long and featured over 20 announcements, showcasing a diverse range of game genres. Many reveals had been rumoured and predicted by fans and critics on the internet, but there were some surprises. Like every event, there were some games I wished would have made an appearance, but Sony treated us with a satisfying event overall. It is a shame that this State of Play left me with a bad feeling about Sony (more on that at the end).
Here is everything announced at PlayStation's September 2024 State of Play:
ASTRO BOT — UPDATE COMING IN 2024
Fresh off its release, Astro Bot is getting its first update with new content. The update is coming later this year and features five new online levels. The trailer gave us a sneak peek of a snow, construction site, and temple-themed levels. Ten new bots to collect, including from Helldivers and Stellar Blade, are also coming in the update. Astro Bot has more content coming in the future, but this is what we have for now.
THE MIDNIGHT WALK
The Midnight Walk is a beautiful game made entirely from clay. This game is for you if you are a stop-motion animation and horror fan. It looks and sounds like an amalgamation of Little Nightmares and Coraline, and I am massively intrigued by this.
HELL IS US
Hell Is Us appears to be an action RPG with soulslike gameplay. What intrigued me was the feel and atmosphere of the game. Although Dark Souls inspires the gameplay, the setting looks to be a combination of horror and dystopia.
METRO AWAKENING VR — NOVEMBER 7TH, 2024
Metro is a series that could translate well into VR. The latest entry looks like it is not hiding its horror roots. With the PSVR2, the game looks like a relative of Half-Life: Alyx. Considering how well Half-Life adapted to VR, I am confident the same story will happen for Metro.
ARCHEAGE: CHRONICLES — 2025
The 2013 MMORPG ArcheAge is getting a sequel titled ArcheAge: Chronicles. The gameplay looks like a clone of the recent God of War games. The game is available to wishlist on PS5 now.
PALWORLD — OUT NOW
The controversial Palworld is available on PS5 now. The game was released through early access on PC and Xbox back in January and has been coined 'Pokémon with guns.' Nintendo and Pokémon have issued a lawsuit against Pocketpair for infringement of patent rights, but that hasn't stopped the company from porting their massively successful game to PlayStation.
LUNAR REMASTERED COLLECTION — 2025
Two cult classic RPGs from the PS1 era are coming to PS5 next year. The LUNAR Remastered Collection includes LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete and LUNAR 2: Eternal Blue Complete. The original game was first released on the Sega CD and remastered for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It came to the PS1 in 1997. The second game was released in 1998 and went to the PlayStation a year later.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER’S REVENGE — OUT NOW
Radical Reptiles update is now available for Shredder's Revenge. The update brings Mona Lisa and Mondo Gecko as playable characters. The update also features remixed songs from the game's soundtrack, featuring different artists. The update is free and ready to be added now.
SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS — OCTOBER 25TH, 2024
Sonic X Shadow Generations is one of October's most anticipated game releases, and Sony gave us a new sneak peek and extra content. The upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie features Keanu Reeves taking the helm as Shadow the Hedgehog. In honour of the movie, the game will feature a Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Movie Pack, a DLC that adds levels inspired by the upcoming film. It also features several voice lines from Keanu Reeves himself. The DLC comes out on December 12th 2024, but the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game will come with the DLC.
FANTASIAN NEO DIMENSION — DECEMBER 5TH, 2024
We have more news of the upcoming turn-based RPG Fantasian Neo Dimension. The game looks beautifully designed, with more than 150 handmade diorama backgrounds, a unique battle system compared to most games of the genre, and a soundtrack from Nobuo Uematsu, a composer who worked on the Final Fantasy games.
DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD — OCTOBER 31ST, 2024
BioWare's latest game in the acclaimed Dragon Age series is just over a month from its release. Developers showed new cutscenes and a gameplay boss encounter. Set in Hossberg Wetlands, the boss was a dragon called Corius the Icetalon. The encounter had the epic scale we expect from the series.
ALAN WAKE II — OCTOBER 2024
A new DLC for Alan Wake II, The Lake House, will be released this October. For fans of Remedy Entertainment's Control, it will feature the Federal Bureau of Control.
HITMAN: WORLD OF ASSASSINATION VR — DECEMBER 2024
All content from Hitman, Hitman 2, and Hitman 3 will be coming to PSVR2 in December. Featuring full dual wield, the iconic franchise will soon be playable in VR for an added sense of immersion.
LEGACY OF KAIN: SOUL REAVER 1&2 REMASTERED — DECEMBER 10TH, 2024
Well, I did not see this one coming. The critically acclaimed PS1 classic Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and its sequel are coming to PS5. The remaster treatment is similar to what happened with the Tomb Raider trilogy earlier this year. The games maintain their PS1 look, but the smooth textures make them look better than ever. The release date is the 25th anniversary of Soul Reaver's release on the PS1.
FEAR THE SPOTLIGHT — OCTOBER 22ND, 2024
A common trend among indie developers has recently been using polygonal graphics for new titles. Fear the Spotlight is another game to add to the trend, and it is gearing up to be a brand-new indie horror experience courtesy of Blumhouse Games.
TOWERS OF AGHASBA — NOVEMBER 2024
Towers of Aghasba enters early access in November 2024. The game looks like an action-adventure title with elements from the simulation genre. You can build and customise your island, and friends can explore your island online.
FORTNITE
Fortnite got several announcements today, including a split-screen option in LEGO Fortnite, which is coming soon. The game even has its own themed DualSense controller. The controller is blue and features graffiti art inspired by the game. Pre-orders for the controller begin October 3rd 2024.
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS — JANUARY 17TH, 2025
We now have an official release date for Dynasty Warriors: Origins and a brand-new trailer for the game. The gameplay looks similar to the previous games, with hack-and-slash combat evident throughout the trailer.
MONSTER HUNTER WILDS — FEBRUARY 28TH, 2025
The trailer for this one looked rough around the edges, but the setting is intriguing. The world's atmosphere reminds me of Pandora from Avatar. Capcom will reveal more about Monster Hunter Wilds on September 26th during their TGS2024 Capcom Online Program.
LEGO HORIZON ADVENTURES — NOVEMBER 14TH, 2024
I am nostalgic about the LEGO game franchise, but this trailer did not sell me on the game. The trailer's narration gave me flashbacks of Mighty No. 9. Despite the narration, the game does look appealing, and I am surprised how well the Horizon franchise lends itself to a Lego aesthetic.
HORIZON ZERO DAWN REMASTERED — OCTOBER 31ST, 2024
Everyone was waiting for this announcement, and the rumours were true. Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming to PS5, updating the game's impressive visual fidelity and adding more than ten hours of dialogue cut from the original game. This version will be the definitive way to play the beloved PS4 title. If you own the original game, you can upgrade to the remaster for a small price, like Naughty Dog did Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us: Part II remasters.
STELLAR BLADE
Stellar Blade is getting several updates, some of which are now available. Firstly, a photo mode is now available in the base game, and an official OST of the game is available for your listening pleasure on select streaming services. In addition to these features, the game will get a DLC featuring 2B from Nier: Automata. This DLC does not have a release date but is coming in 2024.
PLAYSTATION PLUS
Today, PlayStation revealed October's PS Plus lineup. The monthly games are WWE 2K24, Dead Space, and Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
Coming to the PS Plus Extra and Deluxe back catalogue is The Last of Us Part I
Two new PS1 games, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Dino Crisis, will be available in the PS Plus Deluxe catalogue.
DUALSENSE AND PS5 COVERS
The Chroma Collection introduces three new colour schemes for the DualSense controller and PS5 covers. Indigo, pearl, and teal colours will soon be available for the system.
PS5 PRO
Despite the ungodly criticism of Sony's PS5 Pro, Mark Cerny made another appearance to tell the audience more about the PS5 Pro. He did not tell us anything new about the system and instead repeated facts the public had already heard. We did get another trailer featuring games running on the system, but the Pro's initial reveal already showed 80% of these games running on the system. This State of Play is Cerny's second appearance during a livestream this month, and he has disappointed once again.
GHOST OF YOTEI — 2025
It would not have been enjoyable if Sony ended this State of Play with Cerny trying to win fans over with the PS5 Pro. However, it did not end that way because Sucker Punch gave us the first look at the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima. The game is called Ghost of Yotei, and it features a new protagonist and a new setting.
VERDICT
September's State of Play gave us exciting announcements and updates on future titles. We got exciting remasters like Soul Reaver and Horizon, new sequels from Monster Hunter and Dragon Age and brand-new AAA blockbusters like Ghost of Yotei. If it were not for Mark Cerny trying to justify the PS5 Pro, I would view this State of Play a bit more positively. Do not get me wrong, we got some great news, but Cerny's presence at the end left a bad taste in my mouth. The PS5 Pro is approaching, and it worries me where Sony's priorities are. The Pro does not bring enough upgrades to warrant its price, and Sony is not listening to reactions. I am happy to be proven wrong, but I am uncertain.
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