Monday, March 25th, 2019 marked the first-ever State of Play. This is PlayStation’s first time taking a page from Nintendo’s book and making new announcements for PlayStation 4 and PSVR in a pre-recorded video format. Nintendo first starting doing Nintendo Directs in 2011 and in 2018 Microsoft started Inside Xbox, a monthly video series that announces new games and updates to existing ones. So now it’s PlayStation’s turn to take a swing.

Monday’s State of Play seemed to mostly focus on PlayStation VR with the show opening with a gameplay trailer for Iron Man VR developed by Camouflaj, the creators of the episodic stealth action game République. In Iron Man VR you’ll be taking on the role of the titular Iron Avenger; flying through the sky and taking down baddies with Iron Man’s vast array of weaponry. Iron Man VR is set to release later this year.

Continuing with PSVR we saw No Man’s Sky VR due out this summer alongside it’s Beyond update. Honestly, I can’t wait for this mode: No Man’s Sky is one of those games that’s perfectly suited for VR. In classic PlayStation fashion, we see a montage of all the PSVR games coming out this year and that list includes:

• Mini-Mech Mayhem – June 18th
• Falcon Age – April 9th
• Trover Saves the Universe – May 31st
• Blood and Truth – May 28th
• Everybody’s Golf VR – May 21st
• Vacation Simulator – June 18th
• Five Nights at Freddy’s Help Wanted – Spring 2019.

During the PlayStation 4 side of the show, we got new gameplay of Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled. Then Devolver Digital revealed an intriguing new game Observation where you are a space station’s artificial intelligence “S.A.M” and unravel the mystery of what happened to its crew. Observation is out on May 21st. Next we were shown Concrete Genie by Pixel Opus, revealing a full gameplay trailer for the first time, and boy does it look great!

Concrete Genie was first shown off at Paris Games Week in 2017, and since then it’s been on my list of most anticipated games. I’m a sucker for a good 3D platformer and this is no exception. In Concrete Genie you play as a young boy who is tasked by his own artistic creations to bring the light back to his town. He does this by painting on the buildings, all while being chased by some pretty relentless bullies. Concrete Genie will be out this fall. PlayStation ended the video package with a new story trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, and I have to admit the time-traveling story looks like a lot of fun.

My expectations for PlayStation’s first State of Play video weren’t too high, but I think if they stick to releasing small amounts of information about upcoming games every few months, I think State of Play will become an industry staple just like the Nintendo Directs and Inside Xbox programs before it.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.