PlayStation 5 Showcase Roundup

With the PlayStation 5’s release looming, there are still a lot of questions. What is the price? Other than Ratchet and Clank (the Messianic Sony Bros.,) what launch titles can we unleash our jubilant glee over? What else can we look forward to? Yesterday’s PlayStation 5 showcase gave us answers to some of these questions.

The roughly 40-minute showcase began with a sizzle reel of the PlayStation 5 along with mish-mashed clips of various games coming to the platform. They didn’t give specifics, but I spotted Ratchet and Clank, Aloy from Horizon’s sequel, Agent 47, and more. My excitement ramped up even further though at the very first announcement.

Final Fantasy is coming to the PS5 folks! We got a trailer of sorts for Final Fantasy XVI which looks absolutely gorgeous even though, realistically, I doubt we’ll get our hands on it before I turn 30 in 2023. It is a return to fantasy form, showcasing a more medieval style, and please excuse me while I geek out for a moment.

Not only do we see Shiva and what is presumably Titan, but there’s also a dragoon, some court intrigue, magic, and mercenaries who are looking for a girl. We’re back to Final Fantasy form y’all! We also see a Phoenix Vs Ifrit situation, and it seems this might be a more mature storyline. There was even blood in the trailer which I can’t remember seeing in a Final Fantasy game before. Are they leaning towards an M rating?

Regardless, we’re back to wars over Crystals, which might be bothersome to some, but I think it is a great course correction. Final Fantasy XV got a lot of flak for its storyline, and this might be something that redirects things to a positive outcome. There was no release date, but we got a gorgeous image of Final Fantasy XVI’s logo and an announcement that it will be a PlayStation exclusive.

Next up we got some footage from Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This time, it comes in the form of gameplay, showing Miles walking with his brother to his mother’s rally. We get a gorgeous glimpse of a street fair in Harlem and a bit of dialogue before it cuts to some information by Brian Horton, creative director of Insomniac Games.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales picks up a year after the first game. Miles Morales’ mother is running for city council and during an election rally, trouble brews. We see a conflict between Roxxon and The Underground, a criminal organization run by The Tinkerer. I won’t spoil the full story that is shown here, but there are some interesting things that pop up.

The game looks gorgeous, the villain seems intriguing, and placing a person of color at the center of a superhero game is a great move for diversity and inclusivity going forward. Plus, Miles is awesome. It seems like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be a launch title too since it has a “Holiday 2020” release window. It might be shortly after the console launch though.

The next announcement gives me mixed feelings thanks to JK Rowling’s transphobic views. However, PS5 owners will be coming back to Hogwarts, circa the 1800s (apparently) in a new game set in the Harry Potter universe. Not only will we be able to make our own character and explore Hogwarts, learning magic and exploring the grounds, but we will also go beyond the walls of Hogwarts into a larger, more dangerous world.

Portkey Games’ Hogwarts Legacy will release in 2021 and personally, I am very intrigued. I’d love to see more gameplay and particularly see what sort of character customization options there are. I hope Trans and non-binary characters can be created. Not just for diversity’s sake but to reclaim the inclusive nature of the Wizarding World, which feels somewhat tainted now after JK Rowling’s recent actions and comments.

Next up Dan Vondrak, Creative Director of Raven Software, took the time to introduce more info about Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War. In Black Ops: Cold War, you’ll play a campaign set in 1981 at the height of the Cold War. They showed off gameplay as well with a mission in Turkey, though I question the presence of certain technological elements shown off in the gameplay.

Black Ops: Cold War is coming in the Holiday 2020 launch window and could presumably be a launch title as well. They also announced new multiplayer and Zombies modes. I could see this being a console seller for Black Ops fans, but for me, it isn’t so exciting. It looks amazing visually, but it also seems like business as usual for the franchise. As someone who isn’t a fan I might be missing something, so don’t take my word as the gospel of course.

However, they did announce that PlayStation 4 owners can be a part of the Black Ops: Cold War multiplayer Alpha test starting Friday, September 18^th, until Sunday, September 20^th. This Alpha test is exclusively for PS4 owners and they can pre-load the Alpha today.

After the Black Ops coverage, Capcom revealed more footage of Resident Evil: Village (RE8) that showcases how RE7 protagonist Ethan finds himself at the center of a new horror experience. The game looks deliciously creepy, with more occult elements than simple Zombies or Molded. There might be witches? Of course, we know that Werewolves may be a part of it based on previous trailers.

Either way, Ethan seems to be looking for Mia again. We’ll be a part of his journey again when Resident Evil: Village releases in 2021. I enjoyed seeing the campaign for the first game, and this one seems to be taking things even further.

Next, we got a new trailer for Deathloop, which showed off gameplay and new characters. It also gave us a glimpse of some gorgeous neon color palettes and a retro vibe. Deathloop seems to be just as much of a puzzle about learning who to kill, when to kill them, and how to bring your targets together, as it is about breaking the loop. Deathloop will be coming to PlayStation consoles exclusively in the second quarter of 2021, so presumably sometime in the summer.

Capcom also revealed the trailer for Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, coming to PlayStation 5. It seems as though Vergil will be a playable character this time around, which has interesting implications for the plot; though they may ignore that detail just to give players a new, stylish character to play. Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition will be available digitally as a launch title for the PS5.

It seems like the Oddworld franchise is coming to PS5 too! We got a trailer for Oddworld: Soulstorm, and Creative Director Lorne Lanning also gave us more information. The trailer takes place after Abe freed his people from Rupture Farms. He thinks his journey is over, but that is far from the case.

The levels are bigger, the characters are still hilarious, and yet the story seems like it could be more brutal and serious than ever. Oddworld Soulstorm is something fans of the franchise won’t want to miss. We didn’t get a release date though, so hopefully, that will be coming soon.

To my chagrin, Freddy Fazbear made an appearance at this PS5 showcase. Of course, a Five Nights at Freddy’s game couldn’t be announced without the laziest of horror conventions either. You guessed it, there’s a jump scare! Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach didn’t give us much to go on other than a creepy trailer and a jumpscare. If you’re a fan, you likely won’t mind the wait for the release date.

After that trailer that required me to put on brown pants, we got new footage from the Demon’s Souls remake. It showcased what is, presumably, the playable character being resurrected by a woman and then led straight into gameplay. It showcased gorgeous visuals, a boss fight (presumably), and a UI-free experience, though I’m not sure if that was intentional or just for this presentation.

Did I mention that there are dragons? I’m not a Soulsborne player, mostly because they aren’t accessible to people with reflex issues and various other problems. However, I might enjoy watching someone play through this. You can bet I’ll still be writing articles on how the lack of difficulty options in these games makes them less accessible though. They didn’t give us a release date, but the game still looks beautiful and smooth in terms of gameplay.

Fortnite is coming to PS5! Personally, I’m not super excited by that idea but I know that console players might be, so here’s what we discovered today. Fortnite is a PS5 launch title, obviously. Why wouldn’t it be? Odds are good that you’ll need PlayStation Plus to play it in multiplayer though.

This leads to a surprise announcement that came in the form of the PlayStation Plus Collection, which is a new PlayStation Plus benefit for PlayStation 5. It seems to be something similar in idea to Xbox Game Pass. PlayStation Plus subscribers get access to the following games (so far):

God of War (2018)
BloodBorne
Monster Hunter: World
Final Fantasy XV
Fallout 4
Mortal Kombat X
Uncharted 4
Ratchet and Clank (the movie tie-in)

Days Gone
Until Dawn
Detroit: Become Human
Battlefield 1
Infamous: Second Son
Batman: Arkham Knight
The Last Guardian
The Last of Us Remastered
Persona 5
Resident Evil 7

All of these games will be available on the PS5 at launch for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you’re like me and already use PlayStation Plus, this is a pretty fantastic deal. The PlayStation Plus Collection makes it so you have a library of games in a variety of genres at your fingertips. Yes, they’re all PS4 games, but a good chunk of these may be things you’ve not played yet.

Moving forward, Sony showed the PlayStation 5 off again, with two different models. The Digital Edition, which comes without a disc drive, and then the standard PlayStation 5 were both shown here. Exactly as many of us expected, the Digital Edition is $399.99 and the Standard Edition is $499.99. They will both release on November 12^th for the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea while the rest of the world (minus China) will see it launch on November 19^th.

However, an interesting thing to note is that China is not included here. In small print at the bottom of the video, it states “Availability in each country is subject to import regulations. PS5 launch date for China is still under exploration and will be announced at a later date.” It seems COVID-19 will be affecting more than just the production of these consoles this year.

Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, closed out the show with a closing statement. He thanked the fans of Sony, PlayStation, and gave his appreciation for the continued support of the PlayStation consoles. He also led into one final quick announcement.

God of War (2018) is getting a sequel baby! Ragnarok is coming, showcased clearly via a gorgeous teaser trailer. Sometime in 2021, Kratos and Atreus will return and Ragnarok will come with them. Just like that, I can already tell that Cory Barlog will be getting more of my money. Kratos’ voice still gives me chills.

The show concluded with another sizzle reel of more games, though the names of various ones that weren’t shown previously were not given. We did, however, get a very quick glimpse of something that looked very Little Big Planet-esque which is exciting. Sony brought the heat, focusing on solid games and reveals. Most of them were things coming soon, but even the ones that are a little farther away (*cough* Final Fantasy XVI *cough*), look absolutely stunning.

I am also predicting that this will cement many pre-orders for folks. Not just because of the games like Black Ops: Cold War and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales though. There is a lot of value in the PlayStation Plus Collection, especially for folks that may have missed out on some of those games and want to play them while they wait for certain new releases.