PlayStation Showcase 2023 News Round-Up

It’s been close to two years since the last PlayStation showcase happened. We’ve all grown accustomed to seeing the more regular State of Play presentations focused on certain games, but today’s showcase seemed like it would be focused on more than just games. Clearly, this was Sony’s replacement for the canceled E3, ahead of any other large company’s bigger presentations. With an announced runtime of more than an hour, there were some expectations of what would be shown. Let’s dive into the showcase together.

First off, we have Fairgame$, developed by Haven. This looks to be a co-op heist game. The CGI trailer looked fun, but it’s tough to judge the game at this point considering there was no gameplay shown.

Next up is Helldivers 2, a sequel to the 2015 top-down shooter. The game definitely got an upgrade. Helldivers 2 will be third-person instead, and the graphics look absolutely gorgeous. You’ll be able to kill even more detailed alien insect things sometime this year.

While on topic for announced sequels, Sony gave people a bunch more to be excited about. Ghostrunner 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 and The Talos Principle II all are sure to excite some fans in some very different niches. Then there are games like Alan Wake 2 (releasing October 17th) and Dragon’s Dogma 2, which to me were pretty unexpected. I know a lot of people likely cheered at their screens when seeing these announcements.

Immortals of Aveum looks to me like it could either be really good or really bad. The gameplay reminds me a lot of Doom but with a fantasy twist. The game is first-person and has the player using different types of gauntlets for an array of attacks while fending off a plethora of enemies. It does seem to have a proper story to it as well, with the developers even using motion capture for the characters. Immortals of Aveum looks like it could be pretty fun, and it releases on July 20th.

It wouldn’t be a presentation about video games without some sort of Soulslike. For those who have already beaten Elden Ring and are looking to scratch that particular itch, Phantom Blade 0, set in a grim world inspired by Japanese mythology, might be for you.

When it comes to indie games, I’m always happy to be fed whatever these bigger presentations are willing to show off. With this presentation in particular, I was definitely not disappointed. The developers behind Gris announced Neva, which looks just as gorgeous as their previous title and seems to be just as gut-wrenching. The creators of Night in the Woods announced a new game as well, which has you playing a cat in a human world, called Revenant Hill.

The Plucky Squire was announced before, but now we know it’s set to release this year. The game in this presentation I am most excited about, however, is Sword of the Sea, a new game made by the people behind one of my favorite games of all time, Journey. The game looks absolutely fantastic, the soundtrack is already great and the gameplay looks very fun as well. I can’t wait to see more of this game and eventually get to play it.

Ultros looks like a very psychedelic metroidvania-game apparently set in a.. cosmic uterus? At least, according to the game’s official description. It looks fun and the art style already has me hooked. I might actually check it out when it releases next year.

During the first moments of the trailer for Foamstars along with the Square Enix logo, I was excited. Then the gameplay was shown and my excitement more or less faded. It’s an arena shooter all about covering your foes in foam. The character designs look amazing, but I’m not really convinced about the gameplay yet. I’ll definitely be waiting for reviews to see if it’s for me.

I don’t know a single person that has played a Cat Quest game before, but it does seem to have some sort of fanbase. Otherwise, Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean, would not be a thing. This is the newest game in the cat-focused RPG series, which to me looks to be aimed at younger audiences. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who enjoy this game, but it’s not for me.

Prior to the presentations, there were some leaks. This seems pretty much unavoidable at this point, but you never know which rumors are actually true. Well, the rumor of a Metal Gear Solid 3-remake was definitely true. The official title is Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The first three Metal Gear Solid games are also getting ported onto PS5 under the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, releasing this autumn.

Speaking of ports, the voxel-based demolition-game Teardown as well as the open-world anime science-fiction game Tower of Fantasy, are both coming to PlayStation at some point this year. For an update on some already-announced games, Final Fantasy XVI, which releases next month, got a new trailer.

Additionally, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage finally has a release date of October 12th. Street Fighter 6 also got a new trailer, as well as the announcement of a custom character creator. Granblue Fantasy Relink was first announced years ago, but it finally has somewhat of a release date, set to come out this winter.

For those that want to play a newer Zelda title but don’t own a Nintendo Switch, maybe Towers of Aghasba is the game for you. There seems to be just as much paragliding as in the latest two iterations of The Legend of Zelda franchise. It also looks to have some city-building aspects to it. Check out the trailer to see what I mean.

Bungie showed off two games at the presentation. First off we have Marathon, which looks to be a reboot of the studio’s first game. The trailer looks incredibly intriguing, but no gameplay was shown. Afterwards, they announced the name of Destiny 2‘s next expansion The Final Shape, as well as a showcase for this expansion in August of this year.

Concord is a game with one of those trailers that didn’t show much of anything when it comes to the details of what the game is about. According to the game’s description, it will be a PVP, First-PersonSshooter set in space. We’ll have to wait for some actual gameplay to see if the game will be any good.

For those who have forgotten that Sony does movies too, we got a reminder during the presentation. A movie based on Gran Turismo is in the works and will be released in August. Check out the trailer below.

Before we get to the last big showcase, a portion of the presentation was dedicated to PSVR2 and the games coming to the system. It wouldn’t be PSVR without a Resident Evil game, so of course they had to announce a VR Mode for Resident Evil 4.

Arizona Sunshine II is a sequel to the previous VR title all about killing zombies and is sure to be a fun time for those who enjoy this type of thing. Crossfire Sierra Squad is another sequel, promising a fun co-op experience fighting against 17 different types of enemies along with your friends.

Synapse is a single-player experience that has you playing as an agent with telekinetic abilities fighting against different enemies. The gameplay and graphics look pretty fun. If I had the PSVR2 I would definitely pick this one up.

A staple of PSVR from the start has been Beat Saber, so it’s only natural for it to be on the new system as well. The game is out now, as well as a music pack by one of the greatest bands of all time, Queen.

As the last part of the presentation, of course, Sony gave us an extensive look at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. While the look was way more in-depth than necessary, I am fully excited for this game to release this fall. The gameplay shown was immaculate. The combat looked slick, the graphics were absolutely insane and the story looked promising as well. Kraven the Hunter joins the cast as one of the villains. To avoid gushing about this game too much, I’d recommend looking at the ten minutes of gameplay shown.

That’s pretty much everything that was shown at PlayStation’s 2023 Showcase. There are sure to be at least a handful of games for everyone to be excited about. I know I am.