September 2023 State of Play News Roundup

After not having a presence at Summer Game Fest, we’ve finally got a new State of Play presentation. This month’s showcase was a little less than 30 minutes worth of updates to previously announced games that are coming to the PlayStation platform. There are some heavy hitters in here, so let’s get started!

The State of Play showcase started with footage of Baby Steps. In case that name sounds familiar, it is that weird Getting Over It-esque game where you play a man in a onesie and try to walk. Created by Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, and Bennett Foddy (the creator of Getting Over It) Baby Steps will be released next summer.

Next up came a segment revealing that Roblox is coming to PlayStation consoles. Specifically, Roblox will be coming to PlayStation 4 on October 10^th. There wasn’t any word on a PS5 release, but I would assume that it is a “forward compatible” situation considering Roblox doesn’t seem to be that hardware intensive.

After that announcement we got a PSVR 2 segment, starting with Ghostbusters! Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is an all-new VR experience where you can bust ghosts with your friends and protect the city. Personally, I like this kind of media tie-in that isn’t married to its source material but wants to have fun with it. Customize your Ghostbuster and take on the Ghost Lord when it comes to PSVR2 on October 26^th.

The next PSVR 2 game that was showcased is something for the other side of the spooky season spectrum. Resident Evil 4 Remake is getting its own VR mode! While we don’t have a specific release date yet, the VR Mode for Resident Evil 4 is coming this Winter. In addition to this bit of the Resident Evil 4 news, Capcom also announced that the “Separate Ways” DLC from the original Resident Evil 4 is being released for the remake as well.

In the “Separate Ways” DLC you’ll experience the events of the game from Ada Wong’s perspective, crossing paths with Leon a few times during the adventure. The “Separate Ways” DLC will be released on September 21^st, 2023, along with a free update to Resident Evil 4’s Mercenaries mode.

Moving on from VR and Capcom, we return to the planet Pandora. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora got a bit of a gameplay spotlight, showcasing the story of the upcoming game. You’ll play as a Na’vi who was captured by the RDA as a child, trained, and then released. As such, you’ll get to explore the world of Pandora with fresh eyes, learning from various characters how to reconnect with your heritage.

Of course, not only will you get to know the flora and fauna of Pandora, but you’ll also take on the RDA as they try to take control again. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora will be released on December 7^th, 2023. I’m interested to see how well the game captures the magic of the films.

Next, we dive into the sequel to an Indie hit. Ghostrunner II is the sequel to the hit action parkour game Ghostrunner, putting you in the role of a cyberpunk ninja-esque character with a variety of mobility options and visceral combat styles. Ghostrunner II will be released on October 26^th, 2023, but a demo is available now.

The next segment dipped away from game trailers and announcements and focused on a bit of hardware, sort of. Sony announced the Deep Earth collection of covers for your PlayStation 5 and new colors for your Dualsense controller. The three colors are Volcanic Red, Cobalt Blue, and Sterling Silver. I’m not gonna lie, that Volcanic Red is stylish. I might need to get a new controller.

Back to announcements, we got a segment on Helldivers II, a new shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios. This segment showcased a variety of gameplay elements, from choosing your mission on the war map to gameplay footage of a mission to take on a monstrous Bile Titan. They also showcased some customization elements as well.

While the gameplay footage was interesting, I questioned how real the co-op was. If any of my friends had been playing this in a group, there’d be a lot more profanity going on. Helldivers II will be launching on February 8^th, 2024, for PC and PlayStation 5. Pre-orders for Helldivers II will open on September 22^nd.

Peter Parker and Miles Morales got their turn in the spotlight next, with a segment on Spider-Man 2. Contrary to the last gameplay demo we saw, this one focused on the Open-World elements of the game, rather than story missions. The size of the game map has doubled from the previous games, now including Queens and Brooklyn.

Peter and Miles also have “Web Wings” which serve as a sort of wing-suit element that lets you traverse the city differently than just swinging. However, it can be combined with swinging to give you further mobility and control as you explore. There are also detailed places on the ground, like Midtown High and Brooklyn Visions Academy.

The developers also announced that you’ll be able to switch between Peter and Miles “almost instantly” in the overworld. There will also be a variety of side-missions and storylines that you can discover through exploring the city as well. You’ll be able to fight villains that we haven’t seen yet in this universe, while also fighting against Kraven the Hunter and other villains we already know about.

They fit a lot of information into this segment, including things like customization and combat changes, but I’m not going to detail it all here. Instead, check out the video embedded here. Spider-Man 2 will be released on PlayStation 5 on October 20^th.

Another surprise announcement came in the form of new content for Tales of Arise. The Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn DLC introduces a new character and a new story set after the events of Tales of Arise. It will be released on November 9^th, 2023, which is surprisingly soon considering the new announcement. As a fan of the Tales franchise, I’m very excited.

Now we get to the obligatory Honkai Star Rail segment. I’ve been playing Honkai Star Rail in my free time, and I’m hooked. Now, PlayStation players are going to get to enjoy it when the PS5 version launches on October 11^th, 2023.

The penultimate segment showcased a bit more of Foamstars, which was announced back in May. Foamstars will be getting an Open Beta that will include two different game modes that seem to set it apart from the Splatoon-esque vibe I was getting from it before. During the Open Beta you’ll be able to play 8 different characters as well. The Foamstars Open Beta will be available on PS5 from September 29^th to October 1^st. It will also be available in an “Early 2024” release window.

Sony saved the best announcement for last, at least for my viewing experience. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth got a lengthy segment to close out the showcase. The trailer they showed gives us more of an idea of what we’ll be experiencing in FFVII Rebirth, including the Junon March segment, as well as a few interesting glimpses of story elements that might be from a different timeline. I’ve speculated before that FFVII Rebirth would be getting the full force of Square Enix’s marketing from here on, and this did not disappoint.

The trailer showed off Cait Sith, a glimpse of the Nibelheim flashback, and… Cloud on a Segway in Costa Del Sol? I’m excited and intrigued by the hilarity of Cloud (and the crew?) in vacation attire. We also got a good look at some of the team attacks hinted at by the developers. I could write an entire article on all the intriguing, interesting moments in this trailer, so instead I’ll just cut to the chase.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth will be released (with Vincent in tow) on February 29^th, 2024. It will come on two discs for the physical version and can be pre-ordered now either in a twin-pack with FFVII: Remake, or on its own. I cannot overstate how excited I am about this, and it was a perfect way to cap off the State of Play.