On September 24th of 2019, Sony has livestreamed another “State of Play” livestream and are adapting a familiar format more than ever before. While we see some traditional and original games show up during this presentation, it’s considerably dominated by VR titles, new installments to established franchises, and remakes of classic games. However I’d be lying if I said a number of these announcements didn’t catch my eye.
The trailer that kicked off this livestream was for Humanity. A PS4 exclusive with presentation that, to be completely honest, doesn’t look like anything beyond a tech demo. I recall early PS2 demo discs had similar demonstrations that have the same kind of vibe as this. The website also confirms that it will have PlayStation VR capabilities. Regardless, I’m curious to see what the object of this game will be.
Activision shows off more of the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare set to release at the end of October. After how the single player campaign was gutted and ditched in the previous Black Ops 4 installment, it’s surprising to see how much they appear to be focused on a story this time around. Perhaps the change in direction didn’t turn out so well last year. However, I’ve also noticed the recent Call of Duty titles seem more divisive than ever. PlayStation 4 will also get particular content earlier than the rest of its platforms, this is known as Special Ops: Survival Mode, which will remain exclusive to PlayStation 4 until October 2020.
After that, we finally receive more news on Wattam, a new game by the creator and director of Katamari Damacy, Keita Takahashi. It was announced a few years ago, but they finally came back with more news. They have officially announced that it will release in December of this year! It looks exceedingly bizarre, but also charming and delightful. Takahashi’s work never failed to put a big smile on my face from beginning to end, so I’m personally looking forward to this adorable-looking game.
The next trailer they showed is for a game known as Arise. The gameplay looks as simple as they say the story will be, but it all looks incredibly atmospheric. The soft art style melds perfectly with the whimsical feel this game appears to have.
Rockstar has announced that the LA Noire VR Case Files, originally exclusive to PC, is now coming to PlayStation VR. It is available on the PlayStation Network Store today.
Many more PlayStation VR titles shown off with nearby release dates, including Space Channel 5 VR set to launch in Fall of this year. It is a VR-only remake of the original Space Channel 5 that was launched on the SEGA Dreamcast. With how often the sequel was ported onto many modern platforms, it’s good that SEGA is giving the original title some attention. I’d like to see more of their existing library to receive attention similar to this as well in the future . . . Also, I wonder if Michael Jackson will still be in this remake.
With the remake of MediEvil drawing near, Sony is releasing a demo of the game for anyone on PS4 to give it a try. I’d share more thoughts on it, but why not take a look for yourself? If it’s anything like the original, it’s a simple but very charming action game. And if you play through the demo, you earn an in-game helmet to use for the full game! With the recent success of the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro remakes, Sony giving this a try with a property they still own is intriguing, and makes me wonder what other classics in their library they’d consider remaking for a new generation.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI will be arriving to the PS4 in November, including all of its expansions (but sold separately). This port seems a tad late, considering even the Nintendo Switch received this game already. However, as someone that loved playing the original titles on my old PC back in the day, I can’t imagine what kind of control scheme they made for the DualShock 4.
With Death Stranding being ever-so-close to launch, they have one more thing to show off, which is the Death Stranding PS4 Pro bundle. Sony has confirmed that it will also come with a physical disc of the game.
A new game known as Afterparty was shown next. An interesting depiction of hell where you and a friend will attempt to escape while communicating with various demons and even Satan himself, whom all just want to have a good time at the party they’ve arranged. The art style is extremely vibrant and the environment with that seems oddly welcoming, all things considered. It arrives on October 29th of this year. What better time than Halloween to have a party with the lord of the underworld?
This State of Play ends with a new gameplay and story trailer for The Last Of Us Part 2. More elements to Ellie’s new story are revealed, perhaps more than some people would’ve liked, and they also finally have a release date. Naughty Dog began the world of The Last of Us at the end of the PlayStation 3’s generation, so perhaps they felt it was appropriate to do the same for what could possibly be the PlayStation 4’s last year before Sony’s next generation arrives at the tail end of it (or so rumors infer). The Last of Us: Part 2 arrives on February 21st, 2020.
Another short State of Play, and folks seem miffed about it thus far. I think people are expecting a bit too much from these livestreams, considering how frequent Sony wants them to be. I was personally pleased by a handful of what they had to show, and look forward to the next time they want to give upcoming games some spotlight.
