Sony opened their presentation with the announcement of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time ’s transfer to the PS5. In addition to his new platform, the iconic marsupial will now be accompanied with native 4K resolution at 60fps, PS4 to PS5 data transfer, and PS5 Activity Cards to track your in game progress.
Crash is set to make his premier on the PS5 on March 12 2021.
There were a multitude of smaller third party company productions such as Housemarque, who gave audiences a peek into their latest project RETURNAL, where players crash land on an alien planet and fight to survive on this new tough terrain. The name of the game is survival in this case, in their own words “death is only the beginning” as dying means a reset of the map and enemy placements which, combined with the endless combinations of combat, will prove an interesting challenge to any player when it releases on April 30 this year.
Velan Studios, threw their hat into the ring with Knockout City, a team based, multiplayer, action game.
Josh Harrison, the Marketing Director at Velan, boasted innovative dodgeball based gameplay that is accessible for newcomers, but with enough complexity for seasoned gamers. Diverse environments that test players’ reflexes, and exciting upgrades make this a title to look out for when it drops on the PS4 on May 21 of this year.
The team at Sloclap revealed an exciting new game Sifu, a mashup of the classic beat ‘em ups and modern 3D action games. This story of revenge set against the dark backdrop of a fictional town is paired with the studio’s signature hand drawn style from their previous title Absolver back in 2017, making Sifu a title to look out for in the coming year.
The bright, contrasting colours, and smooth gameplay is sure to be the selling point for this already impressive title that is set to release in late 2021.
Solar Ash was unveiled by Alex Preston, the creative director at Heart Machine. The game boasts a self-proclaimed “surreal, vivid and highly stylized world filled with wild high-speed traversal, endearing characters, and massive enemy encounters”. The bright, contrasting colours, and smooth gameplay is sure to be the selling point for this already impressive title that is set to release in late 2021.
The trailer to the highly anticipated Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach was revealed on Thursday. This will be the eleventh game in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, but will be introducing new elements such as, a free-roam world to traverse and new animatronics to add to their list of characters that will be sure to excite both old fans and new later this year.
Oddworld inhabitants are back with Oddworld: Soulstorm. Initially announced in 2016, the company is bringing the series back to the PlayStation in this newest instalment in the Oddworld franchise. Audiences will join Abe in a reimagining of the original story, with new 2.9D gameplay, adding a fresh layer to the traditional 2D style of gameplay.
Oddworld: Soulstorm will be available to audiences on the PS4 on April 6 this year. In addition, they revealed that PlayStation Plus members can get the PS5 version of the title for no extra cost.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits was first shown in the PS5 showcase last June. Ember Lab introduces players to a game full of exploration, fast paced combat, and a rich story, as we follow Kena on her journey to an abandoned town in search of a sacred shrine. The open world and art style may remind audiences of titles such as Breath of the Wild from 2017, but displays a darker and more mysterious tone with interesting characters and environments to set it apart from similar titles in the action adventure genre.
The game will be available on PS4 on August 21 later this year.
Death Loop is a title developed by Arcane, an enticing new first person shooter on the island of Blackreef, where the main character, Colt, must find a way to end the island’s endless time loop full of death and murder, and escape the island’s madness. The presentation delivered a James Bond style number displaying highly stylised animation ending with the phrase “If you don’t succeed… die, die, and die again” which will no doubt leave audiences hungry for more when the game is delivered on May 21 2021.
State of Play ended with the reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade, an add-on for Square Enix’s highly anticipated game from last year. This version of the game on the PS5 will include an additional storyline with the fan favourite character Yuffie as well as prioritising 4k resolution, meaning higher quality lighting, textures, fog effects, and more.
This time around there will also be a Photo Mode, where you can take clean screen captures of real time in game features, as well as faster loading times, all of which will be available on the PS5 on June 10 this year.
The gaming industry has obviously been affected by this past year, but State of Play gave us a wonderful insight into the hard work the graphic designers, code developers, beta tester, and artists all put into their craft. There is no doubt the line-up for this year will not be one to miss out on.
