Pound for pound, this was comfortably the best multi-game State of Play to date. No doubt. The content does the heavy lifting, of course – there won’t always be multiple titles with mass appeal to reveal – but this broadcast, modestly anticipated after past disappointments, was a handful of PS Studios additions away from being classic E3 calibre. It was that good.
The presentation was sharp and snappy: an acute injection of hype-inducing reveals and updates. Yes, at less than 30 minutes this broadcast was on the short side, but it never overstayed its welcome or lingered on a title for too long – it was a wall-to-wall fiesta of exciting announcements. The variety was good as well, perhaps a teensy bit heavy-handed on the horror, but still spanning a spectrum of themes and development budgets.
As opening salvos go, Resident Evil 4 – with confirmation of PSVR2 features – was just about as strong as one could reasonably imagine. But unlike past events, the livestream remained at a consistent level – there was no drop-off after the shock-and-awe reveal of Capcom’s remake. The virtual reality segment, while brief and in need of expansion later on, focused on big games like Resident Evil Village and No Man’s Sky – a reminder that Sony is eager to move beyond the shorter, proof-of-concept style “experiences” with its new headset.
And while it didn’t necessarily translate in a flat-screen, compressed trailer, the jaw-dropping Horizon Call of the Mountain demonstrated outstanding scale. For those who aren’t familiar with VR and the “feel” of existing inside a virtual world – make no mistake, this game will be an unrivalled spectacle that looks to squeeze every drop of juice out of Sony’s new hardware. We simply haven’t seen investment quite like this into the medium outside of perhaps Half-Life Alyx.
Sony even handled its new PS Plus subscription tiers confidently. We know that the platform holder’s being a little less aggressive with its service than Microsoft, which has plunged deep into its trillion dollar pockets to grow Game Pass. But confirmation that Stray – one of the most anticipated indies for PS5 and PS4 – will be included day one with the higher tiers sets a good expectation for the service moving forwards.
It’s important to remember that this wasn’t all AAA content either: PlayStation selected and spotlighted indie content carefully. The likes of Rollerdrome, Season: A Letter to the Future, and Eternights all had impressive showings that actually raised their profiles rather than prompted impatient fans to tune out – this is an example of a State of Play working as intended, by actually selling players on games they may have otherwise overlooked.
Of course, the post-show discussion will be centred on the likes of Street Fighter 6, The Callisto Protocol, and Final Fantasy 16 – all of which had superb showings – but this was a showcase where pretty much every title showed well. It was the definition of all killer and no filler, and it’s not often we ever say that about a video game broadcast – let alone a State of Play.
It’s also important to remember that all this was achieved with basically zero input from PS Studios. Pedants will point to the inclusion of the aforementioned Horizon Call of the Mountain and the PC ports of Marvel’s Spider-Man – but you know what we mean. God of War Ragnarok remains a mystery, while Sony’s first-party release schedule outside of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel’s Wolverine is practically non-existent.
That means we’ll surely hear more from the platform holder throughout the summer at events like Summer Game Fest, or later in the year with a proper, fully-focused PS Showcase. All in all, though, for what Sony advertised ahead of time, this State of Play fired on all cylinders. It’s hard to imagine the manufacturer being able to repeat this feat on the regular – but this is now the bar that all future broadcasts in the series will be compared to.
Were you impressed by the latest State of Play? Are you hoping to hear more from PlayStation throughout the summer, and what do you expect? What was your favourite reveal during the livestream? Let us know below.
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God of War Ragnarok State of Play surely incoming soon? And I think Sony will make an announcement at Summer Games Fest, too.
We're feasting right now!
This SoP was better than their last Event in Sepember lol. Hopefully the later actual Event doesnt disappoint either
Cool little 3rd Party SoP… Resi 4 Remake and FFXVI in particular will be huge. Callisto Protocol will probably be very good too.
The only issue is that future State of Plays will be measured against this, and we won't get one as good as this in a long time. Savour it while it lasts!
This was HANDS DOWN the best State of Play I've ever seen, and easily the best gaming presentation I've seen in years. This was a show that BEGAN with Resi 4 Remake and ENDED with Final Fantasy XVI. Aside from a first-party showcase, you can't get much better than this. This was just winner after winner after winner. Resident Evil 4, Final Fantasy XVI, Horizon: Call of the Mountain, Street Fighter 6, Stray, The Callisto Protocol. I genuinely couldn't believe how many cool things they put into this. Unlike they're actively trying to be negative, I can't imagine anyone not being impressed with this SoP.
And not only was the content excellent but the pacing and structure were really on the ball. I loved the return of the brief dev commentary, especially from Yoshi-P. I loved the structure where they bounced from a selection of all types of games both big and small. I loved that they started and ended strong. Just an all-around a really great, immensely satisfying State of Play.
I never thought I'd be typing so much praise, but there ya go.
@IonMagi I completely agree. I don't even think this year's showcase will be better than this SoP.
@get2sammyb I'm thinking that God of War will get its own State of Play and Forspoken has to get its own as well so that people can actually see a in depth look at the game before it comes out.
Lots of sizzle, now we're waiting for the steak. Yes I am hungry thank you.
@get2sammyb Sony usually teases that there's another State of Play soon at the end of a State of Play when there's 2 close together (e.g. the first one in March teased the second one in March) so I'm leaning towards Sony going all out with Summer Game Fest announcements (including a GoW Ragnarok trailer with release date) and then we see a GoW Ragnarok State of Play in July/August.
The state of play was amazing and callipso protocol🖤.oh yeah.word up son
@RBMango Literally nothing here was surprising, almost every game shown here we knew was coming, but I do agree it was a solid showcase.
it was amazing... for pc owners
spiderman, spiderman miles morales, uncharted, returnal and sackboy all going to the PC, with the last two featuring raytracing on the PC but not on ps5
truly the best way to play sony's games is on PC. what a sick joke
Let this be a lesson to folks. 3rd party showcase does not always mean nothing exciting! I go into these presentations hoping to see just one thing to be interested in. I walked away with 6 or 7 things I'm at least interested if not hyped to the moon for! I couldn't ask for a better show. I tip my cap to Playstation and all the devs featured. Great job!
Was a great showcase. Looks to me like we tend to see a period of first party dominance followed by third party dominance and back to first party. Looking good in my opinion. Most people aren't going to buy as many games as more dedicated gaming communities so Sony has no pressure to have a GT or Horizon every few months. This pacing looks reasonable business-wise.
I thought it was just okay. Stray was far and away the highlight for me. I understand there were some big games, but I don't care for Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, "Horror" style shooters (RE and Callisto), or VR games. I'm just tired of playing the same games. I want to see more innovation from developers/publishers.
Yeah, this one really delivered. Zero filler time, just non stop interesting content.
It's gonna set the bar high for rest of the summer fest showcases in a "who would want to follow that" kind of way (looking at you MS and Bethesda)
Street Fighter and FF XVI are looking sooooooooooooo god damn good ^__^. Also I'm actually kinda interested in RE4MAKE I don't really care for 4 much but the remake looks to be going in a much more down to earth horror direction so I'm down, only negative is that it looks like they may have ditched Ada's iconic RE 4 outfit which would be kinda annoying since again it's iconic y'know
@Cikajovazmaj What’s funny is that it took away some of the stuff that MS could have featured like Resident Evil 4 remake, Street Fighter and Callisto. Almost all of this state of play was multiplatform (exception of VR, Final Fantasy and Stray).
"...but this is now the bar that all future broadcasts in the series will be compared to."
I hope you're wrong. We won't get a show as good as this more than once or twice a year. If even.
We still need to keep the expectations in check.
I'm still buzzing after this one though. Even Eternights has my attention, and I never pay attention to dating sims.
I'll look at it all again after work... or right now. Feck it. It's Friday.
@awp69 exactly, they basically took away a lot of 3rd party games, because it would just be a rehash now. If I was a more sinister person, I would imply it was on purpose.. but I'm not
Summer, and I'm here freezing my ass at the other side of the world.
Pretty interesting titles, I guess. Not my cup of tea, but it seems I'm on the minority.
@get2sammyb Honestly, I can see a trailer and release date next week on SGM for God of War
@Irae PS5 is and will always be the best and most accessible way to play sony exclusive games. Yes PC will have the "superior" version, but the cost to get that is ludicrous compared to a ps5's performance. I will give you an example with my PC, I spent over $3k AUD on my PC, with an RTX 3070 in it. It can technically do better performance than a ps5, but since PC ports have to account for a wide array of setups, most games are unoptimised and can have issues you won't experience with a console. A big difference between console and PC right now is on PC, you can't run variable resolutions so 9/10 games I run can't do 4k unless I want my PC to sound like a ps4 pro running Read Dead Redemption, as you have to play the game at the native 4k 100% of the time. There is DLSS on Nvidia Cards now which does help, but most of the time I run current games at 1440p 60fps. So to conclude, I've payed over triple the price of a ps5 ($750 AUD) to get maybe 10% increased performance over ps5, I get all the added features of it being a PC, coupled with the crazy customisability, ability to tweak games to my desire and option to use a second monitor (which is a godsend), so it's worth it to me.
PC gaming is certainly for some console gamers but I'd have to say 90-95% who only play on console will never make the change over as this stuff is so expensive to even get into if you want comparable performance to ps5, not to mention the 1 million problems that can go wrong with a PC. I built my first PC and had a lot of problems, took my first year of owning it to fully understand how to fix it after I got scammed $650 for a repair when it turned out I just had a faulty power supply. PC is amazing when everything works, but when it doesn't it's the most horrible experience when you realise how much you've spent on it. So keep your head up, it isn't the end of the world if playstation games eventually all come to PC, Sony won't stop making consoles in the foreseeable future and people will never stop buying consoles, maybe try out PC gaming one day and if it isn't for you there's no problem with that.
So SF6 was a big surprise with a campaign. FF16 not dropping til next summer tells me FF7R2 is at LEAST 2024 at this point regardless of being different teams. Will be a day one buy for VR2 as long as I can find one
Resident Evil 4 - great
Stray - great
Callisto Protocol - great
The rest - meh.
I gave it an "okay" rating (again).
I am not a fan of what's going on with Final Fantasy XVI at the moment. There are just too many unknowns there; and what is currently known doesn't stick well with me.
The only thing that 'interested' me was the Callisto Project. VR has no appeal whatsoever and certainly wouldn't buy a VR unit to play VR only games. I have no interest in Final Fantasy or Fighting games, Stray looked 'pretty' but also incredibly dull from a Game-play perspective. RE4 was a great game, but not something I'd buy again until its 'dirt cheap'. The rest were typical 'indie' style games and I only play the 'few' that interest me if they come to PS+/Gold/Game Pass.
I wasn't expecting a lot from this. I expected perhaps more of a PSVR2 focussed State of Play with maybe 1 or 2 'little' non-VR games so its not as 'bad' (from my perspective) but it really doesn't make me 'excited' for games I want to/will play in the future. The only game I'm likely to play is the Callisto Project and maybe not until after I have played the Dead Space Remake coming soon after...
@Irae The PC is always going to be able to offer a 'Premium' gaming experience over the Console if you are willing to invest the money into hardware. You require much more power to get the 'same' results as the console - a device purpose built and optimised specifically for gaming.
However, you are NOT getting Sony's first party games 'Day and Date' on PC (or PS+ Sub service) because they are still being used to sell Console Hardware and of course collect their £70 upfront cost for the game. Once it has been 'used' for that purpose, once the sales drop off, they can then use it again to promote more sales/awareness/PR etc by releasing it on 'other' platforms. Just because its on PC now, doesn't mean that 'everyone' rushes out to buy PC's. It also means that Console gamers get 'reminded' about these games and makes them more keen to purchase hardware, games, subs etc.
If they didn't do this, those games would barely get a mention these days, would be 'buried' in public conscious by 'upcoming' new games and not get any Social Media, website etc coverage and continue dropping sales. Just announcing things like its coming to PC soon can see Console game sales jump because of the new publicity it gets...
Point is, its a 'smart' business move for Sony and their Business Model. PC gamers, if they really wanted to play those games would of bought a PS for those exclusives. Its those that 'only' game on PC these are 'really' meant for -but of course they'll be PC gamers that will 'double dip' so Sony also benefit from '2 sales' to the same customer. Like selling a 'different' PS5 version to those that bought the PS4 version...
It was a really good SoP overall, and I agree, better than last September's. The only negative is, it was really heavy on the horror, even by Sony standards, and if you aren't a horror fan, or outright hate the genre, it was more or less a 12-15 minute SoP. To brief to say it was super amazing, but it was definitely very good (and super amazing, I'm sure, if you're a horror fan.)
I'm still worried about FFXVI but I won't hold that against Sony. We want FF, they showed us FF...not their fault if the new FF is looking questionable. Also, where's the rest of 7R?
Street Fighter is peak gaming to my 90's arcade-addled brain, so it's hard to top that right there. I need to buy some neon.
Stray has a date though, so really, the rest of the show was just filler. Kitteh first. All else later.
Still waiting to find out just how expensive PSVR2 is to buy. If it's less than $400 I'm in. If it's $400 I might be in. If it's $500, I'll wait a year or two for discounts. Paying a whole second console just for the headset isn't sounding appealing now. Either way I'm not super keen on the whole preorder mess this soon again. They still can't even stock consoles and it's 2 years later.
I think one thing that has been really overlooked is the fact that despite what Sony have said, they announced a day one release on their subscription service in STRAY. It certainly suggests there is an avenue where that happens which is awesome and gives smaller developers a potential larger audience for future projects.
@KundaliniRising333 Sony's only comment about day 1 releases on PS Plus was about first party games, which makes sense to me. As much as I'd love to be able to pay my sub and never have to buy anything else, it's not a good business model for Sony. Striking a deal for third party games to appear on day 1 is a very different proposition and one that has precedent.
I think a lot has been made of day 1 releases on the sub without people appreciating the distinction, especially with an indie game versus one which takes a team of many hundreds around the globe the best part of a decade to put together.
@get2sammyb Yeah I would say the only two Sony events above it are 2016 E3 and Future of Play. It was one of the best shows in recent memory and I think they nailed the form factor. They put the updates, descriptions, and guest appearances in the right spots.
@KundaliniRising333 Stray doesn't have a $50M+ budget like games like Last of Us, so Sony (and Annapurna) can afford to put cheaper titles on day one.
The State of Play was certainly a pleasant surprise for everyone given the calibre of the games they had to show off and for the most part all non first party stuff. If you could have had a little less Eternights/Season and then add in a little bit of Last of Us Remake I would genuinely have held this up there with some of the best E3 shows. That's how close it was to superb. But if not quite that it was most certainly excellent.
But just think of the games and first party titles Sony still has up it's sleeve even after a state of play like that. Most of those first party titles have yet to be announced too. Exciting times to be a PlayStation gamer folks. I can't wait to see what PlayStation Studios have in store for us next.
@Athrum @Grumblevolcano @QBGaming12 @get2sammyb Grumblevolcano's suggestion makes sense to me. A new trailer (Sept release date reveal?) to tide us over in June, and then a God of War themed State of Play in July or August.
@RBMango I couldn't have worded it better myself! Future State of Plays will have a hard time matching the hype of this one.
I'm also excited for the same 5 games, FF16 being my #1 hype. So happy we're getting Stray at launch for no additional cost with PS+ Extra/Premium too.
@GorosBat There's a little thing called a steam deck that throws that argument out the window. Especially once the dock is released.
It was EXCELLENT It did have one POINTLESS thing in it tho & that was the Spider-Man game going to PC??? WHO CARES??? As a PlayStation owner I DON'T CARE about what games are going to PC :-/ So SONY can you leave that out of your State of Play's PLEASE. I couldn't care less
Objectively it was a good State of Play. For me? Ok at best. Rollerdrome looks cool and Horizon Call of the Mountain and especially Resident Evil Village has me interested in PSVR 2. Beyond that, not much. RE 4 doesn't need a remake and after Street Fighter 5 I'm not overly hyped for 6. Thought the gameplay was off in 5 compared to 4 and though it's just videos, I don't see that aspect improving much. Of course, I'll wait until I play the final game before judging. Hopefully there will be a demo.
@RedRiot193 To get ps4 quality performance as my main PC experience, yeah no I will pass. The Steam Deck is a handheld and is a great introduction into the pc space, most people who get one will already have a capable PC so you'd be in the minority if you used it like a console. FYI you can already hook steam deck up to a T.V
@Carl-G Wish other people were more like minded like you and were not all doom and gloom with these ports. I also agree that these ports shouldn't be in the show, unless it is an actual new release like the Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection. Sony should keep these announcements to blog posts instead of taking up time in SOP.
@GorosBat "The minority" Would like to know where you get those numbers besides thin air. Also I like how you said ps4 quality games when that's what the majority are known to be playing their pc games....a huge majority on pc still game at 1080p. "most people who get one will already have a capable PC" Right but most don't. Which makes it a great entry point without spending too much. Which was my initial point but now that there's a solution you want to backpedal with your own "experience". And FYI that dock has more features than just using regular usb-c but okay.
Steam deck is 720p so you're already contradicting yourself, why are you even comparing it to PC's? I'd imagine 99% of PC gamers can play most of their games above 720p gaming, like you said most people are still at 1080p. Do you seriously think Steam Deck is going to be bought majority by your regular consumer who knows nothing about PC? You can't even buy one in Australia, maybe you should do a survey on people to see how many people outside of hardcore gaming even know what a steam deck is. You agree that it is a "handheld" right? That means it will never replace a PC, the marketing point for steam deck is, O great! I can play my PC games on the go. Steam deck is a complementary system and the purpose for people who have never got into PC gaming before is to try it, see how great PC is and then probably invest in getting an actual rig. I highly doubt "most" people are going to buy a steam deck and say that they don't want an actual desktop. Sure, I get your point, but unless steam deck sells with the dock to be like a Nintendo Switch, I am never going to see it as a console like system. Conversation over, if you disagree that's fine but I won't waste any more time on this to get my point across, have a nice day😊
@GorosBat Nice explanation
@get2sammyb i'm really excited to see more of god of war , and cross my fingers but also a release date , ( maybe? ) , but im also pretty excited because there is so much more they are working on atm that they haven't yet shown off. i'm not worried at all about whats to come , i'd rather they just keep working away on these games and when they are ready to show off something then they'll show it. edit as for this event , im pretty excited for the horror game , resident evil 4 remake and of course final fantasy 16.
@GorosBat I like how you speak as if you know anything when you know nothing. Your initial point was pc gaming is too expensive. I pointed out the steam deck as a good entry point. It behaves like a console while still being a pc. It basically removes all the hassle of a gaming rig but is still a pc. You then flip flop with "but it's not comparable to pc gaming" Maybe that's the god damn point? A pc device behaving like a console is the perfect thing for the market. Need I forget to mention how much the index sold? A niche product that requires a gaming rig? Now imagine a system that DOESN'T require a gaming rig. If we judge it as a switch. There are loads of games you can play on there that are on switch that look far better and run far better. I never once said it would replace pc gaming either. I said it was a good entry point. And already know somebody who is getting one and doesn't own a rig. Don't know how australia is relevant here but alright.
Also avoiding a debate like that makes you look more wrong than anything.
‘It’s important to remember that….’
Push that’s a phrase you keep using but need to stop repeating and apply to yourself instead because you often get it wrong and always fail to see what’s important.
Looked great .....IF you like VR.
I'm waiting for these games in Summer 2022.
Because I only play kids games.
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