PuppetMaster

@jamiestogden I don't remember if i had crashed every 20 minutes. But i remembered i experienced some nasty frame drop and it made me stop playing the game.

@JokerBoy322 Not the case for RE: Director's Cut

@mrraditch Yeah it's a bummer it only available for PS+ Premium users.

@Bez87 "You really think the kids of today will care for that? The only people who will be purchasing those are going to be people who were around and played the Soul Reaver games."

Many old series got new fans who are still young because their parents let them played the remaster version. It's the same with old movies and music who got new fans because they got re-release or remaster. I say there's a good chance that some kids who watched this SOP and found Soul Reaver looks interesting then ask their parents to buy it.

Heck, i bet a lot of adults skipped Soul Reaver and now some of them interested to try the remaster. You never know but that's what remaster for especially for a series who already dead and buried for 20+ years.

So i'm not sure why you're so pessimistic.

Amen for this collection although i hope they have a physical release.

I'm hyped and it gives me a bit of Blue Eye Samurai vibe with the protag.

And before anyone say "female protag = woke" or don't respect Japan history & culture, there's women who were a member of Bushi (warrior) class in old Japan. They called Onna-Musha or Onna-Bugeisha and they did participated in battle / war.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna-musha

So i think it will not spark unnecessary drama like AC Shadows with Yasuke...hopefully.

I wonder if both games will be free for people who own the PS1 Classic on PS3/PSP. I mean, i got Grandia 1, Wild Arms 1 & 2, Legend of Dragoon, and Syphon Filter 1 for free since i owned the PS1 Classic. And i got Killzone Liberation for free too since i bought the digital on PSP.

But if it's not free, i guess i'll buy them again.

@Bez87 "And the remasters come on, we live in an age where resident evil games and dead space are being remade from the ground up not just lick of paint. Even mgs snake eater is having a proper 4k texture and animations overhaul"

I get it if you complaint about Horizon remaster.

But are you comparing a very niche IP like Lunar with very popular IP's like RE, MGS, Dead Space and 3 big company who own them (EA, Capcom, Konami) have the budget to do remake from the ground? The company who own Lunar IP, Game Arts, only has 24 employee.

And Legacy of Kain series is pretty much dead for 20+ years. The last game was released for PS2. So a remaster of Soul Reaver 1 & 2 is a safe bet to gauge the interest for the series again.

@KundaliniRising333 "half baked or no one asked for remasters"

I want Lunar Collection and Soul Reaver 1 & 2 remaster which i'm sure plenty of people wants it.

@johnedwin They did with Ghost of Yotei and it looks awesome.

• Ghost of Yotei
• Lunar Remaster
• Soul Reaver Remaster
• Midnight Walk
• Dino Crisis 1 classic
• Blood Omen classic

Imho it's a pretty good SOP although i'm a bit dissapointed there's no Death Stranding 2 trailer, which i guess they save it for TGS.

Edit:
Forgot to add: Astro Bot DLC & Stellar Blade x Nier Automata DLC looks nice, Lego Horizon looks fun, and Fantasian looks great. I think Hell is Us also looks interesting.

@Shad361 "Wukong being from china is 100% a reason for it's success...the whole county supported it."

So explain why other games from China doesn't sold 18 million copies.

You're talking as if Wukong isn't a great game and the whole China always buy their own games 🙄. By your logic, Wukong should at least sold 100 million copies when they have more than a billion population.

Now this is a remaster that i'll gladly support.

I played Soul Reaver 1 eons ago, borrowed my friend copy, but i got stuck at some puzzle. I really enjoyed the story, characters with great VA, and world building though.

@Shad361 Looking at Ubisoft situation right now, i don't think AssCreed Shadows gonna sell a lot or even making profit than any games that i mention.

And Wukong sold well because it's a great game not because of China. So far, it's the only single player non-F2P game from China devs that sold 18 million copies ww.

Congrats for Vanillaware!
Well deserved 👏👏

Another example you don't need $400 million budget to make a fun and polished game that beloved by gamers.

5 AM for my timezone

I tried the demo and i had fun despite the floaty control (intentional design?) and okay combat.

I've seen Banisher trailer and it doesn't like my cup of tea. I also played Vampyr from PS+ and i'm not sure what that makes me stop playing the game. But i finished Life of Strange 1 and i quite like it.

I only want to see Sam Bridges throwing the new piss & poop grenade towards BT's and whatever crazy / weird stuff that Kojima do in DS 2.

The rest would be a bonus but i would be super happy if there's one old Sony IP from PS1-3 era that get a revival either with a remaster or new game.

Looking at this, I'm not surprised why Nintendo still refused to port their games for PC.

But i'm curious was it Jimbo or Hermen idea to port 1st party games for PC?

Gamers brought this to themself. The moment all publishers going full digital and can deleted gamers 70 bucks digital games from their download list without any warning, gamers gonna complaint like a b*tch but it will be too late.

I'm just baffled that a lot of gamers still doesn't understand about the danger of going full digital 🤦‍♂️, especially after so many cases from R* removed original GTA 3 / Vice City / San Andreas from digital store and replaced them with the abomination called "Definitive Edition", Konami removed P.T, Capcom removed MvC 2 from PS3/360 store, to the recent Ubisoft removed The Crew from players download libraries without any warning.

I myself already experienced with SE removed Chaos Rings 1 from PSN store and my download list and since there's no physical release, pretty much Chaos Rings is officially deleted and gone forever which is sad because it was one of the best JRPG from Media Vision :/

Concord credit is 1 hour long and they add a like / clap button like holy F these people are loving their own farts!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfbu0De0oBU&pp=ygUPY29uY29yZCBjcmVkaXRz

Yeah i think we don't lost anything important if Firewalk got closed down.

@Flaming_Kaiser Yeah agreed, especially after Concord $400 mill massive flops which sent a big warning for gaming industry to rethink their decision with AAA games.

@Jaz007 Turns out, the toxic positivity is the norm in Bungie and ex Bungie carried that same philosophy into Firewalk.

And some Concord devs including the characters artist, already removed Concord from their bio. Like F* these guys, they don't have the balls to admit that they made a catastrophical flop.

I can't imagine developing a big budget game for 8 years with people who called other as talentless freak or smell their own fart and says it smells good. Gosh 🤦‍♂️

But I have my doubt that other Sony studios has the same toxic positivity like Firewalk and Bungie.

@__jamiie If you only see Japan chart, you would think Astro Bot didn't sold well. But reports says it sold really well in the US and UK.
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/09/ps5s-astro-bot-the-usas-second-best-selling-game-in-its-first-week
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2024/09/astro-bot-ps5-sales-trending-ahead-of-ratchet-and-clank-rift-apart-in-the-uk

And at some point Sony also did like Nintendo where their games didn't cost 100 million to make. Uncharted 2 for example, it only cost $20 million. Or Killzone 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn only cost $45 million and $49 million.

@Kraven I did a lot of side quest. But i missed out 2 side quest from Dandelion board, didn't complete Azure Petal collection (i got 96), didn't complete all landmark (only need 1 more), didn't complete report the map (i think i got 80%), and didn't complete donate meal (only got 9 or 10 recipe). I didn't grind much but my Adol at level 80 after beating the final boss.

You already 80 hours?! I guess you want 100% the game like maximum skill, maximum affinity with all characters, ultimate weapons, all treasures, etc.

I just finished Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, 30+ hours playing time & difficulty Hard. This is the 6th Ys game that i've finished and it's another fun and thrilling adventures with Adol 'the Red' Christin. I personally give it an 8.5/10. Not as good as Ys VIII but it still a very solid Ys game.

I'm also playing a bit of Ys X: Nordics demo from PSN Asia. So far the combat is fun and quite a breath of fresh air after 3-characters party from Ys VII-IX. Now it feels like the classic Ys with solo Adol, although he still can be accompany by a badass waifu hehe. Also, the graphics looks like a good improvement compare to Ys VIII / IX. Now the characters face animation looks more alive with better lip sync as well better detail on their model. The demo convinced me so i might buy Ys X on day 1.

So far, i don't have any regret with Ys games. The series is a perfect example that show JRPG doesn't always need AAA budget to offers a consistent fun and challenging gameplay as well interesting story and badass music.

But with Ys IX finished, i'm kinda confused with what games that i should play next. Should i continue Tales of Vesperia remastered (at 3rd arc), The Last Remnant, hunting Tengai platinum trophy (one more trophy), or play Star Ocean: First Departure R? Ahhh decision decision...

I just found out that Black Myth Wukong budget was $75 million and it looks a lot better than Concord $400 million.

At this rate, i think what Firewalk did was a big scam against Sony. Not just the studio will be closed down but the director and producer needs to be investigate.

Also, i think Hermen Hulst is finished. Concord is his responsibility so there's no way Sony higher ups let the company burn $400 million just to make an internet meme and punching bag.

Maybe PC gamers doesn't want PS games in the first place, especially with all the review bomb and refused to create PSN account.

And if these PC ports doesn't generate enough income for Sony, i think Sony should just stop porting their games for PC and focus the resource to pumped out more 1st party games, the good ones that is.

I believe there's no Days Gone tv show or movie project. And i'm sure Days Gone fans are asking for a sequel, not a remaster. So what's this remaster for???

Seriously, Hermen has been SIE CEO for 5 years since 2019 and he's not as good as his predecessor. A lot of misfired and unnecessary projects that put PS one step forward two steps back.

It's about time Hermen step down and replace by a much more competent guy. Heck, bring back Shuhei again despite he's doing well with indies.

I bet Marathon and Fairgame$ also cost a lot. Not surprise if both games combine could cost the same as Concord or even more.

Hermen possibly are sh*tting brick right now lol. Concord became a catastrophic failure with $400 million turn to dust and there's a chance Marathon and Fairgam$ could follow Concord fate.

But i forgot Helldivers 2 sold really well (12 million copies iirc). Maybe the only thing along with Horizon FW that keep Hermen's safe for now...

Astro Bot kicked Concord corpse in the nuts and now Time Splitters used the corpse as a punching bag.

“You weren’t allowed to say anything internally about this game, about how something’s wrong with it or how the character designs aren’t right,” he claims. “This was Hermen Hulst’s baby, apparently. He internally was a massive champion of the game.”

I'm not surprise when the character designer called people who dislike Concord as talentless freak.

But it's confirmed that Concord is really Hermen Hulst baby. No wonder he boast the game as if it is a masterpiece.

And if the $400 million cost is true then that's more money than TloU 2 or Spiderman 2 devs cost and what Sony got is a game with lesser quality that no one buys.

Heck, $400 million can funded multiple Astro Bot, Wild Arms, Gravity Rush, Patapon, Arc the Lad, Alundra, Dark Cloud, or any dormant IP's from Sony catalogue!

I think big chance Hermen gonna lost his job or he definitely lost a lot of trust from Sony shareholders and higher ups.

I'm not even surprised if Sony shareholders already voted to kicked Hermen out of SIE CEO chair started with new fiscal year.

@Dalamar The reviewer probably never heard Yoko Shimomura works.

Anyway...5/10?
From the demo i played, i feel like at least a 7/10 especially with the beautiful Yoko Shimomura music. I also found the story looks pretty interesting, which wrote by Kazushige Nojima btw.

But i found the "dungeon design is repetitive" cons kinda funny. I mean, i've played many JRPG where the dungeons design is repetitive. Persona 3 for example, pretty much Tartarus has one of the most repetitive dungeon design i ever see in JRPG with just a couple of different pattern and colors for like what every 10 floors? But i don't find it as a major cons but again that's just me.

Oh well, this low score makes me more interested to get the game. It reminds me of Nier back in PS3 where the majority of reviewers gave it low score because the combat is basic, dungeon is repetitive, and lack of enemy variety. But turns out it's one of the best JRPG i ever played 😁

@SuperSilverback I don't know. But i can guess he said something controversial and got cancelled.

@Yousef- Yeah it's really weird but it's Netflix so i'm used to their questionable decisions.

@UnlimitedSevens As far as i know, Nomura didn't write FF VII Remake and Rebirth story but it was Kazushige Nojima, the original FF VII writer. Nomura himself wants VII Remake follows the original game but Yoshinori Kitase wants it different.

And while Nomura wrote the story for multiple KH games, but the series has multiple writers including Nojima who wrote KH 1 and 2 story while supervised Chains of Memories and KH 3 story. The convoluted story, although it became easier to understand with KH 3 tied up all the plots and missing dots, is pretty much the result of multiple ideas by different writers that spread into multiple games. If it's just 2 writers for 3-4 games, i think the story will be much easier to understand.

I think the animation looks pretty good. Although i wish DMC anime by Madhouse got a 2nd season since i really enjoyed it and it also canon with the game.

But why o why they put Bosch to voiced Dante when he already voiced Nero?

I guess no more Dante for Reuben Langdon huh. Bummer :/

@UntilRespawn It was Tabata who butchered FF XV, not Nomura.

Huh? What? Majima as a Pirate???

@Coolmusic I'm glad he didn't

Why i have a big doubt that Xbox Series even sold 28-29 million units, especially with the way 3rd parties talked to skip Xbox and just go with PS, Switch, and PC.

But i wouldn't buy PS6 if Sony go full digital and just stick with what i have right now.

@LogicStrikesAgain The hate aimed more on Firewalk devs who disrespects and mocked people who dislike Concord as talentless freaks. If they didn't do that unnecessary called out, Concord wouldn't get much negative reactions.

@NomNom A reworked like FF 14 is pretty much making a new game. SE basically spent double the cost for FF 14 reworked. Sure the result was very positive and brought the budget back and more. But it only worked because it's Final Fantasy which has a big userbase.

Now for Concord, does Sony want to spend another $200+ million for a flop new IP OR they could used those money for making smaller and creative games like Astro Bot that already showed a critical success and sold well? I would do the later if my job is SIE president / CEO.

I can understand Nomura's reason wants to retired, especially with his age at 54 years old and making big games took 4-5 years. The time he's completed KH 4 and FFVIIR part 3, he probably closed to 60.

I would miss Nomura when he decided to retired though. He made plenty of memorable characters including some of my favorites since Squaresoft era. Nowadays, i think SE lacks new or young artist as talented as Nomura who makes character that looks pop up and very recognizeable. Heck, i think SE still relies a lot on veteran artist like Nomura, Akihiko Yoshida (Nier Automata / Vagrant Story / Bravely series), Hiroshi Minagawa (FF XIV & VI), Isamu Kamikokuryo (Diofield, Harvestella), and Naoki Ikushima (Octopath, Triangle Strat, Live a Live).

And yes i think Kingdom Hearts needs to end with KH 4. I thought KH 3 was the final game in the series but then the ending and DLC showed Nomura is still not finish on torturing Sora lol.

@LogicStrikesAgain "I dont really understand whats so wrong with the game"

• Bland and forgettable characters design
  When comes to hero shooter or games that put characters in the front as one if not the biggest selling point to play the game, you need good and memorable characters design to attract people. You can say you don't care about the characters but many people care because they want to play as cool, attractive, and badass characters, not bland and ugly GotG rejects. And good character design also make your games looks pop out compare to the competition.
• Doesn't do anything new compare to the competitions
  Good graphics, polished, or satisfying gunplay alone are not enough. You need more that makes the game unique and interesting compare to the competitions. Without the unique factor, the game will end up like Concord. Like why would people spend 40 bucks for Concord if they can just play Overwatch or Apex who can do the same if not better but it's free and has better character design.
• Also, there was the political factor where Firewalk devs called out people who didn't play / dislike Concord as "talentless freak". Definitely a big PR blunder because that didn't help Concord sales.

"Also heard people asking for something else than only single player narrative games because they were getting tired of sad dad walking sims"

People are asking Sony for more single player variations like platforming, JRPG, survival horror, or something unique which we didn't see after Japan Studio got closed down.

This game is a 10/10 from unique idea alone. Playing as a mosquito and sucking blood from annoying human? Brilliant!

And the flaws are tolerable. I mean, it's from early PS2 era. But the core gameplay is still fun.

This is why a new studio needs to start with small or AA project and why Sony needs to embrace small-mid budget games again for their 1st party studio.

AAA games comes with a very big risk where a flop means lay-off or the studio got closed down. But with AA, the risk is smaller and can be minimized if the game didn't sold that well. Not to mention AA games usually has shorter development cycle than AAA.

And just like Bungie, i personally think Firewalk and Haven Studio is an unnecessary acquisition.

Anyway...

• Astro Bot: 60 bucks, AA budget, 3 years devs cycle with 60 people, GotY contender, and sold well.
  VS
• Concord: 40 bucks, AAA budget, 8 years devs cycle with 170 people, a catastrophic failure and became an internet joke & punching bag.

"Then there’s the small matter of many of these products having non-gaming projects in the works"

Can you explain why there's no Twisted Metal remaster when the TV show released? A remaster of PS3 reboot or TM Black would be nice. And now with the TV show start shooting for season 2 but what we'll get is Horizon Remaster.

"Naughty Dog noted, when it made The Last of Us: Part 1, this was a great opportunity for it to blood new talent and get it comfortable with PS5 development."

I don't mind 1 remake / remaster as long the studio released new games. But ND did 3 remaster with Uncharted 4, Lost Legacy, and TloU Part 2 but so far no new games.

Meanwhile Insomniac only did 1 remaster (Spiderman) for PS5 and already released 3 new games (Miles Morales, Spiderman 2, R&C Rift Apart) and working on Wolverine and Venom.

Heck. Sony Santa Monica, Polyphony, Team Asobi, and Housemarque doesn't even do remaster. They just straight making GOW Ragnarok, GT 7, Astro Playroom & Astro Bot, and Returnal for PS5. So this 'remaster is for new blood to adapt with PS5 development' excuse sounds like a load of bollocks.

I personally don't mind remaster but it should be for games from PS1-3, PSP, or Vita era and not from PS4 who still looks great and can be played on PS5.

Games like Puppeteer, Tokyo Jungle, Folklore, Heavenly Sword, Forbidden Siren, The Getaway, Rogue Galaxy, Wild Arms, Soul Sacrifice, or Dark Cloud could get a second chance if they get a remaster. Heck, make a live action TV show or maybe anime which is less expensive than live action if Sony thinks their games needs non-gaming projects to make them successful. I would love a Wild Arms anime or Forbidden Siren TV show.

This is kinda reminds me of Capcom who sued Koei-Tecmo because they used gameplay mechanics or DLC expansions for Dynasty Warrior & Hyrule Warrior that looks similar from Capcom games. iirc KT lost the lawsuit and must pay Capcom like a million USD or something.

Possibly Pocketpair would lose since Nintendo has big influence in Japan.

"More like Apex, live service extraction shooter, and 40 bucks"

Ok. So nothing in this report that makes me say i want to play Marathon nor it makes the impression that Marathon will not end up like Concord.

But eh good luck for Bungie i guess, especially if they aim for 2025 release date. I mean, next year will have high profile games like GTA 6, MH Wilds, Wolverine / Venom, Death Stranding 2, new RE, and Doom: Dark Ages which people will prefer to spend their money for those games over a 40 bucks live service extraction shooter.

Heck, i'm not surprise if 2XKO will have more players than Marathon since it will be free to play.

@AdamNovice I would love Medievil 2 remake. I really enjoyed the PS4 remake and expect that Sony would continue with the second game. But from Insomniac leaks, the remake only sold around 500-600K copies which probably the reason why Sony didn't greenlight the second game remake :/

@ppitchfork Yeah you totally off base here.