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@Dutch_Bullet Same here in terms of skipping a generation. Thought I wouldn't get LOU2 because frankly it scared the crap out of me, and I don't usually play games to get scared. Finally did jump in though, and it is easily the most immersive video game I've ever played. Terrifying sure, but unbelievably well made, it's like you're not even in the same medium. Enjoy!

Heads up folks: Odin Sphere: Lefthrasir is down to $15 US. If you haven't played, I highly recommend. Check out the 9.5 review on IGN.

Bought it, loving it. As somebody who regularly boots up the Spyro Reignited Trilogy to enjoy some lighthearted platforming and old-school game design, I appreciate Kena's more linear (but not entirely linear) structure coupled with the charm and attention to detail and environment-as-character reminiscent of Breath of the Wild, the one video game I have played more than all others, probably combined. Kena is a very satisfying game that achieves exactly what it attempts, in this gamer's humble opinion. That purity of vision and humility of design are so rare these days, it's quite refreshing for such a diamond to be dropped into our laps, and I intend to wring every last button push out of this one.

Does Hell Let Loose have a single player campaign? I don't do multiplayer, but visually at least the game looks intriguing. MIGHT tee up the golf game. Hard pass on Mortal Kombat.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits has fully enchanted me. And is also kicking my ass? This gorgeous, charming game with surprisingly challenging boss fights is exactly what I'd hoped it would be. Happy weekend all and happy gaming!

If they pull this off, I will be one extremely happy gamer.

@Ryall Hadn't thought of that and it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the input!

Is it normal for a review embargo until the day of release? I'm all for toning down the hype cycle on games and I'd be thrilled to see a FINISHED game released tomorrow to positive reviews, but the embargo has me nervous...

Picked up Narita Boy on sale after watching SkillUp's review on YouTube and I've had a fun first hour or so with it. The pixel art is gorgeous and the music is sensational. Dollars well spent. The rest of the weekend I'll be doing my level best to tamp down my excitement about Kena: Bridge of Spirits releasing on Tuesday. I can't take another Biomutant-level disappointment!

SEQUELPALOOZA!!

I'll be keeping it light this birthday weekend: Psychonauts 2, Wreckfest (it really is one of the best racing games I've played, for sheer fun and feel of it), Immortals Fenyx Rising, Lethal League Blaze and probably some Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Happy weekend all and happy gaming!

Hopping over to the PS Store to purchase as I comment. This is the kind of game I live for! Wish more attempts were made along these lines and I certainly won't miss out on one that appears to have knocked it out of the park.

Also: Sub-header a Will Oldham ref?

Motion control aiming???????

In the hidden gems category, Eastshade is now $9.99 for PS Plus subscribers. It's a beautiful, bizarre, and relaxed exploration and puzzle game with a wonderfully distinct atmosphere. If those vibes sound like your vibes, do check it out!

Game game recognize game game.

I wonder if we're seeing the impact of scalpers here. Hardware units get snatched up, but since they're being hoarded and sold at ridiculous prices, gamers themselves aren't actually getting their hands on them and buying software.

@get2sammyb Thanks for the earnest response. I don't care to argue the merits of covering news-adjacent-adjacent material like this in light of what's going on, just to share the perspective of a daily reader who's put off by it. Push Square is part of a games journalism ecosystem, and this family of sites frequently falls behind in terms of grown-up, moral engagement with the industry as a whole. I think that's OK most of the time. If I didn't get so much pleasure out of this site I wouldn't bother piping in. But as a member of your community I thought it'd be some value to share my perspective.

Most legit games sites aren't doing Activision coverage while overwhelming evidence of worker abuse and sexual assault and harassment continues to come to light, out of solidarity with the people who actually make these games, but Push Square is out here doing their own PR for them. Leaves a real bad taste in this Push Square fan's mouth. If you're not getting paid to do this, which is anyway a terrible excuse, then why on Earth...? Any other fans of this site disappointed?

Gorgeous, unique game anyway and worth a look if you haven't yet played it.

First attempt at playing last year led to a bit of frustration. I wanted it to just be "fun" and so I only halfheartedly engaged with all its systems. Of course I quickly lost patience and switched over to "Creative" mode, which removed all the obstacles and progression and consequently all the structure I usually need in a gaming experience. Jumped back in recently on my PS5 and it finally clicked. I'm deeply immersed in its systems. Got my chair right in front of the TV, speakers aimed at my ears, writing my story of space exploration in real time. I'm having an absolute blast with it.

Just emerged from the mercifully short Tunnels section in The Last of Us Part II. "NOPE" was said frequently and vehemently every time a shambler showed up. And yet I will continue to play this weekend.

No Man's Sky finally clicked for me so I'll be sinking some hours into it. And I'm having a blast with Judgment so I'll most likely dip back in as well. Not to mention having just re-purchased Shadow of the Tomb Raider at deep discount to enjoy it at a newly patched 4K 60FPS on PS5. Why do I treat myself so well?

Yikes! Zero interest from me. I hope some people can get some enjoyment from them. Lord knows my backlog would be just as insurmountable if I was unemployed. Besides, I was thrilled to get Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS Now last month, and promptly uninstalled it after a few hours' drab and dreary play. So what really is the difference between a great month and a terrible month for me? I still just end up playing the games I purchase. I think the sub prices just allow me to whinge about them online

@nomither6 As you can see from the comments of this small subsection of Playstation gamers, people do care. And if I'm a developer that worked long and hard on a game, I'd put in a little extra time to make it look and play beautifully for the new generation of consoles. Finally, the game is still selling physical and digital copies, so a relatively small project like FPS boost at 4K resolution will produce a lot of new sales and bring the game back into focus for a lot of people.

Hadn't heard of this one before today. Getting Alice: Madness Returns vibes combined with a bit of Nightmare Before Christmas. How nice is it to learn of a great-looking game only a few months before its release, rather than three years?

@Roqka This is what did it for me, if you require further persuasion. Love the channel in general, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UohBm4cPyUo

@Thrillho Never could get into a Yakuza game, even though the handful I tried had me hooked for the first few hours or so. But Judgment? I can't get enough of it. The music, gameplay, atmosphere, characters - it all just comes together for me and amounts to a place I just want to spend some time. Enjoy!

Haptics are expertly employed with this Plague Tale update. The game is also vastly improved by the frame rate boost. Since us PS5 owners are fairly starved for software to take advantage of this massively expensive hardware we purchased, I hope to see more free upgrades and less of the paywalled shenanigans that has made its way out from Sony HQ.

I've never played a more immersive game than TLOU2. Still slowly making my way through it on PS5.

I love my PS5. I've loved Jeopardy! for decades. I am not happy about categories getting bought out for advertising purposes. Blegh.

@JapaneseSonic Case in point, I recently downloaded Slay the Spire through my PS Now sub and I can't get enough of it. I'm not a fan of card games. I'm not a fan of turn-based combat. And I'm only occasionally a fan of roguelikes. But Slay the Spire is so well designed and executed it transcends my prejudices and offers me the fantastic gaming experience I so rarely find these days.

They seem to be rolling this thing out perfectly. No hype, just solid gameplay videos, and now this fantastic-looking track-builder walkthrough. All that remains is for the game to drop and for folks to actually get their hands on it.

Excellent games journalism, @LiamCroft. Thanks for the in-depth reporting and analysis. Sounds like a nightmare for indie developers, who can't afford to ignore such a massive platform and who also can't afford to devote their scarce resources to such a poorly managed system. I hope the light being shone here will lead to change. I would say I'm equally invested in AAA experiences and indie experiences on my PS5. And I'm MUCH more likely to purchase an indie game on sale than a AAA game on sale.

I'll upgrade to the PS4 version of the director's cut on my PS5 because, I don't know if you know, but this game already looks, feels and sounds better than anything else out there. I will not be paying an extra 10 bucks for faster load times and haptics, sorry. I already paid $500 for my CONSOLE to do that, why do I also have to pay for my bloody games to do it?

PS NOW JULY LEAK: WWE 2K18, Plague Tale (PS4), DualSense Firmware Update

Absolutely abominable.

If true, I would rather have gotten a surprise announcement that ZERO games were being added this month. My god...

Dr. Casper Darling is my main.

Lame, to be sure. Would be lamer still if I deemed the game worth my time. But I jumped ship early in when it became clear that I'd be forced to role-play as a total colonialist to advance. Would have appreciated some choice, there. I assume this is why they call it Game Pass. Because it's full of games I've passed on. Shame about this one, though, because I thought it had surprisingly solid bones for a AA RPG experience, which I seek out and cherish.

@playstation1995 Can't get enough of Ghost of Tsushima. Straight up spent a whole hour in photo mode the other day trying to take the perfect picture.

@GoodGame Metroid Dread has me considering my entry into the series.Is Super Metroid the place to start? I'm a Switch Online subscriber and it's available to play through that service.

@Col_McCafferty Catching the pigeons is one of my favorite activities in Spider Man!

Finishing up Gato Roboto and I love it. It's a mini Metroidvania masterpiece full of tight, addictive gameplay that doesn't overstay its welcome.

More Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart which I have to remember to stop gawking at and actually play sometimes.

And, oh gosh, what else? Oh yes! Kaze and the Wild Masks, a glorious trigger of my 90s PC platformer nostalgia. It's an expertly designed 2D platformer that can be tougher than grandma's pork chops but never unfair. What a difference intelligent level design can make! I highly recommend it for anybody who loved Jazz Jackrabbit, Donkey Kong Country and the like back in the day.

Happy weekend all and happy gaming!

No Man's Sky, please!!

Ugh, I love everything about this! And I love that Tribeca is doing this in-depth coverage of games. It's the part of the industry and the culture that deserves elevation.

@wiiware Mine comes in at 47.12 GB after getting rid of the PS4 version.

@W0rl0ck No direct experience of it as the PS5 is my first ever Playstation and my first play-through of Fallen Order was on an Xbox. I only just started a play-through on PS5 when I learned of the impending free upgrade and so I paused right after the intro, basically. But per @helbertpina above, it looks like your trophies do transfer.

Vibrations are worse. 60 FPS is nice but doesn't appear stable on the first planet. Can't make out a huge difference in resolution between performance and non-performance, but that might be my TV? Load times are faster. Transferring my save was a snap. You can delete your PS4 version before installing the PS5 version and it'll simply ask you if you want to transfer your save when you boot it up.

I'm going to miss being confronted every time I boot up my PS5 by the dozens of PS Now games I tried for 15 minutes before deleting and moving on.

Awkward, monocultural and vanilla, IMHO.