If you weren’t aware, Sony hosted a State of Play last night – at midnight. Don’t worry. You didn’t miss much. It’s PlayStation’s minor showcase event, not to be mistaken for a true PlayStation Showcase, where you’ll likely see a couple of remaster-less, big-name titles appear. Last night’s State of Play wasn’t privy to the same benefits, being a simple stop-over for Sony to unleash a slew of PC ports, remasters and some live-service titles into the mix.
It’s obviously saving some of the bigger stuff (Lego Horizon Adventures, anyone?) for the next PlayStation Showcase, likely appearing in the back end of 2024. Until then, we’ll have to make do — as if a PC port for God of War: Ragnarök wasn’t awesome — until Geoff Keighley’s Summer Games Fest goes live in a week, followed by Xbox’s Game Showcase two days later.
Monster Hunter Wilds – Witch Monster Hunt
We’ll start with Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds — a mysterious follow-up to 2018’s Monster Hunter World that was, until recently, shrouded in mystery. We’ve got a new trailer to gawp at, plus Capcom’s description of the new world as taking place in “a living world.” Sony reckons that means every monster, person and locale “acts with their own thoughts and motivations.” That’s… a big ask, but one we’re more than keen to put through its paces.
The new trailer is far longer than the initial reveal trailer, and we’re all for it. For a deeper dive into what’s to come — sometime in 2025 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC — you can check out PlayStation’s Blog.
God of War: Ragnarök – Pleasing the PC Master Race
We don’t really need to explain God of War: Ragnarök do we? Sony’s been biding its time to get this one out to the PC Master Race — after a slump in sales, we’re guessing — and now there’s finally a release date. Mark your calendars down for 19 September 2024, Duncan. Ragnarök is promising unlocked framerates, Nvidia RTX DLSS, AMD FSR and Intel XeSS to access “true 4K resolution”.
Better yet, the PC version of Ragnarök will include the free Valhalla expansion that dropped in December. Pre-order ahead of release, and you’ll gain access to a couple of new weapons and cosmetic items early before you unlock them naturally in-game. Check out PlayStation’s Blog for more information.
Astro Bot – O Sackboy, where art thou?
What happened, man? We remember the days when Sackboy used to be the face of PlayStation. Now that he’s dead and buried (pretty much), it’s Astro who’s taken his place, evolving from a simple demo character into a full-fledged character with his own game. A game that costs real-life money. Thankfully, it looks like Astro Bot might actually be worth the dough.
We’re getting serious Super Mario Odyssey vibes from Astro Bot, and we can offer no higher praise than that. It appears to have a similar sort of whimsy, a comparable approach to bosses and a free-flowing movement system that captivated us the second we saw it. Whether it can live up to the hype remains to be seen once it launches on PS5 on 6 September. PlayStation’s Blog has all the fine details if you’re interested.
Until Dawn – Until we meet again on the PlayStation 6
The Until Dawn remaster shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone paying attention to the original announcement back in January of this year. That trailer forewent any actual gameplay, sticking to the simple stuff to drum up hype. Now, Supermassive Games has gone in-depth with a longer, gameplay-ridden trailer that still doesn’t offer a solid release date. We know it’s arriving in ‘Fall 2024’ (Spring for us) on PS5 and PC, but that’s about it.
Silent Hill 2 – Finally, a release date
Konami has been bandying the Silent Hill 2 remake for the better part of two years now. And finally, it’s unveiled an official release date: 8 October 2024. Blooper, the developer behind the psychological horror, put out a new trailer featuring gameplay, James Sunderland, and even a brief look at the fight against Abstract Daddy near the end.
Following Sony’s State of Play was a Silent Hill transmission event, where watchers were treated to thirteen more minutes of gameplay as the player stumbles around the town and hospital. It’s… Silent Hill 2 with a fresh coat of paint and updated mechanics. Make of that will you will.