In case you missed it, Sony smashed it out of the park with a brand new State of Play showcase for September 2020. The event showed us new gameplay, revealed new games and – finally – gave us the price and release date of the PlayStation 5. Here’s everything you need to know.
Final Fantasy XVI
Sony’s September State of Play kicked off with a massive reveal: Final Fantasy 16. The highly-rumoured titled was shown off with a trailer, which interestingly, was footage captured on PC to emulate a PS5. According to the reveal, the game will be a “PlayStation console exclusive,” perhaps suggesting it’ll come to PC as well as PS5. There’s no release window as of yet.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Next up came an extended look at gameplay from Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The footage kicked off with Miles walking through a freezing Harlem street festival, showing off the attention to detail and fully-realised world of the game. We also got to see him suited up and clearing out the town in combat. It’s looking phenomenal. As confirmed by Sony, the game will be a PS5 launch title.
Hogwarts Legacy
Quite possibly one of the games we’ve been waiting for since childhood, Hogwarts Legacy was also officially unveiled. The previously-leaked title is looking better than we could have dared hope for, with a rich and enticing world that’s straight out of the movies. The game will be available for PS5, PS4, PS4 Pro, the Xbox One family of devices, including Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, and PC in 2021.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Surprise Alpha Details
We then got a new look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Though the new cinematic was cool to see, what’s super interesting here is the reveal of a playable alpha, exclusively available for PlayStation 4 gamers. The alpha weekend will include multiple modes, maps and also a preview of the Create-a-Class and Scorestreak systems. If you want to download it then you can pre-load it from September 17th at 8am PDT. The alpha starts at 10am PDT on September 18th and will conclude at 10am PDT on September 20th.
Resident Evil Village
A new trailer for the eighth mainline RE game, Resident Evil Village, was also shown off in all its glory. Capcom says in new details: “While the village itself may look pristine from all the freshly fallen snow, disturbing events are happening just out of sight. Flickering movements catch the corners of Ethan’s eyes, while strange shapes loom on the horizon. It’s among the dilapidated sheds and houses that he may find his answers… or he may find something far more sinister.
“Strange creatures, odd symbols, and an unusual fairy tale all come together with the power of the RE Engine in the latest trailer to make Resident Evil Village a true showcase of next-generation survival horror.” The game comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2021.
DEATHLOOP Trailer
Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Lyon revealed a new trailer for the PS5 and PC exclusive shooter, DEATHLOOP. The trailer shows off our protagonist Colt as he seeks out “two of the eight key assassination targets keeping him imprisoned on the time-locked island of Blackreef.” Arkane’s unique and stylistic gameplay will offer you multiple routes to take down your foes before the day resets. DEATHLOOP is launching Q2 2021.
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
State of Play announced that a special edition of Devil May Cry 5 will be available for PS5 on launch day. The game will feature next-gen upgrades, making full use of PS5’s ray tracing architecture. In DMC5SE, “players have the choice to turn on ray tracing and prioritize resolution (targeting 4K at 30fps), or frame rate (targeting 1080p at 60fps),” explains Sony. DMC5SE also takes advantage of DualSense’s new functionality, and adds new playable modes along with Playable Character: Vergil Paid DLC coming at a later date.
New Oddworld: Soulstorm Trailer
Nostalgia trip Oddworld: Soulstorm also got itself a new trailer during the showcase. The clips features never before seen levels and the return of Molluck who you might recognise from Oddworld New ‘n’ Tasty. Oddworld Inhabitants explains how the game will utilise the PS5, saying: “The power behind the PlayStation 5 system’s technical achievements bring out Soulstorm’s stunning graphic fidelity. PS5’s mind-blowing 3D audio puts you in the middle of the action, as if you are right next to Abe helping him and his fellow Mudokons escape.
“The DualSense Controller allows you to experience the palpitations of Abe’s heart as he tries to save his followers in the face of overwhelming forces armed with superior fire power. As Abe struggles, the ingenious adaptive triggers offer resistance, making the struggle feel more real.”
Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach
Scott Cawthon is still at it with the now VERY confusing lore and world known as Five Nights At Freddy’s. A new game in the series, Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach was officially revealed during State of Play, showing off a new location and more animatronics and robots than you can shake a stick at. I’m sure GameTheory’s Matpat will be thrilled.
Demon’s Souls Gameplay Reveal
Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the event was the reveal of gameplay for Demon’s Souls. The remake is looking incredible, and it’s welcome news to have it confirmed to be a PS5 launch title.
Fortnite (of course)
To the surprise of exactly no-one, it’s been confirmed that Epic Games behemoth Fortnite is officially coming to PS5. Available from launch, this is probably going to be one of the most popular titles as we wait for more PS5 games to release.
The PlayStation Plus Collection
It’s not Xbox Game Pass, but it’ll do! Sony officially announced that PlayStation Plus subscribers will have access to most PlayStation 4 hits as part of what’s called PS Plus Collection. Subscribers will be able to play heavy-hitters like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Resident Evil 7, The Last of Us Remastered and God of War, all of which will be playable from day one on PS5 as part of the PS Plus subscription package. Nice!
PS5 Price Reveal & Release Date
Arguably the thing we needed the most, the PS5 consoles finally got their official price reveals and release dates.
Both editions of PS5 will roll out in select markets including North America and Japan on November 12, followed by Europe and additional regions on November 19.
The PS5 Digital Edition will be available for a recommended retail price (RRP) of £359.99 GBP/$399.99 USD, and PS5 with an Ultra HD Blu-ray™ disc drive will be available for an RRP of £449.99 GBP/$499.99 USD.
Just One Last Thing…
Surprise!! The highlight of September’s State of Play was none other than the official announcement of a new God of War game. Revealed with a short teaser, the untitled GoW game has promised nothing other than “Ragnarok is coming.” Though we haven’t seen any footage from the upcoming title, we do know that a) it’s happening, and b) it’s coming in 2021. Hallelujah.
Check out the full State of Play and all the announcements in the video below. Welcome to the next generation of console gaming!
Featured Image Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games/Santa Monica Studio