Sony State of Play 2024 | Gems, but Meh Overall
On September 24th, 2024, Sony hosted their "Sony State of Play" event! In the past, I would enjoy these in the past, but... I have to admit... this year's State of Play was very average.
Gillen McAllister (he/him)
You can find the full list of reveals from Sony's Blog itself!
On September 24th, 2024, Sony hosted their "Sony State of Play" event! In the past, I would enjoy these in the past, but... I have to admit... this year's State of Play was very average.
In a sea of of lukewarm announcements, remasters (some of which... did NOT need one), shockers, and... really unneeded reshowing of the PS5 Pro - there were some honest to goodness gems and I'd like to give a spotlight on those gems!
Now - if you want a full showcasing of the entire list of reveals, please follow the link at the start of the article to Sony's site where you can watch a video for each showing. We'd like to at least be fair and drive traffic to the rightful source... especially since I'll be bad mouthing said event later on. Fair is fair.
Standout Remaster
I was truly shocked, ecstatic, and... admittedly... I was given the vapors...
I may be showing my age here, but truly - honestly - genuinely, I've played ALL of the Legacy of Kain series games... they were SO good! And my first entry, as a wee itsy bitsy lad, was Soul Reaver with Raziel! So many memories - I can even recall the low-poly (yet still amazing) cut-scenes of Kain being upset with his trusted subordinate, Raziel, for having developed – well... let me not spoil it for those who may be interested...
Anyways, I am so happy this is getting a remaster... I just hope Sony eventually drops it on PC later. Until then, maybe I'll just pir–well, you know:
Bust Remaster
You can probably already guess...
Look... I believe Horizon to be a great franchise of games so far, really great design, breathtaking visuals, good mechanics, fun, and a lovable protagonist. But the Zero Dawn came out in 2017... 2017... less than a decade ago... Why... why does this need a remaster right now?
Well, I can tell you why, MONEY. Sony wants to pump out remasters left and right to easily squeeze out sales that didn't take much cost to create. Already made projects? Just spend a bit on manpower to release a higher quality set of assets! It's the same reason we have like a remasters of Last of Us and Uncharted that were also relatively close to the original releases.
Now - to be fair - there's actual value in playing a beloved game with boosted visuals, I'm not denying that... however... perhaps if it's not a reworking of the engine, no decent amount of new content... maybe just have it be a free upgrade for people who own the original? Instead of a $10 price tag for those who already own it?
Bah - I'll step down from soap box though.
Most Intriguing
But Cautiously So
Hell is Us was very interesting... I'm not quite sure what to think about it, how to feel about, or how to properly gauge my own interest towards it.
I will say, the art direction looks unique and captivating - and combat looked good enough for me to want to try it, but I just don't know how this project is going to pull off the "connect the dots to understand what's going on" style of story telling.
Hell is Us just might be walking a fine line in regards to narrative and holding attention. We'll see more about this title the closer it gets to a release.
Riskiest Project
Hopeful for Success, Worried about Scope
Aghasba looks like it can be an incredibly fun and time-sink of a game - but it also looks like it can fall flat and miss the mark completely.
Not to be a pessimist, but a new IP (to my knowledge) draws my interest, but with descriptors along the lines of:
- City Building
- Ecosystem Development
- Combat
- Exploration
Can this game really pull of these pillars with all 4 being well structured and compliment one another? I'm seeing it happen less often as more games release - and sadly, this game will be releasing in Early Access... which... I have to say - I miss games just... lauching complete.
Either way, I've my eye on Aghasba, and I hope it'll live up to my hopes and expectations.
A Lot More VR than I Expected
Good to See Sony Not Forgetting a Peripheral of Theirs
A series of VR games were announced! Now, I'm not the biggest fan of VR, but I think any platform should definitely continue to be supported! So for any VR lovers out there, let's point to a few of the announcements; the best one, to me, was:
I like the Metro series. It's honestly become a somewhat iconic franchise. Seeing this VR project to what seems to be a prequel is good! If you're into the Gritty Survival Horror type environments, then this will be an easy recommend - well - assuming that the quality and attention given to most Metro titles is also given here.
A Midnight Walk's artistic direction is already winning me over significantly! I'm under the impression that a non-vr version of the game is slated to launch - if so, and if it's launching on platforms like PC, then I'll definitely be picking this up no questions asked!
And finally - Hitman is coming to Sony VR! I'll admit... when I first saw the gameplay footage, I initially thought Hitman, but as it continued, I thought it was something else, something far goofier.
This isn't a knock or a diss at Hitman World of Assassination, but rather just saw so much whacky fun that it didn't register as the serious (though still comical) world of Agent 47 taking out hits.
If this comes to other platforms... I'll probably pick it up on sale just to hit a man with a frying pan!
Finally: Controversial Greatness
I'm Down - but I Understand the Concern
Finally, the most discussed release - as far as I've seen, and have been a part of - Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima! The announcement teaser looked amazing and seems that the team is continuing rather strongly with their style of visuals and gameplay.
Now, where this has controversy, isn't exactly what you might think: "Oh, female protagonist, that's why people are mad and upset!"
Some, absolutely, but as usual - that's the minority. The controversy is more so around who the actress that's bringing to life the protagonist is. I won't dive into it here personally, because it's pointless, but the inclusion of the actress is what has a considerable amount of people concerned that the direction of Yotei might be less about the narrative, character, and gameplay as it was in Tsushima.
It's to early to really have solid remarks on, so I'll still say I'm eager to see more of Yotei and that I hope it lives up to the quality and absolute spectacular foundation that Tsushima has set for it.
Overall Thoughts
Yea - it wasn't that great. Again, some great gems, but some of which weren't even really "Sony" exclusive, yea? Monster Hunter Wilds was showcased... but... that's not Sony, nor a PlayStation exclusive...
Furthermore, Sony missed out by continuing to ignore fans and their request which could easily net them some profit... they still have not remastered Bloodborne!
A Bloodborne remaster would easily help recover from the Concord fiasco, and yet Sony is not showing any love to the game. It's saddening. Horizon is out here getting a remaster, along with a Lego spinoff, we're getting showcasing of Fortnight for the 3,224th time.... Elden Ring did amazing, and Black Myth: WuKong is hitting it out of the park for most of its players... this was the PERFECT time to announce a Bloodborne Remaster... and a release to PC...
Oh well - we'll have to see if that'll ever happen. I'm just hoping Sony recovers and starts bringing interesting titles to the forefront, and releasing fully developed games. But again, we'll see.
