While the main focus of the Playstation Experience weekend might have been focused on the opening panels, which certainly didn’t disappoint with its new footage for the likes of Detroit: Almost Human and Death Stranding, the show did bring some excitement. Most popular was probably the 10th anniversary Uncharted cast panel and The Last of Us Part 2, two Naughty Dog franchises which are beloved in the Playstation gamers hearts.
While perhaps lacking the hype of last year’s show – and sadly lacking new footage for Ghost of Tsushima – Playstation still showed a lot of interesting projects still on the slate both for the Triple A and it’s Independent developers. Here’s our rundown of the top trailers and gameplay reveals from this week.
Spider-Man
While perhaps not given the larger platform many felt it deserved, especially after stealing the show at Playstation’s E3 conference, we did get to see some fantastic new footage, as well as Mr. Negative being confirmed as the big bad of the game. A character that old school fans might not be aware of but whose appearance along with this video really highlighted the passion that Insomniac Games have for both the character and this world, this really promises something special and as a Playstation exclusive possibly the title that will encourages more gamers to pick up the console.
Fe
Fe is the kickoff title for EA Originals, which was showcased in EA 2016. After over a year, there is finally some gameplay to see. The devs talk about it being more than a musical adventure to interact with nature for the cute little creature, but an open world adventure to discover along with Metroidvania elements. With soothing music and a unique art style to build the world and color palette, Fe seems like quite the original title.
Donut County
Annapurna Interactive gives us a first with their “Hole Simulator.” A physics adventure game where you control a hole in the ground, which grows bigger every time you swallow something. Here you play as the racoon BK, a new hire at a company which uses remote control holes to steal people’s trash and pretty much anything else which falls into the hole.
Jupiter & Mars
Jupiter & Mars is set a future where mankind has fallen, leaving behind a polluted influence that the two titular dolphins must now battle to save the reefs. With shadows of Ecco the Dolphin and the added option to play in VR, this independent title certainly looks visually interesting, but whether independent developer Tiger Tron are able to save it from the same irritating issues that plagued Ecco or how it will play as a VR title.
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle
The original BlazeBlue was a standout fighting game especially with its Anime style graphics much like Guilty Gear and here it essentially looks set to replicate the charms of the original game, only this time with the added bonus of Tag Team attacks to ramp up the insane attacks on what was already a dizzyingly visual game.
Monster Hunter: World
Perhaps not giving us anything new we’ve seen in its previous appearances at the conferences, outside of the more random addition of being able to play the game soundtracked by retro Mega-man themes, which had us puzzled who might have wanted such a feature, this is still a promising giant monsters and RPG that will no doubt be a must-have for the franchise fans, perhaps filling the Scalebound void for others.
Guacamelee 2
The original game was a firm favourite of the Game Warp Team and this much anticipated sequel looks set to do the same while bringing a few new tricks including a grappling hook and the ability to play four player co-op certainly leave us keen to dust off our Lucha mask and prepare to do battle one more (as a luchador or a chicken)! Yes, this time, they have talked about improving on the battle as a chicken. You can check out our podcast review with a special guest for Guacamelee here.
Hover: Revolt of Gamers
What do you get if you take the parkour elements of Mirror’s Edge, the gravity defying antics of Sunset Overdrive and a dash of Tony Hawk? This. It’s essentially what Hover is, with fast-paced gameplay and neon colour scheme all about fun as you and your team of rebels set out to dethrone the Mayor. Funded initially through a Kickstarter campaign by the French Independent Studio Fusty Game with additional support from Midgar Studios, the game will also feature a soundtrack by Jet Set Radio composer and music director Hideki Naganuma.
Anamorphine
Anamorphine is an upcoming first person surreal adventure game from Artifact 5 that allows the players to dive into a young man in denial as he faces past issues to resolve the present. This game takes an introspective look into depression. It will be playable in VR and will release on January 16, 2018.
Dragon’s Crown Pro
Something of a hidden gem on the PS3 it’s great to see this Golden Axe style brawler getting a re-release for PS4, especially when a copy of the original game can be hard to get hold of and with its arcade style hack and slash gameplay this will no doubt be a fun one to dig out when you have friends around.
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (VR)
Dan Harmon’s cult cartoon comedy has already had success on the mobile market with its Pokemon styled Pocket Morty’s and now fans get a VR experience which from the trailer looks perhaps a little too much of a gimmick than a full game, but no doubt the fans might still find some fun with this title.
Flipping Death (Zoink Games)
Flipping Death looks like a funny game where you play as a guy that dies and temps for the Grim Reaper. He can take possession of items to move characters and also return to the living world to help the dead resolve whatever it is. While this game looks very cartoony, it does seem to mesh humor and darker themes together, as many titles of proven, this formula works very well and sometimes can have quite the charm.
The Forest
The Forest is a first person survival horror that sees you trying to rescue your son from a tribe of cannibals after your plane crashes into a heavily wooded peninsula. At the same time you have to create a shelter, hunt for food and craft weapons. The game features a day to night cycle as well as an expansive open world while the developers at Endnight Games have stated that the game won’t feature missions, instead giving the player the freedom to go and do what they please creating a unique and immersive experience.
Killing Floor: Incursion
Killing Floor has gotten quite a name for itself as a multiplayer first person shooter experience with its first two games. Its enemy design is fairly unique and it is a blood splattering experience which gets some seasonal themed events every once in awhile. Killing Floor: Incursion however take it one step further into a completely VR experience and gives it a multi-hour story adventure mode which can be played solo or coop. It also has an endless mode.
Blood and Truth (VR)
For anyone who’s wanted to be in their own action movie, this VR title gives you the opportunity to do just that. Building upon The London Heist featured in Playstation VR Worlds here Sony’s London studio plan to crank things up to 11 with this sequel of sorts.
That’s it for our rundown of the trailers shown at Playstation Experience 2017 that stood out to us. Which of these trailers caught your eye?