Welcome to Urgent Fury

Earlier this year, we introduced Crimson Moon, our gothic high renaissance action RPG. You play as a Nephilim, a powerful half-human, half-angel warrior sworn to reclaim the fallen city of Gildenarch from the demonic corruption consuming it. Today, we’re excited to announce that Crimson Moon is only weeks away, launching on PlayStation 5 on September 1. Play Video Over the past few months, we’ve shared more of Crimson Moon’s brutal melee combat, replayable hunts and challenging boss encounters. Today, we’d like to focus on one of our favorite ways to experience the game: two-player online co-op. Every hunt is better together While Crimson Moon is fully playable solo, every hunt can also be tackled in two-player online co-op. Co-op isn’t simply about having another player dealing damage. Every hunt dynamically scales between solo play and two-player co-op, ensuring encounters remain challenging however you choose to play. You’ll also share a communal life pool throughout each hunt. If your partner falls in battle, you’ll have the opportunity to revive them and keep the hunt alive – but each death brings your team one step closer to failure. Those are the moments we love most. A perfectly timed rescue as a boss enters its final phase, a desperate last-second victory… or watching an overconfident partner meet their demise when everything was going so well. Whether you’re coordinating Weapon Arts, experimenting with different builds, or standing shoulder-to-shoulder against towering bosses, co-op adds a whole new layer of teamwork to every hunt. Built for PlayStation 5 We’re committed to making Crimson Moon feel right at home on PlayStation 5. Players on PlayStation 5 Pro can take advantage of native support for upgraded PSSR, helping deliver a sharper image as you explore the blood-soaked streets of Gildenarch and battle the horrors lurking within. One adventure, two editions From the beginning, our goal has been to create an action RPG packed with replayability, satisfying progression, and memorable co-op, while offering exceptional value to players. Crimson Moon launches for $19.99, while Crimson Moon: Deluxe Edition will be available for $29.99. The Deluxe Edition includes the Ceremonial Armor Set, the Axe of the Gods – a guitar-shaped axe worthy of any legendary Nephilim – and access to our upcoming Post-Launch Content Expansion. If you decide you’d like to upgrade later, the Crimson Moon: Deluxe Edition Upgrade will also be available for $10, giving Standard Edition players access to all Deluxe content whenever they’re ready. As a thank you to the PlayStation community, every PlayStation player – whether they choose the Standard or Deluxe Edition – will receive the exclusive Sonai Magistrate Armor Set at launch. We’ll see you in Gildenarch From your first steps inside Sanctus Clypeus to your final stand against the legendary Dead Gods, every hunt is an opportunity to discover powerful new gear, experiment with different builds, and push deeper into Gildenarch’s increasingly dangerous Wards. Gather your allies, for the hunt begins on September 1. View the full article

Hi everyone, I’m Josh Zammit, design director at Hangar 13 working on the Man of Honor expansion* for Mafia: The Old Country. We’re super excited to share the first look gameplay above, and I’d like to reveal a bit more about the Free Ride content included in the DLC. Man of Honor features two new story chapters set in the earlier days of Enzo Favara’s service to the Torrisi crime family, letting you team up with respected mafioso Ennio Salieri to settle old scores. In addition to the two new story chapters, owning the Man of Honor expansion grants you access to a new set of exclusive jobs and extreme challenges we’re adding to Free Ride mode, along with new collectibles and locations added to the Valle Dorata map. Play Video If you haven’t played Mafia: The Old Country yet, Free Ride mode lets you explore the Sicilian countryside at your own pace, or take on a collection of repeatable Challenges separate from the critical path that include combat encounters, stealth missions, and different kinds of races. In the new Man of Honor Free Ride content, you’ll take on new assignments from Salieri himself, who has set up shop in a Porto Almaro warehouse where he spends his days devising new schemes and smuggling stolen goods. Longtime Mafia fans know Salieri well, given his central role as the Don of his own crime family in the city of Lost Heaven, where the original Mafia and Mafia: Definitive Edition take place. Making Salieri the focal point of Man of Honor lets us showcase who he was before his emigration to America and subsequent rise to power, deepening his backstory in a really engaging way. Though still feared and respected in Sicily, this younger Salieri is much scrappier and has to hustle to get his cut of the Family’s various rackets. With Salieri as your new point of contact for Man of Honor’s Free Ride content, you’ll drop by his hideout to pick up two types of contracts: Challenges and Jobs. Salieri’s Challenges follow a similar format to the ones you can currently take on in Free Ride mode, but with amped-up difficulty that will test the mettle of even the most seasoned soldato. Salieri’s Jobs introduce brand-new mission types, tasking you with tracking down your objective and dealing with anyone who tries to get in your way. Seeking hidden caches of valuable loot, towing high-value vehicles back to Salieri, delivering stolen trucks full of precious-but-fragile goods—whichever job you take, success will line your pockets with extra Dinari. You can spend those ill-gotten gains to add new outfits, Charms, weapons, vehicles, and horses to your collection, all exclusive to this expansion. As you can see in the gameplay footage, the unique weapons and Charms you can earn in Man of Honor gave us space to play around with perks that push just beyond the bounds of period-accurate realism. For example, take the Rimbalzu throwing knife, which bounces to a second target so you can quickly and silently take down multiple enemies from the shadows. It would take near-impossible skill to throw a ricochet between targets every time, but the effect is incredibly fun and empowering, especially for players who prefer the stealthy approach. We wanted to design fresh and exciting weapons for a range of playstyles, and the added stopping power of these additions to Enzo’s arsenal can help give you an edge during Salieri’s most difficult assignments. Along with all the new items and missions on offer, there are plenty of optional activities you can seek out as you explore the Valle Dorata. Keep your eyes peeled for collectible Wanted Posters which, in keeping with a fun series tradition, use members of our development team (myself included) in period-accurate attire for their mugshots. You can also soar through the air in your turn-of-the-century automobiles via added Stunt Jumps, or destroy delivery trucks loaded with sulfur to hit back at the people who betrayed Salieri. The Man of Honor expansion for Mafia: The Old Country arrives next week on August 14. We can’t wait to see how you tackle the new content in Free Ride mode, and what the fans think of a younger Ennio Salieri in the added narrative content. Until then, mafiosi. *Base game required. Some content requires unlocking via gameplay. View the full article

Last month was filled with adventures big and small, sports action, and spiritual battles! Some big new releases included Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Denshattack, Halo: Campaign Evolved, Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, and more. Which game was your favorite? How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. After the polls close we will tally your votes, and announce the winner on our social channels and PlayStation.Blog. What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? Note: re-released games don’t qualify, but remakes do. We define remakes as ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds such as Resident Evil 4 (2023) and Final Fantasy VII Remake. How are nominees decided? The PlayStation Blog editorial team will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll. View Poll View the full article

Even from its first full reveal in 2025, Beast of Reincarnation was making all the right noises. Roaring through the crowd of impressive action role-playing games, Game Freak’s trek into a post-apocalyptic Japan blends the mythological with the mechanized into something fresh – helped by a “one woman and her dog saving the world”’ narrative. But that’s not everything Beast of Reincarnation brings to the PlayStation 5 wilds. After spending a lot of time with the full game ahead of its August 4 release, I experienced a touching story, in-depth game mechanics, intense Souls-like combat, and quite possibly the most adorably blighted giant dog companion anyone could wish for. A world of mutated mystery 4026 Japan is not a place we would recognize. Plants, birds, beasts, and even humans have been overwhelmingly corrupted by a strange cataclysm called the Blight. Entire Blight forests have spread their poison far and wide, pushing the remnants of humanity into scattered settlements. And chief of all the mutates are the Nushi, powerful and often colossal beings who spread fear and destruction wherever they roam. The cause of all this is said to be the fabled Beast of Reincarnation, which resurrects every 100 years. And so one person is tasked to end this cycle of doom… Humanity’s last hope Blighted from birth, Emma is an outcast with no memory of her origins. She’s initially stoic and near emotionless, punished by her colony for her affliction. But her condition also makes her valuable, able to absorb the powers of each defeated Nushi to herself, with the aim of using that power to kill the Beast. Of course, as the game progresses you discover it’s not that simple, but for us as players it makes Emma the perfect character to explore beautiful but sinister forests, the crumbling ruins of civilization, water logged underground bases, and mysterious habitats. Parry or die Emma is an incredibly versatile protagonist, feeling light and agile on the DualSense controller. She’s equipped with swift sword swipes via R1 that can be chained into a combo, projectile weapons including bolts and arrows that can offer a tinge of resistance when pulled on an adaptive trigger, a nimble dodge with a tap of the Circle button, and a block and parry using L1. And this is where Souls fans will rejoice – because that parry is the key to survival. Fighting against early beasts and basic corrupted golems – humans who escaped the Blight by trapping their souls inside a machine – was fun and easy enough but hacking away on R1 won’t get you very far against the smarter, tougher, or larger foes. My first encounter with Chapter One’s tricky boss, a colossal deer-like Nishi, was just a hint of what was to come, its vicious and repeated antler attacks requiring parries to open up a counterattack. Later in the game, mini-bosses and enemies with more complex unblockable assaults required pin-point parries and counters to win. Timing is everything. Wielding the power of corrupted nature Thankfully, that’s not everything to Beast of Reincarnation’s layered combat system. Antagonists can be staggered by reducing their relevant meter with multiple attacks and leaving them open to a finisher using R1. I was also able to perform instant kills on grunts by sneaking up on them or taking satisfying headshots with a projectile. While the Square button unleashes Emma’s devastatingly effective Nushi Skills and Blade Arts combos. But mastering Emma’s Blight abilities is the real game changer. Tapping R2 when a jump point is highlighted in the environment fires out root-like tendrils of her hair to yank Emma to higher areas. Similarly, holding down R2 creates a temporary hair platform that Emma can walk across, and the Cross button raises Emma high into the air with her locks. Using her verticality as a distancing technique was not only valuable in combat, but it meant I could utilize a ‘death from above’ assassination with R1. This levelled the field against multiple enemies who have a cone of vision I could exploit and led to a rewarding victory in a particular fight against a tough pike-wielding golem and his small army. And then there’s Emma’s best boy by her side… Genuinely, Koo is the bestest of boys The large wolf-like Koo is the perfect battle companion, able to be directed to attack enemies, or utilising his powerful Bloom Arts, a turn-based menu style special attack which you select using Triangle. If I was able to time my following button press correctly during the short corresponding mini-game, Koo’s Bloom Arts skills were invaluable, especially as the Fluorescence Points used to unleash them are earned via successful parries. When combined with Emma’s time slowing Entanglement Overdrive after pressing L3 and R3 together, the duo quickly became a formidable force in my hands. Koo also guides you to objectives with a visual pheromone indicator, barks when he finds something of interest, and even brings back items to Emma. While Koo has his own life bar, he’s hardy and capable, and you can expand his skill slots by increasing Emma’s rapport with him via petting him (creating a pleasing tremble of the DualSense controller haptics), giving him treats, and keeping him clean via a shower available in the Cleanse Walker, Emma’s mobile base. Food, systems, and skill trees There’s a lot of hidden depth in Beast of Reincarnation, too. Multiple weapons can be found and enhanced, skill trees for both Emma and Koo meant I was unlocking more abilities as I progressed, different enemy types fought each other on sight making combat even more entertaining, and the presence of the mysterious Violet – who only Emma can see and hear – offered intriguing questions to the narrative. And that’s not even mentioning the importance of food. Emma and Koo will only naturally heal from their wounds if their hunger gauge isn’t empty. But food also offers bonuses to stats like HP, Attack, and Defense, so they’re not just another resource check. And better yet, Emma’s surrogate little sister Kagura can cook meals from ingredients you find on the field, her culinary skills increasing the more you engage with her, and her meals becoming more expansive and beneficial based on the recipes you bring back. I was even able to raise a chicken for eggs and grow crops on the Cleanse Walker to give Kagura more food options, with different seedlings having various harvest times. A beastly battle Emma and Koo’s adventure is a lengthy one, full of intrigue and tender narrative beats to accompany its rousing and challenging combat. So if you’re game for the hunt, you better sharpen your sword skills ahead of Beast of Reincarnation’s PS5 release on August 4. View the full article

Launching September 24 on PlayStation 5, Silent Hill: Townfall marks the latest entry in the iconic psychological horror franchise. In this article, we bring you insights from Motoi Okamoto, producer for the Silent Hill series at Konami and Jon McKellan, writer and director at Scotland-based developer Screen Burn Interactive. Could you share why you chose Screen Burn as the development team for this title? Motoi Okamoto: We were introduced to Screen Burn by Annapurna Interactive, who co-published the title with us. Annapurna has an incredible track record of success with narrative and art-driven indie games, so we fully trusted their taste. I had personally played Screen Burn’s previous titles Stories Untold and Observation, and both were fantastic, so I felt confident leaving the project in their hands. When asking Jon to handle the narrative, were there any specific requirements or guidelines regarding what makes a game “Silent Hill?” Okamoto: While Konami does have an internal “bible” or storyline guidelines, I believe the most crucial part of the process is for the developers and writers themselves to analyze the Silent Hill series and build their own bible. Handing over a thick manual from our end wouldn’t necessarily resonate with a team. That’s why we ask every development team we collaborate with to go through that personal discovery process. What were your thoughts on setting the game in Scotland? Jon McKellan: Scotland is where we grew up; it’s the environment most familiar and natural for us to depict. To create a meticulous, persuasive setting, we felt it was essential to build a world we knew inside and out. That’s why we chose Scotland. On top of that, Scotland is naturally a very foggy region, making it a perfect fit for Silent Hill. There were times when we’d take photos outside and think, “We’re literally standing in Silent Hill right now…” Okamoto: Silent Hill frequently collaborates with development studios worldwide. Through these partnerships, we can blend diverse regional cultures and perspectives to deliver fresh, innovative horror experiences. This title marks the first full-length Silent Hill game to adopt a first-person perspective. While Silent Hill: The Short Message (released in 2024) also used first-person viewpoint, it was a smaller standalone experience. Despite being developed by different teams, did that title influence Silent Hill: Townfall? Okamoto: Beyond having different developers, the production timelines were completely different, so there was no direct exchange of technical know-how. The fact that both Silent Hill: Townfall and Silent Hill: The Short Message ended up in first-person was purely coincidental. McKellan: Since there was no overlap, our team at Screen Burn was able to play Silent Hill: The Short Message with a completely fresh perspective. For Silent Hill: Townfall, a first-person viewpoint was an indispensable foundation for integrating the mechanics around the CRTV device. Honestly, the CRTV couldn’t work from any other perspective. While the first-person view brings many changes compared to traditional titles in the series, we took great care to maintain that distinct, atmospheric Silent Hill feel and presentation. What was the motivation behind evolving the series’ iconic radio into the CRTV? McKellan: The concept of changing the radio to the CRTV was there from the very start of development. In the earliest stages, it was a standard radio, but we set a challenge for ourselves: how could we make the radio an active tool rather than a passive one? By turning it into a visual device where you can watch video signals in addition to hearing audio, the possibilities exploded—from how we handle narrative presentation to how it integrates into gameplay, like stealth. Plus, as you might be able to tell from Screen Burn’s past games, figuring out how to manipulate slightly outdated analog technology is right up our alley. Are there scenes that simply couldn’t exist without the CRTV? McKellan: So much of the presentation and gameplay was designed around the premise of the CRTV. Rather than asking “Which scenes couldn’t exist without it?”, we approached development by asking, “How can we best leverage this device to its fullest potential in every moment?” Could you tell us more about your meticulous, almost obsessive, dedication to recreating retro gadgets and environments? How do you feel that enhances the Silent Hill experience? McKellan: Older analog tech and gadgets mean a lot to us, and we have a real fondness for them. Nostalgic elements like these are things that not just us, but players everywhere have touched and experienced, evoking a sense of familiarity. We deliberately designed moments that play against those nostalgic feelings. In a modern context, analog technology feels a bit unstable, unreliable, or hard to trust completely. We wanted to create a situation where players have to rely on this device to survive, even while feeling uneasy about relying on it too much. As for our environmental design, we take pride in saying it borders on obsession. Believing that a place actually exists is what makes players truly care about it, and making players care is the most important thing of all. Red and black are used very prominently in this game. What was the intention behind this color palette? McKellan: Part of it is simply that they are a striking pair of colors, but as you progress through the game, players will discover that these two colors hold a deeply symbolic and vital significance for our protagonist, Simon. The creatures in Silent Hill: Townfall feel tougher than in previous entries. Is the game balanced to favor stealth over combat? McKellan: We’ve provided players with multiple options to handle encounters. Rather than forcing a single playstyle, we want players to experiment and discover which approach feels most effective or suitable for each situation as they fight to survive. How did you approach the concept of multiple endings? McKellan: The endings in Silent Hill: Townfall aren’t determined by a simple binary choice at the end. Instead, the culmination of the player’s actions throughout their playthrough dictates which ending they reach. We designed this freedom so that the ending feels genuinely earned based on the player’s unique journey. Okamoto: All three main endings can be reached right from your first playthrough, whereas the secret ending becomes accessible after clearing the game once. It follows a structure similar to the original Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2, meaning players won’t be forced to replay the game two or three times just to see all primary endings. Could you share how PS5 features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers enhance the game’s presentation? McKellan: Through the DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers, players won’t just feel the weight of firearms—haptics allow you to literally feel the footsteps of certain approaching creatures right in your hands. Motion control (gyro) also enables intuitive aiming. Early in development, I was actually a bit skeptical about how well motion controls would fit, but once we implemented them in-game, it felt so natural that I couldn’t go back to traditional controls. Using motion controls, you can also manipulate the map as if holding it directly in your hands. Additionally, certain puzzles require you to physically tilt the CRTV—mimicking the everyday motion of holding up a phone to search for a signal, which is another fun way we’ve integrated the motion controls. As a producer, how do you feel about the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback? Okamoto: The Silent Hill series has historically been praised for its visuals and sound, but with the PS5, being able to bring the sense of touch into the horror experience feels like a massive step forward. 3D Audio is another crucial element for modern horror. How have you used sound design to heighten the terror in Silent Hill: Townfall? McKellan: Because Silent Hill: Townfall is played in first-person, your visual field of view is naturally restricted, making audio far more important. We intentionally created situations in which players must rely heavily on subtle noises and audio cues to perceive threats lurking beyond what their eyes can see. Silent Hill: Townfall launches on PS5 September 24. View the full article