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It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, and free-to-play games topped last month’s download charts. February saw nothing but love for zombies and Leon as Resident Evil Requiem topped the US and EU PS5 charts. Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month? PS5 Games US/CanadaEUResident Evil RequiemResident Evil RequiemNBA 2K26EA SPORTS FC 26ARC RaidersUFC 5EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26Grand Theft Auto VCall of Duty: Black Ops 7MinecraftGrand Theft Auto VIt Takes TwoREANIMALARC RaidersEA SPORTS FC 26REANIMALMinecraftForza Horizon 5God of War Sons of SpartaCall of Duty: Black Ops 7UFC 5God of War Sons of SpartaNioh 3NBA 2K26It Takes TwoNioh 3High On Life 2Resident Evil 4EA SPORTS College Football 26Among UsNHL 26Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Marvel’s Spider-Man 2Gran Turismo 7Forza Horizon 5Split FictionHELLDIVERS 2Hogwarts LegacyResident Evil 4Kingdom Come: Deliverance II *Naming of products may differ between regions *Upgrades not included PS4 Games US/CanadaEURed Dead Redemption 2Red Dead Redemption 2Gang BeastsA Way OutA Way OutGang BeastsResident Evil 6EA SPORTS FC 26theHunter: Call of the WildUnravel TwoRESIDENT EVIL 5Resident Evil 6Middle-earth: Shadow of WarGrand Theft Auto VMinecraftRESIDENT EVIL 5Grand Theft Auto VMinecraftFOR HONORRayman LegendsBatman: Arkham KnightBatman: Arkham KnightUnravel TwoThe ForestNBA 2K26Kingdom Come: DeliveranceCall of Duty: Black Ops IIIMafia: TrilogyResident EvilIt Takes TwoGod of WarMiddle-earth: Shadow of WarThe ForestSTEEPOvercooked! 2Assassin’s Creed OdysseyMafia: TrilogyWRC 7 FIA World Rally ChampionshipSTAR WARS Battlefront IIOvercooked! 2Red Dead Redemption 2Red Dead Redemption 2 *Naming of products may differ between regions PS VR2 Games* US/CanadaEUAlien: Rogue Incursion VRAlien: Rogue Incursion VRPavlovCreed: Rise to Glory – Championship EditionCreed: Rise to Glory – Championship EditionHorizon Call of the MountainAmong Us 3D: VRArizona Sunshine 2Beat SaberAmong Us 3D: VRArizona Sunshine 2Job SimulatorJob SimulatorBeat SaberVampire: The Masquerade – JusticeVampire: The Masquerade – JusticeHorizon Call of the MountainCooking Simulator VRZero Caliber VRKayak VR: Mirage *PlayStation Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included Free to Play (PS5 + PS4) US/CanadaEUFortniteFortniteRobloxRobloxRocket LeagueRocket LeagueCall of Duty: WarzoneCall of Duty: WarzoneMarvel RivalsTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X – Free AccessTom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege X – Free AccesseFootballOverwatchFall GuysHighguardAsphalt LegendsApex LegendsMarvel RivalsDelta Force (F2P)VALORANT View the full article

Hello there, everyone. Today, we are absolutely stoked to announce that the Orkiest game of all time is coming to PlayStation 5! Speed Freeks is a high-orktane combat racer – set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, featuring chaotic, brutal races, in-depth customisation options, and a totally ‘live’ creation mode where you can load into a blank canvas with your friends and play your creations in real time as you build them. I’m here with Jon Doughty, Lead Designer and Level Designer at Caged Element Inc, to answer a few questions about our PlayStation heritage, about the game itself, and of course, what it’s like working with the Warhammer license. What made you want to bring Speed Freeks to PlayStation? Chris: Well, it’s obviously a great system, but it’s also got a strong pedigree for driving games in, especially combat racers in the past. Our first game, Grip, was a spiritual successor to Rollcage. We hope Speed Freeks can usher in a new era of combat racing games, as it’s an awesome genre that doesn’t get a lot of love these days. But it’s much more than a traditional combat racer, with the types of modes we’ve made, including the aforementioned Creation Mode. There’s lots of chaotic fun to be had – we hope the PlayStation players will dig it. Play Video What do you think sets Speed Freeks apart from other vehicular combat and PvP games? Jon: Speed Freeks is a true vehicle shooter, which, unfortunately, is rare. We tried to incorporate all the vehicle combat elements we love, from acrobatic stunt cars shooting at you while halfway through a backflip, to armored tanks perched on hilltops. And then we threw some crazy stuff in: a roaming assassin trike, a Grot Mega Tank with a flipper straight out of a robot combat show, helicopters, etc. I think Speed Freeks meshes a lot of diverse vehicle combat gameplay into one very fun and surprisingly balanced game. The vehicles in this game are very agile, and their abilities make them very versatile. What made you lean into such a versatile movement? Jon: We’ve always been big on movement in games – Rocket League, Apex Legends, even the Tony Hawk series – but a lot of Speed Freeks’ movement tech was actually discovered accidentally by players, and we decided to leave it in. Vehicles give you lots of options for different movement abilities, and I think we pushed it really far with Speed Freeks, and different moves ended up synergizing, and it just went wild. Allowing most vehicles to completely redirect their momentum on a dime whenever they’re touching the ground (or a wall) basically exploded the skill ceiling, and the way that the Dash ability interacts with handbrake and some of the propulsion abilities is addicting to master – and something we’re really proud of. The main mode in the game, Kill Konvoy, is a mashup of traditional modes, but with a fun spin – plus a massive Stompa mech in the middle. How did you come to design this unique mode? Jon: We workshopped this mode a lot and ended up with this reverse Capture The Flag (CTF) mode where you pick up flags in the mid-field and take them to the enemy’s base – except the flags are bombs, of course. And their base is a walking mech. The moving base aspect really meshes well with the high speeds, and all these different roles came about naturally: there are the high-flying bomb runners, roaming defenders, suppressors that clear out those defenders, and even goalies that guard at the foot of the Stompa. If you’ve ever played the high-speed CTF mode from the Tribes franchise, you’ll know how fun this kind of gameplay can be. This game mode rules. If I had to pick the best thing we’ve done in Speed Freeks, it’s the design of this game mode and its maps, and I think our core players agree. Speed Freeks has a multiplayer level editor. Was this something planned from the beginning? Chris: Definitely not. Our core community is really passionate, constantly throwing out wild ideas for Orky environments, so we figured: let’s just give them some tools. How the editor worked really lent itself to quick iteration, and we also discovered we could have players drop in and drop out, like in any other mode. It’s actually my favourite part of the game, seeing a level being constructed in real-time with players driving around on a level while it’s being built, sometimes getting smacked by assets in the middle of being placed. It’s hilarious and a really fun, creative way to play – especially over voice chat. We also have an in-game workshop where players can upload their custom maps to the cloud for others to play, either solo or online. The team and I are really happy with how the Creation Workshop turned out. It’s kind of crazy how well and how quickly it all came together. How’s it been working with the Warhammer IP? Chris: Warhammer 40,000 is a badass property with so much lore and top-tier aesthetic to go with it. It’s intimidating, especially when you’re making something really new to the IP like our combat racing game. It’s also quite challenging since there are restrictions on how we’re able to handle the vehicles, Orks, environments – everything. I think we smashed it proppa though, as the community (and Games Workshop) really like how faithful Speed Freeks is to the Orks faction. We like to think our game is the purest expression of Orkiness around. Chris: Thank you all for taking the time to check out Speed Freeks – we’ll have more news to share very soon about the release date – until then, if you like what you see, please share the trailer with any Gitz that would cause chaos with you, and wishlist the game on your PlayStation! View the full article

Crimson Desert seems huge — not just in how much there is to do, but simply how enormous its world is. As an open-world RPG, that’s to be expected, but it’s only when you’re standing on a strange island floating in the sky, seeing the whole world stretch out beneath you, that it’s clear just how expansive the world of Pywel really is. I recently went hands-on with the beginning portion of Crimson Desert and played about four hours, and while I never made it out to the landmarks I could see in the distance, even the area in and around the city where the game begins felt enormous and full of life. Helping out in Hernand You play Kliff, a member of a faction called the Greymanes — warriors renowned for their swordsmanship and their reputation for helping others. The early part of the story takes place in a town called Hernand, where you get your first taste of just how big and bustling Crimson Desert is. Even with four hours of playtime, there was so much to do in and around Hernand that I never made it far from town. Quests in and around Hernand have you helping out various townspeople with their problems. But there are also plenty of activities and encounters to discover on your own. Often, you’ll find spots and buildings that outlaw factions have taken over, and they’ll attack you if you enter their territory. Defeat enough of them, though, and you’ll liberate the place so the townspeople can reclaim it. Clearing bandits out from different locations unlocks access to new quests and activities, too. When I drove the bandits out of a fish market, fishermen moved back in, and I was able to observe them and learn to fish myself. One of the cooler aspects of Crimson Desert is how Kliff can learn new skills not just by unlocking them from his character skill tree, but by observing them from other people. That can even happen in combat. Fast, fluid combat Fighting in Crimson Desert is a fast-paced, intense affair, with smart enemies who constantly work to surround and overwhelm you. Luckily, you’re a well-trained swordsman with quite a few abilities. Kliff can chain together fast strikes with R1 and slower, more powerful slashes with R2, but he’s also strong enough to grab enemies and throw them when you press Circle and Triangle buttons together. Crimson Desert doesn’t really contain character classes or builds — unlocking new skills just adds more and more moves to Kliff’s repertoire, which you can use by pressing different combinations of buttons. Your fighting style is more determined by the weapons you choose to use. Kliff starts with a sword and shield, but you can also find weapons like great swords, spears, axes, and more to change how you approach combat. You can block with L1, and if you time a block correctly as an attack lands, you can parry an enemy’s blow, knocking them briefly off-balance. Holding L1 also lets you lock onto an enemy, but the fluidity of the combat system means you’ll often quickly drop a lock so you’ll be free to attack in all directions. Fighting stronger opponents can increase your arsenal of abilities. Midway through one early boss battle, a knight attempted to kick Kliff in the chest — and after seeing the move, Kliff learned it, incorporating it into his fighting style. From then on, I could give enemies the boot to send them flying. The final battle of my preview was by far the toughest I faced, against Kailock, the Hornsplitter, the leader of a local merchant guild who’d been scouring Hernand for Abyss Artifacts. These are magical items that have fallen from the Abyss, a realm of floating islands above Pywel, and they imbue their wielders with strange powers. Kailock’s artifact makes him very fast and agile, while also allowing him to generate waves of magic from his weapon. Kailock makes it clear it’ll take understanding your opponents’ abilities and using skills like parrying and powerful attacks to defeat them. And thanks to Abyss Artifacts, it seems like you’ll face enemies throughout Crimson Desert with capabilities that rival your own. A strange, mystical world Following the early steps of the main quest quickly leads you to the Abyss, a place seemingly powered by some mix of magic and technology, and home to some mystical folks who’ve taken an interest in Kliff. It’s here that you start to gain special magical abilities that allow you to complete puzzles, explore the world, and gain an edge in combat. These include turning some objects weightless so you can manipulate them, picking up heavy items that would otherwise block your path, and donning a glider that lets you survive falls and cover distances. The Abyss gives the first taste of Crimson Desert’s puzzles, which often have you fixing and manipulating Abyss technology. It sounds like you’ll solve quite a few puzzles throughout the game — some in the course of the story, and others that you’ll uncover through exploration. Abyss Artifacts falling to earth seem to be a major driver for the story, and you can find them throughout the game and use them to unlock character upgrades and new abilities. But you’re not the only person hunting them and their power. Freedom to explore Beyond a short trip to the Abyss and the wilderness around Hernand, I didn’t get too far into the world of Crimson Desert, but it does seem like there’s going to be plenty of interesting things to find within the world if you’re willing to look for them. After leaping off an Abyss island to return to the surface, I floated down near Hernand’s castle and found a man hanging from a cliff. I ran over and pulled him up, and he explained that he was trying to climb down to a chest before slipping. It was a momentary encounter, but provided a clue about what I might find below. With my glider, I was able to jump down to the chest no problem, uncovering some loot that was part of another trading activity. Kliff could also climb back up the cliff with little difficulty. Your ability to climb, glide, swim, and sprint is dictated by a stamina gauge, and you can scale most cliffs and walls with relative ease, so long as the gauge doesn’t run out. You also have a horse to help you cross the vast distances of Crimson Desert. You can whistle for the horse by pressing down on the D-Pad, summoning it to wherever you are. Between your mount and your glider, you have some decent options for traversing a lot of distance quickly, but you’ll need to earn upgrades to increase their stamina, and thus, their usefulness. PS5 and PS5 Pro enhancements With an enormous, gorgeous open world, Crimson Desert can be pretty graphically demanding, and Pearl Abyss will leverage the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro to help deliver some impressive visuals, particularly at long distances. The PS5’s SSD is key for streaming the huge world, for a start, and developers will make heavy use of the PS5 Pro’s High CPU Frequency Mode to make viewing and moving through the world as seamless as possible. Pearl Abyss also told me it optimized Crimson Desert for the PS5 through a number of features to help maintain all that detail at its large scale, making use of Geometry Shader Oversubscription and NGG Culling to render lots of elements without losing detail. On PS5 Pro, the recent upgrade to PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) makes it possible for Crimson Desert to hit 4K resolutions at higher frame rates, and its raytracing capabilities make lighting effects more realistic and natural. The DualSense controller adds a lot to the experience, too, especially when it comes to combat. A big part of fighting in Crimson Desert is the feeling of weight, and you can feel haptics especially when weapons clash as you execute a parry or when you land a powerful hit on an enemy. The adaptive triggers also add intensity to actions like drawing back a bowstring. The DualSense additions work to bring you closer to Kliff and help deliver a lot of information, especially in tense combat situations where enemies can be all around you. Even after playing for four hours, I only scratched the surface of what’s waiting in Pywel. From vast lands to explore and secrets to discover, to formidable foes to face down and powerful skills to master, Crimson Desert looks to offer a lot for RPG fans who want to lose themselves in a fantastical world. You can see for yourself just what’s hidden in Crimson Desert when it releases on March 19 on PS5. View the full article

A few weeks ago, during State of Play, we shared the first gameplay footage of Control Resonant running on PlayStation 5 Pro. The trailer was fast-paced and focused — but it only scratched the surface of the gameplay systems at work. Play Video Today, we want to go deeper into the systems behind Control Resonant, from combat flow and buildcrafting to how progression shapes your playstyle. Stepping outside the oldest house The first Control was about isolation, being trapped inside a shifting brutalist labyrinth. With Control Resonant, we set out to invert that idea. This time, we step into Manhattan as paranatural forces tear through the everyday world. The city is under escalating assault. Architecture warps. Gravity fractures. Familiar streets twist into unstable combat arenas. While many civilians have evacuated, the Federal Bureau of Control remains active in the field, attempting to contain the crisis across distinct, handcrafted zones. You’re not alone, even if the situation feels overwhelming. One of the new characters you’ll meet is Zoe De Vera, an FBC field agent who acts as Dylan’s handler. Dylan has spent years isolated inside the Oldest House; Zoe has survived the chaos outside. Their relationship — built on trust, responsibility, and learning to rely on others — anchors the emotional core of the experience. We’ve also introduced a seamless dialogue system that allows conversations to unfold during exploration, keeping you immersed in the world. A world designed for choice Our take on Manhattan is divided into carefully designed zones, each with its own vibe, encounters, lore and secrets. We are not into an open world where looking at the world map causes anxiety. Less is more. We want to fill the world with interesting, fun stuff to do instead of tons of grind. There are two primary narrative quest types: Dylan’s Journey – the main campaign World Quests – self-contained narrative stories Beyond these, you’ll find combat encounters, environmental challenges, hidden discoveries, and optional activities woven naturally into each area. Maybe you chase down an Altered Item or two… The goal isn’t to “clear” the map — it’s to explore it on your terms. Combat built on momentum Expanding player expression in combat was central to our design. Action now leans more heavily into melee and supernatural synergy. At the heart of it is the Aberrant, Dylan’s transforming melee weapon. It shifts between distinct Primary and Secondary Forms, along with powerful Combo Enders, allowing you to tailor speed, range, and combat role within a single build. But combat isn’t just about weapon forms. It’s about momentum. In Control Resonant, aggression fuels power. Melee hits restore your Combat Ability resource Abilities stun enemies, opening them up for executions Executions temporarily boost melee damage The more you commit to close-range pressure, the more tools you gain to stay in control. It’s a loop designed to reward decisiveness and flow. At the same time, different playstyles are fully supported. For example, you might lean into a heavy close-range build or opt for a more tactical setup using summons like Mold Turrets, which attack independently and apply harmful status effects. For players who love optimizing, detailed stat breakdowns make build performance transparent and readable. Shaping identity in the gap Progression centers on meaningful specialization. Outside combat, players can enter the Gap, a dreamlike space tied to Dylan’s psyche, simply by pressing down on the directional-pad of the DualSense controller. This is where you shape your build. Your setup revolves around three core pillars: Supernatural Combat Abilities, earned by defeating powerful Resonants Weapon Forms for the Aberrant Talents that amplify synergy between abilities and melee attacks Resonants are major boss encounters integrated into story progression. Defeating one grants its unique ability, and some offer branching choices that push you toward distinct playstyles. These aren’t the only systems at play, and not everything can be unlocked in a single playthrough — that’s intentional. ​​ More to come There’s much more to share about the story, characters, and the larger paranatural forces reshaping Manhattan. We’ll dive deeper into those elements in the months ahead. For now, we’re excited to share how Control Resonant is evolving into a full-fledged action-RPG – one where momentum fuels strength, specialization shapes identity, and Manhattan becomes a surreal battlefield. View the full article

Hey Troopers! We’re the team at Auroch Digital, and alongside our partners at Dotemu we’re currently Doing Our Part, by creating the most realistic depiction of war ever made. Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War is releasing on PlayStation 5 on March 16 – officially endorsed by FedDev – and we also have a world first for Starship Troopers fans. Play Video For the first time ever, Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War will let you play as the enemy – the Arachnid Menace. We hope that stepping into the (many) legs of the all-new Assassin Bug will help our Troopers to understand them, and to defeat them as we throw you into fast-paced, ichor-filled combat. Would you like to know more? What is Bug Mode? In Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War’s Bug Mode, you’ll take control of the Arachnids’ new ultimate weapon – The Assassin Bug. As the Assassin Bug, you’ll terrorize Federation Troopers in four expansive training scenarios, as well as a tutorial mission to understand the real danger of the Assassin Bug. You’ll work to decimate troops and buildings, commanding your Arachnid army and taking advantage of the Assassin Bug’s three attack forms, with each of these bringing their own unique skills and abilities. The Warrior Form – The default state of the Assassin Bug. An agile form with razor-sharp pincers. The Hopper Form – A flying Arachnid form, which can identify destructible buildings, as well as track Bug pheromone trails The Tanker Form – a chargeable form, we designed the Tanker to be able to deal devastating attacks including its distinctive flame spray attack The Assassin Bug itself has been one of the most complex parts of Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War, and possibly the part which has taken the most time and effort internally to ensure it’s a balanced experience. In addition, getting the Assassin Bug’s larger form and flying abilities to work within maps designed for a human campaign has been another significant challenge, but one which we believe we’ve lived up to (we’re just Doing Our Part). Why is Bug Mode? To fight the Bug, we must understand the Bug – We can ill afford another Klendathu. We’ve been working long and hard alongside the best Federal scientists, spending countless hours analyzing Bug data to truly understand our enemy As part of our FedDev-approved training experience, in Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War we wanted to deliver something never before seen – something which would allow Mobile Infantry Troopers to truly know how the Bugs feel on the battlefield. So we teamed up with FedDev to deliver a cutting-edge Bug simulator – giving Troopers a unique insight into the Bug mind as they stick their claws into you and your fellow Troopers (spoiler alert – they love it). It also provided a great and in-universe way of letting players deliver the elevated carnage that the Assassin Bug has to offer. There’s something so incredibly joyous about charging head-first into a Federation building to blast it into smithereens with the Assassin Bug, and we can’t wait for you to experience it yourself, alongside the Tanker form’s flame spray attack ability. When is Bug Mode coming? Bug Mode will be available for all Troopers who pick up Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War. We’ve had an incredible time working with FedDev to create Bug Mode – especially crafting those juicy sound effects and building destruction – and we can’t wait for you to deploy on March 16th. We’re really excited for you to discover Bug Mode for yourselves, and especially the feeling of commanding your very own Bug army against the Mobile Infantry. This is a never-before-seen experience, and it’s given all of us a real God complex (which is scary considering that the Bugs are meant to be our enemies). Where to access Bug Mode? You’ll find Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War Landing on PlayStation 5 – with Bug Mode included from launch. We’re so proud of our S.A.S.S. (you’ll understand that, later) and we can’t wait for Troopers to dive into the Experience. Bug Mode will be unlocked after completing your first couple of missions, with four expansive areas to play through – as well as our Bug Mode tutorial. Our FedDev-endorsed Bug Mode is designed to help you to understand the Bug, and to defeat the Bug. We’ll keep fighting, and we’ll win. Remember – Service guarantees Citizenship. Are you doing your part? Wishlist now, on PlayStation 5. View the full article

A world of danger and opportunity awaits you on Tau Ceti IV. Starting March 5, Marathon will be available on PlayStation 5 and other platforms. The team here at Bungie has been working hard to bring that world to life, and we’re thrilled that players across the globe will soon be able to immerse themselves in the dark sci-fi adventure of our PvPvE survival extraction shooter. Launching the game is just the first step in a long journey together with our players. Marathon’s living universe will continue to evolve across seasons, powered by your feedback and your impact on Tau Ceti as you continue to peel back its many mysteries. We’ve got a ton of exciting stuff cooking for you and wanted to share some of that with you here. First thing to know: Marathon’s seasonal updates will be available to everyone. No expansions or DLC required. Each season you’ll be challenged to discover, adapt, and master new skills and, at the start of each season, everyone will start fresh, with nothing in their vault. Seasonal resets mean that the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and there’s always an opportunity to get back into the game or bring a friend along without feeling behind the curve. As you progress throughout the season–completing contracts and collecting faction upgrades– you’ll be granted access to stronger base stats and to better gear in the Armory. Your power floor will rise over time, and recovering from a loss will be easier, as will crafting your ideal build. You’ll carry over things that express your identity from season to season. The titles you’ve unlocked, the Codex progression you’ve earned, as well as the cosmetics you’ve either purchased or earned will not be affected by seasonal resets. Head over to our latest blog on Bungie’s Marathon web site to learn more about seasons. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the highlights coming to Marathon at launch and beyond. Welcome to Tau Ceti At launch, Marathon will include all six launch Runner shells, access to the Rook frame, aka scavenger mode, six factions, 28 weapons (plus mods, implants, cores), as well as earnable cosmetics, achievements, and storytelling through the Codex. You’ll experience all of this in three zones: Perimeter, Dire Marsh, and Outpost. Season 1 will find players touching down planetside as the Tau Ceti gold rush begins. As a Runner, you are caught in the heated start of a proxy war between rival factions, doing your best to stay alive and even thrive. In addition to the new Ranked competitive mode, this Season will also introduce the new Cryo Archive map, both arriving early in Season 1. Cryo Archive Cryo Archive is Marathon’s first end-game zone aboard the derelict UESC Marathon ship. Characterized by close-quarters combat and raid-like puzzle solving, Cryo Archive finds crews of Runners clashing in the frozen hallways of the Marathon’s first deck, surrounded by cryopods, medical bays, and abandoned storage wings. While onboard you and your crew will be cracking secure vaults and facing environmental hazards as you try to reach the ship’s most dangerous secrets. Survival here means mastering the security systems, navigating lethal checkpoints, taking on rival Runner crews, and, if you’re skilled enough, coming face-to-face with an enemy even the UESC fears. Ranked Mode While every run on Tau Ceti is a competition, for those who want to truly test their mettle, Marathon’s upcoming Ranked mode will bring an even sharper edge to the fight. Here, Runners will look to exfil with the most valuable loot and climb the Ranked ladders. Look for more soon. ​​ Season 2 and beyond In Season 2, the UESC have noted your criminal activities and will be responding in kind. Prepare for a fight. We’ll be bringing new content your way, including a new Runner shell: Sentinel, new weapons, mods, cores, and the new Cradle system to give you more autonomy over your Runner shell’s statistical strengths and weaknesses. We’ll also introduce the nighttime version of Dire Marsh, where you’ll be challenged to survive as the light goes out and UESC reinforcements pour in. There is certainly more detail to share, but as we try to do when on the surface of Tau Ceti, we’re going to exercise some trigger discipline for the time being. Rest assured, we’ll have more to say about all the great stuff coming to Marathon soon. Until then, good luck on your runs and watch your backs out there when Marathon launches on March 5. View the full article

We’re back with a lot of news about Tides of Tomorrow. We’ve released a new trailer breaking down our unique feature, Online Story-Link, and we’ve just opened pre-orders! Our pre-order bonus is the Delta Agent DLC – a special Tidewalker and Boat skin. Play Video Tides of Tomorrow is a plasticpunk narrative adventure. Players embody Tidewalkers, mysterious beings who are linked with one another. You’ll see echoes of past players through the Tides of Times, a mysterious vision ability. Your journey takes you across a bizarre, flooded planet filled with colorful characters, dangerous secrets, and tough moral decisions. You’ll have to find a way to save the world from a deadly microplastic disease — or doom it forever. In my last blog post, I introduced the basics of the asynchronous multiplayer storytelling we’re building for the game. Since then, we’ve branded the feature so it’s hopefully easier for players to understand how it works. Let’s jump into all I can share about Online Story-Link and how we think narrative adventure gamers are going to have fun with it. Tides of Tomorrow isn’t a traditional multiplayer game. It’s single-player, but choices from other players influence your journey. Calling it asynchronous multiplayer felt too technical, while Story-Link better captures the idea simply. Your story links to those of previous players. Their decisions shape your world. You could call it a strand-type game like Death Stranding, but here, interactions have deep narrative consequences. At the start of your playthrough, you pick a Story-Link seed generated by someone else’s playthrough. That seed contains everything they did: where they traveled, the choices they made, the resources they left behind, and more. From this data, the game determines how the narrative will evolve for you in each chapter of the game. Your own Story-Link data updates every time you finish a level. Other players can then choose to follow your path, and their stories will be shaped by the decisions you made. Each level is built from a complex web of branching narrative, states, substates, and systemic elements that shift based on player actions. You’ll experience the very concrete consequences of the previous player’s choices — NPCs will talk about them as a real character who was there recently and impacted their lives. In a sense, the story Tides of Tomorrow unfolds collaboratively. Your personal journey will be one of infinite possibilities, shaped by your decisions and the influence of those who came before you. An early example is the Pleasureland level. You participate in a boat race where you try to beat the previous player’s time (you’ll even see their ghost, like in a racing game), but that last player’s performance also affected the story. If they won the previous race, Tidewalkers have become celebrities in Pleasureland, and you’ll be welcomed as a hero… but can you live up to the hype? One of the game’s core themes is resource scarcity amid an environmental crisis. You’ll often have to choose between hoarding precious resources for yourself or leaving them for others in need. These decisions directly affect future players. If they run out of resources, they might even die from Plastemia (the fictional disease caused by plastic pollution). But in Tides of Tomorrow, death isn’t the end: it’s the beginning of a new chapter in your personal journey. To help you understand the kind of players you’re following, we’ve added a Trait System. This isn’t a simple good vs. evil reputation system — it’s about confronting different worldviews. Do you prioritize humanity or the natural world? Do you focus on your own survival? Are you helping other players? Or are you just here to stir up trouble? Your traits evolve based on your choices and become part of your Story-Link. You’ll see the dominant traits of the players you follow, giving you a sense of who they are and what their decisions might lead to. Will you align with their morals, or try to undo their actions? For example, a troublemaker might be unpredictable and fun to follow. Maybe they robbed a merchant who now hates Tidewalkers — but that gives you the chance to fix things and come out looking like the better person. People often ask us: What about the very first player ever? Who are they following? Well, the first players will be… us, the dev team. That’s our little bit of black magic. We’ll also partner with streamers before launch so you can use their Story-Links on day one. Preorders are now available on PS5. If you’re a fan of our games and want to support us, check out Tides of Tomorrow at PlayStation Store. View the full article

ILL is a first-person action-horror game coming to PS5 that aims to deliver relentless terror, both when the player is in full control and during the game’s motion-captured cutscenes. I’m Max Verehin, Co-founder of Team Clout, and I’m honored to give the PlayStation community a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into creating the cutscenes that complement the game’s immersive, horrific gameplay. Play Video This challenging new phase of development has been intense and unpredictable, but not entirely a leap into the unknown. Our background is deeply embedded in the language of cinema, with team members bringing extensive industry experience from working on major horror projects like the Until Dawn film and It: Welcome to Derry television series. We’ve spent years learning how a monster should move, how shadows should fall, and how a creature needs to command a frame to evoke true fear. Join us to catch a glimpse into our wonderfully engaging and deeply collaborative process. The kind of horror we want to create At its core, ILL is grounded, emotionally honest horror. The story unfolds inside a massive research fort overrun by a mysterious force and the Aberrations it creates. The game leans into grotesque realism and intense binaural audio designed to keep players constantly on edge. But beyond the brutality, our focus is immersion. We want moments to feel frightening, but also human. Characters aren’t just obstacles, they are three-dimensional people with motivations and personal stories that deepen the experience. Similarly, the locations in ILL are spaces designed to feel real, like you’re actually navigating them in person. We’re creating an environment that makes the player’s imagination work against them. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Where gameplay changes everything Our cinematic experience influences how we approach tension, pacing, and character presence. But the interactivity of video games as a medium changes that process. On set, every filming decision came back to one question: how will this feel once the player is in control? Unlike traditional filmmaking, every scene in ILL connects directly to gameplay. The game stays in first-person, and most performance moments begin and end inside active play without cuts. We can’t rely on cinematic tricks—transitions have to return control naturally to the player, guiding what they do next and how the moment feels from their exact viewpoint. Some cinematic ideas didn’t survive that test. If a scene disrupted the gameplay flow, we reworked it. It wasn’t an easy process, but one that ultimately made the overall play experience stronger. Expect the unexpected Even though we’re making a game about monsters, the performances came from real people, and that changed our expectations fast. Dramatic scenes—those including expressions of fear like screaming, and crying—are physically and emotionally demanding. They drain real energy and real emotion. We quickly adjusted our schedule to match that reality, giving actors more creative breathing room to tackle the heaviest moments earlier in the day. Some sequences we thought would be simple turned into hours of work, requiring precise choreography and tight synchronization between performers. Capturing believable horror isn’t just about acting: it requires timing, movement, and constant iteration. Another surprise we encountered: not every scene can be played “into the void,” or without an audience. Sometimes actors need something tangible to react to. At different points, our own producer and supervisor stepped in as stand-ins for enemy creatures so our performers had a real presence in front of them. And despite the grim material, the set itself wasn’t always heavy. After long days, the exhausted cast would suddenly crack jokes or start singing—small human moments that made the contrast with the final in-game atmosphere even sharper. Creative collaboration Working closely with actors became one of the most rewarding parts of the process. Watching performers grow into roles, get more comfortable with their characters—from rehearsals to final takes—changed how we saw certain scenes. We came in with a clear script, but actors often suggested different deliveries or interpretations. Many came from dramatic or cinematic backgrounds, and their perspective helped shape the emotional tone. Instead of feeling rigid, filming became a genuinely collaborative space where ideas evolved in real time, with contributions from differing points of view. Acting in an almost empty space In addition to the challenge of not having real monsters to react to, one of the other hurdles for our performers was to imagine a fully realized environment while standing in a nearly empty space. On set, props are minimal—sometimes nothing more than a stick representing a creature—while actors have to visualize the entire world around them. To help, we used monitors showing a rough in-engine perspective from the protagonist’s POV, so performers could see their digital models moving in real time. It helped, but it also demanded focus: some actors instinctively glanced at the screens instead of staying fully in character. Directors and staging leads constantly guided performances by describing invisible walls, obstacles, and even threats. One of the game’s monster types, visible below, is just one of many that we need actors to clearly imagine in front of them. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image In the end, a lot of solutions were invented on the fly: where to stand, how far to turn, how to capture emotion without breaking the technical side of the process. It’s a constant balance between creative intent and practical limits—and that’s where the “magic” happens. ILL is in development for PlayStation 5, with release information to follow. View the full article

Last month was filled with surprises, delights, and fights! Some big new releases included God of War Sons of Sparta, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Resident Evil Requiem, Nioh 3, and Reanimal. 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

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or download here Hey, everybody! Tim, Kristen, and I are back this week to talk about the horrors of Racoon City, Reanimal, and trying to conquer your backlog before a wave of new games comes for us all. Along with our various journeys through Greece in God of War Sons of Sparta. Stuff We Talked About Next week’s release highlights: Resident Evil Requiem (out now) | PS5 Scott Pilgrim EX | PS5, PS4 Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered | PS5, PS4 Rager | PS VR2 Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse | PS5 Planet of Lana II | PS5 Marathon | PS5 Death Stranding 2 PC specs reveal blog —See the power requirements to connect, widescreen support, and other features. Scott Pilgrim EX new character blog — Get acquainted with Goth Neil and Lady Envy, and check out the fun new stage, Casa Vania. God of War Sons of Sparta The Pit blog — Time to test your Spartan resolve in the roguelike challenge mode. See how to unlock this mode early and take it on solo or with local co-op. missions and objectives. Life is Strange: Reunion hands-on report — Chloe and Max are back for more time manipulation shenanigans. Check out new features, including the ability to play as both the protagonist and the interactive notebook. PlayStation Plus Monthly Games March PGA Tour 2K25 | PS5 Monster Hunter Rise | PS5, PS4 Slime Rancher 2 | PS5 The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road | PS5, PS4 The Cast View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image O’Dell Harmon Jr. – Content Communications Specialist, SIE View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Tim Turi – Content Communications Manager, SIE Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

Last week, we asked to share well-framed moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: parmindernangla shares Atsu framed by the sun in Ghost of Yōtei ​​ artenpixels_ shares Ratchet framed by rock formations in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart jobolts_ shares Arthur framed by some tree branches in Red Dead Redemption 2 call_me_xavii shares Aloy sitting in a frame-shaped hole overlooking water in Horizon Forbidden West. EduardoPrx shares Eve framed by a halo of lights and containers in Stellar Blade. x01.vp shares Rèmi standing in front of a circular light in Hell Us Is Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? THEME: Heroic SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on March 4, 2026 Next week, we need a hero. Share a heroic character using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Hello, fellow Wanderers. We’re proud to share new details about the very first major expansion to our wuxia epic, Where Winds Meet. It’s called Hexi — and it’s vast in scale and ambition! So large, in fact, that it will be released in three distinct chapters that will be dropped from March to May 2026. It will feature three major maps with nearly 20 sub-regions – covering areas of endless deserts, ice fields, snow-capped mountains and vast swathes of grasslands. You’ll find it populated by eleven unique bosses, dozens of side quests and so much more. We’ve tried to push boundaries, letting players inhabit characters from history and witness the era from the perspective of ordinary people caught up in the tides of history. This is what makes Hexi’s main story unique, existing outside of the game’s main timeline, and adopting a more cinematic approach to storytelling and gameplay. There will also be a significant shift in the narrative, as we travel through time and space as if in a dream to a different era of Chinese history – the Tang Dynasty – one of the most prosperous eras of ancient China. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, however, the Hexi region loses all contact with the capital, Chang’an, and the Hexi people long for their spiritual homeland and this prompts your dream pilgrimage. The first chapter of the Hexi expansion is called the Jade Gate Pass and launches on March 5 (Pacific Time). Set in a vast desert landscape, it represents the beginning of the biggest expansion since our game launched, offering up brand-new narratives, new bosses, fresh gameplay features and martial art styles. To help you to survive and advance in the challenging desert environment, you can obtain two brand new wuxia skills in the Jade Gate Pass area. Sand Race literally allows you to surf on the sand to speed your progress, while Cosmic Reversal will empower you to reverse time itself and rebuild desert ruins. This skill will be particularly helpful for overcoming obstacles, uncovering secrets and solving puzzles. Whitecrown City lies between Jade Gate Pass and Liangzhou. Once the crossroads of travel from East to West and a vital part of the ancient frontier defence, now a time-eroded, abandoned shadow of its former glory. Entering this city will rekindle ancient legends – Guo Xin – the last Grand Protector of Anxi – and the campaign boss. Standing as guardian of this lonely outpost, Guo Xin watches over the frontier in solitude. On this desolate ground, you will witness the reveal of secrets hidden deep beneath the annals of history. Furthermore, another formidable boss in Jade Gate Pass is the Wandering Ark, whose legend is deeply embedded in the Hexi lore and is waiting to be discovered in the desert wilderness. This boss does not stay in a fixed location – it’s a colossal vessel moving freely across the desert sea. Encountering this vessel, players need to be precise and strategic in discerning where to attack this opponent, while defending against ruthless ranged and close quarter attacks. Fortunately, to help with these daunting challenges, you’ll be provided with two new martial arts: Spring Dreamscape is an umbrella-style martial art focused on agility, enabling fluid endless combos and giving you the upper hand in tight spaces or group skirmishes. Fleeting Clouds is a new Rope Dart martial art style that centres on large sweeping Area of Effects (AOE) attacks making it ideal both for crowd control and for one on one duels where you hunt down enemies for persistent relentless damage. We’re also going to introduce a brand-new weapon in April: The Heng Blade is a core weapon with its own dedicated martial art system. Heng Blade combat puts the emphasis on precision, structure and decisive timing. The key lies in blending measured defence with clean, powerful strikes. Strong in mid to close-range, Heng Blade rewards spacing, discipline and making the most of brief openings and opportunities. Passing through the Jade Gate Pass, your next journey will head to Hexi Chapter 2: Liangzhou, where you’ll encounter the first snow-capped mountain map haunted by the lingering echoes questioning why a stranger in a foreign land is answering the call to return to their spiritual home. Ultimately, the final chapter of Hexi will be set in the scroll of the Painting Realm – the vast grassland of Qinchuan, and this is where the true treasure of this adventure will be found. But, hey – let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The road ahead is very long. It’s time, instead, to look forward to the Jade Gate Pass. Prepare yourself, wanderers, to enter Hexi, a world independent of the main timeline, where everyone is waiting to meet you in your dreams. View the full article

Today, we’re excited to announce that an upgraded version of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) will be rolling out globally to PS5 Pro players in the coming weeks. PSSR is an AI library that analyzes game images pixel by pixel as it upscales them, and it’s been used to boost the effective resolution of over 50 titles on PS5 Pro to date. We’ve been hard at work on a new version of PSSR, which takes a very different approach to not only the neural network but also the overall algorithm. We are happy to share that Resident Evil Requiem – shipping today – is the first title to use this more advanced PSSR, which is helping to keep both frame rate and image quality high. Here’s Masaru Ijuin from Capcom who shares insight on the upgraded version of PSSR for the game: “With Resident Evil Requiem, we focused on enhancing the presentation quality of the protagonist through an upgraded version of RE Engine to deepen the player’s immersion in horror. For example, each individual strand of hair and beard is rendered as a polygon, allowing it to move realistically in response to body motion and wind. The way light passes through his hair changes depending on how the strands of hair are overlapped as well. This detailed expression of texture is one of the many details that we would especially love for our fans to see. The upgraded PSSR has allowed us to elevate our expressiveness by successfully processing these details and textural particularities, which are traditionally difficult to upscale because of their intricacy. We hope you will experience this unprecedented level of horror and visual fidelity, and the new gameplay feel it delivers.” – Masaru Ijuin, Senior Manager Engine Development Support Section R&D Foundational Technology Department, Capcom View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Resident Evil Requiem featuring original PSSR upscaling View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Resident Evil Requiem featuring new PSSR upscaling The algorithm and neural network used in the new PSSR stem from our Project Amethyst partnership with AMD. Through AMD’s FSR 4 upscaling technology, PC gamers have already seen the benefits of our collaboration. With the updated PSSR, we’re delivering the very latest of this co-developed technology with a further six months of refinement for PS5 Pro players. We look forward to more news in March, when multiple existing games upgrade to the improved PSSR. There will also be a system software update at that time; selecting “Enhance PSSR Image Quality” in Settings on PS5 Pro will allow you to experience the new PSSR with any PS5 Pro games that currently support PSSR! Once the system update releases next month, try it and see, some games may have noticeably crisper graphics. r View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Stay tuned for more updates next month! View the full article

When players return to Nosgoth in Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered on PS4 and PS5, they are not only revisiting a defining chapter of the saga, but are also stepping into one that was never released. Included with the definitive edition of Defiance Remastered is a playable demo of The Dark Prophecy, the unfinished sixth entry in the Legacy of Kain series. For years, this project existed only in fragments, remembered through concept art and early development materials. Now, players can experience a preserved segment of that lost chapter firsthand. Play Video The demo is presented as a historical artifact rather than a reimagining. Freely explore its tone, environment direction, and early gameplay ideas as they were originally conceived. This is a rare chance to experience the direction the series was preparing to take and to witness how Nosgoth’s next chapter was intended to unfold. For longtime fans, it is a fun, what-if experience. For new players, it is a fascinating look at the creative ambition that followed Defiance. Rebuilding Nosgoth with care While The Dark Prophecy looks toward an unrealized future, Defiance Remastered focuses on strengthening the experience seasoned players will remember. Across the main campaign, environmental gaps and stretched geometry have been repaired. Areas that once showed seams now feel structurally complete. Standing at the edge of a cathedral or overlooking a distant ruin, the world holds together without distortion or missing detail. A camera that works with you In addition to the original fixed camera, the remaster also boasts a new third-person free camera. For the first time, players can also rotate the camera across those vistas to admire Nosgoth from any angle without breaking immersion. Now players have clearer sightlines when managing multiple enemies, navigating vertical arenas, and switching between Raziel’s spectral abilities and Kain’s telekinetic control. The encounters remain the same, but players can read and respond to them with far greater confidence. Lighting, atmosphere, and player choice Every level has been relit to enhance mood and depth. Shadows are more deliberate. Fog feels denser and more atmospheric. Interiors carry a heavier sense of presence, while exterior spaces feel more expansive. If players prefer the original lighting style, they can switch back at any time. The updated lighting system is entirely optional, allowing players to tailor the experience to their preference. A reworked interface and deeper lore The original static menu has been replaced with a new ring menu designed to keep players immersed. The interface grants access to the maps, character skins, and a world encyclopedia filled with rich lore. Beyond these, expanded bonus galleries and restored content further support the narrative and smooth out pacing across the campaign. Sound that responds to the world Game audio has also received a meaningful upgrade. Additional music is integrated into levels and cutscenes, increasing variety and reinforcing emotional tone throughout the story. Environmental sound design is also refined. Footsteps now respond accurately to different surfaces. When Raziel crosses a wooden bridge, players can hear the wood cracking beneath him. When Kain steps onto rough stone or plush carpet, the sound shifts accordingly. Preserving the legacy Defiance Remastered is about preservation and clarity. Players experience the same story, the same characters, and the same dramatic weight that defined the original – what changes is the stability, responsiveness, and cohesion of the world around them. Alongside those improvements, The Dark Prophecy demo offers something rare in game history: the chance to play a chapter that once seemed lost. Together, they form a more complete view of Legacy of Kain’s past and the paths it might have taken. View the full article

Looking for your next challenge in God of War Sons of Sparta? Go to the place all aspiring Spartans prove their worth as warriors, the Pit of Agonies. Enter The Pit today The Pit is a separate endgame roguelike challenge mode that gives you different enemies and reward pools each time you play. Play Video Normally The Pit is accessible only after you beat the main story to ensure those who attempt it are familiar with both Kratos’ Spartan arms and the foes you will face, but if you feel ready to test your skills earlier, you can input this sequence below in the starting menu to unlock it early: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L1, R1, Touchpad Once entered, you will see a new option on your menu that can be used to take you into the challenge mode. Two-player local co-op While The Pit can be played entirely solo as Kratos, the team at Mega Cat Studios was inspired to bring back a gaming staple that defined so many childhood afternoons on the couch: 2-player co-op. This is local, offline-only co-op in true retro style, so you’ll need to grab a buddy if you want to bring both Kratos and Deimos to face the challenges deep below. Choose your agony Each run begins by selecting your starting Agony, a global difficulty modifier that will add variety to each run and impact the way you play. For example, the Agony of Torment will manifest healing vessels that must be destroyed to prevent enemies from regenerating health, while the Agony of Calamity will cause defeated enemies to burst into a fiery explosion. As you progress through your run, you will have the option to add more Agonies or increase the effect of your starting choice. Rewards Upon finishing a run, you will earn a Symbol of Suffering for your chosen Agonies. As you reach certain thresholds of total Symbols, you will unlock new Agonies to choose from. Upon completion, you will also gain Ashes of Agony, a Pit-specific resource which can be used to acquire permanent upgrades that last between attempts. Keeping score If you like to track your progress (or earn some bragging rights), you’ll be able to see your current and high score at the end of each run. Thank you to everyone who has supported God of War Sons of Sparta, available now on PS5. We hope you’ll enjoy the challenge of The Pit. View the full article

March’s PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup features four games available to all PlayStation Plus members*. Improve your swing on the green in PGA Tour 2K25, seek out adventure in Monster Hunter Rise, enjoy a mix of farm sim meets first-person adventure with Slime Rancher 2, and explore a massive multiplayer fantasy world in The Elder Scrolls Online. All these titles will be available to PlayStation Plus members from Tuesday March 3 until Monday April 6. Let’s take a closer look at the games. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image PGA Tour 2K25 | PS5 Step onto golf’s biggest stages and prove you can rise among the greats. Compete in the ultimate test: The PGA Championship, The U.S. Open, and The Open Championship make their PGA TOUR 2K debut. Rise through the ranks in an expanded MyCareer, where every round builds your legacy. Create your path to greatness with new MyPlayer customization, upgraded Skill Trees, and advanced Course Designer tools. Then take your shot against the best in ranked, casual, and cross-platform multiplayer. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Monster Hunter Rise | PS5, PS4 The worldwide hit series Monster Hunter returns with a host of new gameplay features, original monsters and a story inspired by ancient Japanese folklore. Personalise your hunter, choose from 14 unique weapon types, recruit your Palico Felyne and all-new Palamute Canyne companions, and gear up to explore a range of vast, richly detailed hunting maps. Whether you prefer to go solo or enjoy the company of a four-person squad, smart difficulty scaling guarantees a fair and thrilling battle. The irresistible Monster Hunter loop remains, with each successful hunt yielding the materials required to craft and upgrade your weapons and armour, allowing you to hunt tougher monsters and gather more precious resources. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Slime Rancher 2 | PS5 Slime Rancher 2 is a sequel to the award-winning, smash-hit original that has been enjoyed by over 15 million fans worldwide. Continue the adventures of Beatrix LeBeau as she journeys to Rainbow Island, a mysterious land brimming with ancient technology, unknown natural resources, and an avalanche of wiggling, jiggling, new slimes to discover. As Beatrix attempts to unravel the island’s secrets and uncover its true purpose, she’ll build, ranch, and farm within a beautiful conservatory, whose sparkling glass walls give her full view of the prismatic paradise she now calls home. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road | PS5, PS4 Every legend starts somewhere, and in The Elder Scrolls Online, it starts with you. Write your story into a vibrant chapter of Tamriel’s distant past that takes place nearly 1,000 years before the iconic The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and discover a world steeped in adventure and possibility. Travel the vast land of Tamriel and discover a world of adventure. Explore the mushroom forests of Morrowind, battle Daedric foes in the realms of Oblivion, or face off against other players in PvP combat. The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road grants instant access to all major Chapter zones, biomes and quest arcs across Tamriel*. *2025 Content Pass not included View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Last chance to add February’s PlayStation Plus Monthly Games to your library PlayStation Plus members have until Monday March 2 to add Undisputed, Subnautica: Below Zero, Ultros, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown to their game library. View the full article

It always comes back to Chloe Price and Max Caulfield. Through several games, branching narrative series Life is Strange has explored the consequences of love, friendship, and community, but the duo’s bond remains the beating heart of the overarching tale. As Life is Strange: Reunion is said to be the final chapter in Max and Chloe’s story, it’s no surprise that both characters have returned, thanks to the cumulative events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Although some of the more significant decisions you’ve made from the first game, such as Max and Chloe’s relationship and the fate of Arcadia Bay, have carried over as well. I spent some time with the game to dive into why fans should be excited about the partners-in-crime getting one last chance. Some more familiar faces return It’s not just about Max and Chloe making their comeback. Many characters from Life is Strange: Double Exposure appear, with Moses, a graduate, as a focal point because he is one of the victims of a fire that Max is trying to prevent. Dr. Yasmin Fayyad and her shapeshifting daughter Safi are present too, but Max’s friend Amanda was very much the focal point of the demo’s opening minutes. Which led to… Ready to Rewind again? My first task in the demo was to save Amanda from a demoralising heckler during her stand-up routine at the Snapping Turtle campus bar. It was a gentle reintroduction to Max’s Rewind ability, as once I failed my first attempt to stop the jeering troublemaker, I rewound our encounter with L1. Using the information I learned in our previous conversations, Max was able to talk to him again and make up a story that forced him to leave. Max’s ability can be accessed at any time, but fundamentally, its use in the demo was to get around tight-lipped people, such as realizing that spilling beer over Double Exposure’s disgraced university professor, Lucas, is the only way to get a sneaky peek at his hidden documents. The revelations from that action led Max to investigate the unsettling Abraxus House, triggering a more action driven use of Rewind. After bumping into another familiar character, journalism student Loretta, the two women were trapped in a creepy basement, under threat of discovery. Using a broom to barricade the door proved useless, but Rewind allowed me to find a far sturdier metal crowbar. But the danger wasn’t over yet. With the house due for early demolition, I then had to use Rewind to find and disarm all the detonators in the right order under a strict time limit, a fun sequence that showed off the potential for where the game might go later on. Chloe’s Backtalk returns Given that Chloe is playable, it’s only fair that her dialogue-puzzle-based Backtalk ability from Life is Strange: Before the Storm is here, too. Although its introduction in the demo focused less on withering sarcasm to get her way, and more on charismatic persuasion by bending the truth. After sneaking into the Snapping Turtle and then later being caught by security, I was asked to prove Chloe’s university credentials or risk her getting banned from campus. The Backtalk overlay popped up, offering a selection of replies under a time limit, with some responses carrying future consequences. The key to successfully answering lay in the scene’s prior setup, with the game giving me a chance to observe items around the bar and interact with others for information, I had to remember to make my lie sound convincing. So don’t worry if you’re put on the spot – as long as you’re paying attention and quick on your fingers, Backtalk is a blast. Both Max and Chloe are playable Becoming both characters in the demo created an interesting situation when they were reunited at a climactic point of my game time. Rather than forcing me to choose who to control or keep them entirely separate, Reunion allowed me to decide what each character said to the other, shaping the ebb and flow of their conversation and creating immediate cause and effect in their dialogue. Their journals are the perfect catch-up tool We also have access to both Max’s and Chloe’s journals, which provide backstory and world-building through their scribbled thoughts, stickers, and other ephemera. The same menu allowed me to read incoming text messages between characters, along with their previous texts, providing a rich insight into their prior relationships. You can take photos at any time Similar to previous games in the series, there are photo hotspots to uncover in Max’s scenes, for collectible compositions that save in her journal. But pressing up on the D-pad at any time while you’re controlling Max reveals a much-requested addition to the series – the ability to take an in-game photo whenever something catches your eye. Your personal snaps won’t be saved to Max’s journal, but are shareable with friends and via social media with a long press of the Create button. My short time with the game left me eager for more as Max and Chloe’s adventure together was just starting to heat up. March 26 is when we’ll all be able to experience the likely heart-wrenching decisions of what comes next when Life is Strange: Reunion launches on PS5. View the full article

Toronto is in turmoil! As the mysterious GCorp takes over the Queen City, the members of Sex Bob-Omb have been kidnapped by Metal Scott. Ramona, Scott and a couple of her evil Exes band together to venture across the City to save it from these ominous forces. One of the many places the gang will have to explore will be the shadowy halls of…Casa Vania. Scott Pilgrim EX is different from our previous two beat’em up titles: while it still has a lot of fighting, we wanted to add much bigger exploration and character interaction elements. The resulting game is a sort of “brawling adventure” hybrid. Players will be free to trek all over Toronto, visit shops, equip items and encounter their favorite characters from the Scott Pilgrim world. But of course, adventures require zones and a variety of environments. This led our team to create a warped version of Toronto for players to discover along with the game’s numerous quests. In The Hidden Castle, the third quest of Scott Pilgrim EX, the players must jump, punch and flip kick their way through demonic gangs in order to gain access to the somber staircases of Casa Vania. Credit: Scott Pilgrim moveset frames illustrated by Jonathan Kim Once they’ve entered the castle’s gloomy corridors, they find none other than…Goth Neil? Seemingly transformed, Sex Bob-Omb’s biggest fan has fallen under the thrall of a dark figure! While he seems like an invention for SP:EX, Goth Neil’s hails from the pages of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s own sketchbook: “In the original Scott Pilgrim books, there’s a big “Day of the Dead” party. I did some early sketches of Young Neil in a goth outfit, but he didn’t make the final cut. Those sketches were published in later editions of the books, and some fans loved them. That’s part of the genesis of Goth Neil. Young Neil is a character who is always a bit child-like and naïve.” I initially sketched him holding an “egg-like rock”, but we later flipped the concept so that he’s holding a regular rock, which he thinks is a dinosaur egg. The animators gave him so much quirky personality. I don’t remember who suggested he transform into a bat, but we thought it was so funny.” – Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim Goth Neil leaves the scene in his own inimitable style. But who rules over Casa Vania? Who has bewitched Young Neil so? None other than Lady Envy! In Scott Pilgrim EX, we wanted players to face colorful bosses while keeping in mind that fans of the Pilgrim world, whether they’re books, movies or animation, still wanted to see their favorite characters. We arrived at the idea that every “warped” environment would be headed by themed versions of recognizable faces from the Pilgrim canon. O’Malley tells us more about Lady Envy’s origins: “A project like this is a big collaboration between so many artists and storytellers. Lady Envy was one of the first bosses we discussed. She’s a mashup of so many fun references and homages to classic games we loved from the 80s-90s (“Casa Vania”). She might bring to mind a few more modern references, too. She’s a cool horror-vampire-pirate pastiche, plus some pop-star flair to make her feel like the Envy Adams we know and love.” – Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim Credit: Lady Envy & Goth Neil design sketches by Bryan Lee O’Malley As Quest 3’s boss, Lady Envy will challenge the players with her dual blades and magical attacks. Will you be up to the challenge? Save Neil, the rest of the band, Toronto and more in Scott Pilgrim: EX, available March 3rd on PS4 and PS5. View the full article

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is making its way to PC! On behalf of the teams at Nixxes and Kojima Productions, I’d like to share the details on PC system requirements with all Porters that will start their journey on March 19. With its release on PlayStation 5, Death Stranding 2 established itself as an award-winning graphical showcase, with highly detailed landscapes and photo realistic characters. At Nixxes, when bringing games over to PC, we take pride in delivering a smooth experience with the best possible visuals on a wide variety of hardware. Death Stranding 2 for PC offers a range of Graphics Presets from Low to Very High, catering to both budget gaming PC’s and high-end systems. We’ve also added a Portable preset, aimed at handheld gaming devices, for those Porters who want to “keep on keeping on” while on the go. To ensure you are well prepared for the delivery of Death Stranding 2 PC next month, we’ve created an overview with our hardware recommendations for a variety of presets and resolutions: CategoryMinimumMediumHigh (Recommended)Very HighGraphics PresetLowMediumHighVery HighAvg Performance1080p @ 30 FPS1080p @ 60 FPS1440p @ 60 FPS4K @ 60 FPSGPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GBNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB AMD Radeon RX 6600NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 AMD Radeon RX 6800NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 AMD Radeon RX 9070 XTCPUIntel Core i3-10100 AMD Ryzen 3 3100Intel Core i5-11400 AMD Ryzen 5 5600Intel Core i7-11700 AMD Ryzen 7 5700XIntel Core i7-11700 AMD Ryzen 7 5700XRAM16GB16GB16GB16GBOSWindows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Storage150GB SSD150GB SSD150GB SSD150GB SSD Performance-enhancing options* The PC edition of Death Stranding 2 launches with support for NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XESS 2. Both upscaling and frame generation options are available for all technologies. For the first time on PC, you’ll find Pico as an option in Upscale Settings. This “Progressive Image Compositor” is developed by Guerrilla for the Decima engine and is the same upscaling technology that’s used for Death Stranding 2 on PS5. Pico upscaling can be used with all supported graphics cards and can be combined with the various options for frame generation offered in the game. All upscaling options can be used in combination with Dynamic Resolution Scaling, or with an upscaling quality setting of choice to improve performance. Native AA options are also available for maximum fidelity. Ultrawide views Sam’s second adventure can be enjoyed on PC with ultrawide aspect ratios. All cutscenes in Death Stranding 2 are meticulously crafted to be displayed in a 21:9 aspect ratio, for a true cinematic experience. Gameplay extends even further, filling up the whole screen when using a 32:9 display. An ultrawide monitor is not required for an ultrawide experience: players with high-resolution 16:9 monitors, can enable widescreen aspect ratios in the Display Settings, to experience the broader field of view. An option to play Death Stranding 2 in 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratios is also coming to PS5 via an update at the same time as the PC release. PlayStation logo inspired Porter wear We can also confirm that the previously announced Porter Suit: Link and Patch: Link, both inspired by the PlayStation logo, will be rewarded to all PS5 Porters via an update when the PC version launches. PC Porters will get access to these items as a bonus reward for connecting their account for PlayStation. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for PC is now available for pre-purchase on Steam and the Epic Games Store. We can’t wait for Porters to find out if we should have connected, next month. *Compatible PC and Graphics card required View the full article

Today is a huge deal for our tiny team. We’re over the moon to announce that Revival is launching on PS4 and PS5 on February 26! Play Video The story of Revival began over 20 years ago, way back in 2003. Inspired by the Civilization series and the sci-fi novels of the Strugatsky brothers, especially Roadside Picnic and Noon World, we released our very first game on the Symbian platform. It was basically a tiny Civilization, just 100 KB in size, yet it delivered a full 4X experience: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Revival: Recolonization takes place on Earth after an apocalypse caused by an superpower AI uprising. The forward-thinking remnants of humanity, the Emissaries, escaped into cryopods hidden deep underground. Your mission? Rebuild cities, research tech, explore dangerous lands for rare resources and mysterious anomalies, battle aggressive neighbors, and strike trade deals with friendlier ones. All in the name of restoring human civilization. On the map, you’ll meet diverse Peoples, survivors of the catastrophe who’ve regressed to a primitive state. Which clan you lead shapes your entire playstyle. It determines your faction’s culture, politics, special weapons, unique buildings, and even exclusive sciences to research. Each clan in the game belongs to one of five Peoples, each adapted to one of five climate types: Cold, Cool, Temperate, Hot, and Desert. Units that enter climates they’re not used to can lose health points, block building options, or not yield any resources at all. But hey, you can change the climate with edicts, an advanced technology from the past. It’s even possible to turn the climate into a weapon by altering the temperature in the enemy’s region. Oh, and that’s just the start. Edicts let you do all sorts of awesome stuff: raise or destroy mountains, grow forests, drench the land in acid, mind-control your foes, or even starting a zombie apocalypse. Every battle in Revival plays out on its own map, which reflects the climate and terrain of the global map. Before the fight, you get to scout the battlefield and place your units on the most favorable hexes. Plus, the Unit Editor lets you mix and match a ton of combinations, creating truly unique units with wildly different traits. As your empire grows, you unlock new sciences and resources, and even more ways to evolve your squads. Diplomacy evolves too, based on your relationship with other factions. Want to land a sweet deal? You’ll need to raise your standing with them first. And in Revival, you can trade more than just resources — swap techs and edicts too. You start the game with one clan and one region. The lands next to yours might belong to another faction… or be totally unclaimed. If a neighboring clan is independent, you can make them your vassal — and eventually assimilate them. How friendly a clan is toward you? That’s Loyalty. It shifts gradually, and you can influence it through your actions. A massive thank you to every player and fan of the Revival universe. Because of you, our little team made it this far, and brought our wildest dreams to life. Jump into Revival: Recolonization on PlayStation now! Take on the all-powerful All-Mind. Are you ready? View the full article

Last week, we asked you to explore the world of Nioh 3 and share moments fighting yokai using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: KeenEyeVP shares their protagonist striking a artful pose Mayuchemaru shares characters wearing ornate armor kisa0315ragi shares their character reeling back to attack an enemy on horse sayaka693518 shares shares a character surrounded in red with a devilish smile flamfura shares a moment of respite near a shrine themarkplumb shares a masked character surrounded by red slashes Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? THEME: Framing SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on February 25, 2026 Next week, find unique ways to frame your subject using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

PlayStation Store Festive New Year promotion comes to PlayStation Store on 4 February*! Enjoy up to 70% off on a huge range of incredible games until 25 February. Highlighted titles include Battlefield™ 6, Black Myth: Wukong, SILENT HILL f and Forza Horizon 5. Head to PlayStation Store to enjoy savings now! View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image PlayStation Plus Players who join PlayStation Plus Extra or Deluxe during 13 February to 26 February can save up to 35% on a PS Plus 12-month membership! Current PlayStation Plus members can save 35% on the remainder of their membership when upgrading a current plan to PlayStation Plus Deluxe.** With PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe, get access to monthly games, exclusive discounts, online multiplayer, and hundreds of games through the Game Catalog and Classics Catalog, including hit titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Sword of the Sea and many more. Explore the Classics Catalog with PlayStation Plus Deluxe, try select games like the epic Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with Game Trials, and more.** *Festive New Year Promotion starts on 4 February 00:00 JST and concludes on 25 February 23:59 JST. Each title may have different sale periods. Please refer to the information in the title details page. **Availability of Classics and Game Catalog varies over time, region/country, and plan. See https://www.playstation.com/Plus for details and updates on PlayStation Plus offerings. PlayStation Plus is an ongoing subscription subject to a recurring subscription fee taken automatically (at the then-current PS Store price) at the frequency you choose at purchase until cancellation. Terms apply: play.st/psplus-usageterms View the full article

Hello again, PlayStation VR2 players! We’re bringing Rager to PS VR2 on March 5, and we can’t wait for you to feel what rhythm-driven combat really means. Rager is a music-driven VR brawler where the rhythm is never background noise. Every strike, block, and dodge is tied directly to the soundtrack. Enemies attack in sync with pounding basslines and war drums, and your survival depends on whether you can match that timing with precision. This is combat built on control and awareness. You step into a shifting digital arena as robotic adversaries close in from every direction. The world forms around you as the music builds, then collapses back into the void when the fight is over. The next track begins, and the pressure starts again. No room for hesitation At launch on PS VR2, Rager includes a full campaign of 12 hand-built levels and three boss fights that escalate the pressure with every track. Each level locks you into a specific weapon and forces you to commit. There is no switching mid-fight. You adapt or you fail. The weapon in your hands changes the fight completely. Sword and Mace demand precision, striking independently with clean, deliberate timing. Axe and Hammer require both hands and full-body movement, rewarding committed swings with crushing impact. Claws and Fists pull you into close range, where attacks come faster and hesitation disappears. Every weapon shifts your stance, your reach, and your rhythm. You are reading the beat while reading the enemy, adjusting your timing in real time as attacks come from every direction. Freestyle mode opens another 12 levels from the start, giving you the freedom to choose your weapon and push your limits. Online leaderboards track every run. When a fight ends, you know exactly where you lost time. If your timing slips, you feel it. If you land clean, you feel that too. Rager rewards discipline. The tighter your movement, the harder it hits. The PS VR2 experience Rager is built around clarity, feedback, and physical commitment. On PS VR2, those elements come through at full strength. The game runs at a native 90Hz, keeping movement smooth and responsive during the fastest exchanges. When attacks come from multiple directions and the beat accelerates, you need stability. Native 90Hz ensures that what you see and what you feel stay locked together, frame by frame. HDR support deepens the contrast of the arena, sharpening silhouettes and impact flashes against the darkness. Dynamic foveated rendering powered by eye tracking keeps your focus crisp exactly where you’re looking, so telegraphed strikes stay readable even in chaotic moments. Then there’s the feedback. Advanced haptics in the PS VR2 Sense controllers reinforce timing in your hands. A clean strike lands with weight. A blocked attack sends resistance through your grip. Headset rumble adds force to heavy blows and boss slams, grounding you in the center of the arena. The result is combat that feels anchored. When you commit to a swing, you feel the consequence. For players who chase mastery, Rager includes a full trophy list, culminating in a Platinum trophy that rewards precision, discipline, and complete control of the rhythm. On PS VR2, every strike carries weight, every block carries resistance, and every mistake carries consequence. The arena opens March 5 Rager rewards players who stay sharp under pressure. When the tempo rises and attacks close in from every direction, hesitation costs you. Clean timing wins fights. Control keeps you standing. We’re proud to bring Rager to PlayStation VR2, and we’re excited to see how this community rises to the challenge. If you’re ready to test your timing, your stamina, and your control, we’ll see you in the arena on March 5. View the full article

This year is promising some great PlayStation 5 games – our Most Wanted Games of Early 2026 is easy proof of that. But we’re only just getting started. There’s so much more on the way, and with PS5 not only home to the biggest releases but also an exciting hotbed of super cool indie titles, it’s only fair to give you an enticing glimpse at why we’re so hyped for the coming months. Coffee Talk Tokyo | May 21 | PS5 If you’ve ever wanted to safely talk to yokai about their lives (or afterlives) over a cup of joe, then pull up a seat at the Tokyo cafe Chorus Worldwide has set up. If you’re not familiar with the lovely Coffee Talk series, this iteration continues its calming narrative, where you prepare and serve drinks to supernatural customers seeking chilled conversation and warm contemplation. Fishbowl | April TBD | PS5 Play Video As odd as its title might sound, Fishbowl carries a depth that’s already caught the eyes and tugged at the hearts of those who’ve played it. Exploring a journey of grief and self-discovery, the two-person studio of imissmyfriends promises a thoughtful and emotional visual novel. A coming-of-age tale set over a month, Fishbowl features sorting-and-matching puzzle gameplay elements, but, most importantly, it aims to teach players that taking things one day at a time is sometimes the only way to move forward. Hela | TBD 2026 | PS5 Play Video It’s entirely possible that when you first heard the title of this 3D co-op adventure, images of Nordic fire and brimstone came to mind. But never fear, Hela is pretty much the opposite. In fact, the only Scandinavian landscapes that have inspired this wholesome journey are those that have you reaching for the Create button for a revisit. Windup’s beautiful-looking escapade of puzzles and teamwork – via either local split-screen or online if you want to bring a buddy – lets you become a sickly witch’s mousey familiar, brewing healing potions and helping the local village with acts of kindness. Inkonbini: One Store. Many Stories | April TBD | PS5 Play Video Need space for a cosy gaming experience? Nagai Industries has you covered with this nostalgic slice-of-life narrative, where human connections created by everyday events are entirely the point. Inspired by early 1990s Japan, Inkobini sets you in a small-town convenience store where you not only go through the meditative routine of preparing the shop for customers, but also hear their tales and forge relationships. The branching narrative shapes your conversations as you help the neighbourhood grow and thrive. Mina the Hollower | Spring 2026 | PS5, PS4 Play Video One of the most anticipated titles of 2026, Yacht Club Games’ action-adventure blends an 8-bit aesthetic with modern design sensibilities, a combination that helped Shovel Knight become such a beloved indie darling. Genius inventor Mina isn’t just a dab hand with weapons like her Nightstar whip and daggers, but can also use her hollowing ability to burrow underground – perfect for mixing up combat and traversal in the many dungeons of the cursed Tenebrous Isle. Fan favourite musicians Jake Kaufman (the Shantae series) and Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage/Shinobi series) are also along for the adventure’s infectiously slick soundtrack. Mortal Shell II | TBD 2026 | PS5 Play Video Let’s step away from the cosy side for a spell, and get our hands a little dirty with the sequel to Cold Symmetry’s original action-RPG. While standalone from its predecessor, Mortal Shell II continues to deliver the unflinching fights, nightmarish enemies, and haunting open world that fans previously enjoyed. The corpses of departed warriors are yours to awaken and possess to utilize their many abilities. Finishers have been upgraded, and the stamina gauge has been removed to speed up combat. Oh, and there are firearms, too, so your bloody quest to reclaim the Undermether’s stolen eggs gives you a chance to introduce the likes of shotguns and rapid-fire crossbows to your foes. Mouse P.I. For Hire | March 19 | PS5 Play Video Evoking the hand-drawn aesthetic of classic 1930s cartoons, Fumi Games’s first-person shooter blends detective noir storytelling with all-action blasting. If you like jazz, machine guns, grizzled narration, and oversized white gloves, then Mouseburg will be your home away from home. But be warned – just like the animation it apes, this is a game where almost anything can happen. Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse | March 5 | PS5, PS4 Play Video There’s something special about a game that knows how endearing it is, and this vibrant 2D search action roguelike truly owns its charm – or should that be ‘curse’? Simply put, you control a magical hat with the power to possess your foes and use their abilities to venture through ruins, botanical gardens, and more, to help rebuild your ruined village. And what’s better than one cursed hat? Well, bring three friends along for the multiplayer mode and find out. Ontos | TBD 2026 | PS5 Play Video When Frictional Games announced it would be unleashing the spiritual successor to 2015 sci-fi horror Soma, any eager anticipation was rewarded with the first glimpses of Ontos. Swapping underwater chills for a desolate moon base, this disturbing narrative-driven adventure challenges you to scavenge materials, operate machinery, and make moral choices that could result in grave consequences as you delve deeper into the mystery of a failed mining colony. Out of Words | TBD 2026 | PS5 Play Video Easily one of the most unique-looking games in this list due to its eye-catching stop-motion and handcrafted visuals, Out of Words lives up to its title with two protagonists without mouths. In a quest to restore their voices, you and a friend take control of Kurt and Karla in a co-op platform adventure packed with puzzles and environmental challenges, testing your communication and coordination. And beneath the giant fish, tense set pieces, and physics-defying traversals, beats a tender story of connection and love, too. Over the Hill | TBD 2026 | PS5 Play Video It couldn’t have been easy to follow the stylish racing game art of rally, but developers Funselektor Labs and Strelka Games have made something decidedly different, albeit still on four wheels. Over the Hill focuses on exploration and discovery, with a deliberately paced drive through a wilderness of dynamic weather, day/night cycles, and terrain deformation. It’s not a race – it’s all about the journey, upgrading and customizing your vehicle, taking in the scenery, and even joining up to three friends to see what awaits past the sunset. We might be buzzing to get our hands on these games (and many more, coming), but what about you? Which indie titles are you looking forward to playing in 2026? View the full article

When we first started working on Death Howl, if you had told me we were building an “open world, soulslike deckbuilder,” I would have looked at you with a fair bit of confusion. It sounds like a recipe made out of components that don’t naturally fit together. Yet, as we prepare to bring the journey of Ro to a new audience on PlayStation 5 from February 19, I’ve been reflecting on how this genre blend came to be. The truth is, the “soulslike” tag wasn’t part of the original design document. A foundation of cards and tactics At its core, Death Howl began as a prototype that I made as a school project back in 2015 after playing the unique and brilliant game called Dream Quest. I’ve always been inspired by Magic: The Gathering and the idea of traversing a world to collect materials for crafting power. Our initial goal was to create an alternative to the traditional roguelite deckbuilder – something that traded linear, “always-start-from-beginning” runs for a free-roaming open world. We also looked at the character skill building where cards replaced traditional weapons and spells, with all combat taking place on a grid. Play Video The accidental Soulslike In general, we never intended to blend so many genres. At its core, Death Howl is an open world deckbuilder. But to achieve that vision, many different designs had to merge. We combined tactical, grid-based combat with deck building. We merged open world exploration with turn-based battles. And as the design evolved, other genre elements emerged organically – including soulslike mechanics. Honestly, I wasn’t even especially familiar with soulslike games when we started. It was something that came about from testers telling us it felt like one. Some elements were already in place. “Sacred Groves” – checkpoint locations much like the bonfires you might know from other games-allow you to heal, but they also respawn all enemies. We had designed these early on. But testers pointed to other traces of the genre in our game. They felt Death Howl earned the soulslike label because of how it rewards pattern recognition. You need to observe enemy behaviors – learning to avoid the frontal charge of a boar, for instance – and embrace the punishing but fair loop of death and adaptation. We made one key adjustment to fit our card-based structure. Instead of sending players back to the last checkpoint, dying in Death Howl returns you to the moment just before the encounter you lost. When Ro dies, she drops “Death Howls” – the currency earned from defeating enemies, used to craft new cards and upgrade abilities. These can be retrieved after respawning, much like souls in other games. This mechanic was perhaps the biggest direct inspiration we took from the genre once we became more familiar with it. The rest emerged more indirectly. But embracing the soulslike direction as an overall concept helped us add even more layers to the experience. For me, it’s still an open world deckbuilder. For others, it’s a soulslike card battler. Both are true. Balancing the dark and the ethereal Genre-blending is one part of Death Howl’s identity. The other is its mood. The world of Death Howl is a spirit realm born from grief, distant memories, and the unknown. To capture that otherworldly feeling, we leaned into a “linocut” or woodcut art style-inspired by heavy metal t-shirts and old-school Scandinavian illustrations – all rendered in minimalistic pixel art. This visual approach mirrors the gameplay in a way. Just as shapes emerge from deep shadows in our art, players must piece together the narrative of Ro’s quest to reunite with her son. The pixel art forces the viewer to imagine the details left in the darkness, creating space for their own interpretation. A journey to PlayStation Building Death Howl taught us that creating something unique often means combining elements that don’t obviously fit together. The result is a game that balances the calm of exploration with the intensity of turn-based combat, all wrapped in a story of resilience and loss. As we bring this experience to PlayStation 5 on February 19, we’re incredibly excited for a new community to step into our Spirit World and discover its secrets. Whether you’re a deckbuilding veteran or a soulslike fan looking for a tactical twist, we hope you’ll find something here that resonates. Death Howl is more than the sum of its genres-it’s a reflection of the creative journey that shaped it. View the full article