Commander Fury

Hey there! Chris from the Codemasters team here, quickly stepping out of the Dirt 5 garage to share some major game goodness with you. We’re incredibly excited to share the official features trailer for Dirt 5, launching on October 9 for PlayStation 4, then racing on PlayStation 5 later this year. I know you hear stuff like that a lot from games studios, but seriously – we are so excited to share this trailer with you, showing off brand new content, big features and plenty more that we’ve been tuning up in recent weeks and months. On top of that, we’re stoked to confirm that Dirt 5 includes a FREE next-gen upgrade option to the PlayStation community. That means if you pick up the game on PS4, digitally or physically, you’ll get the PS5 version, free of charge, when you choose to switch to the new console. Pretty sweet, right? There’s a lot to take in from our latest trailer, so we thought we’d take you under the hood and give you some exclusive details on what the new Dirt 5 trailer is packing… Tear up brand new global locations Dirt 5’s action takes place across 10 brand new locations, built from the ground up and designed for all manner of epic racing. In the trailer, we focus on three locations: Morocco – a rocky and dusty setting for some extreme and challenging races, where you’ll speed through barren open land and wind through villages. Brazil – exotic and full of surprises, you’ll find lush forest routes, tight routes through favelas and much more, all under the shadow of the iconic Christ the Redeemer. Arizona – between the iconic buttes, turn canyons and crevasses into racetracks, and find a purpose-build oval for some insane Sprint events. Nepal, Roosevelt Island, Norway, China, Greece, Italy and South Africa are the seven other brand new locations, all hosting multiple events, all with their own bold design and colour palette. Combine all this with Dirt 5’s dynamic extreme weather, with blizzards, sandstorms, lightning strikes and more transforming any race, and you’ve got a tantalising world tour of extreme racing waiting for you. Time to clock up those air miles… New driving experiences Variety is something we’ve focused on for Dirt 5, and we wanted to make sure that comes across in the new trailer with an array of vehicles and classes. No Dirt game would be complete without some iconic rally and rallycross from the likes of Subaru, Mitsubishi and Ford, which are dotted throughout the video. We love ‘em. On top of that, though, we rolled in some machines you’ve never been behind the wheel of before… Overcome all obstacles in our huge Rock Bouncer and Formula Off-Road classes. Feel the raw power of the Super Lites – off-road buggies with mad power and no excess weight. On the other end of the scale (literally), climb into racing trucks and converted SUVs to plough through the opposition. All sporting the ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ feel and handling that the Codemasters team is known for, you’ll have a blast getting to know these machines in our events. Speaking of which… Off road-racing variety Dirt 5 is designed to be your one-stop shop for any kind of off-road racing experience you desire. The locations and car classes reflect that, but so do the event types we’re bringing you – an amplified mix of classic races, new events, and some returning favourites. In the features trailer we show plenty of these, including Ultra Cross and Landrush; circuit-based races for some exhilarating pack racing. There’s also point-to-point racing in Rally Raid events, then the likes of Stampede and Path Finder challenge you to overcome boulders, huge hill climbs and serious obstacles. The trailer ends by revealing the return of a Dirt staple: Gymkhana! To the uninitiated, these are timed events where you’re dropped into an arena full of jumps, drift zones, donut spots and other spots for automotive antics. Pull off tricks in these zones and string them together to push up your overall score within the time limit, with the highest score winning the event. We’re over the moon to bring Gymkhana back to the series, with a fresh Dirt 5 twist. Be part of the vibe These locations, cars and events shape the action in Dirt 5, whether you’re engrossed in our Career mode story starring Troy Baker and Nolan North, playing other offline modes with split-screen available up to four players, or heading online to throw down against the world in races and more innovative events that we’ll reveal in September. Everything we’ve covered here is all tied together by something we mentioned on the PS Blog in May – the vibe of Dirt 5. The art style, overall feel and look of the game has a vibe of fun, self-expression and confidence that invites you to express yourself. We still have a lot of new goodies to show you between now and October 9, including a huge feature never seen before from Dirt, and it’ll all carry that same vibe. Consider this your invitation. 😉 View the full article

Howdy Rangers! Robert “RJ” James, also known as the Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger, makes his way into the grid today as the first of three characters included in our Season 3 DLC pass! With the release of RJ (and Samurai Megazord, which is obtainable for free with today’s 2.3 patch), the roster now boasts a total of 19 playable characters and five Megazord Ultras. If you’ve been itching to try out a fast-paced 3v3 brawler with ridiculously fun tag team mechanics, now’s a great time to give Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid a shot! Who is RJ? In the first episode of Jungle Fury, RJ is introduced as an affable pizza parlor owner who ultimately grants the Jungle Fury Rangers their Ranger powers, becoming their mentor and trainer in preparation for the incoming threat of Dai Shi. RJ’s fighting style is unique to the rest of the cast of Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, as he’s much less reliant on weapons, with several of his normal and Special attacks inspired by his popular moves in the show and Muay Thai elbow and knee strikes. Special Attacks For his primary Special attack, Wolf Wheel, RJ tosses out an energy disc in front of him that he can manipulate in a couple of ways. With an input of Special > forward Special, RJ projects the disc out in front of him, grabs it as he hurtles into the air, then slams the disc down at an angle. If the disc hits the ground, it ricochets and changes its trajectory. Alternatively, with an input sequence of Special > back + Special, he blasts the Wolf Wheel straight forward as he charges his fist into it with his Backswing Bite special, for a powerful horizontal screen-clearing attack. RJ’s air Special is a two-parter called Knee Crush and Wolf Crush. When Knee Crush makes contact, RJ bounces off, and if you hit Special again during this special back flip, RJ follows up with a heel kick. Knee Crush is useful for its added aerial mobility thanks to its “double jump” effect, while Wolf Crush is great for applying pressure off of jump attack strings (jumping Heavy > Knee Crush > Wolf Crush, for example). RJ’s Lunar Cyclone is a dual function Super move. If it hits up close successfully, it transitions into a Super cinematic, inflicting massive damage to the opponent. When performed from past point-blank melee range (or if the initial hit is blocked), RJ’s spiraling uppercut causes a gravity vortex that pulls all enemies into range (including assists)! RJ Gameplay Pointers Since most of RJ’s ground normals are aggressive forward-lunging attacks, he makes for an effective rushdown brawler, especially if you back him up with a strong lockdown assist like Dragon Armor Trini’s Megabeam or Jen Scotts’s Forecast: Rain. RJ’s standing Light > standing Light target combo and his standing Medium > standing Medium target combo enders must be blocked high, with the standing Light iteration leading into a ground bounce (and into a potential juggle combo). Once you condition the opponent into high blocking your target combos, switch it up and instead go for a standing Light > crouching Medium sequence for a mid to low near-instant 50/50 high/low mixup. RJ’s combos are deadly and generally straightforward if you’ve got an understanding of the game’s hard knockdown and OTG (off-the-ground) combo mechanics. His standing Medium and standing Heavy target combo chains both end in a hard knockdown, which can then be followed up with a crouching Medium slide OTG hit. A bread-and-butter combo with RJ usually involves juggling with standing Medium > standing Medium (hard knockdown), into crouching Medium (OTG) > crouching Heavy (launcher). RJ’s assist is a modified version of his Wolf Wheel > Spike attack. It’s an excellent combo extender thanks to its guaranteed ground bounce effect. Additionally, if you take over as RJ while he’s mid-flight, you can come down swinging with an overhead jumping attack. This opens up some super tricky Assist Takeover shenanigans! Now that you know a bit more about RJ’s backstory, fighting style, and gameplay strengths, show us what you’ve got in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid! It’s morphin’ time! Jump into the grid and play as RJ by installing Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid and its Season 3 pass, available now at Playstation Store. View the full article

What is that melody? A new album of Overwatch music is live today, available now on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and Deezer. Entitled Overwatch: Cities & Countries, the collection of music features the regional themes of Overwatch maps and missions across the world. In addition to the new album release, starting tomorrow until July 27, players will be able to earn limited-time rewards during the Sigma Maestro Challenge including the legendary Maestro Sigma skin in Overwatch. In honor of the album release, we caught up with the composer team – Adam Burgess (Blizzard Composer) and Derek Duke (Blizzard Music Director), to talk about how this new musical project came to be. Tell us about your respective musical backgrounds. Adam Burgess: I have always had my feet in both the classical and contemporary worlds, and music was always very collaborative for me. I grew up playing in bands, and learning a lot of contemporary music, but at the same time, I was studying classical guitar, and teaching myself recording techniques and technology on my parents’ computer when it was available. Instrumental — especially orchestral — music always seemed scary, isolating and intimidating, and although I tried endlessly, I couldn’t write a good song to save my life. It wasn’t until my 20’s that I started to become serious about creating my own instrumental music, which I ended up loving to do more than anything I had tried before. I guess you can say that I failed my way into one of the best things that happened to me. Derek Duke: I went through piano and theory lessons at an early age, then other instruments while growing up like guitar, trumpet, euphonium and some others though not too deeply. I also studied dance for several years, which I certainly wouldn’t count out from being formative and related. In high school I had the opportunity to student-conduct choir and was writing and arranging instrumental/orchestral music, while simultaneously pursuing early synthesizers. I was even experimenting with building my own, as well as dabbling in programming and computer control of them with the first-generation of home PCs. During my education at CalArts, the opportunity to pursue world music alongside composition, while doubling my work, awoke a connection and keen interest in musics of the world, especially their vocal music traditions — enough so to warrant traveling to West Africa for recording/research and living in South India after my graduation to study music there more in depth. By never favoring the most typical, standard or easy route and always looking for the new, interesting and adventurous path, it was always my hope, by those that have shared knowledge with me and all I’ve been exposed to that it’s helped to bring me a unique type of creativity. What influences you when you compose music? Derek Duke: Overwatch is constantly balancing the classic and iconic, while presenting a hopeful vision for the future. You see it in all aspects of the design, such as the artwork, the environment, and the different heroes and our stories. We really try to bring that mindset to the music. We get inspiration from all music, from classical to contemporary, experimental, and everything in between. It’s all music to us, and everything can be an influence. We will throw any two sounds together and see where things go. We don’t let boundaries of genre and instrumental tradition hinder us. That said, given OW’s setting among many real-world cities and countries, we pay attention to look for and use instruments with links to their regions in our musical explorations and creations. How did you get started in gaming? Was there anything specific that led to it? Adam Burgess: Gaming was mostly a social thing growing up. I have fond memories of visiting my friend’s houses and playing PC and console titles on weekends. It is still the thing that I love the most about games, a franchise like Overwatch, and the titles that Blizzard has created. I can’t say that there was a particular moment or title that made me want to pursue game music, it was more the intrigue of questions that I didn’t have answers to. Video games are often very interactive. They are not linear like film or television. I was always curious how the music changes depending on my actions as a player, what decisions I make, and where I take my character. Games have only gotten more intricate over time, and this creative decision making is something that continues to be an inspiration and driving force in my love for gaming, and game music. Derek Duke: Serendipity. At the particular time I got involved, early ‘90s, I was still involved in the academic world of composing. I was approached by a friend who I’d done an audio favor for back in college with a referral. At that time, finding people that had knowledge of how to work with sound/music/audio in any interactive way or even in conjunction with a computer was pretty rare. It was really knowing how to deal with computers and audio file types etc. back then that got me in the door. Once I got that first job, the work just continued. For me though, it was a special kind of work. It fulfilled me in ways different from other “paying music gigs,” the interactivity possibilities, participating in game design and function, size etc. and working together with people on a project that to make something greater than the sum of its parts. Then at one point I chanced upon the opportunity and won a very special gig, writing some music for a game called StarCraft from Blizzard Entertainment. Now I’m coming up on 20 years working on the most amazing video game franchises in the world. What was your process when creating this album? Can you explain how you took one particular track from beginning to end? Derek Duke: The album has slowly evolved over the past five years as more locations were added to the Overwatch universe and we now have the opportunity to share it with the community. We have always known that we wanted to give more of our music to the fans, and we thought that it was a strong concept to present all our location music as a cohesive soundtrack. The presented tracks are all extended versions of our in-game music, many times small suites are composed to create a bit more material for other related use, so there is a lot of new music for fans to experience on the album. Derek Duke: One unique piece was Blizzard World, which lent itself to some cross-franchise music that we hadn’t had the opportunity to do before. It was also unique in that it is a totally fictional location (although one that we all wish existed). The second half of the piece combines numerous different classic themes from World of Warcraft into one short segment, where the themes layer on top of each other in interesting ways. If you listen closely and pick apart the different layers, you’ll hear calls to the World of Warcraft Main Title, A Call to Arms, Illidan, and Stormwind. But when you listen to it as a whole, it very much sounds like Overwatch. It’s like an easter egg for Blizzard fans. Once we recorded the orchestra and choir, it all came together in a way that we were really excited about. How do you compose and produce tracks that reflect the uniqueness of the locations? Derek Duke: Each location is different, and inspiration calls to you in different ways. We are influenced by so many things from the environmental artwork, to world history, traditional instruments, and modern pop culture. If we told you that a huge part of the Hollywood track was influenced by Taylor Swift and Nine Inch Nails, you probably wouldn’t believe us. You would likely never hear it, but it’s true. Sometimes an idea that can seem bizarre on the surface can send you down the right path if you are willing to chase it. The key for us is to have an open mind, and to be willing to experiment. How do you approach blending the futuristic, fast-paced vibe of Overwatch with the vibes of culturally rich locations around the world? Adam Burgess and Derek Duke: Everything we do, we try to present through the lens of what we think this would sound like in the Overwatch universe. We have a philosophy that our location music needs to sound like the Overwatch franchise before anything else. Overwatch is future-possible, uplifting and positive. Our location music is typically energetic, and functions in a way to load you into a match with energy and anticipation. You should feel excited to play by the moment you are selecting your hero. The key is injecting enough traditional flavor to make it interesting and unique, but the core goal remains that it should sound like Overwatch at the end of the day. Do you have a favorite track from the album? Derek Duke: These tracks are like memories for us, in that they’re attached to so many different moments, from different launches, to different BlizzCons. It’s hard to choose a favorite, and it’s honestly like a trip down memory lane to listen to this soundtrack. We hope that Overwatch fans will feel the same way. Is there anything else you would like to add? Derek Duke: It takes so many people involved in so many ways and on so many levels to help us bring the music for Overwatch to life; from other composers, the game team, our amazing producers, and sound designers, artists, game designers and creative leads, as well as our families, friends and others that support us in our daily lives. We all hope that you enjoy Overwatch: Cities & Countries as much as we have creating it. View the full article

With every installment of the history-hopping Assassin’s Creed series, there’s a moment that I long for. Meeting some famed historical figure; perfectly timing an assassination from the shadows; crawling to the top of an architectural wonder to make an iconic leap of faith. The moment always inspires awe, and centers my experience in whatever time or narrative the series has found itself in. During my three hour demo with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, that moment came at the end of a bloody raid, where my Viking hero Eivor triumphantly climbed atop a besieged monastery to blow a massive war horn, signalling to the region that she was unconquered and victorious. While Valhalla maintains some traditional series mainstays (the hidden blade is back, y’all!), its gripping battling systems, lore-inspired boss fights, and era-relevant challenges had me ready to grab a shield and yell “Skål!”. Set in the 9th century, Valhalla explores the Viking invasion of England in all its gruesome and glorious detail. Eivor is a member of the Raven clan, respected and seeking both alliances and peace for her (or his) people as they settle into the new world. Naturally, peace often comes at the end of a blade. The demo I played centered around a quest to protect a would-be ruler for the region of East Anglia. An unlikely relationship has been forged between the English and invading Danes, but a rival Viking clan seeks to ruin it. Eivor is tasked with gaining reinforcements to confront the errant clan leader and save the new King’s throne. While there were certainly options to face this task alone with nothing but a cloak and hidden blade, Valhalla’s true spark ignites when Eivor leans on her clan. Near water, Eivor can summon a longboat manned by Jomsviking, clan members who will row, fight, and even sing as she moves across England’s riversides. When approaching an enemy location, Eivor can use the Raid command to rally the Jomsviking into battle at her side. It made storming an enemy fort feel rapturous, as I gleefully unleashed Helheim on my enemies. The feeling of community increased tenfold during a larger castle Assault. Similar to Conquest Battles in Odyssey, Assaults are large scale fights between warring factions. Unlike Odyssey, Valhalla turns these moments into lessons in strategy. Sieging a castle requires breaching multiple gates, all while fighting off enemies on the ground and the walls above. Eivor can tackle this head on, battling enemies one by one before grabbing a battering ram to break down the wooden gates, all while avoiding burning oil and flaming arrows raining down from the ramparts. Alternatively, those with a stealthier streak can cut to the chase, finding ways up the castle walls where Eivor can dispatch enemies from above and jump down to open gates from the opposite side, moving her clan in swiftly before confronting the lead rival at the center. Regardless of strategy, Eivor strikes as the leader of a larger movement, making these battle sequences more engaging than ever before. Combat feels equally rewarding in smaller, solo encounters. Eivor is free to explore the expanse of England’s burgeoning countryside as she seeks to gain wealth and power for her clan. While the hidden blade is the mainstay for stealth assassinations, Eivor can equip a number of weapons like hefty axes, spiked flails, burly shields, and deadly daggers. In a pinch, swap weapons between hands at any time by double tapping X, mixing up some slick attacks in the heat of a fight. Staggering enemies opens up the chance for a stun attack, and let me tell you, there is nothing more satisfying than watching Evior bash someone upside the head with her shield. Discovering Books of Knowledge throughout the world unlock special Abilities: unique attacks mapped to each trigger. Eivor needs to build up adrenaline to use these attacks, but moves that let her toss multiple axes or send her raven Synin to attack enemies can often turn the tide in her favor. More than anything, I was impressed with Ubisoft’s continuous dedication to a richly rewarding open world. Exploring the countryside I could meet pious English townsfolk looking for help reclaiming religious artifacts, or just as easily stumble into a hallucinogenic-fueled duel with seidrs: fearsome Viking shamans with an axe to grind. One second I cooed at a sun-dripped field filled with bunnies, the next I found myself in the center of a ring of cursed figurines where Eivor needed to destroy an unholy altar. Pressing in the right thumbstick enables Eivor’s Odin Sight, which can help her key in on valuable objects or tag nearby enemies with ease. While side quests and collectibles fill the map, Eivor can encounter random World Events along her journey that keep life unpredictable. In true Viking fashion, she can also be challenged to delightful drinking competitions, one where she drunkenly attempts to hit pots with arrows while swaying off balance, another where she has to down three drinking horns faster than her challenger. She doesn’t just drink; Eivor can also dominate at flyting matches, games of wit where each person trades increasingly impressive insults. A few other details that caught my Odin Sight… The Raven: Eivor’s black-feathered companion, Synin, can help survey the area to spot enemies or mark points of interest from the skies. Listen close while making a leap of faith…let’s just say ravens sound very different from eagles. Grab some grub: A hungry Viking’s got to eat! Eivor can heal by hitting right on the D-pad to consume rations. Stock up on these by picking berries and mushrooms in the wilderness or picking tables clean in towns. Look to the stars: Eivor can build out her skills by placing earned points into sprawling constellations that correspond to the three gear types: Raven, Bear, or Wolf. Main skills provide passive fighting moves while smaller nodes improve base fighting stats. Rock on: Stumble across some standing stones in the countryside? Gaze at them using Odin’s Sight to reveal patterns that Eivor must align for a reward. She can also find Cairns, spots to stack and balance stones to reach a certain height. Catch them if you can: Longtime Assassin’s Creed fans may be pleased to see the return of chase challenges, where Eivor will happen upon flying papers that get swept up in the wind and must be caught before it’s too late. Skin deep: Players can customize Eivor’s look by discovering Auki Sign schemes. Bring these schemes to tattoo artists across Viking settlements to change up Eivor’s signature ink. Love is in the air: Certain quests will prompt amourous propositions, which Eivor can graciously accept or decline. Try not to forget your lover’s name! Horses can swim! That’s it, that’s the whole bullet. Glitch in the system: If a corner of the English countryside seems a bit unsynchronized, you may have stumbled across an Animus Anomaly. In these moments the Animus simulation of Eivor’s adventure will pause while present-day protagonist Layla takes over. Navigate the anomaly to reach a data packet filled with eye-catching secrets. All these rich additions will test Eivor’s mettle as she works to help her clan settle across England by any means necessary. Sound the horns! Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is shaping up to be a rousing adventure when it hits PS4 this holiday. View the full article

Email us at [email protected]! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here PlayStation · Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 370: Girl Talk Welcome back y’all! This week, Kristen interviews Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey for a spoiler-filled The Last of Us Part II discussion. The team also talks PlayStation Indies, Ghost of Tsushima, and more. Listen in! Oh, and be warned — The Last of Us Part II spoilers kick in starting at 41:17! Stuff We Talked About The Last of Us Part II Ghost of Tsushima PlayStation Indies Superhot: Mind Control Delete Neversong The Cast Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE Kristen Zitani – Content Communications Specialist, SIE Justin Massongill – Content Communications Manager, SIE Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and 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 you to roam the world of The Last of Us Part II and share overgrown and hardened scenery shots using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: Greenery takes over this broken urban landscape in Drag0nScary. Looking up in this shot from em_the_gem2. GAMEVNOM shares a Seraphite shrine. Ellie’s horse takes a break in this share by shotsoulgamer. TheFourthFocus shares an intimate shot of an abandoned music shop. Seattle’s Chinatown gets a spotlight from yoowherezzmick1. Search #PS4share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? Theme: The Last of Us Part II – Portraits Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, July 15 Next week, turn your lens to your favorite The Last of Us Part II characters and share up close, detailed portraits using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Last month we were honored to present the announce trailer for Horizon Forbidden West to the PlayStation community during PlayStation’s The Future of Gaming digital showcase event. Next month will be equally exciting, as we’ll introduce the world of Horizon to a whole new community when Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition launches on PC. This month we’d like to present something of a very different nature: Horizon Raw Materials, a new merchandise brand aimed at extending the world of Horizon beyond video games. In this update we’ll cover the first assortment of apparel, tabletop games, comic books and music released under the new brand, so let’s dig right in! Horizon Raw Materials Apparel by Insert Coin Insert Coin is one of the leading names in high quality video game inspired apparel, so we were thrilled to join forces with them for a range of exclusive, officially licensed wares. Take a look at their hot new Horizon Raw Materials clothing line inspired by Horizon Forbidden West: Aloy 2.0: Cord Sherpa Jacket Pre-order starts July 10 @ 8AM PT / 4PM BST Price: GBP £84.99*, USD $95 (approx.)** Ships to US, Canada, Europe (excluding Russia), Australia, New Zealand Focus: Beanie & Pin Set Pre-order starts July 10 @ 8 AM PT / 4PM BST Price: GBP £27.99*, USD $32 (approx.)** Ships to US, Canada, Europe (excluding Russia), Australia, New Zealand Tremortusk: Striped Short Sleeve Tee Pre-order starts July 10 @ 8 AM PT / 4PM BST Price: GBP £23.99*, USD $27 (approx.)** Ships to US, Canada, Europe (excluding Russia), Australia, New Zealand Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game Successfully funded on Kickstarter in less than two hours, the eagerly awaited Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game by Steamforged Games is now nearing completion. If you missed out on the Kickstarter campaign, there’s still time to put in a limited edition all-in pledge that gives you access to the core game (pictured below), all ten expansion packs, AND the Kickstarter-exclusive miniatures via the Steamforged Games web store. The core game is slated to ship in November 2020, with additional expansion packs shipping in July 2021. Available to pre-order now, until July 16, 2020, 4pm PST / July 17, 2020, 12am BST Price: USD $360*, EUR €315.00*, GBP £280.00* Ships to US, Canada, Europe (excluding Russia and Ukraine), Australia, New Zealand We’ve had a lot of fun playing the game during Steamforged Games’ visit to the Guerrilla studio: Play Video Horizon Zero Dawn Comic Book Series Published by Titan Comics, the Horizon Zero Dawn comic book spin-off by artist Ann Maulina and writer Anne Toole takes place after the events of the original game, and focuses on the skilled Carja hunter Talanah. The title will be part of Free Comic Book Day, with a special FCBD issue set to hit comic book stores on July 22. Issue #1 in the series will feature beautiful variant covers from Ann Maulina, Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Peach Momoko and Lois van Baarle, and will be released on August 5. Available to pre-order now until August 5 Price: USD $8*or $3.99* for digital copy, EUR €3.99 (approx.)**, GBP £2.65 (approx.)** Available in US & CAN, UK & Europe, digitally worldwide, and at Comic Book Retailers Worldwide For more insight into how we’re bringing the world of Horizon to the medium of comics, be sure to check out this interview with Studio Director/Art Director Jan-Bart van Beek and Narrative Director Ben McCaw: Play Video Also, don’t miss the special spotlight panel recorded for [email protected] 2020 and featuring the full creative team behind the comic book series, which will air on July 23 at 2pm PDT / 10pm BST / 11pm CEST! Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West Music Releases To celebrate the upcoming launch of Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition for PC, Republic of Music will release a limited re-issue of the award-winning Horizon Zero Dawn soundtrack by composers Joris de Man, The Flight, Jonathan Williams, Niels van der Leest and the Guerrilla Audio Team in September. If you weren’t able to get your hands on this highly collectible 4-disc vinyl soundtrack the first time around, now’s your chance as it’s available for pre-order now! Available to pre-order now until sold out (white edition strictly limited to 500 copies) Price: GBP £50* Worldwide Shipping Different colour variant available later this year at select retailers And speaking of Horizon soundtracks, we have good news for those of you who can’t get enough of the theme song from the Horizon Forbidden West announcement trailer! Composed by Joris de Man and featuring the angelic vocals of Julie Elven, the track “Promise of the West” is available now for streaming and purchase on all major digital music channels in collaboration with our friends at Sony Masterworks. As you can probably tell from the lineup above, it’s a great time to be a Horizon fan. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though — we have many more exciting Horizon Raw Materials updates planned for the future, so stay tuned to the PlayStation Blog and Guerrilla’s Twitter account for the latest news! *Recommended retail price plus applicable tax and shipping. **Plus applicable tax and shipping. Prices may vary based on daily conversion rate. View the full article

A quick update for our fans — here’s your first look at the box art for PS5 games you’ll be seeing on store shelves this holiday, starring Marvel Super Hero Miles Morales. Any thoughts on the new look? View the full article

Gamedev is full of success stories. Tales of happy people who gleefully work on their project for several months and emerge with a great game after a joyful development. In reality, this is rarely the case. The process of making games can be hard, demanding, full of doubt, sorrow, and dead ends. That was exactly the case with our latest project and how it came to be. After finishing Superhot VR we sat down thinking — what can we do next? Then stopped, because we remembered that we had already started a little thing right after Superhot. We promised to make something for the people who loved the game but felt it was too short. A thing to keep them occupied while we work on whatever we decide to do next. It was supposed to be a short project, no longer than three months of work, given away for free to anyone who bought the original, non VR Superhot game. More than three years later we’re at the finish line of that “little thing” now called Superhot: Mind Control Delete. What is it, exactly? To be honest I don’t really know what genre it is anymore. We wanted to make a rogue-lite, but Superhot: Mind Control Delete lost any resemblance to one a long time ago. Let’s just say you have gameplay similar to the original game but the levels are much less linear. You go through sequences of areas and if you die you start the section again. If you succeed, more challenges unlock. We also added more enemy types, weapons, new abilities, and power-ups. It’s a fully-featured game complete with a “non-existent” story that is waiting for you to explore and experience rather than being rammed at you in high-speed like in the original Superhot. In order to make MCD we had to completely rearrange the way we think and design. The first game was this tiny, highly-polished gem. It was so devoid of any unnecessary features that it felt impossible to build upon. Everything felt superfluous, every new thing we added to MCD just made it worse. We had to make dire decisions and basically crush this precious gem into a thousand pieces and reassemble it into something new. The development was long, hard, and eventful. We made a decision to go into early access to gather feedback from people, which threw us into high speed development mode we weren’t used to. The team was rapidly growing, and so was the project. Features piled up, new ideas came one after another, and we couldn’t resist adding MORE stuff to it. Everything seemed to fit, all was going so well. At least until we crashed head-first into a brick wall. After more than a year and a half of development we felt tired and decided: “let’s stop here and look at what we have.” Unfortunately, we realized that we had created a monstrosity. An abomination consisting of too much stuff — unpolished, unoptimized, cryptic, and confusing, with no clear story or purpose. Our drive for MORE exhausted us; the project became too heavy, weighed us down. Despite that, we refused to give up. We believed there was something inside this amorphous pile of MCD that could be salvaged. It just needed some trimming, removing a few “not-that-good” features. We just had to cut out a fake internet app, chats with a friend feature, daily and weekly challenges, boss battles, community hub, interactive red voice, scoring system, in-game currency connected with game progression, create-your-run system, leaderboards, boss fight arenas, rewrite the story three or four times, change the whole UI, remake all upgrades, rewrite the system of getting new upgrades, and more. Surely it wouldn’t take us that long to finish — we thought. A year and a half later, we finally did it. When we started out we never imagined it would be that difficult and taxing. We came to the depths of despair and back, fighting to create a thing that not only we would be proud of but you would immensely enjoy. We stripped the game to the bare minimum we thought necessary, and in doing so we discovered its true identity. Along the way our initial goals did not change a bit: make a game that will provide you with dozens of hours of gameplay as a thank you for believing in us during Kickstarter, and supporting us emotionally and financially by playing and buying Superhot and waiting patiently for whatever comes next. That’s why Mind Control Delete will still be given away to every owner of the original game on every platform. We feel proud of our creation. We think it’s a good game and hope you’ll play the hack out of it… and enjoy it half as much as we suffered making it! Look here! A shameless promotion plug! Read it, it’s good for you! Remember Mind Control Delete will be free for everyone who has purchased the original, non-VR Superhot prior to the release of MCD! Yes, it means we’re giving away over two million copies of the game on (almost) every imaginable platform. For those eligible, your free copy of Mind Control Delete will be added automatically to your PS4 games library after the release. Check out the official Superhot website for all the details. Finally, we have also created lots of lovely Superhot: Mind Control Delete wallpapers to help celebrate our launch. Head over to playstation.com and snap them up. Thank you for everything, love always, Superhot Team View the full article

Ghost of Tsushima is right around the corner. Very soon, we’ll finally be able to take you on this journey, time traveling back to feudal Japan. You will become Jin Sakai, a wandering samurai fighting to save his home, the island of Tsushima. Tsushima is a real place, a Japanese island located between the Japanese mainland and the Korean Peninsula. We visited Tsushima multiple times during the project, a beautiful place crowded with mountains and dense forests. Green covers what seems like every inch of the island, a rolling tree line from the top of the mountains all the way down to the ocean. However, our version of Tsushima is not a 1:1 recreation of the real-life counterpart — it’s a love letter to all of its parts. We took essential elements of the island, mixed with some inspirations from mainland Japan, and built this unique world for Ghost. During our trips, we recorded birds and nature sounds and photo-scanned leaves from Tsushima island, and used them in the actual game. This was a way for us to bring a little piece of the real island of Tsushima to you. Ghost of Tsushima is by far the biggest game we have ever made. The map is divided into three regions filled with more than forty diverse Biomes and hundreds of points of interest. Our goal when building an open world game is always “if you can see it, you can reach it.” You will journey through lush forests, cross boggy swamp lands, and enter into frozen mountainous landscapes. We collected so many references from movies, games, paintings, and even travel posters to draw inspiration. We want to present you with an authentic, believable world, a world that would call out to you, inviting you to explore, a world that is rich and full of surprises. The world of Tsushima is built around two pillars: natural beauty and manmade order. While exploring the world, you may follow a string of torii gates to a forgotten shrine, assault a fortified castle, or find an abandoned fishing hut near the water. There are hundreds of locations in Tsushima to explore and hidden rewards to find. Based on the region, different locations have their own identity. For example, the healing town of Akashima is located in lowland wetlands. Moss hangs and grows on every surface, mist lingers above the ground, and incense burns near the great bell. You might even hear frogs croaking around you. It is mysterious and beautiful. Nature plays an important role in the world of Tsushima. It creates a rich, vibrant color palette that drives the art style and identity of our game. When we first started, nature was just part of the general background, and it wasn’t until we started working on the grasslands, and saw it as a singular element, that we realized how powerful it could be. I remember the moment we were looking at the screen, a sea of white fluffy pampas flowers dancing in the wind, rolling wave patterns flowing round after round, and white particles flying in the air. It was stunning. That success inspired us to look at how we could make our natural spaces more memorable and unique. We tried lots of methods to reach our goals, limiting the variety of foliage, pushing color values, increasing translucency levels, and reducing noise on textures. In the end, this bold use of color in nature became a theme for our game. By limiting the types of foliage in biomes, we were better able to bring a sense of freshness to each area and create a much more memorable world. You may have already heard that Ghost has a unique mechanic called the Guiding Wind. At any time, players can summon a gust of wind to help guide them to their destination. As the wind blows, players will notice everything react around them — foliage, cloth, particles helping point them in the right direction. That’s not the only role the wind plays, though. Imagine a classic samurai movie scene, two samurai warriors standing in a grass field, raising their swords and staring at each other, both perfectly still, holding their breath waiting for the next move. Behind that stillness is a world of motion. Grass is waving, leaves are flying through the air, cloth is blowing in the wind, and rain is coming down from the sky tapping every surface. As tension increases, we want our world to reinforce that feeling, static versus movement, and lead you to have that true cinematic moment. During the years it took to build our version of Tsushima, we faced a lot of challenges; the biggest one was scope. As the largest game we have ever made, can you imagine if we needed to place every single blade of grass by hand? What if we then needed to change the type or density of grass later? We would not be able to finish, so we made procedural tools that would allow us to build a massive world unbelievably fast and would still be really flexible if we changed our minds later on. These tools allowed us to be more creative and expressive in our artistic choices. Here are some examples of our tools in action: Foliage growing in a forest: Freedom of painting grass: Here are millions of blades of grass loaded together: Tsushima is rich in density and variety, and it’s also constantly changing. You might be standing on the top of a cliff and see a big storm on the horizon. You could be crossing a bridge as clouds cover the sun and rain starts to drop unexpectedly. You could be sneaking around a Mongol war camp on a misty night, but moments later end up watching a beautiful sun rise on the ocean shore with your horse… it’s all dynamic. Exploring the world of Tsushima is a core part of our gameplay, and we treat the environment like a living character. One that’s breathing, moving, has her own personality, and is charming and plentiful. There are so many stories the world wants to tell and surprises to discover. We invite you to join us on that journey on July 17. View the full article

Hey there everyone, Pip from No More Robots here! I’m so excited to bring you the news that Nowhere Prophet, our dust-punk deckbuilder will be launching on PlayStation 4 on July 30! Nowhere Prophet sees you crossing a post-apocalyptic wasteland on a planet called Soma, where civilization has broken down and the lack of resources made everyone turn either bandit or madman. At its end lies the mysterious Crypt, which promises safety and prosperity for you and your band of followers – each of which is a fragile card that can be wounded or killed along the way. Can you keep your followers safe along this treacherous trail? Nowhere Prophet is a single player, deckbuilding card game with procedurally generated maps, a high difficulty and permadeath. Set in an unforgiving world, here everything will be stacked against you. Each member of your deck that you collect, buy or trade is either a human being, a loyal beast or a machine built to aid you cross the wasteland and each one comes with their own name. Be careful getting attached though, if these suffer two consecutive wounds they’ll die, and be removed from your convoy forever. Despite the permadeath, Nowhere Prophet is a game about hope. Sharing luxuries with your people and showing kindness along the road will be hard, but ultimately, it’ll generate a power that will allow you to reach the end of the world. While being cruel might be an easier option, your convoy will struggle to keep on the fight without a glimmer of hope. You’ll also gain bonuses for how you interact with the world, with your dealings with religion, knowledge and altruism opening up more pathways and choices for you and your convoy to take along the way! At the game’s heart, there are two distinct parts of gameplay: travel and combat. Each offers their own challenges and will put your convoy in all sorts of danger. You’ll have to be clever and play to your convoy’s strengths in both parts to triumph – each has their own advantages across the various area types and when dealing with the numerous factions that roam the lands. During travel you navigate across a procedurally generated map, making each trip across the wastes different. You’ll have to make sure your convoy has enough resources to travel as you pick your route – some are definitely more dangerous than others but provide better rewards. Your choices as you move will be vital! As you travel on, you’ll encounter a myriad of strange places and even stranger people, each with something different to offer, and you will be thrust into situations that put the fate of your followers in your hands. How you react to these will shape you and your convoy, so choose wisely! If you’re lucky enough to gain some rewards, maybe for helping someone – or robbing them, then you can invest those to improve your decks. This could be picking up more followers for your cause, grabbing some luxuries to keep your convoy’s hope alive or a new piece of armour/weaponry to make your prophet stronger. You’ll also be able to level up and learn new skills to aid in combat, as well as study under teachers to give your people the best chance in reaching your goal. You will have to overcome some enemies to keep your convoy and resources together, or you’ll need to look to pick fights to right wrongs or just grab some new loot – here the game becomes a turn-based strategy card game that you must win to survive! Play convoy cards to put your followers onto the field and overcome your enemy, or use skills to change up the battlefield, but be careful: If you’re wounded you will have to find a safe place to heal, and if one of your followers takes too many wounds, they are lost forever. Throughout the game you’ll notice a strong Indian flavour — inspired by his heritage and frustrated at how few games shone a light on Indian culture, Martin Nerurkar (Creative Director) has filled Nowhere Prophet with rich and meaningful themes and symbols, from the colour-schemes and patterns that fill the world to the wonderful soundtrack that combines traditional instruments with the grit of post-apocalyptica! Each of the factions in the world has been carefully brought to life so that every time you play, you’ll be met with a diverse cast of interesting characters, beasts and drones that all carry that unique impression. An immense amount of love has been put into Nowhere Prophet since 2014, and we’re so happy it’s coming to PS4 on July 30. We really hope you love it as much as we do! We’ll meet you at the Crypt! View the full article

Since its introduction in 2013, the Sword Art Online anime has garnered a huge number of fans worldwide. It’s easy to see why, with its colorful cast of characters and exploration of the psychological effects of virtual reality. Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris, out tomorrow, allows players to experience the anime’s latest arc in JRPG form. We spoke with Lead Producer, Yousuke Futami, to get the inside scoop on the latest addition to the Sword Art Online game series. Q: This game follows the Alicization arc of the anime. What made you decide to follow the canon anime storyline instead of creating a game-specific storyline? When describing the Alicization Arc, in order to express the vast world of the original work and the anime, we came to the conclusion that the opening part should be the same between the anime and the game. We wanted to explore themes of the original work such as Kirito and Eugio’s friendship, Artificial Intelligence, the differences among humans, what defines a spirit and so on. It is straightforward even for those who watch the anime or read the original work but haven’t played the previous games, so I think it is easier to jump in. Q: Were there any challenges in adapting the anime storyline into a video game? As you know, the volume of the first half of the Alicization anime is colossal. I assumed we could actually make a game out of the first 24 episodes. With that massive volume in mind, it was challenging to adapt the story in a way that it could coexist with the gameplay. We made sure players can play the anime story in the game without feeling stressed. Q: Medina Orthinanos is a new game-original character. Can you take us through the process of creating a new character for a story that is already established? We made her appear in the game sooner than many of the fans would probably expect. Kirito and Eugeo meet her just when they leave Rulid Village, but she goes to the Academy like Eugeo and the important point is that this spins into the later part of the story. Medina is a very strong and honest character. As AI lives are almost like the humans in the Under World, we set her character as someone who would explode their “feelings.” In the anime and the original work, Alice’s struggle is shown, and in the game, there are friends like Kirito and Eugeo to share with. Media is a contrast; she is looked down on by different people. She was created to express the “feelings,” essential as an AI in this world. Medina has a very important role in the game version of the Alicization arc. Without her, the game’s theme can’t be told. I really hope you can experience the game’s message throughout the journey with Medina. Q: Did you have any reservations about adding an original character into the story? As a daughter of a noble family, Medina is burdened with the dark side of the aristocracy and the humans. This part follows the original work or the anime settings, so we did not have reservations with adding her into the game. Q: Should fans expect more Sword Art Online games that will follow the anime storyline? Of course! I hope that young talents yet to come will create new SAO games for the next generation. Q: What do you think sets Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris apart from previous SAO games? The battles feature the “AI” quite a lot. Your partner character will memorize their move sets as they fight more and more enemies. You can set and customize your partner’s memorized moves on your own, upload it, download from other online players’ partner AI, and so on. Since it grows quickly as you fight, you can feel the members becoming stronger. Compared to past SAO games, this title has evolved for you to experience more SAO-like battles. I hope you enjoy playing the game with many of the partner characters you can choose from. Q: What are you most excited about for fans to experience in this game? I hope that fans will enjoy the world of SAO Alicization, experience the SAO story only told in this game with their favorite characters, and also have fun exploring the world of Underworld in general. I hope they can sense the meaning of the game’s catchphrase: “The world will never forget you” through their gameplay experience. Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris comes out tomorrow, July 10. Pick up a digital copy of the game for PS4 before August 13, 2020 to receive four bonus costumes. View the full article

The July Savings promotion is now live on PlayStation Store, bringing with it deep discounts on a variety of PS4 titles, meaning for a limited time*, you can enjoy a range of thrilling adventures for less! Battle as resurrected hero Daniel Fortesque in action adventure MediEvil. Showcase your stylish combat skills in Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe Edition. Take on the undead in Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombie Chronicles Edition. There are even more games on offer, a selection of which can be seen below. If you’re joining us from Europe, check out your entire range of deals here. North American player? Look through your full sale here. 2Dark Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition AER – Memories of Old Anthem: Legion of Dawn Edition AO Tennis 2 Arca’s Path VR Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Assassin’s Creed Origins Gold Edition Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered Bee Simulator Brick Breaker Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombie Chronicles Edition Code Vein Crash + Spyro Triple Play Bundle Dark Souls III – Deluxe Edition Deponia Collection Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe Edition (with Red Orbs) Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Deluxe Edition Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes Far Cry 3 Classic Edition Far Cry 4 Farmer’s Dynasty Handball 17 Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds Hunting Simulator Journey Just Cause 4 – Complete Edition Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth Knack 2 Little Nightmares Complete Edition Mahjong MediEvil Mega Man 11 Mega Man 30th Anniversary Bundle Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Deluxe Kit Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition Motorcycle Club My Little Riding Champion Need for Speed Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered Nioh – The Complete Edition No Man’s Sky Outcast – Second Contact Overpass Overpass Deluxe Edition Paper Beast Premium Pool Arena Pro Fishing Simulator Quiplash Resident Evil 7 biohazard Resident Evil 7 biohazard Season Pass Rugby 20 Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Shadow Warrior Shadow Warrior 2 Sherlock Holmes : The Devil’s Daughter Silence Solitaire Spike Volleyball Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Deluxe Edition Strange Brigade Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Sword Art Online: Lost Song Tennis World Tour Tetraminos The Fisherman – Fishing Planet The Long Journey Home The Shadow Warrior Collection The Sinking City The Unicorn Princess Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Tour de France 2019 TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 V-Rally 4 Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr Warhammer Chaosbane Watch Dogs 2 – Deluxe Edition WRC 5 eSports Edition WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship WRC Collection *July Savings promotion runs from July 8 until July 22 at 23.59pm BST in Europe, 23.59pm PT in Americas. View the full article

Hello! Following yesterday’s Players’ Choice victory for The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog’s long-awaited follow-up has also taken top honors in the monthly PlayStation Store download charts. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, FIFA 20, and Grand Theft Auto V all performed strongly, as well, filling out the top four spots on both the US and EU lists. Gorn and Beat Saber took the top spot for PS VR in US / Canada and EU, respectively, while Call of Duty: Warzone topped both regions’ free-to-play charts for June. Keep reading to see the full charts, and hit the comments to let us know how you think July will shake out. See you then! PS4 Games US/Canada EU 1 The Last of Us Part II The Last of Us Part II 2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare EA SPORTS FIFA 20 3 Grand Theft Auto V Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Grand Theft Auto V 5 Minecraft The Last of Us Remastered 6 The Last Of Us Remastered Minecraft 7 Marvel’s Spider-Man Days Gone 8 Minecraft Dungeons Marvel’s Spider-Man 9 UNO Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition 10 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE Minecraft Dungeons 11 Days Gone TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX | SIEGE 12 Mortal Kombat 11 ARK: Survival Evolved 13 Red Dead Redemption 2 eFootball PES 2020 14 SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated F1 2019 15 Madden NFL 20 Red Dead Redemption 2 16 God of War The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 17 THE FOREST TEKKEN 7 18 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Uncharted: The Lost Legacy 19 EA SPORTS UFC 3 Stranded Deep 20 Assassin’s Creed Origins Assassin’s Creed Odyssey PS VR Games US / Canada EU 1 GORN Beat Saber 2 SUPERHOT VR The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 3 The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Blood & Truth 4 Beat Saber SUPERHOT VR 5 Job Simulator GORN 6 ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission Job Simulator 7 Creed Rise to Glory ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission 8 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR Batman: Arkham VR 9 Blood & Truth Creed: Rise to Glory 10 Borderlands 2 VR DOOM VFR Free-to-Play Games US / Canada EU 1 Call of Duty: Warzone Call of Duty: Warzone 2 Fortnite Fortnite 3 Apex Legends Apex Legends 4 RACING BROS Destiny 2 5 Destiny 2 Brawlhalla 6 Brawlhalla eFootball PES 2020 LITE 7 Dauntless RACING BROS 8 Cuisine Royale DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 Lite Version 9 Paladins Warface 10 Warframe WORLD OF WARSHIPS: LEGENDS DLC and Expansions US / Canada EU 1 Fortnite – The Yellowjacket Pack Fortnite – The Yellowjacket Pack 2 Fortnite – The Iris Pack Fortnite – The Iris Pack 3 GTA Online: Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack Fortnite: Save the World – Standard Founder’s Pack 4 Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath GTA Online: Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack 5 Call of Duty: Warzone – Starter Pack Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps – Season Pass 6 Call of Duty Modern Warfare – C.O.D.E. Fearless Pack Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Year 5 Pass 7 Dead by Daylight: Silent Hill Chapter Dead by Daylight: Silent Hill Chapter 8 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Year 5 Pass STAR WARS Battlefront II: Celebration Edition Upgrade 9 Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Destiny 2: Shadowkeep 10 Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor Upgrade View the full article

Hi there, I’m Pete Samuels, Series Director and Executive Producer of The Dark Pictures Anthology. I’m hugely excited to talk to you about Little Hope, the next game in the Dark Pictures Anthology, which is releasing on October 30. Just to recap — The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of standalone cinematic horror games, each featuring a brand-new story, setting and characters. Each game is playable in single player or in two multiplayer modes – two-player online Shared Story mode and up to 5-player couch co-op Movie Night mode. We were really pleased with the response from the PlayStation community to Man of Medan – the first game in the anthology, released last year — and we can’t wait to see your reaction to Little Hope. All of the games in the series are totally standalone and have very different stories. Man of Medan set you adrift in a terrifying ghost ship stuck in the middle of the South Pacific, but this time you are on dry land in the very creepy and strange town of Little Hope! As with all the games in the series remember that everyone can live and everyone can die in your version of the story – so make your choices wisely as there are always consequences! So, I’m sure you are dying to know more about Little Hope? How about we start with the story and setting first. Abandoned and all alone after their bus crashes in bad weather, four college students and their teacher become stranded in the isolated town of Little Hope. Trapped by a mysterious fog, they search desperately for a means of escape whilst terrifying visions from the past haunt them from the shadows. After bearing witness to the town’s gruesome past, and the terrible events of 17th Century Witch trials, hellish beings pursue them relentlessly. Trapped in Little Hope they try to figure out the motivation of these demonic apparitions before the evil forces at work drags each of their souls to hell! As each of the games in the series are very different, so too are our inspirations. The cinematic and literary influences for this game include “The Witch,” “Season of the Witch,” and “Blair Witch,” but people will recognise some other strong influences such as “Hellbound Heart,” “Hellraiser” and other similar works by Barker. Also, two of my personal favourites “It Follows” and “The Omen.” Interestingly, our studio is just a stone’s throw from Guildford Cathedral which features strongly in Richard Donner’s 1976 classic. The cast and characters are pivotal to our games too, so we’re really excited that we have Will Poulter leading the talented cast of Little Hope. He is a fantastic actor and really bought the character of Andrew to life. As well as the story, setting and cast we’ve been focusing on some improved features based on feedback from the Dark Pictures community. For example, the team has included context-sensitive icons for interacting with objects in the world and QTE alerts that tell players when one is coming and the action they need to perform. We’ve also added a floating camera in some parts of the game to allow you to fully control your view of the spooky surroundings, together with a wider range of walk-speeds for the characters. So, there you have it, a brief introduction to the next game in the Dark Pictures Anthology. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and we can’t wait for you to enter the town of Little Hope this Halloween! View the full article