Commander Fury

Hey everyone, I’m Adam Robezzoli, one of a handful of developers creating Samurai Gunn 2. We’ve been pouring ourselves into this work for years, and we’re super excited that you’ll be able to play it on PS5! Play Video Instant Death Fighting Game Samurai Gunn 2 is a one-hit-kill platform fighter. It has that easy pick-up-and-play feel that makes it great for parties, but contains a wide possibility space of movement and technique for hardcore enthusiasts of the genre. Today I want to share with you my personal picks for the coolest aspects of our game. Like any good fighting game, first up has to be the characters. We’ve got forest spirits and demon hunters, vengeful ghosts and a wandering bodyguard, a revolutionary princess and an autonomous suit of gunnpowder armor …and we’ve only revealed half the lineup so far. Check out the image above for all 18 Samurai we have planned. 👀 So cool! Friends Characters My second pick for “coolest thing in our game” is… Friends characters. We’re fortunate to have made good friends working in indie games over the years. And those friends also happen to make some of our favorite games ever. They’ve graciously allowed us to pay homage to their characters, and we’ve worked hard to do them justice. With totally unique abilities and movement, they play way differently than the Samurai. First up is Ana from Spelunky 2. Ana can climb ropes, throw bombs, and even has her signature back whip. The Spelunky 2 versus stage is even procedurally generated with destructible terrain. Next we have Minit. Are they a duck? A dolphin? All I know is that their sword is huge, it returns to them like a boomerang, and it comes with a free curse that kills them in 60 seconds. Whew! If you were given the opportunity to include a character from Among Us in your game, would you choose the Crewmate or the Impostor? Too hard for us to decide, so we just chose both. The Crewmate trades the samurai sword for an ID card swipe and the pistol for a handy garbage pail. You can install vents and complete tasks. Complete enough tasks and you can mutate into the Impostor with their terrifying zero-cool-down knife slashes and a deadly tongue stab that travels across the entire screen. (If you are fighting the Impostor, I advise running away. 👍) These are the Friends characters we’ve created so far, but we are planning to add many more. Smooth Movement My 3rd pick for “coolest” is the movement in Samurai Gunn 2. It’s hard to explain, but the movement in SG2 is unlike anything else I’ve ever played. “Sword jumping” is one way this is expressed. Your sword gives you a little bit of momentum in the direction you slash. If you combine this with your jump, you can fling your character all over the screen. This also works off walls and even off the ceiling in certain situations. Mastering this tech opens up a whole new level of fun, especially when you use it to beat a friend. Characters’ unique abilities are also often movement-based. Ghost has an unpredictable echo float, Hayao runs up walls, and Helmsley can grind to generate bullets. We are always thinking about movement when creating characters and levels. It’s really the heart of the fun in SG2. Expanded Story And last but definitely not least, my final pick for “coolest aspect of our game” is that it includes Trigger Soul, a full 200+ page Samurai Gunn comic by Valentin Seiche! Valentin is one of our favorite comic creators, and years before we started on the sequel he was working on a Samurai Gunn graphic novel. You can read the entire work inside SG2. Thanks for staying with me until the end. I hope you’ll have many, many evenings full of fun with friends and family playing Samurai Gunn 2 when we finish development and release on PS5. View the full article

The Inquisition is at the heart of Salt and Sacrifice (coming to PS5 and PS4 on May 10). An ancient and mysterious order, it has long served the kingdom by relentlessly pursuing and purging all manifestations of magic: the reality-warping force that consumes those foolish enough to study it, transforming them into living embodiments of unquenchable chaos. Inquisitors are drawn from condemned—given the choice to serve the Inquisition as recompense for their crimes. For countless generations, the kingdom’s condemned have sacrificed themselves in the pursuit of Mages. Play Video But as with any storied institution, the Inquisition cracks with age, splinters emerging throughout. Schismatic sects have read different goals into the Inquisition’s ancient texts, finding just cause to shed Inquisitor blood in the name of some greater good. Why must a hunter limit her quarry? My name is James Silva, and I’m one half of the development team for Salt and Sacrifice. I do all the art, animation, level design, as well as a lot of engineering, writing, audio design (I also write PS blog articles here and there). What I don’t do–at least, not well–is netcode, and that’s where the other half of the development team, Shane Lynch, comes in. Over the last two years of perhaps needlessly intense work, Shane and I have built the world that is the western frontier of Ossenleigh Valley, where the rise of magic has turned burgeoning settlements into smoldering ash heaps of lawless chaos. And thanks to Shane, the realm of Salt and Sacrifice will be a place of adversaries and cooperators, where fast-paced battles break out among Inquisitors dutifully serving their sects–if you like. I say “if you like” because we know a significant number of players have less-than-zero interest in PvP. It is super fun, but is also certainly not for everyone, and we respect that. You won’t have to engage in PvP if you don’t want to, and that’s a promise. Player-versus-player combat in Salt and Sacrifice is far more dynamic than it was in Salt and Sanctuary. We’ve added sprinting with unique sprint attacks, many of which send foes flying (and gravity is still, as they say, the final boss). But getting blasted into oblivion isn’t the end: a lucky Inquisitor can use their grappling hook to cancel out of a fall, provided they plummet past the right sort of ledge. There are also dozens of Runic Arts to explore–powerful situational abilities employed by the Inquisition–from lightning shockwaves and pursuing insect swarms to elemental buffs and storms of spectral blades. Quick-swap ranged attacks and alchemical bombs are great for punishing foes, and while readied ammunition is sparse, if your foe foolishly relents, you can always field craft some more. The most straightforward Inquisitor sect is doubtlessly that of the Blighttakers: the Shroud Alliance. They have interpreted the Inquisition’s charter overzealously, and pursue its goals by slaying fellow Inquisitors indiscriminately. Inquisitors must suffer, so blessed is he who brings about the greatest suffering. A bit less straightforward are the Blueheart Runners. These Inquisitors believe it would be wasteful to squander the many opportunities offered by their new stations. Seeking profit in even these most dire of circumstances, they pilfer the frontier of its unique magical materials. Blueheart invaders are charged with destroying and looting the haze-tainted creatures of your realm, causing horrible monsters to spawn from the temporal rifts that spring forth in their wake. A careful Inquisitor is wise to cut down any Blueheart Runners that enter their realm. If you try out Salt and Sacrifice PvP (and we really hope you do) when it hits PS5 and PS4 on May 10, you should find ample opportunities to aid, grieve, spar with, and vanquish your fellow Inquisitors in horrible and wonderful ways. Whether with a well-placed arrow to a mid-grapple Inquisitor, a mallet slam into a poison mire, or the finisher following a perfectly-timed parry, victory in Salt and Sacrifice is something to be savored. View the full article

Hello, fellow PlayStation lovers! I’m Ryan Brown, the “Head of Words” at Super Rare Originals, which is a far more interesting way of saying that I’m the marketing lead at our exciting new indie publishing label. Today I have the privilege of revealing our first ever title for PlayStation – Post Void, coming to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in spring 2022. Play Video We’re lucky to be working with the talented duo at Y/C/Y/J, who knocked it out of the park with their hit game Post Void, which we are now bringing to consoles. Post Void is hypnotic, challenging, and ridiculously fast. Take your favourite shooters of the past, put them in a blender, add in some paint and tons of caffeine, and voila, you’ve got Post Void. The rules are simple: with a pistol in one hand and an idol containing your health in the other, you have just one objective: Be fast. You must move constantly and keep your idol filled by racking up your kill count. If you slow down for even a minute, it’s game over – no lives, no retries. Every run is different, thanks to procedurally generated levels, so to reach the oasis at the end of each level and retrieve a well-earned random upgrade, you’re truly going to have to… well, get good. There are no places to hide, or to stop and catch your breath, and one slip up can end your run. Runs are short, so death doesn’t sting for long – and you will die, again, and again, and again. Just jump straight back in and hone your skills. Post Void is an addictive pick-up-and-play game, whether you have time for one quick run or end up pouring hours in as you get tantalisingly closer to the end. It’s intentionally intense, violent, and chaotic, both in its gameplay and its visual style. Creators Josef and Christopher poured their bizarre sense of style and passion into every second. We’ve perfected everything to make Post Void play best on PlayStation – it’s a genuine honour to be bringing a title to the platform as lifelong fans. You’ll be able to jump in when it hits PS4 and PS5 this spring. View the full article

Long before the actual start of the project, the creative team at Tribute Games had already had this discussion. “If we did a new Turtles Beat’ em up game… what would be the ‘must haves’?” Unequivocally, the resounding reply was “We need to have Splinter as a playable character!” Play Video Tribute Games joins the PlayStation Underground crew for an in-depth look at Master Splinter’s combat prowess in action. In our youth, we all imagined Splinter was a capable combatant. However, as much on television in the original animated series as in the early licensed video games, rarely did we see the master show off his skills – and this scarcity quite likely charged Splinter’s mysticism. Tribute Games and Dotemu are thrilled to offer the possibility to take the Turtles’ sensei from a more passive character to a fully-fledged playable fighter! It is in the very nature of Tribute Games to capture the essence of the great things of the past and honor them with the most respect possible. Placing Splinter in TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge to make it a unique experience that lived up to our expectations was not something to be taken lightly. Effective and Powerful As the Turtles’ elder, Master Splinter exudes an aura of wisdom. He needed to be a little more calm and collected in his movements – but not slow. The design team created an extensive moveset with a multitude of attacks, jumps, slides, and special attacks drawing a connection with fond memories of the great rat. Master Splinter’s cane is an integral part of some of his basic and more advanced attacks. Once an enemy is struck by the cane attack a small window of opportunity opens up – a ground bounce that permits the player to create some massive combos. Master Splinter also distinguishes himself from the Turtles and April as playable characters through his “flying special attack” – some sort of astral projection strike. The ranged magical charge is a truly unique feature that only a true master can possess. Oh! He’s also the only one that bites! Breaking Down Splinter’s Special Attack The design team had few animated references of Splinter fighting to work with when conceptualizing the character. However, one instance that really struck the imagination of the team was in the opening credits of the original 1987 animated series in which for a few frames we see Splinter shattering a bunch of wooden boxes with all fours. This needs to be Master Splinter’s Special Attack, explained Game Director Jonathan Lavigne. First, we see here is an early concept of the special attack by Matthieu Godet (2D animator and pixel artist at Tribute Games). The sketch’s simplicity highlights the four frames of impact from his special attack. Based on the original Paul Robertson character design and reworked by Tribute art director Adam J. Marin, Tribute Games artists and animators proceeded to work their magic. First creating the outline, then the colors and finally adding some shadows. Below we see a near final animation of Splinters’ Special Attack as we would see it in game. The added shadows, smoke and other visual special effects really give us an idea of what the special move will feel like. Splinter is now the sixth playable character to choose from, joining Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and April O’Neil announced last summer. Older and new fans, kids, and parents who grew up with the original series will appreciate the efforts and the care Tribute Games put in to encapsulate the key elements of what makes Master Splinter awesome in our collective imagination. Players around the world have fought the forces of the Foot Clan before! But now, as Shredder takes his ultimate revenge, Turtles aficionados will finally be able to take the fight to him as Master Splinter. TMNT: Shredders’ Revenge is set to be released later this year on PlayStation 4. View the full article

It is dark. It is lonely. You don’t belong in this world. It’s not that it’s a hostile world… it’s just… not yours. As you uncover its secrets, the world grows on you. It takes on a feel of familiarity, yet you know that you’ve only probed the surface. The more you discover, the more you realize how much more there is to discover. Secrets leading to more secrets. You recall the feeling of zooming closer and closer in on a very high-resolution photo. As you hone your focus, the world betrays its secrets. When describing Animal Well to new people, I find it best to start with the mood I’m trying to create. It has the sensibilities of the survival horror genre, but it’s not really a scary game. It has puzzles and platforms, but it’s not quite a puzzle platformer. The art style is simple looking pixel art but will be employing lighting and visual effects that will push the PlayStation 5 hardware. Summarizing Animal Well succinctly is a challenge. There are no hardcore platforming challenges, intense fights, or jump scares, but lots of situational lateral thinking brain teasers set in a creepy yet not-uninviting world. Mechanically, Animal Well is quite simple. To navigate the world, you move left and right, and you can jump. You can also use a handful of items you discover throughout the game, like a yoyo or a frisbee. Everything is built upon that foundation. Throughout my life I’ve found it very satisfying when I get to become intimately familiar with a space, and perfectly map it out in my brain. I spent so much time in my parents’ house growing up, that I had every closet, drawer, and shelf etched into my memory. However, after living there for years, I remember one day finding a new drawer kind of tucked away under our extended kitchen countertop. It was empty, but I was very excited. I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I found something more substantial, like a full hidden room. Animal Well tries to capture that feeling x100. In it, you explore a surreal interconnected labyrinth that is absolutely loaded with secrets. It has a map that is not nearly as big as some games, but it aims to be much denser. Returning to a familiar area is exciting because there is a chance you will discover something new amongst the familiar. You might visit it with a new ability, or new understanding that helps you uncover something. By locking the camera until you leave the frame, the game encourages you to examine each screen as a whole and think about where something could be hidden. There is always the possibility of a surprise right beneath your nose. Creating this sense of discovery is much harder than it was pre-internet, where developers kind of just got it by default. One strategy is to add obscure, difficult secrets that delay the time it takes for everything to be uncovered and extensively documented online. But at the same time, those parts would become inaccessible to most players going in blind. If you make parts of the game accessible, and easy to find, more people get to enjoy it, but the sense of mystery and discovery is diluted. It’s not a trivial design decision. Animal Well is fighting that war on both fronts. I am consciously designing the game to have multiple layers. The first layer is the base game, with all the required areas needed to see the ending. This is going to be a very rewarding experience on its own, and I estimate it will take most players about 10-15 hours to complete the game without any hints. The second layer includes optional items and areas that a dedicated player will find to “100%” the game. I expect many people will be able to complete this layer with only the occasional search online for a couple hints here and there. This is where most games stop. The third layer will include far more obscure puzzles, whose existence will be unknown to most. I suspect the internet will need to collaborate a bit to solve these – or they might not solve them! Then finally the fourth layer will be secrets that only I know. I’m throwing down the gauntlet and challenging the internet to discover everything. I will be sure to make an announcement confirming my defeat if and when this happens. I am being deliberately vague about a lot of the details about what you actually do in Animal Well, but there will be time to describe that over the coming year. I am extremely excited for everyone to explore its depths when it finally comes to PS5 later this year or early next! View the full article

Your adventure with Quill continues in Moss: Book II, the highly anticipated sequel to Moss, where we will soon be rewarded with more of everything we fell in love with in the original: fresh challenges, new game mechanics, extensive environments, epic enemy encounters, and more opportunities to bond with our favorite tiny mouse friend. Everyone has their favorite parts of the game, but the magic of Moss is rooted in the believable moments and true sense of immersion that shape our every experience and connection to the world. As we gear up for the release of Moss: Book II later this spring, we wanted to give you a little insight into the careful thought and work that goes into creating our physical presence and fostering those special connections we make in the world of Moss. We heard early on that fans were blown away by the environments within Moss. They would often comment that not only were they beautifully crafted down to the minute details, but that the sense of scale was Honey, I Shrunk the Kids-like, bringing an unfamiliar sense of scale that immediately heightened their curiosity. Familiar plants, animals, and objects felt whimsical when viewed from a low vantage point. In Moss: Book II, we’re excited for you to feel the sense of scale once again with the addition of much larger rooms to explore. Not only are the rooms bigger, reminding you of Quill’s true size, but they allow us to create expansive multi-dimensional puzzles and platforming challenges you’ll have to work through with Quill within the context of a much larger single space. To navigate these larger-than-life rooms, we implemented seamless camera cuts using familiar transition fades with no load time. Now, you can reach new vantage points within the room, inspect previously unnoticeable details, discover secrets, and solve puzzles without worry of jarring motion or discomfort. Moss is rich with environments to explore and puzzles to solve. Knowing you wanted even more, we doubled down in Moss: Book II. In fact, one of the things we heard from players is that they wanted the opportunity to revisit areas in the game for further exploration and for the ability to search for missed collectables—so we did just that. You’ll quickly find that all of the rooms in Moss: Book II are connected, which not only improves spatial understanding of the world, but allows us to inject tension with surprise scenarios when revisiting a known place, triggering emotional ups and downs. Now, when you reenter a room, you may experience it from a new angle via a camera cut, find it peppered with visual differences resulting in story progression, or be able to solve past mysteries with recently discovered tools. Whatever your motivations are for re-exploration in the game, you will now see how the world evolves along with the adventure. Quill’s personality, expressive movements, and interactions with us make her the real star of the game, so we made sure there were even more moments to deepen our bond with our pint-sized companion. This means more cinematics, interactions, reactions, and character-based storytelling to color the world and further strengthen our relationship with her. With all of these pieces integrated into the game, the team didn’t want the transitions ruining your sense of immersion. Nothing takes you out of the moment more than choppy animations and transitions reminding you that you’re just playing a game. So, the team used command script to build and integrate animations into the scenes. By chaining existing gameplay logic and animations together, the system creates seamless transitions between cinematics, vignettes, and player-controlled sequences, giving Quill more lifelike autonomy. Wait, is she real? That’s up to you to decide. :) Now, what we do know is that you are real! And we want to ensure you feel real in Moss as well. To do this, we trick our minds into believing we are really in Moss through the environments and Quill responding to our presence. Controllers vibrate when possessing enemies, blocks glow as we get near them, and Quill looks at us and reacts to our gestures and touch. But to get that true sense of immersion, we focused on the subtleties that could take us out of the experience by designing a system called Boopables that gives our virtual bodies a physical presence that impacts the virtual world around us. Similar to real life, grass and ferns move when we brush our hands through them, candle flames flicker as we move past them, and water ripples when we touch it. In Moss: Book II, we wanted enemies to have the same physical presence experienced by Quill and the player. Now, plants and foliage move and can be cut by enemy attacks. Projectiles launched from enemies also shake nearby vegetation on detonation and generate whooshing Doppler effect as they zip past our hero in combat. We can’t share them all, but there are a lot of new objects and responses in this sequel that we believe will surprise and delight you through interactive discovery, enhancing the overall believability of the world. With this sneak peek into Moss: Book II, we hope you’ll appreciate the careful thought and work that goes into bringing you the connections and sense of physical presence we believe make the Moss world so special. With each passing day, we get closer to reuniting you with Quill and experiencing these new features. We can’t wait to hear what you think. View the full article

Hi everyone! We’ve lined up seven indie updates and new reveals that we’re excited to share with you this morning. Check in starting at 7am Pacific — every 15 minutes we’ll publish a new story here at PlayStation.Blog. Once the festivities have ended, we’ll update this post with links to all seven updates. Please let us know what you think of each reveal in the comments! We’re just minutes away from our first reveal. Spoiler alert: we’re kicking things off with a new look at one of our most anticipated upcoming PlayStation VR titles… View the full article

With the launch of Horizon Forbidden West only a few days away, we are keen to share some of the accessibility features that will be available for our players. Early on in the game’s development, we established that we wanted to bring the game to as many fans as possible and create an immersive and accessible experience that can be enjoyed by everyone. Some of these return from Horizon Zero Dawn, and some are newly added as we’ve continued to learn and understand more about the needs of our players. We hope these features help craft the gameplay experience that works best for you, and look forward to hearing your feedback so we can finetune even further! General Accessibility Settings There are a couple of things that are automatically enabled upon starting the game, one of them being subtitles. You also have the option to change the size and background used with subtitles for better visibility. You can select your preferred language (both spoken and subtitles) when starting the game for the first time. In the game menu you can find the Notebook, an expansive encyclopedia containing useful information about characters, machines, and datapoints found in the world. We wanted to ensure that any help can easily be found while you are playing, should you need guidance, so we added a separate Tutorials section to study up on game mechanics or controls. Difficulty Settings We understand that every player wants their own type of challenge in the Forbidden West, so we have five difficulty settings that are tailored to give you the experience you prefer; from Story Mode which eases the combat experience so you can focus on exploration and story, to Very Hard which presents you with a tough, demanding combat experience and really tests your skills. We’re also introducing the Custom Difficulty setting, which allows you to adjust damage levels that Aloy deals and receives to/from enemies, giving more flexibility in adjusting combat difficulty. Horizon Forbidden West has a focus on hunting machines, then detaching and looting their resources to craft ammo and upgrade equipment. Many of these resources can be destroyed if not detached before the machine is killed. This can be challenging, so we have introduced an Easy Loot system. Turning the Easy Loot option on means that any resource components that are still attached when killing a machine are added to its loot inventory. This lessens the need to detach those components during combat. This system is the default for Story and Easy difficulties as well as an option in Custom mode. Controller Settings As Aloy is a skilled and agile hunter, it is important that the controls be as intuitive and comfortable to use, allowing Aloy to use her full range to succeed. With this in mind we have introduced a number of options to make these controls as accessible as possible. Horizon Forbidden West has a few presets for controls (including left-handed support), but we also implemented fully remappable gameplay controls with guidance on any potential conflicts; meaning you can fully customize which button or input does what. There are also several options to swap between Toggle or Hold where applicable, invert the X or Y axis. Another new feature is the Co-pilot system, which grants a second PlayStation controller with mirrored controls access to the game. This only requires another controller (DualSense controller for PS5, DualShock 4 controller for PS4) and a second user profile. The Co-pilot system was implemented thanks to incredible feedback and support from our sightless accessibility consultant. Horizon Forbidden West also features optional motion sensor controls; using the DualSense wireless controller’s built-in accelerometer and gyroscope you can make intuitive micro-adjustments to aimed shots for that extra touch of precision. There are sliders for the sensitivity of movement as well as Dead Zone settings for the analog sticks. You can also Quick Swap between weapons with one tap, and swap the functionality of the left and right sticks for character and camera movement. As the PS5 version of the game makes use of the adaptive triggers and vibrations, we have introduced settings for players that find these options challenging: you can change the vibration intensity on cinematics, traversal, combat, UI, or the environment, and you can disable the adaptive triggers when wielding weapons. Gameplay Assist Settings These settings are aimed at supporting players who may experience difficulties with any aspect of the game. When it comes to weapons and combat, you can, for example, adjust how much the game slows down when the Weapon Wheel (which allows you to quickly equip a weapon) is activated or enable Aim Assist. You can increase the duration of Concentration, which temporarily slows down time when you aim your bow, or even set Auto Concentration (if you have Concentration left) which saves you from having to activate it yourself in tricky combat situations. Some other automatic settings to save you a button click are Auto Sprint, Auto Heal (when below 50% health), and Auto Shieldwing (which deploys when you fall from great heights, once this ability is unlocked). There’s also a setting called Climbing Annotations Always On, this makes the available climb options easier to see without requiring use of the Focus . Please note that some of the Auto settings only work in Story/Easy and Custom difficulty modes. Horizon Forbidden West spans across a huge area, so we have implemented some guidance tools to help you navigate this vast and vibrant world. You can choose if you want to explore the world with minimal guidance, or if you’d like to see markers to help you reach your quest destination. The same goes for waypoints, which are dynamically placed markers to help navigate. For longer travels, you can select Mount Follows Road, so your mount will navigate you to your goal with minimal player input. There are pop-up reminders on how to use abilities, weapons, or engage with certain enemies, which you can toggle on or off. If you boot up the game again after shutting down your console, there’s a Story So Far screen to help get back into the swing of things. While PS4 players might encounter the occasional loading screen (including helpful hints), PS5 players can toggle between Informative and Immediate, since the game loads a lot quicker and some might prefer to read the loading screen tips. Audio and Visual Settings There’s a couple of settings here that are specifically aimed at reducing any discomfort our players might experience. Visually, you can finetune the camera shake and motion blur settings, and completely customize the game’s HUD to control what information is visible to you, and when. You can also decide on the size of the subtitles and toggle whether they are displayed on a background or not. Audio-wise, there are individual volume controls for music, speech, and sound effects. You can also force Mono Audio, and you can remove Tinnitus sounds – these are triggering sounds (e.g. machine shrieks) which are similar to Tinnitus sounds. In the PS5 version, there are also additional options to trim the volume of machine sounds, weapon and explosion sounds, or ambient sounds. This could be especially helpful for people who are easily overstimulated. These are just some of the features we have included and we will continue to look at ways to make Horizon Forbidden West even more accessible, so we look forward to your feedback over the coming weeks! A big thanks to our accessibility advocates and playtesters, as well as our own Guerrillas and our colleagues across various PlayStation Studios for their invaluable support and input during development. See you on February 18! View the full article

I can’t believe that I get to be the one that writes the following words: Telltale is back — and we’re bringing The Wolf Among Us 2 with us (and The Expanse: A Telltale Series)! Today, we’re revealing our first, official trailer for season two of the long-awaited series, The Wolf Among Us. Go on, click “play” on the embed. We’ll wait Play Video It’s been [checks calendar] eight years since the original series ran. So if you need a refresher, totally get it. Here’s the deal: Fairytales are real — and living side-by-side with everyday people in New York City. Because of course you want to go where the good pizza is made. But I digress. These fables still need to blend in and, well, live among us. The Big Bad Wolf (Bigby)? He’s the sheriff, keeping folks in line. Snow White helps run things – and there’s a whole host of familiar fables that are just trying to get by. The new trailer gives you a small taste of things to come – including stretching your legs outside of Fabletown to see more of The Big Apple, in the winter of 1980. That’s right, this new season takes place six months after the events in season one. As Bigby, you take on a case that spans the normal – mundie – world, torn between who you’re going to help. Ah, but we can’t go too much deeper into the story quite yet. Half our team consists of former Telltale staffers and we’ve done a lot in the two years since we announced the rebirth of Telltale. We’ve been working behind the scenes to not just rebuild, but to rethink how to run a studio. How do you make it sustainable? What can we do to make the job smoother? HINT: It includes plotting out whole seasons from the jump and using a new engine (Unreal) – among other things. We’ve got a long road ahead of us before the game is ready to launch in 2023, but we plan to keep at it and take the time needed to make this game right. If you want to keep track of how we’re progressing, say hi to us over on our social channels.! Most important, though, everyone out there: You’ve got our thanks for giving us this chance to come back and deliver the types of games we love most. View the full article

It’s been an age since we last wrote an update on PS.Blog. Back then we talked about how the game we’d announced as a fake April fools’ joke in April 2019 was months from release. Well, the joke was actually on us and it’s been almost three years since. It started with an idea that would be a fun and ridiculous take on the Conan universe but then we couldn’t stop thinking of all the additions that could make the game even better. So the scope grew until we were happy enough but that time has now come and we are releasing Conan Chop Chop into the world on March 1. If you don’t believe us, I can’t blame you. But you can ask the journalists who received review copies for it! We’ll take you through the new inclusions to wet your barbarian (or adventurer, or pirate) appetites in a moment. But first, a refresher for those new to our game: Thrilling Roguelite Chop Chop isn’t just the title, it’s an instruction. Hack your way through the different areas in Hyboria along with friends. Every area is filled with tougher foes than the last so equip the best combination of weapons, armor, and charms to take down anything in your way. When you inevitably fall, re-arm yourself, level up your character and get back out there. What kills you in Chop Chop also makes you stronger. As for what we’ve been working on: Party up – Online multiplayer has been added Slaying a ton of monsters is fun, but it’s always better when you’ve got your company. Play couch co-op or team up with friends across Hyboria to take on this mighty challenge. Plus, teaming up with friends greatly increases your survivability. They can be just the “pick-me-up” you need when you fall in the heat of battle. Just remember not to curse them too much when Bêlit takes your kill with a timely arrow. Easy to pick-up but this baby has so much depth to it Don’t worry if it all seems too daunting. Swinging a sword is dead easy in Conan Chop Chop. And even if you die, you’ll start right back at the beginning with more experience to show for it. So even if your friends suck at games, bring them along, I’m sure you can hard carry them through the game until, inevitably, you all die again. But that’s all part of the experience! We’ve added unique skill trees for all four characters including special abilities for you to explore. The different playstyles between the characters have also been balanced to give you different ways of approaching combat. From Bêlit’s ranged attacks to Pallantides’ improved blocking, you can pick the character that best suits you. Endless loot combinations There are tons of charms and equipment to be found. From your standard fire arrows to some more advanced high-tech stuff like a pig who tanks for you. Want to poison your enemies while you get some life back from the damage? You can make that happen. Want to rain arrows down on your enemies while chickens get up close and personal? Chicken Champ and Twin Fangs are the charms for you. You might even find a completely broken build that we’ve forgotten to take out of the game. Infinite replayability The world of Hyboria changes each time you play. Don’t try to make a map, seriously, it’s not worth it. On one run you might find a boss guarding a great sword and on the next you’ll find nothing but undead throwing bombs at you. Grab the best gear and improvise. We’ll see you out there and find out if you can finally conquer Thoth-Amon. View the full article

Our second PS5 system software beta is kicking off tomorrow with new ways to personalize your console experience across party chat, Game Base and accessibility settings. We’re also rolling out a PS4 system software beta tomorrow for players to try out the community-requested Open Parties feature, which is also coming in the PS5 beta. In addition, for PS5 beta participants in the U.S. and U.K, we’re previewing a feature that enables voice commands for finding and opening games and apps, as well as controlling media playback (English language setting only). While access to the PS5 and PS4 betas will be open to selected participants in applicable countries*, the final system software updates will be available globally later this year. If you’re selected to participate in the betas, you’ll receive an email invitation when the updates are available to download tomorrow. As with previous system software betas, some features available during this phase may not make it into the final version or may see significant changes. Here’s a sneak peek: New Party Chat Options In response to community feedback, we’ve made some updates to the Parties system: Open and Closed Parties (PS5 and PS4 betas) When you start a party, you can now select either an open party or a closed party: An open party lets your friends see and join the party without an invite. Friends of party members can also join. A closed party is only for players you invite. Note: in Game Base on PS5 and Party on PS4, if you select [Open Party] when starting a party, only players using the beta version of the PS5 or PS4 system software will be able to join. To start a party that players who aren’t using the beta version can also join, select [Closed Party]. Voice chat reporting feature update (PS5 beta)If you want to report something that someone in a party said, there are now visual indicators for you to identify who was speaking. This will help PlayStation Safety take appropriate action based on your report. You can learn more about this feature here. Share Play update (PS5 beta)Start Share Play directly from the voice chat card. You no longer need to start Share Screen first to use Share Play. Voice chat volume (PS4 beta)You can now individually adjust the voice chat volume of each player in a party on PS4, just like on PS5. PS5 Game Base Enhancements Voice chats are now called parties. For easier access, we’ve divided the Game Base menu into three tabs: Friends, Parties and Messages. From the Game Base control menu and cards, you can now: View all your friends under the [Friends] tab in the control menu, or access the player search feature and friend requests through links on this tab. Add a player to a group or create a new group directly from Game Base in the Control Center. You can also send text messages, quick messages, images, video clips, and view a group’s shared media from this card. When someone in a party is sharing their screen, you’ll now see the (on air) icon. We’ve made it easier to decline friend requests by adding a [Decline] button to your friend request list. New PS5 UI Features Filter by genreWe’ve added an option to filter your game collection by genre, letting you quickly find specific types of game experiences. Keep in Home You can now keep the games or apps you choose on your home screen by selecting “Keep in Home” with the (options) button. You can keep a maximum of five games and apps on each home screen with this feature. Increased apps on the home screenYou can now have a total of 14 games and apps appear on your home screen. Trophies UI updateWe’ve updated the visual design of trophy cards and the trophy list. You can also see suggestions for which trophies to earn on the trophy tracker and access it from the Control Center whenever you’re playing a game. Start Share Screen from the Create menuFrom the Create menu, you can now start a Share Screen and stream your gameplay to an open party. New Accessibility Features More Screen Reader languages Screen Reader, which reads aloud on-screen text and provides spoken guidance for operating the console, is now supported in six additional languages: Russian, Arabic, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, and Korean. This expands Screen Reader support to 15 languages, including the current ones (United States English, United Kingdom English, Japanese, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French and Canadian French). Mono audio for headphonesYou can now enable mono audio for headphones so the same audio is played from both the left and right headphones, instead of a stereo or 3D audio sound mix. This feature provides an added option to enhance the PS5 audio experience, particularly for players with unilateral hearing loss.** Check marks for enabled settingsYou can now show a check mark on enabled settings so you can easily see that they’re turned on. Voice Command (Preview): U.S. and U.K. limited release We’re also testing a feature that enables voice commands for finding and opening games, apps, and settings, as well as controlling media playback on the PS5 console. This feature is currently available in English for beta participants with accounts registered to the U.S. and U.K. To get started, enable Voice Command (Preview) from the Settings menu. Then, call out “Hey, PlayStation!” and ask your PS5 console to find a game, open an app or setting, or control playback while enjoying a movie, TV show or song. You can help us improve the feature through our feedback program, which will sometimes record your voice commands (in accordance with our Privacy Policy) and let you provide instant feedback from time to time. You can turn this feature off at any time within system settings (see above). This feature never records audio for child accounts. We’re in an early testing phase for this feature and will be closely assessing it and listening to your feedback throughout the beta. For more details, check out this page. Thanks to our beta community for helping us test these new features. Which ones are you most excited for? *PS5 and PS4 beta access will be available to selected participants in the U.S., Canada, Japan, U.K., Germany and France (same countries as our last system software beta). **Players can enjoy the mono audio feature through headphones or headsets connected via USB or the headphone jack (Bluetooth is not supported). Mono audio for PS5 is not supported when playing PS VR games. View the full article

Though winter still holds us in its grasp, the action continues to heat up. Following a packed first season, we’re thrilled to announce Season Two, bringing more maps, weapons, game modes, events, and much more. PlayStation players have a lot to look forward to, with major updates across both Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Warzone. As the Axis and Allied powers continue their battle throughout the Pacific and beyond, a new threat looms on the horizon: Nebula V. Captain Butcher and crew have uncovered intel regarding the chemical weapon, and it’s now their mission to keep it out of enemy hands no matter the cost. Season Two launches on February 14. Here’s what we know. Play Video The Season Two Battle Pass The Season Two Battle Pass brings 100 Tiers of new content, including two new weapons: the KG M40 Assault Rifle and the Whitley LMG. KG M40 Assault Rifle: Adopted by Scandinavian armies during the war, the KG M40 is a high-caliber, fully automatic weapon with plenty of flexibility via Gunsmith. Whitley LMG: The Whitley represents one of the first machine guns ever used in warfare, rivaling its Battle Pass peer for a strong mid- to long-range tool across all three game modes. Other free Battle Pass tiers include the new Ball Turret Gunner Killstreak and the Sticky Grenade Lethal Equipment, a classic throwable that guarantees a kill when stuck to the enemy. Get new Perks, too: Armory makes your equipment immune to the Engineer Perk, while Mechanic charges your Field Upgrades more quickly. Purchase the Season Two Battle Pass to get Task Force Yeti Operator Anna Drake instantly at Tier 0. Appearing later in the Store are the other two Yeti Operators, Thomas Bolt and Gustavo Dos Santos. Earn two more weapons — the Ice Axe and the Armaguerra 43 SMG — by completing their in-game challenges or by purchasing their corresponding Store Bundles later in the season. Warzone Introduces Nebula V, New POIs, and Game Modes Nebula V: While meant for larger-scale armaments, Nebula V can be also be used for small-arms ammunition and bombs. Discover Nebula V ammo, which causes downed enemies to emit a poisonous gas cloud, making it harder for their teammates to revive them. Plant Nebula V Bombs, which upon completion of its countdown will emit high damage in a small radius, followed by a lingering gas cloud. Decontamination Station: This new portable Field Upgrade momentarily filters the air, protecting anyone inside from the Circle Collapse or Nebula V gas. Note that all Operators will see its deployed position on the Tac Map. Armored Transports: These steel behemoths move through the island while attacking anyone within their immediate vicinity. Take one out for high-value loot, including, if you’re lucky, an intact Nebula V Bomb. New Points of Interest: The refinery between the Mines and Docks that once produced phosphate has been repurposed and is now a newly constructed Chemical Factory spewing out Nebula V. Also uncover powerful loot in one of seven Chemical Weapon Research Labs built underground by the Axis and guarded by their soldiers. Bomber Planes and Redeploy Balloons: Take to the skies in the Bomber, a formidable air-to-ground striker capable of leveling infantry and vehicles. Zipline up to a Redeploy Balloon, and then reposition by leaping off and deploying your parachute to cover great distances. Plus, experience new modes. Caldera Clash pits two teams of up to 48 Operators against each other in a Deathmatch with wild events and power-ups. The first team to 500 points wins the match. Rebirth Iron Trials is custom-made for competitive Duos, featuring its own set of weaponry and numerous rule changes. Later in the season, expect some major changes to surface on Rebirth Island. Multiplayer Brings Two New Maps, Ranked Mode The battle spreads to two new Multiplayer maps — Casablanca and Gondola, plus the debut of Ranked Mode. Casablanca (Launch): The shining jewel of Morocco, Casablanca is a medium-sized, three-lane-style map within a bustling marketplace. Expect a variety of vertical engagements that invite combat at all ranges. Gondola (Launch): Take a trip on the Gondola to travel above a large gulch and fire watchtower. Utilize the long sightlines this gondola route provides, or head through the power plant and caves for more close-quarters battle. Plus, Ranked Mode kicks off during Season Two to commemorate the start of the 2022 Call of Duty League, providing a competitive Multiplayer mode featuring league-approved rules, visible Skill Ratings, and new competitive rewards among other innovations. New Zombies Characters, Wonder Weapons, Arena, and Quest The Dark Aether entities continue their supernatural war through the mortal world, bringing new changes to Vanguard Zombies. New Hub Map: “Der Anfang” was just the beginning. Krafft and company take the fight to Von List in “Terra Maledicta,” a new Zombies experience set in Egypt’s Eastern Desert and abroad. Battle in new arenas as you attempt to obtain a lost page from the Tome of Rituals. New Ally and Artifact: Vercanna the Last is the latest Dark Aether entity to lend her powers to the battle against Von List and Kortifex. Keep your allies on their feet with her Healing Aura ability, featuring five tiers with increasing power. Zaballa the Deceiver: An evil charlatan with a devious sense of humor, Zaballa hides her true face behind three masks. Encounter her by braving multiple rounds in “Der Anfang” or “Terra Maledicta.” The Return of Wonder Weapons: Through exploration, elite skill, and perhaps some divine intervention, Operators can wield Wonder Weapons, energy-based arms with mysterious origins and herculean effects in battle. Wield the classic Ray Gun, found in the Mystery Box or as a lucky loot drop, or the new Decimator Shield, found exclusively within “Terra Maledicta.” New Objective, Story Quest: Disrupt a gruesome Dark Aether blood-magic ceremony in the new Sacrifice objective and complete a special Story Quest in “Terra Maledicta” to learn more about Vercanna the Last. Plus, side Easter Eggs are returning: Pick up a shovel and find hidden loot and more in the Eastern Desert. New Covenant: Equip the new Artifact Ward Covenant for a chance to trigger your Artifact for free when hit by a melee attack from behind. Three rarity levels improve the chances of activating your Artifact when struck. Get the PlayStation Exclusive* Combat Pack Make waves with the Season Two Combat Pack, free for PlayStation®Plus members in Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone starting on February 23. The Beach Bum Combat Pack includes a Legendary Operator Skin for Wade Jackson, Legendary Overlord and Neptune Weapon Blueprints featuring 10 attachments each, a Legendary Emblem, a Legendary Calling Card, an Epic Watch, an Epic Charm and a 60-minute Double XP Token. Season Two Launches February 14 Season Two of Vanguard and Warzone launches on PlayStation on February 14. Expect all this and more, including the upcoming Arms Race game mode, new Store Bundles, Season Two Challenges, and a limited-time Valentine’s Day celebration. See you online. View the full article

Hello, Evil Dead fans, it’s Tim Willits from Saber Interactive here to talk about the upcoming Evil Dead: The Game. Our talented Saber Interactive Madrid team has been working tirelessly to bring you a game that is as authentically Evil Dead as possible, from the characters to the locations to the franchise’s signature humor and, yes, the over-the-top bloody gore that Evil Dead is known for. Play Video When you play the game in May, you’ll join up with up to four friends (or play the solo mode option to team up with AI) and play as Survivors, exploring, looting, managing your fear and finding weapons and items to fend off an onslaught of Deadites who are hell bent on destroying you. You’ll be battling to force the vile Kandarian Demon back into a rift between time and space and then seal it shut. Or you can play as the demon itself and unleash hell on the Survivors by possessing items in the environment like trees and cars, summoning Deadites and, if you grow powerful enough, taking over the bodies of the Survivors themselves. One of the best things about making this game has been working closely with Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and the studios behind the Evil Dead franchise to faithfully recreate the Evil Dead universe. Of course that starts with everyone’s favorite characters. Hail to the King We’ve worked closely with Bruce Campbell himself to bring Ash Williams to life in our game. You’ll get to play multiple versions of Ash from the Evil Dead timeline, including from the original trilogy of movies and the older, wiser and still badass Ash from the television show. Ash isn’t the only hero in the franchise and he won’t be fighting alone in our game. It was important for us to do justice to the other characters that have also fought – successfully and unsuccessfully – against Evil. We’ve got Kelly Maxwell and Pablo Simon Bolivar, voiced by the original actors from Ash vs Evil Dead, battling side by side with Lord Arthur from Army of Darkness, Ash’s sister Cheryl Williams from the original The Evil Dead, and many other heroes! As you can see from their outfits here, we’ve focused on recreating them exactly as they appeared on the screen. This past October marked the 40th anniversary since the release of the original The Evil Dead (1981) film, and horror fans will be excited to know that the original five actors who made that fateful first trip to the cabin will all voice roles in the game. Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Hal Delrich will respectively reprise Ash Williams, Cheryl Williams and Scotty as playable characters. And while Shelly and Linda aren’t playable Survivor characters, you’ll hear Theresa Tilly reprising Shelly in the Knowby Recordings, and Betsy Baker as the voice of Linda, who’s still… head over heels for Ash. We’re Going to Get You! Of course, there’s no Evil Dead without the Evil, and it was crucial for us to recreate the iconic Deadite enemies so that they were both instantly recognizable and supremely threatening to our Survivors. We’ve been able to incorporate not only fast, deadly and otherworldly movement of the Deadites, but also their signature sound effects – the creepy laughs, growls and screams that fans will appreciate. The Deadites are powered and led by the Kandarian Demon, which is known to take on various forms while wreaking havoc on our world. We haven’t revealed all of them yet, but today I am happy to spotlight Henrietta, one of three demons that players can control when trying to swallow the souls of Survivors. Each demon can summon Deadites, but they also have unique abilities and attributes to level up, all designed for different strategies and approaches in battle. Dark Shadows Moving in the Woods Our game features a large overworld map for players to battle across, and it’s full of iconic locations as well as Easter eggs for fans to find. We don’t want to spoil them all here, but we do want to show you a few things you can look forward to seeing in the game as we build the world for this map and future content as well. The iconic cabin in the woods, setting of the first two Evil Dead movies. Ash’s trailer and car! This trailer screenshot shows a setting familiar to fans of the TV series — Ash’s trailer and, of course, the classic yellow Delta 88. Ash’s Mechanical Hand! In this game screenshot, you can see that we’ve recreated the hand that was crafted by Pablo in Ash vs. Evil Dead. —– We’re beyond thrilled to share these characters, enemies, and locations with you, and trust me when I say it’s just the start of what we’ve got planned for the game. We think fans old and new will enjoy it and we can’t wait to show you more and then get playing with you all when Evil Dead: The Game is released on May 13, 2022. View the full article

Ghostwire: Tokyo is set in modern-day Tokyo after a mass disappearance of its citizens. The story begins at Shibuya’s famous Scramble Crossing, renowned as one of the world’s busiest pedestrian intersections. In an instant, everyone vanishes — except for our protagonist Akito, who suddenly finds himself caught up in events beyond imagination. A dangerous fog sets in and blurs the line between the normal and the paranormal, sealing Shibuya off from the rest of the world. As Akito, you’ll explore this transformed place and uncover pieces of the mystery of the mass disappearance, your lost family and Hannya, the masked man behind it all. Play Video One story, two heroes As you delve deeper into the game, you’ll discover why Akito survived the disappearance and how he gained the power to fight back against the otherworldly horrors that have descended upon the city. Joining you on that journey is a tough-talking detective called KK. At the outset of the game, Akito is caught up in a fatal crash but his life is saved when KK’s spirit merges with his body to pursue his own ends -as a veteran ghost hunter with a difficult past, he has a history with Hannya and an agenda of his own. After merging with Akito, the two slowly come to understand each other better as they work to achieve their respective goals, though not without the occasional argument along the way. They’re not what you might call fast friends, but we think players will enjoy their colorful back-and-forth as they traverse the transformed Shibuya. Fighting the Visitors As you make your way through Tokyo, you’ll inevitably run into supernatural beings called Visitors, malevolent foes that stand in Akito and KK’s way. Ordinary attacks from weapons like guns and swords are of no use against these otherworldly threats. You’ll primarily rely on Ethereal Weaving, hand gestures that allow you to manipulate ether, to combat foes. By weaving this supernatural energy, you can give it form and release it to damage your foes. There are three elements available to weave and each is best suited for different enemies and ranges. Making strategic use of them will be key to getting the upper hand in battle. The first of the three elements is wind. Wind weaving allows you to rapidly shoot bursts of ether at your foes like a handgun. Next, there’s water weaving. This functions more like a shotgun, allowing you to deal bursts of heavy damage at short range and knock your targets back. These strikes have a wide area of effect, making them extremely useful when you’ve got lots of enemies bearing down on you. The final elemental attack is fire weaving. Think of this one like a rocket launcher. It inflicts massive explosive damage on anything unlucky enough to get caught in the blast. Fire weaving is best-suited for when your enemies are clustered together. Regular and charged attacks allow you to expose the cores of your enemies, which can be ripped away to deal huge damage. In addition, thanks to the advanced haptics of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense wireless controller, you’ll feel like you’re right in the action as you unleash Ethereal Weaving and tear out the cores of your enemies. In addition to the three attacking elements, you can also wield earth ether to block enemy strikes. You’ll also get to wield other tools like a bow and special talismans which facilitate a stealthy approach. No matter how you prefer to fight, Ghostwire: Tokyo gives you the tools to confront the opposition in any way you choose in its dynamic and exciting combat. Missions and progression informed by myth and legend Shibuya has been cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious fog spewing out of a number of corrupted torii gates throughout the city connected to the underworld. Akito has the power to cleanse this corruption, lifting the fog blanketing the area around them and expanding the area of the city open for exploration. Torii gates can be found throughout Shibuya, not just at the entrances to Shinto shrines where they’re traditionally found but also down dark alleyways and up on the rooftops. As you make your way down the alleys and plumb the underground depths of Shibuya, you’ll witness all manner of supernatural happenings inspired by Japan’s colorful folklore. For example, one urban legend involves a mystery train that shows up in stations and can’t be found on any schedule. Those who board alone are whisked away to another realm and stranded forever. Is there any way to escape? Ghostwire: Tokyo invites you to take the journey and find out for yourself—should you have the courage to do so! Use spirits and yokai to power up With Shibuya linked to the underworld, things that were once hidden have now begun to appear out in the open. Though the city has become far more dangerous, not not every newcomer poses a threat to Akito and KK. Some of these beings can help him grow his supernatural powers. For example, take the spirits that can be found drifting through the streets. These lost souls are some of the roughly 200,000 people who vanished at the beginning of the game. Using special phone booths put together by a member of KK’s team, Akito can send these souls back to the safety of the outside world, which lets him level up and unlock new Spirit Skills. You’ll also be able to discover personifications of different natural phenomena roaming the streets. These mythological beings are called yokai, and you’ll be able to run into varieties of them such as kappa, ittan-momen, rokurokubi and many more. Finding them is only the first step, though. Each requires a different and unique method to capture them and harness their power. Kappa, for example, love to eat cucumbers so bringing a few along will help you lure them out into the open. The ittan-momen’s cloth-like bodies can fly and must be chased through the air, whereas the sneaky, long-necked rokurokubi have to be stalked through labyrinthine back streets. With no humans left, the convenience stores and stalls of the city are now being run by cute cat yokai called nekomata. These enterprising felines sell all sorts of goods including food, talismans, arrows and more. Just make sure you bring plenty of meika, the supernatural currency of choice post-vanishing. The local creatures like the nekomata and fuzzy tanuki also have plenty of work that needs doing. Help them out and you can obtain protective charms and other items sure to come in handy in your exploration. Of course, no material reward could ever match the satisfaction of helping a cute little friend out. As Akito’s power grows, he’ll be able to strengthen his Ethereal Weaving attacks, better sense supernatural elements in his surroundings, glide through the air for longer and longer, and even hitch a ride with winged tengu by grappling onto them. Tokyo: where tradition and modernity collide Around the world, Tokyo is known for its towering skyscrapers and glimmering neon lights. However, a quick detour from the beaten path will reveal old houses, ancient temples, shrines and plenty of history spreading across the city. Despite being a modern city filled with all sorts of cutting-edge technology, Tokyo is also a place where you’ll find the many aspects of nature reimagined in the form of colorful yokai creatures. The city has more than its share of urban legends and tall tales delving into humanity’s curiosity (and at times, fear of the unknown.) In many ways, Tokyo embodies the balance between modernity and nature that makes the culture of Japan so appealing to people from within and without. It is this appeal that the Ghostwire: Tokyo team works so hard to capture in our depiction of this city that tens of millions call home. With the PlayStation 5’s unique 3D spatial audio capabilities and ray-tracing technology, you’ll be able to experience the charms of the city brought to life like never before. Digital Pre-order starts now Embark on an action-packed trip through a paranormal metropolis in Ghostwire: Tokyo, arriving on PlayStation 5 systems 25th March 2022. PS Plus members can enjoy an exclusive 10% discount when they pre-order now on the PlayStation Store. Additionally, pre-orders will also receive the following digital content: • Biker Outfit • Hannya Outfit Country Digital Standard Edition Digital Deluxe Edition Singapore SGD 81.30 SGD 109.90 Malaysia RM 249 RM 339 Thailand THB 2,022 THB 2,664 Indonesia Rp 829,000 Rp 1,129,000 Pre-order the Deluxe Edition to receive 3 Days Full Game Early Access and the following digital contents: • Streetwear Outfit Pack • Shinobi Outfit & Kunai Weapon Physical Pre-order starts 15th Feb Pre-order for PS5 software “Ghostwire: Tokyo” Physical Standard Edition will be available from 15th February 2022 at all PlayStation Authorized Dealers and Sony Stores. Customers who pre-order Ghostwire: Tokyo will receive their choice of Steelbook out of 2 available designs. Please check with your local retailers for details of the design, while stocks last. Country Physical Standard Edition Singapore SGD 79.90 Malaysia RM 249 Thailand THB 1,890 Indonesia Rp 829,000 Philippines PHP 2,990 Vietnam VND 1,499,000 Ready to team up with KK and take back the city from Hannya’s supernatural invasion? View the full article

Sonic Frontiers, a brand-new high-speed free-roaming action adventure game is coming to PlayStation®5 & PlayStation®4 in Winter, 2022! ■In Winter, 2022, Sonic embarks on a new adventure! A teaser site went live as of today, December 10th, showcasing teaser visuals that invoke an image of adventure, including a sprawling natural environment, as well as graphics from various stages. Check out the teaser site here: https://asia.sega.com/SonicFrontiers/en/ ◆About the Sonic the Hedgehog series SEGA’s world-famous game character Sonic the Hedgehog, who travels at the speed of sound, debuted in 1991 in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. To date, over 1.14 billion copies of games from the series have been sold (including downloads) on multiple platforms. Sonic is determined to continue his high-speed adventure. ©SEGA View the full article

Greetings to the PlayStation community! I’m Félix, marketing manager at Sloclap. It’s now been close to a year since we first revealed Sifu during State of Play in February 2021. It has been a wild ride for the entire team and we are all very excited for Sifu’s launch. For the final PS Blog post before launch, we wanted to give you a few tips from the team to help you on your path for revenge. We know Sifu is challenging. Of course, difficulty is relative to the player, and we know that some of you will have no troubles fulfilling your revenge! But for those that might need a helping hand, the team has compiled a shortlist of tips and tricks that will serve you well in difficult situations. Overall progression tips Learn and train both your defensive moves : Parry and Avoid They are both essential to overcome encounters in the game. Learning the timings early will help you a lot in later fights, take the time to practice both mechanics. Find the shortcuts and explore By playing through a level and exploring, you will unlock keys that give you access to very effective shortcuts. Use them to quickly get back to the boss fights. You’ll also find hidden rooms and weapons that can prove quite useful. Stay calm and keep going Even if you believe your character is too old to finish the game, going further into the levels will allow you to unlock more skills and secret paths. You can revisit prior hideouts later, once you better know the game, to improve your finishing age. Boss Fights Observe and learn first Don’t be too aggressive at first. Focus on defense, block and dodge attacks, in order to progressively learn the patterns of bosses. Look for windows of opportunity in their patterns Bosses will often give you the opportunity to counter attack during their attack cycles, often at the end of a pattern. Avoid or parry successfully, and counter attack right away. Do not attempt to brute force or cheese the encounter Bosses will be very strong against overly aggressive behaviours, button mashing or tactics that are effective against normal enemies (crowd control, etc.). Fight smart! Fighting groups Don’t let yourself get surrounded by enemies Even the most basic thugs will be deadly if many are attacking at the same time. Dodge out and vault over obstacles before you get cornered or surrounded. Use your crowd control techniques Use techniques such as push backs and knock downs to thin the herd. Throwables also are very effective tools to stun and disable enemies. Prioritize your targets Armed enemies are particularly deadly, take them out quickly to both reduce the threat level and take their weapons for yourself. Stronger enemies have special health bars (silver and gold) – It might be easier to isolate them before taking them on. We hope these tips help you on your path, and we can’t wait to hear how you get on. Let us know how you do. Finally, we wanted you to know that part of the team behind Sifu is already at work on post-launch content. We have exciting plans for free content updates that we will soon be able to tell you more about! Stay tuned for more, and enjoy your experience with Sifu! View the full article

Ahead of the OlliOlli World launch on February 8, the team at Roll7 is sharing some of our best tips for players old and new. Kuan-Ting “Tin-Tin” Chin (QA whizz with superhuman reflexes and godly controller skills) has some advice for veteran players, and I (writer with reflexes of an overtired sloth who recently broke my controller by rolling my chair over it) have some tips for folks who are just starting out. On the subject of tricks… My Tips: There are a huge variety of tricks available to you in OlliOlli World – sure, you could get more points for doing bigger, flashier, more complex tricks… or you can begin to improve your score simply by stringing tricks together with manuals. Linking tricks together lets you build combos, which are key to improving your scores! Tin-Tin’s Tips: You should always be doing something – if you aren’t pulling any tricks or grinds, it’s going to cost you your high scores. Study the “Tricktionary”, try to pull off the most complex combos you can, and get greedy! Also, make sure you’re aiming for the most varied trick selection possible – repeated use of the same trick will yield lower scores. Timing is key My Tips: Unlike in previous OlliOlli games, a mistimed landing won’t end your entire run in a brutal slam that totally wipes out your score. It’s possible to complete levels and challenges without timing every single move perfectly… but you won’t be making the number one spot on the leaderboards with wonky landings. First, focus on making it to the end, then try coming back to earlier levels once you’ve had a chance to improve your skills! Tin-Tin’s Tips: Perfect timing doesn’t just improve your base score – it also boosts your score multiplier, which is one of the key elements you’ll want to focus on if you’re chasing seriously high scores. A poorly timed landing can seriously impact your final score. When you’re bringing a complex combo to an end, you need to focus on sticking the landing with perfect precision. Check your checkpoints My Tips: if you try to do a level all in one long combo, and then mess up once right toward the end? Yeah, you lose your whole score. Instead, I like to end my combo once I’ve passed a checkpoint – this banks the score accumulated so far. It also means that if you slam you’ll only lose a little bit of the score that you’ve been building up over the course of the level. Tin-Tin’s Tips: Checkpoints aren’t just for beginners – they also provide an awesome opportunity to really learn each part of the level. Checking out the multiple different ways you could approach a series of obstacles will be a huge help in enabling you to get the best possible score. There’s no point replaying the whole level from the start to practice landing one really tricky jump – so use checkpoints to brush up on your skills, and you can then restart from the top to get your perfect run in one smooth combo. And finally – no matter your skill level, it’s always a good idea to check out level replays and watch what others are doing in our asynchronous multiplayer modes. There are multiple ways to complete each level, and often seeing somebody else try something new can help work out the best way to approach a tricky challenge or to max out your score. OlliOlli World launches tomorrow, February 8 on PS5 and PS4! View the full article

Shohei Ohtani’s 2021 season was one for the ages. Hitting 46 home runs, 100 RBI’s, and stealing 26 bases while also having a 9-2 record on the mound with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts. It has been said, “The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.” Ohtani might seem like an overnight success here in the US but he’s been climbing the impossible mountain since his teenage years attending Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan. After having one of the greatest seasons in the history of Major League Baseball, Shohei Ohtani was really the only obvious choice to grace the cover of MLB The Show 22. Play Video Today, we are thrilled to announce that MLB The Show 22 launches on April 5th, 2022. The Standard Edition on last gen consoles is SGD79.9 / MYR249 / IDR879,000 / THB1,990 / PHP2,990 / VND 1,499,000. The Standard Edition on current gen consoles is SGD97.9 / MYR299 / IDR1,029,000 / THB2,290 / PHP3,490 / VND 1,799,000. For the second year in a row, MLB The Show is expanding to a new platform and will give fans a new way to play! MLB The Show 22 will be available on Nintendo Switch for the first time, adding to the console lineup on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. This is a very exciting moment for all of us, as the storied franchise continues to welcome more players. We would like to thank everyone at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Xbox, Nintendo Co. Ltd, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball Players Association, and the San Diego Studio for making this happen. Cross-Platform Play, Cross Saves and Cross Progression Expands to include Nintendo Switch for MLB The Show 22 Nintendo fans can now join in with Xbox and PlayStation fans to play against each other online with cross-platform play in MLB The Show 22*. In addition, cross progression allows you to earn and use any earned content on any platform or generation (this excludes PS5 and Xbox Series X|S exclusive features like Stadium Creator). With cross saves you can transfer a save file for Road to the Show or Franchise mode to a different console.** MLB The Show Account, Account Linking & The Scouting Report With MLB The Show 22, you now can easily move from platform to platform and keep access to your entire inventory of cards, and the MLB The Show Account allows you to do so. Just create your MLB The Show Account on TheShow.com and link your PlayStation, Xbox, and/or Switch and you are all set. While you are creating your new linked account, make sure you sign-up for The Scouting Report, so we can send you all the latest MLB The Show 22 information and subscribers also get an exclusive pack each month starting in April. So head over to www.theshow.com to get your account setup. MLB The Show 22 Feature Premieres Schedule Feature Premieres return to give our fans a deep dive into what’s new and what has changed in MLB The Show 22. You can watch episodes on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Live or watch them on-demand at your own convenience as we get closer to launch. For MLB The Show 22, we are developing several Feature Premiere episodes, so be on the lookout on TheShow.com for episode schedule and information. Pre-order now on PlayStation Store and be ready for action by receiving a Gold Choice Pack for use in MLB The Show 22 just for pre-ordering. We could not be more excited for MLB The Show 22 coming out on PlayStation, Xbox, and now Nintendo Switch! Look forward to a new class of Legends, new ways to play, including with your friends! Check TheShow.com and follow our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts for the latest updates about MLB The Show 22. For more detailed information on MLB The Show 22 including an important update on year to year saves and more please read our announce FAQ here. *Online multiplayer features require internet connection and console-specific online multiplayer subscription. ** Cross-platform progression requires an internet connection and for each platform you play on: 1) a copy of the MLB The Show 22 game compatible with your console (other platform versions sold separately); and 2) platform network account linked to your MLB The Show account. *** Physical edition includes PS4 Disc & PS5 Voucher (PS5 console with disc drive required). View the full article

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here The team is revved up following this week’s Gran Turismo 7 State of Play, and shares favorite gaming weapons. Stuff We Talked About OlliOlli World Sifu Bungie Gran Turismo 7 MLB The Show 22 Ghostwire: Tokyo The Cast Tim Turi – Manager, Content Communications, SIE Brett Elston – Manager, Content Communications, 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 dive into the adventures and treasures of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection using #PSshare #PSBlog. From daring jumps to powerful portraits, here are this week’s highlights: Matatabigame777 shares Nathan taking a daring leap. IlyaKorenevskyi shares Chloe and Nadine crossing an overgrown structure. killshot_studio shares Nate standing atop the famous jeep from Uncharted 4. RevolutionAndre shares a portrait of Nadine. J_Bologna shares a sunset view over the shipwreck. kimchitraveler shares the unforgettable elephants from Uncharted: Lost Legacy. Search #PSshare #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: Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection – Landscapes SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on February 9, 2022 Next week, stay the course and share magnificent and mesmerizing landscapes from Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

With the launch of Gran Turismo 7 just around the corner, we are excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Columbia Records to release a full album titled Find Your Line (Official Music from Gran Turismo 7). Today, Bring Me The Horizon have released their rendition of “Moon Over The Castle.”, a classic music track originally composed by Masahiro Ando for the first Gran Turismo. The track is lifted from Find Your Line (Official Music from Gran Turismo 7) and will be integrated as one of the songs integrated into the newly added Music Replay feature* where the cameras are generated automatically to sync the beats of the music – allowing for a unique replay video that’s randomized to each song. Here’s a first look at an unedited video of Music Replay with “Moon Over The Castle” by Bring Me The Horizon in Gran Turismo 7 Play Video The Find Your Line album includes a wide range of musical genres carefully selected by SIE and Polyphony Digital in finding the right globally renowned artists and songs to evoke thematic emotions while playing Gran Turismo 7. The high-octane soundtrack features original music inspired by the highly-anticipated video game Gran Turismo 7. The star-studded lineup of artists includes Bring Me The Horizon, Major Lazer, Rosalía, Nothing but Thieves, Fanatix, Kim Dracula, London Grammar, Jawsh685, Lous and the Yakuza, and Disciples. See below for full tracklist: Fanatix: “Vroom feat. Idris Elba, Davido, Koffee, Moelogo, Lil’ TJay” Bring Me The Horizon: “Moon Over the Castle” Major Lazer: “I Don’t Care feat. Lous and the Yakuza” Nothing But Thieves: “Life’s Coming in Slow” Kim Dracula: “Unstoppable” Rosalía: “Bizcochito” Disciples: “Squad feat. GoldLink” London Grammar: “Baby It’s You (George Fitzgerald Remix)” Jawsh685: “Drift” You can get the digital Find Your Line album by purchasing the Gran Turismo 7 – 25th Anniversary Edition or 25th Anniversary Digital Deluxe Edition. Pre-order either edition now. Gran Turismo 7 is available March 4, 2022. *Internet connection required to access Music Replay features. View the full article

From Software is legendary for its incredible bosses. Thrilling combat, captivating creature design and haunting settings have given us over a decade of unforgettable encounters. As we ready to see what awaits us in Elden Ring next month, we reached out to PlayStation Studios developers to ask them their personal favourite moments from across Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Bloodborne, the Dark Souls series and Demon’s Souls. But to kick us off, we posed the same question to the creator of the Souls series himself, Hidetaka Miyazaki. Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. Old Monk | Demon’s Souls “If we’re talking about a boss that I’m ‘most proud of’ (to use those specific words), it would probably be the Old Monk from Demon’s Souls. The reason being is there was a lot of pushback against that design and what we were trying to do with it. But it was something I really, really wanted to do. I wanted to get that boss concept into the game, both from a visual design perspective and gameplay perspective, including the multiplayer element. From both the implementation and fun factor, we got a lot of pushback, and no one believed in it at the time. But in the end, we came through, and I think it turned into an intriguing boss that the fans appreciated. With Demon’s Souls, there were a lot of mechanics throughout the development that were difficult to design. For instance, the asynchronous online features were complicated, but I think the Old Monk encompasses those tribulations and how we pushed through and made something we were proud of.” – Hidetaka Miyazaki, President and Director, FromSoftware “It’s 2009. I’m hours into my Demon’s Souls playthrough when I encounter the Old Monk in world 3-3. It differed completely from all the bosses that came before: he was small, and he dodge-rolled everywhere, nearly mirroring how I played. Almost instantly, he would parry, backstab, and kill me. “What crazy A.I.”, I thought. “It wasn’t until our second battle that I suspected how truly unique this encounter was. This time, he had completely changed his look and was casting magic! After a second death, I looked online for tips. “How can I learn a bosses’ patterns if his fighting style changes each encounter?” I grumbled. “I was hit with the revelation that I wasn’t fighting a computer… it was other players — a PvP boss fight! Mind blown!” – Thomas Hart, Associate Community Manager, Insomniac Games Great Grey Wolf Sif | Dark Souls “When the cinematic started, Sif jumped from behind the tombstone, grabbed the giant sword and braced itself for an intense battle. Just before I defeated it, Sif started to limp a bit. His attacks started to slow down and I started to feel sad about it. It seemed like Sif was willing to fight to the very end. Upon defeating the wolf I received the Soul of Sif. When I read the description I felt even worse, finding out that this wolf was once a loyal companion, protecting the grave of his master. After that I started reading more about the lore of the game, which changed the way I looked at the bosses. I felt sorry for a lot of them. All bosses within the series give a great sense of achievement, but their defeat makes you think even more about them as each boss has its own, mostly sad story attached to it.” – Tom Clercx, Animator, Nixxes Software Dragonslayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough | Dark Souls “Finding out you’ll need to fight BOTH at the same time was incredibly daunting and seemed impossible! “Ornstein is quick and electrifying, constantly attacking you with no rest. All the while hearing Smough’s huge body shake the ground as he stomps towards you, threatening to squish you like a bug with his equally huge hammer.I had hope of winning when I finally beat just one of them, but then saw the remaining enemy transform into an even stronger form! Exploring how they each change depending on which I beat first was an extra treat to an already great fight.” – Dzan Wong, Senior QA Tester, Firesprite “The Dark Souls of” is a reductive throw-around to indicate something is challenging, doesn’t play nice, fights the player, etc. Orstein & Smough is the Dark Souls boss fight of Dark Souls: They’re uncompromisingly aggressive; they’re able to land attacks that clip through each other; they force players to repeat everything they learnt in the game, and that’s kind of the point. They tell players to not get too comfy in thinking they’re the best – that they have to adapt and get used to being kicked around if they want to enjoy and progress through such a laboriously engaging title.” – Duncan Tyrer, Embedded QA Analyst, Firesprite Knight Artorias | Dark Souls “Nothing says ‘Go back to Anor Londo’ like the first leap-and-smash of Knight Artorias – His opening gambit is enough to make even the most ‘chosen of undead’ pray they have enough stamina to roll all the way back to Firelink Shrine. Contrary to the tales told of the most heroic and noblest of the Royal Knights, you’re forced to negotiate the clumsy, animalistic swings and stabs of his brutally unpredictable move-set. “The fight throws the hardest punches in the art department, telling the story of a once golden age, fallen into the abyss: The colosseum decrepit and overgrown, Artorias’s armour scratched, dirty and torn – his main-arm broken and swinging limply by his side as he spanks your greaves with his weaker-hand. Whether it’s his heartbreaking backstory or the merciless difficulty, Artorias left me weeping into my Estus Flask – exactly the punishment I deserved for daring to venture into the DLC.” – Matthew Kemp, Game Designer, Firesprite Dancer of the Boreal Valley | Dark Souls III “When you enter the Lothric chapel, the door closes, and the darkness engulfs the room. For me, one of the most memorable moments in games unfurled before my eyes. The Dancer, dangling from the pooled darkness, dropping down and sinuously moving to stand before my character. I still get chills thinking about that fight starting. The battle is smooth, yet the feeling is frantic at times, and the lethality of that creature is clear from the start. It was the first boss fight I ever felt like was truly a dance between two forces trying to dominate one another. It reminded me a lot of the first time I encountered Penetrator from Demon’s Souls, but even more refined. When I prevailed, it was the first time I was sad to have finished a Souls boss fight. I wanted more… more stages to the fighting, more fire spreading throughout the arena, just more. With Elden Ring, I’m looking forward to what will stir that thrill again.” – Randall Lowe, Producer, Bluepoint Games Nameless King | Dark Souls III “Battling the Nameless King is both a struggle and a spectacle. The battlefield is fashioned of storm clouds, and the boss descends to it on the back of a great dragon. While mounted, the king strikes with steel and lightning at those who contend with his fire-breathing companion, showcasing a regal elegance and majesty befitting of his title. After dispatching the dragon, the player must face off against the Nameless King in a proper duel. The boss commands his weapon and the powers of the storm in equal measure; his offense is a stunning array of steel, wind, and lightning that can easily overwhelm his opponent. Perhaps as intimidating as his offense is his tendency to walk calmly towards the player between attacks, displaying the patience and composure of a seasoned warrior. Defeating this formidable foe imparts a comparable sense of mastery, along with the pride of having defeated the boss that stood at Lothric’s absolute peak.” – Tucker Cole, Technical Artist, Bend Studio Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower | Bloodborne “Entering into a vast abandoned clock tower with a single corpse awaiting us on a chair, surrounded by sunlight being cast from the ornate window…I knew what was coming. Little did I know how this’d be the most difficult (and yet most beautiful) boss battle I encountered in the whole game. Lady Maria has to be my most favorite boss in all of these games because of how much it felt like a dance, with Lady Maria leading me. “The environment is mostly empty, however the church-like candles on the sides and white flower petals littered on the floor with a gorgeous clock tower window lighting the environment was atmospheric and fitting for this kind of boss battle. The music, beautiful, with the right amount of tempo to get your adrenaline pumping. The way she merely walks towards you without a care in the world, knowing she will utterly demolish you, wonderful animation set up for her character design. “The transition between each one of her fighting phases felt so well balanced and flowed so well into each other. Phase one is a rhythmic dance to her quick attacks. Phase two is a faster pace with longer-range attacks where she uses her blood as a whip of sorts. Phase three…she’s using blood AND fire that you must dodge until you miss a step and you’re dead. What a wonderful experience it was to fight her for the first time.” – Ivanna Liittschwager, Environment Artist, Santa Monica Studio Ludwig the Holy Blade | Bloodborne “What starts out as the typical hunter versus beast ordeal, suddenly reveals itself as something truly special halfway through. “Ludwig stumbles to the ground, wounded. By his side, he finds his long-lost Moonlight Greatsword. Rage makes way for clarity, wiping away Ludwig the Accursed. Weapons that deal extra damage to beasts, no longer do so. The screeching beast is replaced by a monstrous man. “Welcome home, Ludwig the Holy Blade. “What follows is one of the best songs composed for Bloodborne. As Ludwig begins to swing his blade, the fight turns into a violent waltz of blood and cosmic starlight. Every attack follows the rise and fall of the music, giving the fight a dance-like rhythm. What began as an erratic fight ends as an elegant duel between hunters in a blood-soaked ballroom. “Ludwig is the perfect summary of the Bloodborne experience, shaped in the form of a boss; capturing the struggle between hunters, beasts, and the Old Blood.” – Keano Raubun, Narrative Designer, Nixxes Software Owl (Father) | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice “In Sekiro’s life, nearly every monumental decision was made for him by the Owl. Indoctrination into The Iron Code, becoming Kuro’s retainer, this all in effort for his path to the Dragon’s Heritage. You come back to the moment everything changed in Sekiro’s life as an adult, the beginning of the end of Owl’s plan. The confrontation at Ashina Castle is about staying loyal to a friend but this fight is about a Father forsaking his son. This Owl is in his prime and will use everything in his power to prevent you from foiling his plan for immortality. There is a compression before and subsequent explosion of emotions once the fight begins. The anger of betrayal, the pain of abandonment, the joy of revenge. The clashing of blades expresses what words cannot. The speed, intensity, emotional weight of the fight perfectly translates into the musical theme. Owl (Father) is a prime example of what FromSoft does best, blend narrative and functional play into an unforgettable encounter. I can’t wait to see what Elden Ring has in store.” – Israel Rey, QA Analyst, Bluepoint Games Guardian Ape | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice “Picking one boss fight out of From Software’s amazing catalogue is a little agonizing. The Bloodstarved Beast will always have my heart, but I have to give props to the Guardian Ape from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice as an experience I love to retell. “This is not the undead knight or eldritch monstrosity you come to expect from these games. It’s a big monkey that throws feces at you. At first blush, he feels like a joke boss. “But the joke’s on the player after you cut off its head. The victory screen pops up, you start to walk away, and then… he stands back up – a sword in one hand, his decapitated head in the other. “The thing I love most is how From animated a fairly credible gorilla in the first phase, then completely flips the script in phase two as this ape torso slithers and slinks around – part snake, part ballet dancer. “Somehow, pulling a giant centipede out of its neck-hole in the end starts to clarify things. You were fighting a bug, living inside a gorilla, tugging it around like a marionette. No cutscene explains that. No scribbled note. It’s all told through arresting visuals.” – Joe Pettinati, Narrative Lead, Naughty Dog Lady Butterfly | Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice “Its unusual to see older women in games, particularly as able combatants, so I was a fan of Lady Butterfly even before the fight started; a tough, hyper-skilled martial artist bringing decades of experience to bear on her former pupil, a fight she’d rather not have but is duty bound to deliver. The fight is a masterclass in melee combat – the telegraphing, balancing, cancelling… it’s all completely spot on. Rarely can I truly say luck did not play a part in beating a boss, but the Lady Butterfly fight is so impeccably set up and animated, the rhythm and flow of attacks prompting deflections, evasions and just the right windows of attack opportunity, beating her felt like 100% hard won skill. And all done without a flashy huge demonic form, just a regular shaped human. One of my favourite bosses of all time.” – Anna Marsh, Associate Design Director, Firesprite Verify your age to view this content. Verify your age to view this content. View the full article

Hello Travelers! Your Genshin Impact dev team is here, and today we’d like to show you something about the version 2.5 update “When the Sakura Bloom” coming on February 16! Yae Miko finally joins the roster of playable characters. Her Story Quest and Chapter II of Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest will also become available, revealing the past bounding the two and Inazuma over hundreds of years. Meanwhile, darkness from an unknown origin is recently encroaching on Enkanomiya. Help Kokomi to find out the truth behind it. Play Video In addition to the adventures we prepared, you may also create your own gameplay. Check out the Divine Ingenuity event to create your own domain, or try out other Travelers’ domains. Repel the Darkness Invading Enkanomiya Some veteran Travelers may have set foot in Enkanomiya, an ancient underwater nation that has been sealed away for thousands of years. In the latest seasonal event Three Realms Gateway Offering, an area based on Enkanomiya that is shrouded in an unknown darkness will challenge you with brand-new gameplay. But not to worry, as we’ve got a few tips for you. Unlike your previous experience in Enkanomiya, you need to rediscover the event area in the dark, and you will have to brave the corrosive effects of this mysterious darkness. To help you repel the darkness, you will receive a gadget named the Bokuso Box. Please be aware that the Corrosive Darkness will accumulate over time, gradually draining the energy of the Bokuso Box along with your ability to take down certain monsters. You can Recuperate at the statues to clear the accumulated Corrosive Darkness and recharge the Bokuso Box. At the same time, you need to level up your Bokuso Box in order to strengthen its Corrosion Resistance and gain useful abilities that help you explore more areas. To upgrade your Bokuso Box, offer the statues in the event area with the Light Realm Sigils gathered from opening chests, unlocking Waypoints, and completing exploration objectives. You can activate special Bokuso Arts with the Light Realm Cores found in Luxurious Chests. Dangerous enemies also approach in the darkness. New monsters Shadowy Husks come in three types: Standard Bearers, Line Breakers, and Defenders. The weapons, elements and abilities used by each type vary. For instance, if a Standard Bearer hits a shielded character, it will create shields for itself and nearby Shadowy Husk members. More fun, surprise, and a variety of rewards including Primogems and the new four-star catalyst Oathsworn Eye also await you this season. The event will last throughout the version 2.5 events, so take your time enjoying the adventure. The Fox and the Shogun If you’re interested in the ladies who lead Inazuma, Version 2.5 will be a great chance for you to team up with Yae Miko, Raiden Shogun, and Sangonomiya Kokomi. The new five-star character Yae Miko has made her debut in the Inazuma storyline as the head shrine maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine. Her elegant and beautiful appearance belies her intelligent, cunning, and hard-to-predict personality. However, you, the Traveler, seems to have piqued her curiosity, and you now have a chance to know more about Yae Miko in her Story Quest Divina Vulpes Chapter. Wielding a catalyst and the power of Electro, Yae Miko can provide both constant damage off-field and high burst damage on-field. Miko’s Elemental Skill allows her to move swiftly and leave behind a Sesshou Sakura, periodically striking nearby opponents with lightning. With Miko’s Elemental Burst, all nearby Sesshou Sakura will be unsealed, destroying their outer forms and transforming them into Tenko Thunderbolts that descend from the skies. With her Passive Talent, each Sesshou Sakura destroyed by her Elemental Burst resets the cooldown of her Elemental Skill. Besides, you can see her glowing fox tails when she casts her Elemental Burst. Before you move on to Yae Miko’s Story Quest, you need to finish the new chapter of Raiden Shogun’s Story Quest: Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II first. The Raiden Shogun’s quest will be closely linked with the history and the Archon Quest in Inazuma. Meanwhile, you also need to defeat a formidable new enemy with a distinct look and abilities. If you want to add Yae Miko, Raiden Shogun, and Sangonomiya Kokomi to your party, their Event Wishes are also available soon. Yae Miko will be featured in the first Event Wish, followed by reruns of Raiden Shogun and Sangonomiya Kokomi in the later stage of the update. Create Your Own Game Version 2.5 is also a time to flex your creative muscle: make your own drinks and domain. In the Of Drink A-Dreaming event, you can be a bartender at Diluc’s tavern, mixing and serving various drinks to some familiar faces. Another event, Divine Ingenuity, will invite you to create your own custom domain. Publish your design and see how other Travelers fare in them. Our sharing for version 2.5 has come to an end, and we hope you will enjoy this update. We look forward to seeing you later with version 2.6 and The Chasm. View the full article

Ghostwire: Tokyo is set in modern-day Tokyo after a mass disappearance of its citizens. The story begins at Shibuya’s famous Scramble Crossing, renowned as one of the world’s busiest pedestrian intersections. In an instant, everyone vanishes — except for our protagonist Akito, who suddenly finds himself caught up in events beyond imagination. A dangerous fog sets in and blurs the line between the normal and the paranormal, sealing Shibuya off from the rest of the world. As Akito, you’ll explore this transformed place and uncover pieces of the mystery of the mass disappearance, your lost family and Hannya, the masked man behind it all. Play Video One story, two heroes As you delve deeper into the game, you’ll discover why Akito survived the disappearance and how he gained the power to fight back against the otherworldly horrors that have descended upon the city. Joining you on that journey is a tough-talking detective called KK. At the outset of the game, Akito is caught up in a fatal crash but his life is saved when KK’s spirit merges with his body to pursue his own ends -as a veteran ghost hunter with a difficult past, he has a history with Hannya and an agenda of his own. After merging with Akito, the two slowly come to understand each other better as they work to achieve their respective goals, though not without the occasional argument along the way. They’re not what you might call fast friends, but we think players will enjoy their colorful back-and-forth as they traverse the transformed Shibuya. Fighting the Visitors As you make your way through Tokyo, you’ll inevitably run into supernatural beings called Visitors, malevolent foes that stand in Akito and KK’s way. Ordinary attacks from weapons like guns and swords are of no use against these otherworldly threats. You’ll primarily rely on Ethereal Weaving, hand gestures that allow you to manipulate ether, to combat foes. By weaving this supernatural energy, you can give it form and release it to damage your foes. There are three elements available to weave and each is best suited for different enemies and ranges. Making strategic use of them will be key to getting the upper hand in battle. The first of the three elements is wind. Wind weaving allows you to rapidly shoot bursts of ether at your foes like a handgun. Next, there’s water weaving. This functions more like a shotgun, allowing you to deal bursts of heavy damage at short range and knock your targets back. These strikes have a wide area of effect, making them extremely useful when you’ve got lots of enemies bearing down on you. The final elemental attack is fire weaving. Think of this one like a rocket launcher. It inflicts massive explosive damage on anything unlucky enough to get caught in the blast. Fire weaving is best-suited for when your enemies are clustered together. Regular and charged attacks allow you to expose the cores of your enemies, which can be ripped away to deal huge damage. In addition, thanks to the advanced haptics of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense wireless controller, you’ll feel like you’re right in the action as you unleash Ethereal Weaving and tear out the cores of your enemies. In addition to the three attacking elements, you can also wield earth ether to block enemy strikes. You’ll also get to wield other tools like a bow and special talismans which facilitate a stealthy approach. No matter how you prefer to fight, Ghostwire: Tokyo gives you the tools to confront the opposition in any way you choose in its dynamic and exciting combat. Missions and progression informed by myth and legend Shibuya has been cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious fog spewing out of a number of corrupted torii gates throughout the city connected to the underworld. Akito has the power to cleanse this corruption, lifting the fog blanketing the area around them and expanding the area of the city open for exploration. Torii gates can be found throughout Shibuya, not just at the entrances to Shinto shrines where they’re traditionally found but also down dark alleyways and up on the rooftops. As you make your way down the alleys and plumb the underground depths of Shibuya, you’ll witness all manner of supernatural happenings inspired by Japan’s colorful folklore. For example, one urban legend involves a mystery train that shows up in stations and can’t be found on any schedule. Those who board alone are whisked away to another realm and stranded forever. Is there any way to escape? Ghostwire: Tokyo invites you to take the journey and find out for yourself—should you have the courage to do so! Use spirits and yokai to power up With Shibuya linked to the underworld, things that were once hidden have now begun to appear out in the open. Though the city has become far more dangerous, not not every newcomer poses a threat to Akito and KK. Some of these beings can help him grow his supernatural powers. For example, take the spirits that can be found drifting through the streets. These lost souls are some of the roughly 200,000 people who vanished at the beginning of the game. Using special phone booths put together by a member of KK’s team, Akito can send these souls back to the safety of the outside world, which lets him level up and unlock new Spirit Skills. You’ll also be able to discover personifications of different natural phenomena roaming the streets. These mythological beings are called yokai, and you’ll be able to run into varieties of them such as kappa, ittan-momen, rokurokubi and many more. Finding them is only the first step, though. Each requires a different and unique method to capture them and harness their power. Kappa, for example, love to eat cucumbers so bringing a few along will help you lure them out into the open. The ittan-momen’s cloth-like bodies can fly and must be chased through the air, whereas the sneaky, long-necked rokurokubi have to be stalked through labyrinthine back streets. With no humans left, the convenience stores and stalls of the city are now being run by cute cat yokai called nekomata. These enterprising felines sell all sorts of goods including food, talismans, arrows and more. Just make sure you bring plenty of meika, the supernatural currency of choice post-vanishing. The local creatures like the nekomata and fuzzy tanuki also have plenty of work that needs doing. Help them out and you can obtain protective charms and other items sure to come in handy in your exploration. Of course, no material reward could ever match the satisfaction of helping a cute little friend out. As Akito’s power grows, he’ll be able to strengthen his Ethereal Weaving attacks, better sense supernatural elements in his surroundings, glide through the air for longer and longer, and even hitch a ride with winged tengu by grappling onto them. Tokyo: where tradition and modernity collide Around the world, Tokyo is known for its towering skyscrapers and glimmering neon lights. However, a quick detour from the beaten path will reveal old houses, ancient temples, shrines and plenty of history spreading across the city. Despite being a modern city filled with all sorts of cutting-edge technology, Tokyo is also a place where you’ll find the many aspects of nature reimagined in the form of colorful yokai creatures. The city has more than its share of urban legends and tall tales delving into humanity’s curiosity (and at times, fear of the unknown.) In many ways, Tokyo embodies the balance between modernity and nature that makes the culture of Japan so appealing to people from within and without. It is this appeal that the Ghostwire: Tokyo team works so hard to capture in our depiction of this city that tens of millions call home. With the PlayStation 5’s unique 3D spatial audio capabilities and ray-tracing technology, you’ll be able to experience the charms of the city brought to life like never before. Pre-order now Embark on an action-packed trip through a paranormal metropolis in Ghostwire: Tokyo, arriving on PlayStation 5 systems March 25, 2022 Ready to team up with KK and take back the city from Hannya’s supernatural invasion? Pre-order Ghostwire: Tokyo today to receive the Biker and Hannya outfits and take to the spirit-laden streets of Tokyo in style. View the full article

When Aloy explores the frontier of the Forbidden West on February 18, she’ll discover a huge variety of exciting things to do: Melee Pits in settlements, Salvage Contracts in the wilds, Outposts and Camps teeming with Regalla’s rebels, plus mysterious challenges, ruins, and more. Play Video Take a closer look as we delve into all of these activities. But keep in mind that the Forbidden West is a huge and dangerous place, with far more secrets and adventures than we can reveal here today! View the full article