Commander Fury

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here PlayStation · The Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 374 – Music To Our Ears Welcome back y’all! This week Kristen, Sid, and Tim share some of their favorite gaming soundtracks, and sing the praises of battle royale platformer Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Stuff We Talked About Ghost of Tsushima Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time The Last of Us Part II Manifold Garden Weird (and immature) ways we name characters when given the chance The Cast Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE Tim Turi – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE Kristen Zitani – Content Communications Specialist, 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 find moments of shock and awe when characters from your favorite games were surprised using #PS4share and #PSBlog. From horror-filled gasps to wide-eyed stares, here are this week’s highlights: Aloy has a look of shock in this Horizon Zero Dawn portrait from prxvp. Abby looks down with surprise in this The Last of Us Part II moment from rmfisher26. Chloe shockingly loses her grip in this Uncharted: The Lost Legacy share by YouJustGotArfed. Jin gasps with surprise in this Ghost of Tsushima share by JRPyznar. Kat and Raven look shocked in this Gravity Rush 2 share by Sefwick. This freaker tries to surprise Deacon in Days Gone, as shared by Dominik_VP. Search #PS4share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? Theme: Weather Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, August 26 Next week, it’s time to check the weather! From scorching sunny spots to pouring summer storms, share moments highlighting the weather in the game of your choice using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Hello everyone, my name is Blaine Higdon and I’m a gameplay designer at Camouflaj. It’s been an honor to work on an IP as celebrated as Iron Man, and to do so in a way that leverages the immersive power of PlayStation VR. I know many of you have been busy playing Marvel’s Iron Man VR since it was released in early July, but we aren’t done yet! Today I wanted to show you some of the content and quality of life features we will be adding to the game in a free Patch* 1.06 update launching today. New Game Modes We are adding two new game modes designed for those who are hungry for more. The much-requested New Game+ will allow you to re-experience the story without giving up your Research Points and unlocks for the Impulse Armor. The New Game+ mode will only be available once you’ve completed the game. And if you’re a hardcore player who has already mastered “Invincible” difficulty, you should definitely give the new “Ultimate” difficulty mode in the new patch for a spin to see what you’re really made of! New Weapons Of course, if you’re going to be replaying the story or challenging a new difficulty mode, why not try out some of the new weapons that can be unlocked at the Armor Station? The Continuous Beam Repulsor Allows you to sustain a beam for several seconds, dealing continuous damage as long as it’s held. EM Charge Cannon It can fire a charged shot right through the hardlight shields of those pesky Skull, Revenant, and Wight drones. Micro Swarm A “fire-and-forget” intelligent anti-swarm weapon, great for disabling large groups of enemies. The Gravity Bomb Creates a singularity that traps multiple enemies in a single location and is perfect for setting up a devastating shot from the Scatter Shot or Anti Armor Missile! New Custom Armor Decos & Challenges Another set of eight awesome Custom Armor Decos by our character artist Chris Foster will be added to the Armor Station in the garage, along with new challenges to overcome for unlocking them. Among the eight Custom Armor Decos is the Iron Patriot, in case you missed our launch weekend promotion. New Quality of Life Features In addition to the new content above, we’ve been hard at work improving user experience. Improved Load Times We’ve improved our load times across the board, including 20-30 second decreased times when loading into Shanghai missions. A big shoutout to our engineering team for their continued efforts on this front. Skip Cinematics without Loading on Replay When replaying missions, either in New Game+ mode or otherwise, you now have the option to skip an upcoming cinematic without having to load into it first if you’ve already completed the mission at least once before. Skippable Side Missions Based on feedback we received for you all, we have made two story missions skippable, if you so choose. You can use the “Skip Mission” button at the globe to advance past these missions, which will count them as “completed,” but you’ll still need to go back and complete it if you want the trophies for them. Remember, you can still download and launch the free demo to unlock the exclusive Molten Lava Custom Armor Deco*, and you can purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game to get four extra Custom Armor Decos. As we prepare to launch this update, I’m reminded of the excitement the team felt in the days and weeks leading up to the game’s release. After years of development, pressing the proverbial “launch” button was both intimidating and deeply satisfying. One thing that we understood innately — but didn’t fully appreciate until our game was in the wild — was just how passionate Marvel fans are about what we were building. The development team at Camouflaj gobbled up your reviews, tweets, and videos; listening intently to what you had to say, and what you wanted more of. I hope this content update continues to make good on our initial promise: to make you feel more than ever like you are Iron Man. Thanks for all your support… and enjoy your flight! *Patch 1.06 and demo requires internet connection and account for PlayStation Network. View the full article

Hello everyone! Erick Boenisch from Visual Concepts, back once again. It feels like just yesterday that I was writing the MyTeam Developer Diary for NBA 2K20! Writing this piece every year is something I very much look forward to; the team here at Visual Concepts makes it easy with their endless ambition and relentless work ethic. This has been an interesting year for, well, all of us. Our world has changed in many ways. The way we go about our lives is very different than it was at this time last year, but one item that has remained constant is the drive and ambition behind the team working on MyTeam. We designed much of this game from our homes. Thanks to video conferencing, I now know the name and face of every kid that has a parent working on MyTeam. You better believe they made sure to make cameos during meetings. From our homes to yours, let’s learn about what we have in store for you in NBA 2K21! MyTeam across generations Before we dive in on the new features you’ll be playing this year, I want to first cover a very important piece when it comes to MyTeam and the transition between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. For those of you who start your NBA 2K21 MyTeam experience with the launch of PS4 on September 4, I am excited to confirm that your entire collection and progress will carry over once you start playing the PS5 version of the game. This means you will have access to all of your pulled and earned cards (and any evolution progress associated with them), your progress in Domination, Triple Threat, etc., and your entire balance of VC, MyTeam Points, and Tokens. It’s all there! In NBA 2K21, your entire MyTeam collection and progress will seamlessly carry over from PS4 to PS5 so you can enjoy MyTeam, uninterrupted, all year long! No strings attached. The carryover is quite simple and there is nothing you need to do. In fact, you can even go back and forth playing the PS4 version and the PS5 version at-will. You’ll learn more about NBA 2K21 for PlayStation 5 soon enough. Last bit here, and this is a good reminder. For anyone who purchases the Mamba Forever Edition of the game on PS4, you will receive a copy of the Standard Edition of NBA 2K21 on PS5. You can get all the details in our FAQ here. For all of my MyTeamers out there, this is great value and lets you start playing MyTeam ‘early’ this year without the worry of losing any progress/time spent. We got you! MyTeam Promo packs For those of you pre-ordering your copy of NBA 2K21 through PlayStation Store, we have some really cool packs in store for you! Specifically, with the purchase of any edition of the game through the PlayStation Store, you’ll receive two free MyTeam promo packs. PlayStation Plus members will also receive three MyTeam promo packs per month for 10 months! That’s 30 packs for those of you counting at home. Pre-ordering the Standard Edition of NBA 2K21 alone grants you 10 free Promo Packs, allocated at one pack per week. If you decide to go with the Mamba Forever edition, you will be granted 40 free Promo Packs, allocated as 10 on the first day you play, and then three per week for the next 10 weeks. So what’s in these Promo Packs? Every pack will grant you an NBA player to add to your team. Beyond that, there will be rare pulls in these packs that will be some of the best cards in the game at launch! One that I have been playing with and loving recently is Diamond DeMarcus Cousins. We all need a little Boogie in our lives, right? Point being, these packs aren’t something you should overlook. They will not only give you a player in every pack, but they also have a chance to give you one of the best cards in the game at launch! As a reminder, you can pre-order NBA 2K21in North America right here and Europe here. Enough. Let’s finally talk features. Seasons & seasonal content One of my favorite things about MyTeam is how the mode is always evolving, whether it be through new cards that change the meta, or new content that provides exciting rewards. That being said, I have become very interested in structuring that evolution into a mechanism that you, our community, can really sink your teeth into. In NBA 2K21, we are going to introduce the Seasons concept into MyTeam. Let’s clarify one thing at the top; Seasons are free for everyone, there is no paid component to it. I have two key tenets to the MyTeam Season design for 2K21: 1) New prizing updates across most modes every Season, and 2) Add something NEW to the mode every Season. I’m going to be intentionally vague here so as not to spoil any plans, so please bear with me. Some Seasons will add new content for you to play (think something like Spotlight Sims), while other Seasons may add new features to the game, or add a reward twist that you will be chasing all Season. The main point is, I really want each passing Season to feel fresh. I want the start of a new Season to create a buzz in the MyTeam community that we can all rally behind and be excited about. With the high level ideas out of the way, let’s dive a little deeper into what a Season truly is. While the duration of each Season is not a fixed period of time, they will generally be about six weeks in length. During the Season, you will be working to complete Daily, Weekly, and Seasonal-based Agendas. As objectives are completed, you will earn XP that will be used to raise your Season Level. Every time you level up, you will earn a reward. Reaching the final level within a Season earns you the grand prize for the Season. It’s going to take a lot of playing to get there, but we are always going to make the reward completely worth it. In fact, let’s talk about the Season 1 prize for reaching the highest level: Pink Diamond Steph Curry! A PD Steph Curry is going to be a beast to go against in the early game. All you’ve got to do is play to earn it. Interested yet? Brand new for NBA 2K21, Seasons will bring new content and new ways to play MyTeam all year long! Earn the Season 1 grand prize, Pink Diamond Steph Curry, by simply completing Seasonal Agendas! MyTeam Limited MyTeam Limited is a brand new MyTeam game mode for NBA 2K21. This new mode is only available for play Friday, Saturday, and Sunday each week. The twist here is that the rules for the mode will be changing every single weekend when a new event is activated! Let’s start with the basics. MyTeam Limited is an online 5v5 multiplayer mode where you will compete against fellow MyTeam players who, like you, are chasing Championship Rings (more on that in a minute). The twist that I alluded to above is where the ‘Limited’ in MyTeam Limited comes into play. We will be introducing new lineup restrictions every single weekend to change up the meta of the game. For example, one weekend we may limit you to players 23 years old and younger. Another weekend, we may say that all players in your lineup need to be Ruby or lower. The controls we have built in will allow us to create some very fun combinations that will both allow and encourage you to use a wider breadth of the cards in your collection. Looking for high-end budget cards is going to be an important part of card collecting in NBA 2K21! Now, about those Championship Rings. Every weekend, there is a new Championship Ring up for grabs. When you win a MyTeam Limited game, you will be rewarded with a prize. You’ll be able to view that prize, but you have an important decision to make with it. Do you want to keep the prize we gave you, or do you want to trade it in for your choice of one of two other mystery prizes? The mystery prizes may be better or worse than what we offered you (they may also contain the week’s Championship Ring). We are going to throw some creative prizes your way to make these decisions tough for you! New to NBA 2K21, MyTeam Limited is a limited-time game mode available every Friday-Sunday that features new rules every weekend! Find and collect the Championship Ring from each weekend during the Season to earn a powerful card that will make you the envy of all your opponents! After the final Limited event of the Season, you will trade in your Championship Rings for a tiered prize based on how many rings you collected. If you were lucky enough to collect every Championship Ring in a given season, you will earn the MyTeam Limited grand prize for that season. That grand prize will be a very high end card that will instantly make you the envy of all of your future opponents. And let’s be real, it will wreck the CPU in Triple Threat games! For those of you who manage to get one or some of the Championship Rings available in a season, we have tiered prizes for you as well, based on how many you earned! MyTeam Unlimited 2.0 Introduced in NBA 2K19, MyTeam Unlimited instantly became the go-to mode for many in MyTeam. In NBA 2K21, Unlimited is undergoing its next evolution. This year, Unlimited will consist of 9 Leagues that you need to play through before you can reach the top! Every League in MyTeam Unlimited 2.0 will consist of up to 12 games. In order to advance to the next League, you will need to win a certain number of games in your current league. For example, in the first league, you only need to win three of your 12 games to advance. Once you get that third win, you automatically level up to the next league. You do not need to play the remaining games for that league. As you move up the league structure, more and more wins will be required to level up. To keep things interesting and to keep you on your toes, if you do not meet the win requirement to advance to the next level, you will still need to win a certain number of games (out of 12) to remain on your current level! The Exchange New to NBA 2K21, The Exchange allows you to turn in/exchange your cards for some great prizes! Every Season in MyTeam this year will feature new Exchanges for you to collect and complete to earn exclusive cards only available here. Yes, some of the cards you get from here will be truly elite. The quality of the reward is going to dictate how much effort is required to complete the Exchange. For example, a sample Exchange may require you to trade in a Western Conference PG rated 90 or higher and an Eastern Conference PG rated 90 or higher to earn a higher rated player. The system is incredibly flexible and will allow us to create Exchanges geared toward our newest users as well as some of our most dedicated and passionate users. The Exchange is a new feature within NBA 2K21 that allows you the opportunity to exchange some cards you may no longer be using for cards that will become staples in your starting lineup. This sample Exchange affords you the ability to exchange a collection of cards for a Pink Diamond Bob Cousy! My favorite aspect of this feature is that it gives you yet another avenue to utilize what were non-used cards in your collection in NBA 2K20. Between MyTeam Limited and The Exchange, you really need to be very aware of what you are doing when you decide you no longer need a card in your collection because it doesn’t fit in your ‘best’ lineup. MyTeam Limited has no ‘best’ lineup, and you literally never know what we will throw at you in The Exchange! Badge customization After taking a one-year hiatus in NBA 2K20, the ability to customize your players with unique badges has returned for NBA 2K21! I have to be honest, I really missed this feature last year. There is something to be said for pulling the latest and greatest card and then having the ability to truly make it your own by customizing it to better fit your play style. For those of you newer to the MyTeam experience who may not understand this one, there will be Badge Cards available in MyTeam that allow you to both Apply badges and Upgrade badges on players. For example, if you have a card that doesn’t have Clamps on it (and the player is eligible), you can take a Clamps badge card and apply it to your player. This is an awesome way to customize your team more than ever! There have been some changes and improvements since you last saw this feature. Badge cards will be available in Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Hall of Fame (oh yes!). To upgrade a player, you need to first apply the Bronze version of the badge. To upgrade to Gold, you will need to then apply the Silver version of the badge before adding the Gold version of the badge. Hall of Fame versions of badges are going to be very rare, and will be made available primarily through prizing and playing the game (Season level rewards is one area where you can definitely find these). For anyone familiar with the game, you know how powerful the right Hall of Fame badge can be to the game experience! Another change, and this is a really important one, is we are going to limit what badges can go on players based on their archetype/play style. It doesn’t make much sense to apply a Brick Wall badge to Steph Curry, right? Customizable evolutions Evolution Cards was clearly one of our star additions to the NBA 2K20 MyTeam experience. The ability to obtain cards and power them up to higher gem tiers felt very rewarding as it gave people a chance to build some sweat equity with their collections. Evolution Cards are back in NBA 2K21, and better than ever! New to NBA 2K21, you will now have more control over how some of your Evolution Cards evolve as they tier up. That is because we are introducing the concept of branching in the evolution process! When you have an evo card that reaches a choice tier, you will make a selection between two badges that you want to focus on adding to the given card. Evolution Cards are back and better than ever! New to NBA 2K21, you will now have more control over how some of your Evolution Cards evolve as they tier up. Will you improve Shaq’s rebounding ability or his shot blocking ability? The choice is yours! This means that not all fully evolved Evolution Cards will be identical in NBA 2K21, and I think that is a fantastic thing. MyTeam is a mode about fantasy. A mode about user choice and customization. The addition of Customizable Evolutions to the game this year takes us that one step further to differentiating player lineups and gives you yet another tool to give your team the edge out there on the courts. I can’t wait to see the choices you will all make this year. We’ve got some crafty ideas planned! Objective Tracker You’ll sometimes hear a company say they have added a feature as a ‘quality-of-life’ item. In NBA 2K21, that’s exactly what the Objective Tracker is. MyTeam players are going to have a lot going on this year. You are going to get Season Agendas galore that you are simultaneously chasing down (score points with this player, win this many games in this mode, make 9 threes with a Sapphire, etc.). With this new feature, you will have the ability to tag up to 9 Season Agendas or Dynamic Goals of your choice. You will then be able to see and review those tagged Agendas/Goals when entering into offline gameplay in MyTeam, as a reminder of what you set out to accomplish in the current game. No longer will you have to try and remember how many points you were supposed to score with Klay Thompson. Now, set it and review it as you start your next game. This is a feature I’m really enjoying in NBA 2K21. I think there is even more we can do here to make this more useful for you in the future. Stay tuned on this one! NBA 2K21 MyTeam starts NOW Inside NBA 2K20, we have launched a special MyTeam Moments Challenge. Live until Friday, August 28, players who successfully complete this challenge will immediately earn 21 Tokens in NBA 2K20. More importantly, you will also earn a free MyTeam pack that will be waiting for you to open in NBA 2K21 on September 4! I’m not going to spoil the contents of this pack, but I will say that it doesn’t have any players in it… and that you absolutely want it! Don’t be the person that misses out here! For more information on this challenge, please head over to our official MyTeam Twitter account. I strongly recommend you throw us a follow, as this is where all the latest MyTeam news, content releases, Seasonal information, and Locker Codes will be coming from! Closing thoughts In many ways, I view NBA 2K19 as the rebirth of MyTeam as we currently know it. It had a lot of new features that laid the groundwork for where we are today. NBA 2K20 did a fantastic job last year of carrying the torch and adding staple features of its own. To me, NBA 2K21’s MyTeam proves that the development team behind it have truly hit their stride; the feature set this year speaks for itself. New modes. New ideas. And new ways to delight players all year long. Personally, I’m a part of a number of different gaming communities. I think many of us are. The value presented to this development team by you, our MyTeam community, is second to none. We keep each other honest, and I think that is incredibly important for the long-term growth of this mode. And we’re never going to stop growing this mode. Our implementation of Seasons this year is going to show you exactly what I mean when I say that. I want to send out a heartfelt thank you to every single person here at Visual Concepts that worked on MyTeam in NBA 2K21. Your hard work is about to be enjoyed by millions! It was a wild ride. Work from the office. Work from home. Work from somewhere else. Kids and pets in star roles during meetings. I’ll never, ever forget this year. Through it all, we never stopped grinding, and it shows! Until next time, my friends. On behalf of everyone here at Visual Concepts, thank you for your continued support. NBA 2K21 is only a couple short weeks away. We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it! View the full article

Hello everyone! This is Toshiyuki Itahana from Square Enix. To commemorate the upcoming release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, I’d like to introduce some rare concept art from the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles from 2003 and share a look at some new pieces for the Remastered Edition. For the original game, I joined as Character Designer and Art Director part way through development, after being brought on by the Producer, Akitoshi Kawazu. At this point, the setting and atmosphere of the world had already been established in writing, so I had the pleasure of bringing it to life with art. For the Remastered Edition, as well as working as the Remaster Art Director & Character Designer, I’ve designed some new character variations and weapons, which I think fans will really look forward to! 1. First up, here’s a look at a rough draft of the main art for the Remastered Edition. Eagle-eyed fans may see the layout is similar to artwork from the original release in 2003. I tried to draw in it a similar way to the original picture from 17 years ago, by starting with a pencil sketch and colouring it digitally. There are a few changes from the original version. For example, there was originally a Yuke holding the crystal chalice in the centre, but for the remaster, I’ve changed this to a Selkie. I’ve also changed the female Clavat and the male Lilty on the right of the picture to be the characters from the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles novels, Erin and Chad, so fans of those books may appreciate this little easter egg! 2. This is a draft of an illustration used for promotional materials around the time the original was released. It’s a draft from when I was still considering the layout, so it’s a little embarrassing to show it in its unfinished form! I’ve included elements central to the story, like the characters Gurdy and the Black Knight, as well as the mysterious girl who appears towards the end of the game in the background. Looking at my illustrations from 17 years ago like this, I see lots of things I want to go back and fix – but I think almost every artist would say the same! 3. This is the line drawing for the front cover illustration for the Japanese guidebook, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles World Ultimania. As I mentioned earlier when talking about the main art, this guide contained a Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles novel at the back, about Erin and Chad. Those two are at the centre of this illustration. My personal title for this picture is ‘Memento Mori’. It becomes clear as you progress through the story, but the characters in the background are all thinking about someone who isn’t there. I really like this illustration, so please try to search online and take a look at the finished colour version as well! 4. This is a picture of the inside of the caravan, which isn’t shown in the game. I drew this picture while imagining what daily life would be like for the members of the caravan, living together in such a small space. It was very fun to draw. For the crystal chalice in the corner, I seem to remember than I scanned it in and added it to the picture before colouring it digitally. As with the main art, I drew my line art in pencil and then scanned it in to colour it digitally. It might be interesting to compare the differences between the original draft and the final coloured version and see how the colours really bring it to life. 5. This line art depicts the end of a fight, when the characters still have mud on their faces and clothes, and the adrenaline is still enough to make them forget their wounds. For the finalized, coloured version, I added a background in digitally. Most of the illustrations for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles are warm and cosy, so I remember that when I drew this, I wanted to draw something with a slightly different tone that shows another aspect to these characters. 6. What a trip down memory lane! Now I have to think back and remember what was this from…. I believe this was drawn as an insert for a strategy guide or magazine back when the original game launched in 2003. The concept is the moment when a moogle delivers a letter from home during the journey, which is something that happens after each boss fight in the game, and helps remind the player of their family back home and their reasons for taking on their dangerous adventure. I love drawing smiling characters, it’s so fun as it brings the characters to life. 7. This is a sketch of the Mushroom Forest, an early dungeon in the game (which can also be found in the free release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Lite at launch). For most of the backgrounds in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, I drew snippets of landmarks, buildings and the overall atmosphere of areas. The background designers then took that as a starting point and expanded it from there to design the levels and dungeons of the world. Everything is made of mushrooms, all the way down to the paths, and it turned into a beautiful area with the towering mushrooms dyed red under a sunset sky. 8. This is another sketch similar to the Mushroom Forest one above. It was to convey the atmosphere of the Miasma Stream area to the development team. It’s not an illustration that would have been used for promotional purposes, so it’s quite rough. The currents of miasma that would be shown in game were added digitally, when I coloured the picture, so this looks like a drawing of a passageway in a cave, but when combined with the digital effects it transforms the artwork into something new and exciting. 9. These are the newly added character variations for the remastered edition. I’m relieved we’ve finally arrived at a coloured piece, not just sketches, haha! We added new character variations to the Remastered Edition because we wanted the game to feel fresh to those who had already played the original, and to give a wider choice to people playing the game for the first time. Especially since Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition will focus on online play, we wanted to reduce overlap of identical characters as far as possible by offering more options to players. These new variations include some more Japanese-inspired designs, as well as variations that have outfits similar to characters from later Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles games that were released after the original. For Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, I worked alongside another designer, Rubi Asami, who also worked on Mobius Final Fantasy. The new female Clavat character variation that she designed was very popular when Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition was first announced. I look forward to seeing which characters become popular with players of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition. I don’t often have the opportunity to show these kinds of unfinished sketches as well as finished illustrations, so this was a lot of fun for me! The original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was released 17 years ago, but there are still lots of dedicated fans. I’ve had messages from fans telling me how much they would love to play it again on modern hardware. And now, I’m absolutely delighted that they’ll have the opportunity. For the original, I imagine most people played together with their siblings or close friends, but Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition will let you play with lots more people around the world. It feels like the times have finally caught up, and it has really become a Final Fantasy where everyone fights together. I truly hope that lots of people can have fun together on their adventures as a caravan and make unique memories along their journey. PS4 Theme Play Video For those who pre-order Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition on PS4, there’s also a limited-edition theme as a bonus, which features coloured versions of some of the artwork you’ve seen today alongside some wonderful music from the game’s soundtrack. If you’ve already decided to play Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition on PS4, please think about pre-ordering! Everyone, please enjoy your adventures gathering drops of myrrh and exploring the world together with your friends! View the full article

Hey everyone, Craig Chapman here, Senior Game Designer at HB Studios, and I’m going to lay out my personal Top 10 things longtime fans of The Golf Club franchise should be excited for. Listing all of the changes and improvements included in PGA Tour 2K21 would be a monumental task, so I’ll limit this list to 10. Here we go! #1 Accessibility In the years past, The Golf Club franchise always had a pretty high barrier to entry, and a steep learning curve. PGA Tour 2K21 introduces traditional difficulty settings for the first time, which allows players of all skill levels to find a challenge that works for them. Whether that’s one of the six difficulty presets or a custom difficulty set up by the player, there’s something there for everyone. #2 PGA Tour Broadcast The all new PGA Tour Career Mode introduces a full broadcast commentary from Luke Elvy and Rich Beem, and the return of John McCarthy as the “man on the ground.” Broadcast presentation, with highlights and replays of the best shots of the day. #3 PGA Tour Pros Play against 12 PGA Tour pros on your quest to win the FedExCup. Pro Rivals challenge players to compete against PGA Tour Pros to unlock gear. PGA Tour leaderboards filled with 100’s of real PGA Tour pros. #4 PGA Tour Events 15 real-life licensed courses and events now populate the PGA Tour Career Mode. #5 Brand Sponsor Contracts PGA Tour 2K21 features more than 15 authentic brands for you to outfit your MyPlayer with. Sign brand deal contracts that carry with them objectives of varying difficulty to complete. Completing contract objectives increases the level of your relationship with that brand. As your relationship level increases with your brand sponsor you will be rewarded with unique sponsor contract clothing and equipment that can be used throughout the game. #6 Club Attributes For the first time in the series individual clubs will carry with them attributes that affect how they perform on the course. Club attributes have been horizontally balanced to put the emphasis on players finding the best combination of clubs to suit their game. There isn’t a “best club set” in the game as they all have pros and cons. #7 True Shot System The old “shot shaper” has been replaced with the new and vastly improved True Shot system. True Shot allows players to independently adjust fade, draw, loft, de-loft, and attack angle to create an endless variety of shots. Whether you want to spin it back on the green, fade it around a dog leg, or punch it under a tree branch, True Shot will let you do just that. #8 Distance Control, Over-Swing, & Partial Shots Distance Control ups the skill gap putting an emphasis on swing skill. The transition point of the backswing to downswing sets the swing power, which makes hitting exact distances a skill worth practicing. Over-swings increase the swing power and allow players to hit beyond the carry distance displayed on their clubs, but brings with it added difficulty to the swing making miss-hits far more penalizing. If you find yourself at a distance that is between clubs, Partial Shots allow you to set your intended target and the Distance Control Meter indicates when you need to transition. Be careful though as the downswing timing for Partial Shots will require some finessing to perform correctly. #9 Online Society Event Creation The Event Creation flow for online societies has been streamlined to reduce the time and effort required by society owners and admins to create events and set up a season schedule. Additionally, the introduction of Society Restrictions allow the Society to enforce difficulty settings that their members play on whilst playing Society events, or they may also leave it set to “Open” if they want their members to be free to play with whatever difficulty settings they prefer. #10 Online Multiplayer All matchmaking rounds will be played using the Pro difficulty preset, to ensure matchmaking is an even playing field across the board. Private Matches among friends now offers the same restrictions that Online Societies does in regards to difficulty settings, where the host of the private lobby can determine the settings everyone will play on. Get your victory dance ready and pick up PGA Tour 2K21 for the PlayStation 4, available at midnight (local time) on August 21. Players who pre-order will get the 2K/adidas MyPlayer Pack and swing with swag. Deck out your PGA Tour 2K21 MyPlayer with a signal green and core black look, featuring adidas CodeChaos BOA Golf Shoes, and custom 2K/adidas CodeChaos Polo, Pants and Hat, designed by adidas, exclusively for PGA Tour 2K21. View the full article

Meet Lucky. Tomorrow he arrives for the first time on PlayStation 4 — as the intrepid hero of New Super Lucky’s Tale. We can’t wait to hear what players think of him and his game! Lucky is a fox on a thrilling quest to save the Book of Ages, a magical artifact that opens doors to amazing worlds. Also looking for the book are Jinx and the Kitty Litter, a villainous gang of felines who want it for their own nefarious purposes. As you race to collect the book’s scattered pages before they do, you’ll learn some sweet moves to get around. Let’s take a closer look at those moves. At Playful Studios, we grew up on some of the best platformer games of all time, and our favorites always featured a playable character who felt grounded with precise, tight controls, and a distinct set of moves that flowed well together. That’s exactly the experience we wanted for Lucky. I have a few examples to better illustrate what I mean. Here’s Lucky diving into his slide move, which he can do on hard surfaces. While sliding, players can steer him as he glides forward. Lucky’s tail swipe, while primarily used as an offensive move against enemies, has a secondary benefit of extending his hang time while jumping. And Lucky’s signature move, the burrow, allows him to tunnel freely under softer surfaces like grass or sand. Initiating this move while airborne will direct Lucky’s path toward the nearest enemy or jump pad. Once you’re familiar with Lucky’s moveset, you can start to chain together combos. Soon enough, you’ll be taking on the terrain and its obstacles with an almost rhythm-like flow. On top of that, we spent a significant amount of time iterating Lucky’s controls, perfecting the movement and platforming mechanics, and ensuring the camera control handled smoothly. The end result? Moving Lucky through his world is as satisfying as it is delightful. Aside from movement, we put a lot of effort into the story, in creating memorable, funny characters, building colorful, vibrant environments, including multiple branching objectives in each level, and balancing out the action with a huge variety of fun things to do, such as puzzles, side-scrolling levels, boss fights, and a whole lot of mini-games. New Super Lucky’s Tale is a game where you find something new around every corner. New moves to master, new characters to meet, whole new worlds to explore. As we were designing this game, we tried really hard to never have anything feel repetitive, and the end result is a game that’s packed full of delightful surprises and endless variety that make this such a beloved genre. If you love platformers, don’t miss it! View the full article

PlayStation fans, I hope you are just as excited as I am for the launch of the PS5™ console this holiday season. Each console generation provides an opportunity to tell a unique story through our marketing. This new generation will be especially fun for us given the new suite of features that will come with the PS5 console. Today, I am pleased to share with you our first global spot for PlayStation that showcases some of the immersive gameplay you will experience on the new PS5 console. In our first global digital ad for the PS5 console, you’ll see the new console’s features come to life through a young woman’s eyes and her movements. It starts as she walks across a frozen lake, feeling the crack of ice at her feet. As the character senses danger, the sudden explosive reveal of the kraken from the icy surface showcases the haptic feedback sensation you can feel from DualSense™ wireless controller for the PS5 console. Sound then comes from all directions as the central character reacts to everything she hears – whether it’s coming from the front, the side, above, or from behind her – showcasing the PS5 console’s Tempest 3D AudioTech. Closing out the spot – as the central character draws her bow – the tension of her bowstring is a sensation you’ll also feel, made possible through the DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers. We are quite excited about these features and we can’t wait for you all to get more immersed in the world of games with the PS5 console and DualSense wireless controller in your own hands. Our partners in the development community have been hard at work either creating or dreaming up the next generation of games. Read on to learn some of the ways they are working with the DualSense wireless controller and its built-in capabilities. “The haptic feedback precision allows us to do all sorts of new things. In Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, we’ll be hinting to players which direction attacks are coming from by providing haptic feedback from the appropriate direction on the DualSense wireless controller. What does it feel like to use Miles’s stealth ability? How does a Venom Blast feel? Because of the high resolution of DualSense wireless controller’s haptics system, we can really push the dimensionality of the feedback. For instance, as you hold down Square to do a Venom Punch, you feel Spider-Man’s bio-electricity crackle across from the left side of the controller, culminating in the right side on impact.” –Brian Horton // Creative Director, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales I’m really excited by the adaptive triggers and the haptic feedback, both features that will bring some physicality in game experiences, and give important feedback. Deathloop being a first-person shooter, we do a lot of things to make weapons feel differently from one another. One I like is blocking the triggers when your weapon jams, to give to the player an immediate feedback even before the animation plays out, which prompts the player in a physical way that they have to unjam their gun. –Dinga Bakaba // Game Director, Deathloop Just as the name “trigger” suggests, the main use of the DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers in Ghostwire: Tokyo is for “active” actions—to shoot or trigger something—and we also use them to create the sensation of recoil. We’re also looking at ways to take advantage of the adaptive triggers to express a sense of persistent energy, or a balance of forces if you will, and for perhaps actions such charging, loading, and a sense of accumulation of power or energy for things.The haptic feedback, in comparison to the vibration function of previous generations, allows us to utilize a much wider range, starting from a very strong vibration that is much more powerful than before, down to extremely light vibration. This way we can offer players very detailed, “textured” nuances. Because of this, our approach is different – it isn’t a transient or a constant vibration level anymore, it allows us to meticulously adjust the feedback throughout the game. – Kenji Kimura // Director, Ghostwire: Tokyo Horizon Forbidden West features new weapons that are designed to feel unique and play a specific role in combat with machines and human opponents. The DualSense wireless controller adaptive triggers will help us to make the weapons feel even more unique and satisfying to use.— Mathijs de Jonge // Game Director, Guerrilla With the DualSense wireless controller and the power of haptics, we can make the combat [in Demon’s Souls] feel grittier, darker, and deadlier. Now you feel every blow as you strike down your enemies and cast each spell. You’ll experience the force of a titanic boss’ attack as you pull off a well-timed guard. Metal strikes metal when your foes block your attacks or you block theirs. That extra sensory feedback through the controller allows you to know your attack hit home and your perfectly-timed parry was a success, so you can react faster and more decisively. We can also turn the simple act of pulling a lever to open a gate into a sensory experience. This is something that rumble could never do. It could never replicate the feeling of metal striking metal or fire crackling in your hand as you conjure magic. Haptics [are] integral to the experience, to immersing the player in the world and adding to the gameplay. The visual, aural, and tactile working together takes this new generation of gaming into the future. — Gavin Moore // Creative Director, SIE Japan Studio As a player, I’m excited to finally FEEL which weapon I’m holding in my hands without looking at any UI. I can also sense where an enemy is spatially, even outside of my field of view. — Keith Lee // CEO, Counterplay Games The adaptive triggers are something we’re excited to feature [in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart]! For instance, the Enforcer is a dual-barreled shotgun type weapon. As you pull the trigger, you’ll fire from one barrel, and you can feel resistance around halfway down the trigger. Need a bigger blast? Pull the trigger through that resistance point and you’ll fire both barrels at the same time. — Marcus Smith // Creative Director, Insomniac Games As a developer, we want to surprise with unexpected feelings so the haptic feedback has been our central focus [for Astro’s Playroom]. The concept of “feeling the world” is omnipresent, that’s a significant step forward in immersion. I tried turning haptic feedback off once, and could not believe how much I missed it. It is a game changer for sure! We use haptic feedback throughout the entire game. The most striking are the surfaces because players will notice within the first few seconds. Astro’s steps can be felt running on plastic, metal, sand, and even splashing in water. –– Nicolas Doucet // Studio Director, Japan Studio Adaptive triggers have enabled us to provide sensations which match what Sackboy would feel in game. For example, when picking objects up, there is a tension to each press which conveys that the little guy is struggling to carry it. Similarly, when equipped with the grappling hook, R2’s ‘Weapon Mode’ makes the player feel like they’re actually firing it themselves.— Ned Waterhouse // Design Director, Sumo Digital I think the most effective use of the adaptive trigger [in Gran Turismo 7] is for representing the operation of the antilock brake system (ABS) while braking. A typical ABS releases brake pressure intermittently while the driver applies pressure to the pedal. The adaptive trigger is suited for recreating this pedal feel, and it will allow the player to accurately feel and understand the relationship between the braking force they want and the tire’s grip. Compared to the rumble force feedback we had in the past, the special character of the haptic feedback is that it has a bigger range of frequencies it can produce. What this means, is that sound design and tactile design can be handled in a continuous, integrated manner. — Kazunori Yamauchi // President, Polyphony Digital We’ll have more to share in the coming weeks. Keep your eyes peeled. View the full article

It has been an amazing road for Samurai Jack since it originally aired on Cartoon Network back in 2001. Genndy Tartakovsky’s epic vision of noble samurai’s heroic quest to undo evil immediately struck a chord with people around the world and would go on to spawn a legacy that still inspires legions of fans to this day. Now, Samurai Jack returns once more this Friday for an all new video game, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time. As the game readies for release, Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky and series writer Darrick Bachman reflect on what it was like returning to the franchise after Jack’s dramatic series finale. Did you think you were coming back to Samurai Jack after the show ended? Genndy: I thought I was finished with Samurai Jack. So when the proposal for the game came up, initially I wasn’t excited because of my past experience. But then as things started to come together, I realized it was going to be quite different and of a more unique quality. Then I got excited for Jack to live on past the show. Darrick: Returning to the world of Samurai Jack didn’t seem like much of a possibility after the season five finale. The series culminated with the completion of Jack’s quest, returning to the past to undo the future that is Aku, so that didn’t leave room for much else to be explored. In addition, Genndy had been on a near ten-year journey to finish Jack’s story, so the team’s thought was that we’ve finally done what we set out to do. However, the game gave us some new beats we hadn’t considered. What was it like returning to the world and characters? Genndy: It’s always a warm experience, like seeing your kid return from college. Darrick: As work got underway on the game’s narrative, we found that sliding back into the world and characters wasn’t as difficult as imagined. We had finished the fifth season only a few years prior, so characters like Ashi, the Daughters of Aku, and Scaramouche were still rattling around in our heads. The real challenge came from revisiting the characters and locations from the first four seasons. You suddenly find yourself having to rediscover Jack’s relationships with amazing characters like the Scotsman or Da Samurai, be immersed in the action of facing off against foes like the Imakandi or travel to places like the graveyard from episode 30. It was such a thrill to play in that world again. What’s it like being able to not only see, but fight with or against the characters you were writing for? Genndy: It was super fun! I didn’t realize how many different characters were put into the game. Making the TV episodes was really the same thing as each episode I get to fight whatever I’m drawing, but this was a much more fun experience in a way because it was immediate action. Darrick: I really didn’t know what to expect when we first got the chance to demo the game at Soleil Game Studios in Japan. There had been some attempts to do Samurai Jack games in the past, but none had quite lived up to the level of the series. Needless to say, this game was amazing right from the start! The Soleil team are truly phenomenal and have worked tirelessly to bring Jack’s world to life. They are also huge fans of the series, so it was a real labor of love to capture the look and feel of the series in a 3D environment. What was it like picking up the controller and playing the game? Genndy: It was strange, but fun! I usually am used to doing all my Jack battles with pen and paper, but now it was easily accessible to me with a press of a button. Darrick: It literally gave me goosebumps. Seeing Aku City realized in a 3D space and making Jack run, jump, and battle his way across was just incredible. And to fight the Scotsman?! It was all so much fun! Who is your favorite character? Genndy: Aku was always my favorite. As what usually happens is the villains have the most interesting personalities. Darrick: Without a doubt, Aku is also my favorite character in the Samurai Jack universe. Not only is he the ultimate villain, but there are so many layers to his personality which makes him irresistible. He can be sad, jealous, giddy, dramatic, pathetic, or all of these at the same time. His relationship with Samurai Jack is also incredible because they are such polar opposites. Jack is so stoic and heroic and Aku is just a big hot mess. Even watching him order a pizza can be both sinister and the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. It’s a writer’s dream to have characters like Aku because his personality can go in any direction and the end result is always surprising. Did the game give you any opportunities to flesh things out or make changes you didn’t have time to while working on the show? Genndy: No, through five seasons of doing the show we really did everything we wanted to do, so this was more of a way to go back in time and enjoy Samurai Jack on a nostalgic level and get an opportunity to be Jack yourself. Darrick: By the end of the fifth season, we felt as if Jack’s story had been put to bed and there wasn’t much left to do. Then as Genndy and I began to discuss the game, and how the studio really wanted this to feel like an all new episode of the series, we did start to explore if there were any possible ideas or story points that didn’t get fleshed out during that last season? As we re-watched the series finale, there was a moment near the climax – a fifty second window where Jack and Ashi travel through the time portal while offscreen. I found myself suddenly obsessing over what happened during that period of time. Did they just travel through time and space without incident? What if Aku made one last desperate attempt to stop Jack inside that portal? Time is infinite, so Jack and Ashi could get trapped in that portal for years, decades, and it would only appear to be seconds in our world. Genndy and I became increasingly intrigued by that fifty second window and that became the basis for the video game narrative. For Darrick, what was it like working again with the Samurai Jack creative team, including the voice actors? Darrick: Samurai Jack was my first job in animation so, for me, being able to return to the project and reunite with the creative team has been really special. Just the recording sessions alone felt like a big family reunion. So many of the original, amazing voice actors like Phil LaMarr, John DiMaggio, Tara Strong, and Tom Kenny returned to breathe new life into their characters, and it takes the game to a whole new dimension. In addition, it was an amazing experience to watch the voice actors just slot right back into the characters, some of which they haven’t voiced in 17 years. For Genndy, as a creator of so many beloved worlds, are there any other characters you have created that you would like to see in a video game? Genndy: Sure! Really all of them!! They all could work in a fun way. Dexter chasing Dee Dee around a vast lab sounds promising!! Do you see yourselves returning to the world of Samurai Jack? Or do you feel that the story of Samurai Jack is finally complete? Genndy: Well it is complete but having said that I’ve learned that there is really truly nothing ever final. So who knows in the future where and what might happen… Darrick: Jack’s story concluded so definitively that it would be hard to return for more adventures. You don’t want to risk undoing or lessening what the series achieved, even if a tiny part of your heart hopes that Jack’s story isn’t quite over yet. Fortunately, we were approached about doing the video game and that has given us this opportunity to play in the world of Samurai Jack once more. We truly hope that fans will enjoy this all-new Samurai Jack story and get caught up in the excitement of getting to be Jack as he battles the evil that is Aku once more. Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time comes out on August 21 on PlayStation 4. View the full article

Hi railfans, I’m Matt Peddlesden the Senior Producer on Train Sim World 2 at Dovetail Games. This week our new simulation launches on PlayStation 4. Read on for our top ten tips as you start playing, to make sure you have everything you need to become an experienced train driver. Start a Journey Train Sim World 2 features three routes: Bakerloo Line, Köln – Aachen and Sand Patch Grade. Whichever you choose to play you’ll have the option of starting a new Journey. This is one of the best ways to get started — each Journey consists of tutorials, scenarios and services carefully selected to guide you through curated gameplay. Starting with simple tasks before testing you with more complex services. Play the Tutorials If you are a new driver, the controls of each locomotive can seem daunting at first. Fear not, we have included fun and easy to understand tutorials for each of the six locomotives included in Train Sim World 2. A brand-new immersion controller scheme also makes commands simple to learn. Don’t forget, if you need a quick refresher the tutorials are always there for you to have another try. Watch the HUD You’ll find lots of valuable information to help you drive during each session. The pause screen includes your train info as well as schedule details, whilst a re-designed HUD keeps pertinent information at your disposal. As well as speed you can see safety systems, brake pressure, door status and more. When you’re travelling at 250km/h across Germany this kind of information becomes critical. The HUD can also be resized to help with visibility or removed completely for an authentic experience. Learn Your Loco So, you’ve completed a tutorial and your first challenge. As you progress you’ll start to learn more about each of the locomotives. Each has their own unique control and safety systems, tailored to suit their role, and will behave differently on the rails. Everything from the type of power, weight and braking systems will change how you play. You’ll also have to adjust for weather conditions and grades with the new adhesion feature. Learn the nuances of each locomotive to ensure smooth running. Know the Route It’s not just the loco you need to learn. Each of the routes in Train Sim World 2 are meticulously recreated from the real thing. This means that they also include the areas of the route that are more challenging to navigate. Getting to know when signals or speed limit restrictions are coming up, or memorising braking points for platform stops is important to become a precise driver. Applying the right amount of power or brakes means you will arrive at your destination on time every time. Check Your Reports Once you have completed a scenario you will get a detailed breakdown of your progress along the route, how punctual you were, a display of route speed restrictions vs your actual speed and a medal based on performance. Learn from your mistakes, alter the way you drive and try to get a perfect run the next time you play the scenario. Go For a Walk Train Sim World 2 gives you the freedom to get out of the cab and explore all that a railway has to offer to foot. With a variety of tasks to complete around the route for those that want to explore. On the Bakerloo Line you will be placing route maps, repairing platform monitors, putting up posters and re-stocking newspapers around the route. Complete route tasks to unlock PlayStation Trophies! Get Creative Once you’ve found your favourite locomotive you will want to make it your own, you can do that with a new custom tool, the Livery Designer. Create your own unique look for your locomotives and wagons using a large selection of decals and colours, building up layers to make your personal livery. Then take them for a drive and see what they look like on your favourite part of each route. Railfan Shots Rolling mountains, amazing architecture and urban cityscapes bring Train Sim World 2 to life and really immerse you in the world of driving trains. These incredible backdrops often perfectly frame a locomotive so why not jump out of the cab, find the perfect spot and capture those locomotives as they pass by. The ‘Railfan Shot’ feature allows you to save your photos to a gallery online. Create a Scenario Played through a full Journey on your favourite route and want more? Use the Scenario Planner to drive what you want where you want, building up a custom scenario with your choice of locomotives. This includes defying the laws of physics with an ‘Off The Rails’ option. So, if you want to take a German electric train up the side of a US mountain range… You can! Go have fun with Train Sim World 2, coming to PlayStation on August 20! There’s a 15% loyalty discount at launch if you already own Train Sim World 2020 — simply go to the Train Sim World in-game store to purchase. View the full article

It has been an extremely busy summer here at IllFonic. The Predator: Hunting Grounds team has been bringing free updates, patches, and paid DLCs every month since our launch in April – and we’ve been doing it all from our homes. I could not be prouder of this team! A highlight for me has to be continuing Dutch’s story with the tapes and character in May, but that’s just the kid in me who is still excited about making that a reality. Another, less biased highlight has to be the level increase to 150 with the unlockable Elder Predator. And the surprise content drop of the Alpha Predator with NECA… honestly, I am stoked about all the content and hard work that the team has put in, from weapons, to cosmetics, to playable characters. And we have more! On August 21, we will be dropping our 2.0 Patch. What does this mean? Well a few things: the game will have some quality of life bug fixes and the highly-requested crossplay with friends will be available. While we had hoped this would be in at launch, we are thrilled to make it happen now. We want to thank the community for their patience and support while we waded through the technical needs to make this happen. In addition, like every free update there are some great in-game items coming too. The Classic Combistick and Wrist Launcher from the City Hunter content is now unlockable to everyone; there is a large Fireteam Supply Drop including the OWLF Assault Rifle, the Anti-Cloaking Grenade, UAV Scanner, and the Self Revive Syrette; and a Field Locker Update with three new Predator Masks, a new Fireteam Ballistic Mask, and other new tints and shaders*. As a part of this blog post, it was really important to the team that we shared a look ahead at the Free Update and Paid DLC schedule. We’ve seen the posts on social media and in the forums asking when we are dropping a new map and mode. While we cannot share the exact date yet, we wanted to give some transparency to the months you can expect to get these items – the new map and mode will both be in our September update! And as a reminder, the map and mode are part of the Free Update; they are not Paid DLC. We think the community will really enjoy both, and we have more up our sleeves after these updates – so always come back to the forums and our social channels for updates. We will share all that we can as soon as we can! Next week we will be revealing what you can expect from this month’s Paid DLC. It is a good one! Until then, see you in the hunt! *Gameplay required to unlock items, weapons, skins, and classes; cosmetics acquired by randomized drops. View the full article

Hi everyone! From the team at Bandai Namco Entertainment America, we’re thrilled to announce that our action-packed MMORPG, Bless Unleashed, is coming to PlayStation 4 for closed Beta tomorrow. Be a part of the Beta to unlock 7-Day Valor Perks and a unique title, Breaker of Games. Both will be awarded at game launch. This title is only available to players who join us for Betas, so join now. Beta gameplay progress does not carry over to launch. Beta period ends August 24. The World of Lumios What is Bless Unleashed, you might ask? It is the ultimate free-to-play, open-world action MMORPG with combo-driven combat where you will forge your own adventure to bring order to the chaos left behind by an evil sorcerer. Built using Unreal Engine 4, Bless Unleashed is very skill-based, offering a level of difficulty that sets the game apart from other MMOs. Choose a character class and race that possesses unique abilities and weaponry, take charge, and defeat your fearsome foes! Enhance your gear and gain access to special powers that can turn the tide of battle. Strategize with other players to hunt down powerful entities and restore peace to Lumios. From humans to elves, crusaders to mages, do you have what it takes to defy the Gods and make them pray? This fantasy open world will be available for all Beta participants to explore during the Beta period! Explore Solo or Together Playing together with friends is an important part of Bless Unleashed, and we’ve implemented the Guild Progression System to encourage this. Our Guild Progression System allows players to work with their guild to increase its power through a number of activities. Depending on your priorities, Guilds can be devoted to certain ventures such as PvP battles or Gathering/Crafting. Earn Guild experience points by participating in Arena challenges, Dungeons, and Lairs collectively. Your guild will be able to collect riveting rewards like unique mounts, Guild banners, bonuses, and the ability to expand the number of members in your guild through progression. The more the merrier! Epic Battles Bless Unleashed features several different types of Dungeons to give players different challenges at various levels. During combat, you will use combos and Blessings to deal damage to your enemies. Blessings grant you different skills and buffs to be more effective in combat. Each class has its own set of combos, so be sure to look over your battle support commands in the game before you head to battle! Challenge yourself to a battle or two with friends against powerful bosses in an enclosed arena. As you advance, enter the Bless Unleashed dungeons for a chance at higher rewards. Dungeons Starting at level 18, dare to enter these dark depths and infiltrate the stronghold. With a team of five, infiltrate the Kobold Lair and take back what the smugglers have stolen. At level 28, enter the ancient Savantis Mausoleum with five players and put an end to this powerful organization’s twisted experiments. Battle against reptilian-like Saurin with five players at level 30 in the Dreamscale Ruins. Finally, in Lairs, venture forth with five players and take on the most vile foes in the world of Lumios! Will you be victorious enough to infiltrate the Kobold Lair, or fall to the evil forces at the Savantis Mausoleum? Always Evolving With more than 20 different types of Dungeons and powerful Bosses lurking in the shadows, the story of Bless Unleashed never ends with hours of compelling gameplay. There will be new locations to be uncovered, new abilities to learn, better item rewards and enhancements, and new quests for your journey. Whether you decide to follow the rich storyline or stray off on your own, Lumios is yours to explore. Your search for the truth about the Gods is only the beginning. Are You Ready? We’re so excited for Bless Unleashed to be on PS4 and we can’t wait for you to play. There’s still time to sign up to receive a chance at a Beta Key. Gather your allies starting tomorrow and make a stand in Bless Unleashed. View the full article

European football’s showpiece competition has returned with a straight knockout tournament in Lisbon, Portugal. Now that we are in the final stages of this year’s competition, who will be crowned the winner of this year’s UEFA Champions League on August 23? In preparation for the big finale, we’ve released two free-to-download UEFA Champions League themes*. Based on the iconic UEFA Champions League starball design, these themes will give your on-screen display a completely new look, changing the background, icons and colours. Check out how the UEFA Champions League dynamic theme works in action below. For European and Asian players, download it here. For US players, download it here. Play Video Prefer a static theme? No problem, you can also download a static UEFA Champions League theme for your PS4. For European and Asian players, download it here. For US players, download it here. eChampionsLeague Invitational Taking place ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final, tune in for the special eChampionsLeague Invitational event to find out which FIFA20 player will become the champion of Europe. Across the three-day spectacular, the eight competitors will compete on PS4 for a slice of the $100,000 prize pool. The eChampionsLeague Invitational will broadcast on EASPORTSFIFA Twitch and UEFA’s YouTube. Set a reminder for the following times: Thursday August 20 | 6pm – 11.40pm CEST / 10am – 3.40pm PST Friday August 21 | 2pm – 7.40pm CEST / 6am – 11.40am PST Saturday August: 22 | 6pm – 11pm CEST / 10am – 3pm PST Don’t forget, the below regions can also watch the UEFA Champions League Final in TV & Video on your PS4**! UK: BT Sport app France: RMC app Italy: Now TV app Germany, Austria, Canada, Japan: DAZN app Nordics (excluding Finland): Viaplay app *Internet connection an account for PlayStation Network required. PS4 Themes are available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States of America, Uruguay. **Subscription service may be required. View the full article

We hope everyone is enjoying their journey through Nioh 2’s first DLC installment, The Tengu’s Disciple. Today, I’d like to provide some perspective on our development team’s ambitious efforts to take all of you Yokai hunters back to the past in this exciting new trip through Japan’s fascinating history. Nioh 2 and the original Nioh are both set during the turbulent and war filled Sengoku Period which featured two of the most powerful figures of this era, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The Tengu’s Disciple provides a new flavor to the story by taking players to the Heian period, hundreds of years prior to the Sengoku period, and allowing them to discover the mysteries surrounding the legendary whistle Sohayamaru and the powerful Yokai Otakemaru. While the Heian period brought with it new characters to meet and enemies to defeat, traveling back in time introduced several new challenges our team had to overcome. A principal character in The Tengu’s Disciple — Minamoto no Yoshitsune, is one of Japan’s most famous heroes and has been featured in countless stories and kabuki dramas. Recreating Minamoto no Yoshitsune while also keeping with Nioh’s tradition of reimagining historical figures and events proved to be quite an undertaking. We hope you will discover and gain an understanding of this exciting character not only from the compelling story, but also from his dramatic actions and equipment as well. Test your might in an exciting battle with Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his Guardian Spirits, while trying to defeat this legendary figure! In addition to reimagining historical figures, we also had to take into consideration what content we could and couldn’t use during this time period. Being unable to add in new variations of weapons that didn’t exist yet, such as rifles and hand cannons, or include Yokai that hadn’t appeared at that point in history were among some of the obstacles we faced. Despite the huge shift in the time period, we worked hard to ensure that our players could experience a fresh take on new enemies and collecting loot with badass weapons and armor in order to provide a meaningful new experience for the continuing saga. And for our avid Yokai hunters, I am happy to introduce a Japanese fan favorite Yokai through this new DLC: Nuppeppo. This odd looking Yokai was initially considered for the original Nioh, but did not make it into the final game. We worked hard to recreate this monster and introduce it into the series as a formidable foe to test your might. Try to get your hands on its Soul Core and test out its cool new ability for yourself! From all of us at Team Ninja, we hope that this voyage to yesteryears sparks a new interest in learning more about Japan’s history, and especially the Heian period through the exciting new areas and epic events that occur in The Tengu’s Disciple. Lastly, we know you are all eager to see what’s coming up, so I am happy to announce that the next DLC installment will be released this coming Fall! Please look forward to more details regarding the second DLC pack in the near future. Until then, scrub off the rust and sharpen your battle skills samurai. The fight is back on! View the full article

PlayStation Store welcomes back the Games Under promotion. It returns on Wednesday, August 19 and brings with it a vast range of fantastic games, including a trio of action adventure heavy hitters with richly detailed worlds to immerse yourself in. Trek through the Northern Kingdoms to battle monsters and become embroiled in grippingly complex stories with a vast cast of unforgettable characters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition. Lose yourself in the dark fantasy setting of Lordran, perfecting your combative playstyle to survive the many horrors it hides in Dark Souls: Remastered. Explore Ancient Egypt as a master swordsman in the open-world adventure of Assassin’s Creed Origins. All these and many more games are available as part of the promotion, beginning Wednesday, August 19*. European players, head here for the full list of deals when the promotion goes live in the afternoon. US players: check out the full list here when the promo goes live in the evening. *Games Under promotion runs from Wednesday August 19 until Tuesday, September 1 at 11.59pm local time. View the full article

Hey everyone! I’m Nick, Spiritfarer’s Creative director. I’m very happy to be announcing the game’s release today. To those of you just joining us, we call Spiritfarer a “cozy management game about dying.” We designed it to be a wholesome, soothing, and welcoming game — something that we believe a lot of us need in what’s been a pretty challenging year! So I’d like to go into a few details about how we accomplished that goal. Spiritfarer is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Charon, who ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx. You play as Stella, the newly-appointed ferry master to the deceased. With your trusty feline companion Daffodil, you build a boat to explore the world, then befriend and care for spirits before finally releasing them into the afterlife. Many of the core mechanics of the game will be familiar to anyone who has ever played a farm sim or other management games, such as Stardew Valley. So too in Spiritfarer do you inherit a ramshackle boat, which as a matter of course needs fixing and improving to get it up to speed; this will continue and progress organically throughout the game. But the crucial element that we were determined to infuse into Spiritfarer is motivation: why you do what you do. In short, Stella has inherited from Charon not just a floating fixer-upper, but also great responsibility towards her passengers, the spirits on their final voyage. Kindness and care are the main motivations behind the game’s actions, around which all gameplay mechanics revolve. As you sail across mystical seas, many spirits join your journey and request that Stella accomplish a wide variety of unexpected and surprising tasks. You do not fulfill these requests incidentally, or simply in order to optimize your boat, amass resources, or progress your own main quest. Rather, we designed the game to flip that motivation on its head: the spirits, at a fundamental level, are Stella’s mission. Boat optimization, resource gathering, crafting, farming, fishing — all these things are solely motivated by kindness towards the spirits, to help get them to their final destination. We wanted coziness to permeate all aspects of the game, from the world visuals to the boat stations minigames which allow Stella to create and transform resources. Kindness is both a feeling and an action, performed for example through the hugs Stella can give to her passengers, as well as discovering and preparing each spirit’s favorite dish. In return, happy Spirits will reward Stella with gifts and advice, but also teach her how to use stations, interact with sea events, and be a better Spiritfarer. To be as realistic as possible, we wanted Spirits to have moods that could be affected by many different elements, some of them independent of the player’s actions. Keeping their moods high can sometimes be challenging, but we see this as not only thematically important as the characters live through their final days, but mechanically engaging as well. The final key to motivating the player to act kindly and caring towards the spirit passengers was to truly build these characters’ stories with heart. Many of Spiritfarer’s characters are inspired in part by persons that deeply touched members of the development team before passing on. They will continue to live on in our game, through spirit personalities, anecdotes, preferences — our tribute to those we have lost, but are still very much with us. Our hope is that this will be subtly felt in the writing and the game, that this will help these characters be compelling, and that your motivation to be kind to them should come naturally. On behalf of the entire team, thank you so much for checking Spiritfarer out — we hope you enjoy the experience. Thanks for reading! View the full article

Hello Friends! After almost eight years in development, I’m excited to share that Manifold Garden is finally available now on PS4 in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. For those who don’t know, Manifold Garden is a game that takes place in an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. The world repeats infinitely in every direction, so falling from the bottom floor of a skyscraper has you landing on its roof. You travel down and land above, so to speak. You can change the direction of gravity to solve puzzles, walk through hallways that bend space and connect to different worlds, and grow trees to restore life to the world. The PS4 version has all of the new features added in the last year, including the new Photo Mode, as well as secrets and other rewards for exploring. The architecture and visuals have always been one of the defining characteristics of Manifold Garden, and the easy-to-use Photo Mode lets players look at the world in new ways. Just for fun, we’ve also included a “Randomize” option that will generate beautiful shots for you. Below are some of our favorites: And of course, after keeping you waiting for so long, we knew we had to deliver something special for PlayStation fans. We’re delighted to showcase our exclusive Deluxe Edition, which also includes the game, the Original Soundtrack composed by Laryssa Okada, and an exclusive Dynamic Theme designed by the theme masters Truant Pixel. Manifold Garden Deluxe Edition is the only way to get this beautiful theme, and there’s no way to upgrade later, so please be sure to buy the Deluxe Edition if you want it! Both the game and the Deluxe Edition are on discount for 10% off for PlayStation Plus subscribers for a limited time as part of our launch. This has been quite the journey for both the team and for myself. I still remember showing the game at the very first PlayStation Experience in 2014. Back then, the game was still called Relativity, and consisted only of a few levels. It has definitely come a long way since. To celebrate the launch of the game, we’ve created an assortment of free wallpapers based on some excellent Photo Mode shots for your desktop and mobile devices. You can PlayStation Wallpapers here. Thanks for your patience and for believing in our game. Manifold Garden is finally out now on PlayStation 4. Enjoy! View the full article

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a classic RPG made by Owlcat Games based on the rules and setting of the famous Pathfinder Roleplaying Game system. You start your journey as one of the mercenaries hired to stop the atrocities of local bandits. But eventually, you will become the leader of a newly born nation and will nurture, grow, and protect it through many perils, making many crucial decisions and seeing their consequences. During your adventures, you will meet 12 different companions who will accompany you on your journey, each with their own story and personality. The game features immense possibilities for character building, deep mechanics, more than a hundred different enemies to fight, and a lot of items to collect. The game was released almost two years ago, and we’ve been working on polishing and expanding the game ever since, and now we are proud to present it to PlayStation players on August 18. The game’s origins The game is based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game System and stays true to the spirit and the rules of the famous tabletop RPG system. With nine races and 16 classes, each with three archetypes (variations of the classes), we have seen many players agonizing over which character they want to try out. Would you like to start your journey as a gnome sorcerer with the blood of dragons flowing in your veins? Or maybe as an elf grenadier, an alchemist specializing in powerful bombs? Or a half-orc mad dog, a barbarian traveling with an animal companion? Or maybe a simple human fighter is more to your liking? As your journey progresses, your character will rise up through the levels all the way to level 20, and each time there will be exciting choices to make: will you decide to multiclass (combine several classes in one character), or maybe you will go for a prestige class (special class available only at higher levels, there are seven of these in the game)? The depth of Pathfinder’s mechanics is one of the things that fascinates many fans of the system, including us, and we strived to bring it from the tabletop to video game. Your journey will start in Brevoy, one of the many nations in this part of the world. Jamandi Aldori, powerful swordlord and de facto ruler of the city on the nation’s border, is hiring adventurers to stop the reign of bandit terror in the as yet unclaimed wildlands to the southwest – the Stolen Lands! She promises to set up a barony under her patronage if the adventurers are successful. From the start, you will meet a cast of colorful characters, each with their own alignment and worldview. They speak their mind, comment on your actions, and argue. Each comes with their own baggage of problems and sometimes huge skeletons in their closets, but we hope they are also relatable and interesting companions on your long journey. You will become a baron as soon as you stop the bandit threat, and will guide your nation for almost five years. It will not be easy, as those lands are known as “Stolen” not because of the bandits, but because of the many kingdoms that have fallen while trying to settle there. You will have to make many decisions as you protect your barony from a multitude of threats and face the consequences of those decisions. We can’t tell you anything else about the story apart from that, because that would spoil it. Rule a nation When we were choosing the campaign to serve as the foundation of the game, we selected Kingmaker not only because it was a very open-world experience, but also because it allowed us to become the rulers of our own nation at the table. Adventuring and becoming heroes is a rather commonplace experience, whereas ruling a nation is something that rarely happens in RPGs. We built kingdom management as an additional strategic layer to the game. You will have to choose advisors for various governmental positions, solve problems, and respond to opportunities while developing your nation in a dozen different directions, including Arcane, Military, Economy, Espionage, to name but a few… You will be able to expand the barony by capturing new regions, build villages and towns, and eventually even become a full-fledged kingdom. This layer also greatly helped our story by showing our companions and essential NPCs from a new perspective, as rulers who have to address important issues, revealing entirely different facets of their personalities. The Definitive Edition After we released the game originally, we continued to polish it and make new content for the game we loved so much. That led to the release of several DLCs, some were free and added new spells or additional blood and gore effects. Others were premium and they expanded the story in different ways, by adding new companions from faraway lands, or by shedding some light on part of the story of the original game but told from a different perspective. Another expansion introduced a separate game mode with an infinite dungeon and rogue-lite elements. It quickly became a favorite among players who wanted to try out very different parties (whether mechanical or thematic, like a party of gnomes, or a journey where every character has an animal companion). All the DLC released to date for the game is included in the PS4 version launching today. Porting the game to console is also part of expanding the game and bringing in new players to the experience. We spent a lot of time redesigning the interfaces (which are many) to work seamlessly with the DualShock 4 controller and adapting them for TV screens. While doing this, we struggled with modifying the gameplay to work better with the controller as well, as giving a lot of orders in the chaos of battle (even when it is paused) can be difficult. At the same time, one particular mod for the game, hanging battles from real-time to turn-based, became popular and attracted new players. We thought that it would be great to bring this mode to console, as it gives more control over the battle and allows for greater tactical precision. We made it so that you can switch between real-time and turn-based combat at any time, even during battle. This Turn-Based Mode is our latest addition to the game that will be available with the launch of the PlayStation version. To put it simply, Pathfinder: Kingmaker Definitive Edition is the biggest and best version of the game. It will be great for newcomers to the game and for those who want to experience it again from the comfort of their couch with a game controller in their hands. Thank you for your time, and if you want to know more, feel free to join our official Discord server, where thousands of players will help you get settled in the Stolen Lands. View the full article

Today I am very excited to reveal Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a new online cooperative multiplayer* mode that will come as a free download for Ghost of Tsushima owners on PS4 later this year. Legends is an entirely new experience — it’s a separate mode that doesn’t follow Jin or the companions from his journey, but instead focuses on four warriors who have been built up as legends in stories told by the people of Tsushima. Ghost of Tsushima’s single-player campaign focuses on an open world and exploring the natural beauty of the island, but Legends is haunting and fantastical, with locations and enemies inspired by Japanese folk tales and mythology and an emphasis on cooperative combat and action. Play Video We designed Legends to be an exclusively cooperative gameplay experience. You’ll be able to partner up with friends or via online matchmaking and play Legends in groups of 2-4 players. Each player can choose from one of four different character classes: the Samurai, Hunter, Ronin, or Assassin. Each class has unique advantages and abilities that we’ll reveal in the future. With two players in Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, you’ll be able to play a series of co-op Story missions that escalate in difficulty, building on the foundation of combat from the single-player campaign but with new magical twists that often require careful synchronization with your partner. With four players, you’ll be able to take on wave-based Survival missions, fighting groups of the toughest enemies Tsushima has to offer, Including new Oni enemies with supernatural abilities. If you can best the Story and Survival missions, you may be confident enough to take on the four-player Raid that will arrive shortly after the launch of Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, sending you and your partners to an entirely new realm to challenge a brutal, terrifying enemy. It’s been so rewarding to see the amazing reactions from all of you as you play through Ghost of Tsushima. We’ve been watching so many of you stream your playthroughs, and can’t wait to open up this new way for all of us to play together! We’re happy to offer this mode completely free to Ghost of Tsushima owners as a thank you to our players, and we look forward to hearing what you think! We’ll have much more to share on Legends as we get closer to launch, including details on character classes, customization, and more! Thank you to everyone for your support of Ghost of Tsushima so far! *Internet connection and active PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer. View the full article

The waiting is over players… Linkin Park Music Pack – our biggest music pack so far – is out now! Fresh and energizing beats from the Grammy award-winning band Linkin Park just landed in Beat Saber. Linkin Park doesn’t need a long introduction, this iconic band jumped into the music industry spotlight in 2000 with their very first music album Hybrid Theory. Today, we are celebrating Hybrid Theory’s incredible 20th anniversary in VR with our brand new Linkin Park Music Pack. Linkin Park is a band very close to our heart, we have been listening to their music since teenage years and our heart rate rises every time we hear their songs. But everything gets even more real when you play it in PS VR. With this music pack, we are bringing 11 of the band’s most popular songs in all difficulties. Yes, that makes it 55 beatmaps in total. Linkin Park Music Pack unites tracks from influential albums Hybrid Theory, Meteora and Minutes to Midnight. As always, you can purchase the whole pack or download individual songs. Check our selection of the band’s most famous songs: Bleed It Out Breaking the Habit Faint Given Up In The End New Divide Numb One Step Closer Papercut Somewhere I Belong What I’ve Done We always want to bring something extra, but this time it is something totally different. With this music pack, we are releasing a brand new game environment – a fully enclosed game area inspired by the tunnel scene you might remember from the ‘One Step Closer’ music video. The environment is also accompanied by a new four-color lighting scheme. To pay our tribute to the iconic Hybrid Theory album, the whole environment is stylized into the album’s colors. Are you ready to channel your inner music rebel? Head out to PlayStation Store and get yourself the new Linkin Park Music Pack now. See you on the leaderboards. View the full article

Last week, we asked you to share moments with the animals found across the stunning world of Ghost of Tsushima. From friendly guiding critters and trusty steeds, to noble wildlife and feisty predators, you shared your favorite animals using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: YouSpoonyBardd kneels alongside a fox as the sun sets. A ferocious bear strikes in this action shot by Joshc_vp. Jin follows a guiding golden bird in this share by scottokta1. lunar9p shared a shot of a sacred deer. FirescorpioG shared this happily hopping fox in the moonlight. Jin and his beloved horse leap over new lands in this shot by RickDangerousNL. Search #PS4share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? Theme: Surprise Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, August 19 Next week, share surprising moments from the game of your choice using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Over ten years have passed since the last new Crash Bandicoot game, which is more than enough time for my crate-smashing appetite to grow. Yet while I still love jumping back in for some classic Wumpa Fruit-collecting romps, the platforming genre has continued to evolve over the past decade. And while I’m more than ready to spin, leap and explore some more, the twisted creators at developer Toys For Bob have updated much more than the whirling marsupial’s good looks. This is a sequel in every sense of the word. Separate from the hands-on session, exciting new details were announced for Crash 4 during last week’s State of Play. Crash’s iconic adversary, Dingodile, stomps into It’s About Time as a playable character, wielding a potent vacuum cannon to dish out destruction. N. Verted mode also made its debut, which injects zany replayability into Crash 4. Splash color into a whitewashed world, navigate an underwater traffic jam, and much more. Check out the State of Play Crash 4 blog for a Wumpa-load of new info. Meanwhile, pull on your jean shorts, oversized red sneakers, and prepare to learn how Crash Bandicoot 4’s gameplay both continues the series’ legacy and evolves the beloved platforming of the original PlayStation trilogy and remastered N. Sane Trilogy. 1. Time-tested platforming – Despite the game’s robust evolution, the gameplay fans fell in love with is still intact. Running, spinning, jumping, and bouncing off crates is still core to the game. 2. Double jump – The handy, life-saving ability to jump in mid-air returns. 3. Bandicoot tune up – This may be the best that controlling crash has ever felt. Bounding through stages has a satisfying sense of momentum without sacrificing precision platforming. 4. Hang time – It could have been my imagination, but I found it easier to course correct jumps in mid-air, resulting in more precise landings. 5. Shadow Precision – Crash’s shadow is a clean yellow circle with a bold outline, which helps dial in precise jumps. 6. Belly flop – Crash has access to this ground pound maneuver to smash hapless crates beneath him. 7. Magnetic Fruit – Collecting delicious Wumpa Fruit is even more satisfying now, as Crash automatically collects them when he’s near. 8. Quantum masks – New to this sequel, Crash can find and use powerful masks for sections of levels. Activate these mystical powers by pressing the Triangle or R2 buttons. 9. Slow time – One mask (Kupuna-Wa) causes the world and enemies to slow to a crawl for a limited time. Tap into this to slow tricky bad guys, pass erratic hazards, or cross falling platforms. 10. Phase Control – Another mask lets Crash phase objects in and out of existence. Want to remove an obstacle out of the way, or need a platform to reach new heights? Try phasing! 11. Running towards the camera – Classic chase sequences return! During one sequence, Crash ran towards the camera as a hungry T-Rex gave chase. The camera appears to be more zoomed out this time, allowing more time to see and avoid upcoming obstacles. 12. Healthy challenge – Even with your tuned up platforming skills and new Quantum Mask powers, bring your platforming A-game. Toys For Bob didn’t shy away from classic platforming difficulty. 13. Modern vs. Retro Mode – Old-school purists can choose Retro Mode, which restarts you at the beginning of a stage if you run out of lives. Modern Mode is still challenging, but always restarts you at a checkpoint while counting up your total deaths. 14. Bonus levels – Speaking of challenge, puzzle-like side-scrolling Bonus Levels return. This time, utilize Quantum Mask powers like slow-down to master tricky sequences and collect all the crates. 15. Dr. Cortex – Fans get to play as Crash’s longtime nemesis – no go-kart required! Lacking Crash’s agility, the evil scientist relies on an horizontal air dash and blasting enemies into solid and bounceable platforms. The result is a more cerebral, puzzle-like platforming experience. 16. New perspective – Playing as Cortex also reveals unique perspectives on stages Crash already cleared. For example, you may discover Cortex was responsible for a surprising explosion in a stage you previously played. Crash unleashes his furry-ous return when Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time hits PS4 October 2. View the full article

Clear some time on your schedule this weekend and drop into the world of Hyper Scape, the fast-paced free-to-play battle royale whose Season 1 just launched on PlayStation 4. In Hyper Scape, 99 players – either solo or in teams of three – compete in Crown Rush and drop into the completely urban map of Neo Arcadia to see who can secure victory. Matches are won by either being the last squad standing, or by securing and holding onto the crown for 45 seconds, ensuring that Hyper Scape matches end with just as much action and energy as they start with. Building your loadouts and looting the battlefield works a bit differently in Hyper Scape. You’ll drop into the map with nothing but a melee weapon, and will scramble to loot two weapons and two hacks to fill out your loadout. Hacks are game-changing abilities that can dramatically affect the way you play by letting you do things like teleport, leap into the air and slam down, drop a homing mine, put up a towering wall, and much more. Hacks can be swapped out with others that you find at any time to suit your needs and adapt your play style on the fly. Any time you pick up a duplicate hack or weapon, you’ll fuse those items and make them even stronger. Fuse something four times, and you’ll unlock the most powerful version of it, which boasts an extra buff to help give you an edge in combat. Play Video Should you end up on the wrong end of a fully fused shotgun, take heart: dying isn’t the end in Hyper Scape. When playing on a team, once you’re eliminated, you become an echo. You’ll still be able to roam around the map, scouting and pinging items and enemies for your surviving teammates. To be brought back, you’ll have to be revived by a teammate at a restore point, which you can find at a location where an enemy player has been eliminated. If you really want to master the Hyper Scape, you’ll have to drop in yourself and start playing. But if you want to know more about the universe of Hyper Scape and the world of 2054, then keep reading to learn more from Jesse Scoble, lead scriptwriter on Hyper Scape. What’s the state of the world in Hyper Scape, and how did the world get to that point? Jesse Scoble: For the upper 1% of billionaires and trillionaires, the world is idyllic. Most of their money comes from stock markets and inheritances. They live in gated cities catering to their every whim. They own the megacorporations – like Prisma Dimensions – that run the world. The rich have gotten richer, while the middle class now has almost ceased to exist. However, for most people in the world, climate change, mass migration, automation of much of the workforce, and failing infrastructure and social services have created a rough day-to-day existence, painted in dayglo neon graffiti. The lucky ones – such as they are – work for megacorporations, and make enough to survive, but not much more. What is Prisma Dimensions? JS: Prisma Dimensions is a multinational conglomerate that is, arguably, the most powerful and most important company in the world of 2054. What began as a biomedical company focused on neurological connective technologies has become the hub of virtual connectivity, giving the world access to unprecedented opportunities for education, remote work, social connections, and entertainment. Prisma Dimensions is headquartered in Paris, and was founded by Mathieu Eiffel, the inventor of the B-Link, and his partner, CEO Dr. Ivy Tan. Why did they invent the Hyper Scape, and what is its purpose? JS: The Hyper Scape is an evolution of the internet – it is a fully-simulated virtual reality accessed via direct neural connection (the B-Link 2.0), that allows its users to work, learn, and play in unprecedented fashion. Prisma Dimensions has enabled a brand new economy to flourish­. Remote work is now the same as being there, no matter how far apart one may be in the real world. And entire new sectors have cropped up around avatar customization, the trappings of virtual sports, and so forth. How did Crown Rush emerge as such a popular game? Is there an audience? A fanbase? Popular champions? JS: Prisma Dimensions developed Crown Rush in part as a learning tool to help new users calibrate their virtual reality experience, but also as a competitive spectacle. It is a fusion of popular sports entertainment with the accessibility of gaming – when everyone can participate, anyone can become a champion! As such, it is enormously popular, and fans are flocking to support burgeoning champions. Is Neo Arcadia reflective of the world in 2054, or is it a fantasy for competitors too? JS: The virtual city of Neo Arcadia is a vision of a utopia, initially created and conceived of by Prisma’s founder, Mathieu Eiffel. But, of course, it’s been modified and iterated on by countless hardworking developers in Prisma’s World and Game divisions. In the fiction of 2054, it’s important to note that there are, in essence, two Neo Arcadias, though they mirror each other. One is a virtual hub where shopping, hanging out, dining (the brain is tricked into tasting food, but of course no calories or nourishment are consumed), working, studying, partying, and so forth occur. The other is an instance where the Crown Rush matches happen. The two are segregated with strict rules governing what can and can’t be done in each environment. Players can choose from a wide variety of characters when playing. Who are the people who compete in Crown Rush? What are their motivations? JS: Crown Rush appeals to contenders from all parts of the globe, and all walks of life. For example, Nahari Martin is an up-and-coming journalist who plays in part because she knows THIS is where the action is, and she’s skeptical of some of Prisma Dimension’s “building a better tomorrow” messaging. Her girlfriend, Thea “Prodigy” Jepsen, is a top neurologist at Prisma, and she plays in order to see the B-Link in action. Then we have gamers like Ace, Paladin, and Basilisk, who all dream of making it big as the next star of Crown Rush; Ace is a confident and competitive hotshot who believes he can make it to the top; Paladin loves the idea of winning the Crown Rush lottery and improving life for his mom and younger sister, but he knows it’s a daydream; and Basilisk wants to prove to his parents — and to the world at large — that he is more than anyone expects. He knows he’s great, and he’s just waiting for the world to catch up to him. And we have many other faces – such as the casulinks, or more casual players, who may love Crown Rush and the Hyper Scape as much as the potential champions, but tend not to play as competitively. They are more in it for the fun. Characters like Myrto, a single mother of two and hardworking investment banker who got into the game to play with her kids, but has continued to play to blow off steam and because she enjoys the company she’s met, such as Burns. Burns is a professor who checked out Crown Rush because of his students, but has stayed because he’s found recent companionship playing in a squad with Myrto. Or Noor, a fashionista streamer who uses it to build up her fanbase. We’ve seen in a trailer that there seems to be something wrong happening in the Hyper Scape. Can you tell us more about that? JS: Prisma Dimensions would like to reassure you that everything is perfectly operational in Hyper Scape. As a living game environment, the developers want to constantly test out new ideas and evolve the landscape. These hacks, as the players call them, were of course created intentionally and introduced into the game as a surprise element. Reports to the contrary are nothing more than idle rumors, and are best ignored. When and how will we find out more about the world of Hyper Scape? JS: Every season, we will introduce new story elements through story collectibles, new characters, updated character outfits, associated bios, a free comic book, and several other surprises! PlayStation Plus players have access to additional in-game items. What exactly are those? JS: For PS+ players, we have created an alternate outfit for Cruze, a Chilean pilot who works for Verdigris Transit. Although something of a loner, she has a rich imagination, and often loses herself in genre stories. She’s a fan of a popular superhero series of 2054, and creates fanfiction stories where she envisions herself as “Lightspeed.” The Lightspeed Champion Outfit and Komodo Weapon Design come out of that. This pack will only be available during Season 1. Full details here. View the full article

Hello PlayStation.Blog readers! Paweł Lekki, co-founder of EXOR Studios here, and I’ve good news for fans of old-school, adrenaline-infused arcade gameplay: Zombie Driver: Immortal Edition launches on PlayStation 4 today! Play Video Zombie Driver: Immortal Edition is a remaster of our classic title, including the original game as well as the DLC to date, all running at 60FPS. Enjoy the 30 missions of the Story Mode, dozens of high-octane Blood Race events, and several arenas of the endless Slaughter Mode. You can now relive the memories of playing the game or experience it for the first time in the best possible quality. Some PlayStation fans might remember Zombie Driver HD from PlayStation 3. The game has been available on the PlayStation Network since 2012 and featured on PS Plus. For any players who added it to their Game Libraries back then, good news! If you bought any edition of Zombie Driver HD on PS3 or if added the game to your account via PS Plus, Zombie Driver: Immortal Edition for PS4 is available for you to play free of charge. We are very thankful for your support back in the day — we couldn’t have possibly been here today without you, so please accept this as a token of our gratitude. I’d like to wholeheartedly thank everyone who played Zombie Driver during the previous generation. Thanks to your support we are continuing to make games as an independent studio and we hope that you will enjoy Zombie Driver Immortal Edition on PS4 and beyond. View the full article

My fellow samurai have fallen. My adoptive uncle, Lord Shimura, could be executed at any moment. Everything on the island of Tsushima is on fire or overrun with invading Mongols. As lone samurai Jin Sakai, it’s my unwavering mission to reclaim the island and drive these enemies from my home. Nothing could be more urgent. I climb aboard my trusted steed with a heavy sigh, wince in agony at the flames spewing from the horizon, and gallop towards my destiny. Within seconds I’m staring down Mongols harassing a citizen on a dusty road, my piercing gaze fixed on their bloody blades. Our swords clash. They fall. One life is saved, and now I break for a stronghold swarming with… hold up. Is that a fox prancing around a golden tree? Well I gotta see where this takes me. I spend the next several hours petting foxes, gathering flowers, and gazing in slack-jawed amazement at the overwhelming beauty that saturates Ghost of Tsushima. Just totally losing all sense of immediacy so I can fully absorb the world around me. It’s a testament to the game’s natural wonder that I’m able to put Jin’s life-altering quest for justice aside. Despite the stirring opening moments mentioned above and some genuinely horrific deaths that further fuel my raging desire for vengeance, the wide-open expanse of the island always called to me — but never in a checkbox-y, distraction-based way. The alluring layout of sea-sprayed cliffs, contemplative hot springs, show-stopping inari shrines, and other worldly wonders kept me amazed and curious well after the credits rolled… and on to a Platinum Trophy. Plenty has been said regarding the island, the game’s astonishing Photo Mode, and the searingly radiant leaves flowing through the air. But it bears repeating just how captivating this open world really is, and how positively delightful it feels to just explore. If you scale a towering rock formation, your only reward may be a stunning view. Time and time again, that view (and a quick photo for the ol’ album) was more than enough compensation for the journey. For every thoughtful moment I spent regarding a waterfall or composing a haiku, there was also a nail-biting encounter with bandits, ronin, and Mongols. Jin is an accomplished swordsman, so from the outset you’re able to handle multiple enemies at once. As he learns new stances and integrates stealth and tools into his arsenal, Jin is able to lay waste to five, six… even ten enemies with just a few moves. By the end of the journey I was supremely confident in my ability to stroll right up to an encampment, declare everyone in sight as a coward unworthy of my attention, and absolutely annihilate ‘em. This front-facing tactic is honorable and in keeping with Jin’s samurai background, but as Jin’s repertoire expands with stealthy Ghost abilities, you can slink back into the shadows and use these cunning techniques to pick enemies off one by one. Whether you choose to engage foes eye to eye or leap across temple rooftops as the enigmatic Ghost, combat feels fluid and intense. Jin’s personal journey ties neatly into this samurai/Ghost duality. Following his clan’s defeat, his initial revenge tactics veer towards the traditional, and would likely lead to further ruin. But Yuna, a thief who rescues Jin early on, steers him away from frontal assaults. They bond over a desire to see justice done and the losses they both suffer as a result of their hybrid battle plan. Over time, Jin also reconnects with notable figures of his past, and meets new allies, all of whom further shape him into an all-new man. The supporting cast — and their personal questlines — are a true treat, profoundly adding to the texture and emotion of the world. What began as “wow that’s a lot of side quests” quickly became “damn, I guess their tale is wrapped up now…” Combine the memorable cast, vicious combat, and contemplative world map with a sweeping musical score and you have a remarkable adventure that’s without a doubt one of my favorite games of the year. View the full article