Commander Fury

This is Masaru Oyamada from Square Enix. I am the producer for the Secret of Mana remake. I have been working on the Mana series since 2006, when I had the opportunity to work alongside series creator, Ishii Koichi, on porting Final Fantasy Adventure (Seiken Densetsu – Final Fantasy Gaiden) to mobile phone platforms. As a fan, I first played Final Fantasy Adventure in 1991 and since then I have completed every game in this series and grew a passion for the franchise. I was one of many who felt great disappointment at there being no new Mana games after Mr. Ishii left the company. In 2014, when I was working on Rise of Mana, I had heard from many fans who wanted to play the previous titles in the series, but were unable to do so on current generation hardware. As such, I worked to remake Final Fantasy Adventure in 2016. Since then, there were many voices stating that they wanted to see a port of Secret of Mana globally, which now brings us to this remake. Having finally arrived at release day, I look back over the development and I feel that the hardest challenge we had to overcome was recreating the world map that is used when flying on Flammie. We had to alter the basic system, as well as tweak the visual design, in order to convert the way the flat terrain was depicted from the original into 3D, and making sure that everything still fit together properly. What I am most pleased with in the remake is the penultimate scene with the three heroes, just before they face the last boss. This was already a very emotional scene in the original game, but the remake enhances the drama even more with the new voices, 3D models and music, which is why I like it so much. We invite fans who played the original game to indulge in your nostalgia, as well as enjoy the new elements, such as the interlude episodes that will let you see the story in a new light. There are also some nice little Easter eggs hidden in towns across the world which we would love to see long-term Mana series veterans pick up on! This game was made with the incredible support of all the fans of the series. Everyone on the development team took care to leave in what made the original great, while also striving to make this a game that puts the Mana series on the map for many generations of gamers. As time continues to pass, we would love to see a new generation of players continue to remember Secret of Mana as one of their great gaming experiences. View the full article

Right after The Evil Within 2 launched, inquisitive fans discovered something: a first-person mode that was limited to a specific part of the game’s story could be (with some finagling) extended to other areas of the game. The community began clamoring for this feature to be officially extended to the rest of the game, and the development team at Tango Gameworks has listened. The entirety of The Evil Within 2 can now be played in first-person via a free update. We spoke to Producer Shinsaku Ohara about the process and challenges of bringing a first-person mode to a third-person game. What made you decide to get this feature working for the whole game? We experimented a bit with first-person in the full game, but it was more of an afterthought and a little bit of playing around on our side, since we designed the game in third-person. Some savvy users figured out a way to activate this mode outside of its intended area, and the reaction to it was pretty positive, so we said, “What the heck. Let’s put it in as a bonus.” A lot of players like playing horror games in first-person, so for those who want to see some of the game’s situations through Sebastian’s eyes, it’s a really neat experience. What kind of development work goes into implementing an entirely new POV into a finished game? Did you run into any unique challenges? The Evil Within 2 wasn’t designed as a first-person game, so obviously it was pretty difficult. We like to think of it as a “high-level hack” so we don’t want people to compare this with Doom or anything like that. There were some scenes that just didn’t work, so it jumps back and forth a bit to third-person. But we made sure the game’s an enjoyable experience and hopefully people will enjoy playing in this mode. Do you have a favorite moment to experience in first-person? I think exploring Union in first-person makes the scale feel even bigger than it does when you’re in third-person. Also, being able to see our environments and enemies up close allows players to get an even better look at how much effort went into their designs. View the full article

Romans, Vikings, Samurai, Aztecs, Spartans and more will answer the call to arms to battle it out in a series of hazard-filled arenas as World of Warriors makes its PS4 debut on March 21. Grab three friends (with active PS Plus memberships) and choose from amongst the greatest warriors in history, who have been summoned to a land beyond their own to take on challengers in a variety of multiplayer arenas. In World of Warriors, you’ll have to be wary of not only your friend’s / opponent’s sword arm, but of your surroundings as well. Every arena is a potential death trap brimming with hazards! Let’s take a look at some of the locations… and their repertoires of deadly surprises. Coliseum Hack ‘n’ slash your enemies in the Coliseum! Impress the crowd with your combat skills, but watch out for the spinning fire totem or else you’ll get burned! Heroic Hills Picturesque and perfect Heroic Hills may seem, but don’t let your guard down! This is no picnic in the park, as those spinning whirlpool tornadoes can be fierce! The Sea of Night The sea can be a cruel mistress, and so can this arena! Watch out for the titan who swings his anchor. You might be in international waters, but you’re on his turf now! Midnight Forest Deep down in the dark woods, the Midnight Forest lays keep to an ancient tree who can aid warriors in their battles… but get on his wrong side and he’ll aid the enemy! White Wastes At the edge of the world and frozen in ice lay a host of woolly mammoths itching to escape! Only the most cunning warrior will figure out the trick to mastering the mammoths, earning some massive help on the battlefield! Whether you’re battling friends locally or wrecking warriors online, World of Warriors promises a multiplayer rumble the likes of which history has never seen. World of Warriors will be available for purchase digitally only at PlayStation Store starting on March 21, and for the first week your purchase will include a special theme. We’ll see you in the Wildlands next month! View the full article

Today, Knockout League – Grab Games and Vive Studios’ arcade-style boxing game built from the ground up for virtual reality – is launching for PlayStation VR. Now PSVR owners can step into the ring and face off against a cast of fierce competitors in a game that will test their reflexes while offering a brisk workout. Knockout League is the ultimate game for virtual reality and we are thrilled to bring this title to the PlayStation VR community. The single-player boxing game pits you against nine competitors, ranging from classic boxers to fantastic creatures. While your opponents may be wacky, the physicality of the game is real. Ducking, dodging and throwing punches, you’ll soon find yourself engaged in a way that only VR can achieve (and there is even a calorie tracker in Fitness Mode to prove it!). As you go toe-to-toe in the ring, you’ll be ranked against your friends and the community in your pursuit to dominate the leaderboards. With a tutorial training mode to teach you key strategies along with mini-games such as speed bag, you’ll be warmed up and ready to take on the fight. Knockout League pits you against nine competitors, ranging from classic boxers to fantastic creatures. While each character brings their own quirky style and attitude to the fight, these are our favorites to challenge in the ring: Sir Octopunch Sir Octopunch is one of our favorite characters. He was one of the original concepts and right away personified what we were going for with this game. Besides, what’s not to love about a talking, boxing, British octopus? When Sir Octopunch tries to overwhelm you with his vertical slam attack, pay attention to which gloves are wiggling. That’ll give a tip as to where the safe area is. Sir Octopunch represents what’s great about games and VR. He lets the player be immersed with an activity that they’re familiar with while giving them an experience that they can’t get in real life. Barrage Barrage is another one of our favorites because she’s such a strong and loveable character. Her special move the barrage is a very high damage move but takes a lot of her energy. You don’t want to be in the way of that one, but make sure to take advantage with a counterattack when she’s catching her breath. The benevolent bruiser, she’ll knock you down and encourage you during the fight. She’s exudes energy and she’s a great balance between power and speed. Showtime Showtime is the guy that you hate to love and love to hate. He’s got the smirk that makes you want to hit him in the face. You can try. The Showtime fight is tricky because his speed allows him to instantly dodge attacks. Don’t fall for his feints, look out for his counter and keep firing back at him. His fighting style fits his character and that creates some cool unique moments in the fight. Knockout League launches today at PlayStation Store for $29.99. View the full article

By the time you’re reading this, PlayStation Plus members in the US should have a special treat awaiting them — a new seven-minute clip from the upcoming sci-fi film Annihilation, based on the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer. Head to PlayStation Store on your PS4 to watch it! In honor of this auspicious event, I reached out to director Alex Garland, who last directed 2014’s seminal A.I. tale Ex Machina, to learn more about his journey from novelist to screenwriter to gaming storyteller to film director. PlayStation.Blog: You’ve worked in novels (The Beach), writing films (Sunshine, 28 Days Later), and videogames (Enslaved, DmC). Then you shifted to directing with Ex Machina and now Annihilation. Is there a consistent thread to your career? Alex Garland // Director, Annihilation: Not in any kind of artistic or themic way. It’s really just about what I feel really interested in. I like reading, I like watching movies, I love playing games… so the opportunity to work in those areas, I just feel lucky. So when someone like Ninja Theory gets in touch with me, I’m like “absolutely, I’m there.” So it’s not artistic, really, it’s just curiosity — and good luck, I guess. PSB: Onto Annihilation, not the easiest book to translate to film. What attracted you to it? AG: It was just the originality of it. It wasn’t like anything I had read. That immediately pushed a button in me. Every now and then, people offer up source material of one sort or another. And most of it is kind of … same-y. It belongs to other projects more than it belongs to itself. Annihilation the book just felt totally fresh and totally original. And that brought me into it. The sheer freshness of it. PSB: The setup of Annihilation – a psychologist, an anthropologist, a biologist, and a surveyor walk into a mysterious quarantined zone – almost sounds like the setup for an RPG. Was that part of the appeal? AG: It would be a really cool RPG. I’d love to see that actually, I’d love to play it. I know what you mean though. I didn’t see it in those terms, in all honesty, I read the book and in the back of my mind on one level I’m thinking “how on Earth do you make this into a film?” But mainly I was just caught up in the book itself. PSB: What was the most challenging thing to adapt from the book to the film? AG: To me, the defining thing about it was how it’s all so dreamlike. It hits you on a different level. And so responding to that atmosphere was kind of complicated. If it was an A-B-C storyline, we could just cut and paste. But you can’t cut and paste atmosphere. PSB: The book often describes things in the environment with surrealist or dreamlike language. How did you approach adapting that into a visual style? AG: Well, the same way I always do — gather a group of people who I work with. I pretty much work in a collective. People come and go, things change, but some of these people I’ve worked with for 10 years. So the first thing is, I just write a script. And then we sit around and talk about how to actually bring this to life. It’s the group all pitching in their ideas, what they respond to. That group includes the director of photography, the visual effects supervisor, the production designer — all people who are incredibly visual. PSB: I sometimes hear Annihilation described as having a new-Lovecraft-type or “weird fiction” influence. Do you agree or disagree? AG: I know of the term “weird fiction.” I’ve actually never read any Lovecraft so I can’t talk with any authority about it. The thing with Lovecraft, it’s interesting… he’s like Conrad, you know? Heart of Darkness. Where, even if you don’t know the source material, you’ve probably encountered it somewhere else. I think Lovecraft is like that. He obviously casts a very long shadow. So you encounter his influence whether you read his stuff or not. PSB: Where there other influences you drew upon? AG: Sort of… actually, a weird one. Apocalypse Now, actually. Because it’s a journey through a landscape that is getting progressively strange. There’s an element of that. But to some extent, what we tried to do is push those [other influences] out of our minds so we’re not repeating things from other movies, or books, or games, or whatever. We’re trying to come up with stuff from a more personal space. PSB: You’ve done a lot of work in gaming as well with Ninja Theory, working on Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry. Are you still interested in tackling gaming-related projects? AG: Oh, definitely, definitely. I’d love to. I love playing games and I enjoyed the process of working on them. Essentially, I see my job as being a writer. So I’d need to be working on a game that required a writer, which not all games do. My favorite narrative games are probably Bioshock and The Last of Us. I’d love an opportunity to work on a game like that, that was trying to push and explore narrative within the game. PSB: Two of my favorites. Have you ever met Ken Levine? AG: I have, actually. I saw he was giving a lecture in London, and I went to it just to hear him speak. And I was lucky enough to meet him briefly. Fascinating guy. And a fascinating world he created. And there’s another guy — Mark Laidlaw. I’ve had a long correspondence with him over email. He was the Half-Life writer, and I love those games. Me and Mark have been chatting over email for, well, it must be 15 years by now. PSB: Small world. What do you enjoy about working with the gaming medium? AG: It just has this absolutely massive, massive potential. And I think that sometimes that potential gets realized — probably the best example is The Last of Us. Do you remember the indie game Braid from a few years ago? PSB: Yep! Jonathan Blow. AG: Right. That game actually has a really beautiful narrative construct, and a twist that turns the whole thing on its head at the end of the game. When I encounter games like that, it just makes me so aware of the incredible potential. I’m fascinated by it, I’m incredibly drawn to it. But just because I’m drawn to it doesn’t mean I’m any good at it. Just as a medium… it’s so young, it’s in such a state of infancy, or I guess adolescence at this point. But it’s clearly got such a long journey left. So it’s really attractive to me for that reason. PSB: You mentioned Bioshock and The Last of Us… What are some other games you feel that have managed to explore the full narrative potential of the medium? AG: The first game where I remember being completely whacked from a totally narrative sense was Ico. The game just before Shadow of the Colossus. Really good storytelling in Portal and Portal 2, and Dear Esther as well. PSB: Thanks for a great interview! View the full article

Discover The Creators is a PlayStation Store curation program in which we’ve asked some of the biggest names in the biz to pick their favorite PS4 games in order to help your find your next game to play. One of the most amazing things about games on the PS4 is the variety of experiences available. From intense shooters that challenge the hardcore players to deep rich storytelling titles that give a completely different feeling of immersion, these are some of my favorite titles that have been released so far. Batman: Arkham VR I don’t think there is an experience anywhere (movies, TV, comics) that immerses you deeper into the Batman universe more than Batman: Arkham VR. After playing for a while you really do forget you are in a VR simulation and find yourself living in this amazing world that Rocksteady built. I’m not exaggerating when I say you literally become Batman. What Remains of Edith Finch Amazing story telling game experience. Such a refreshing, stylized and creepy (in a good way) presentation. I loved the way the story was broken up into the different “rooms” and how the different family member’s stories linked together. This game was the winner of the “Best Narrative” award at The Game Awards for a reason. Inside This game is quite simply one of the best arguments that exist for video games being an artform. Describing this game requires so many words: Beautiful, dark, disturbing, eerie, and dreamlike only begin to scratch the surface. On top of the amazing emotional visual presentation are fantastic game mechanics and audio score making this game an absolute masterpiece. Resident Evil 7 For someone who hasn’t played as much of the previous Resident Evil games, you can only imagine the emotional reactions this game got out of me. I was not prepared for this. Add in PS VR support and you have one of the most heart-poundingly intense (perhaps too?) experiences in entertainment. Anyone doubting VR needs to play this. Overwatch Yes, I know…..this game has been on almost everyone’s favorite lists for more than a year and a half now, but that’s my point. Not only has this title taken the gaming world by storm, but it has managed to hold on and dominate. That kind of staying power deserves recognition. Anyone who hasn’t tried this game needs to see what all the hype is about. Doom Fantastic return to its classic (frenetic, fast, crazy) form. I just love the pacing of this shooter. The team who made this game are obviously fans of the original and have delivered a game that captures its intensity with amazing updated graphics showcasing the PS4. Head over to PlayStation Store to browse Ed’s list as well as picks curated by Tim Schafer, Yoko Taro, Cliff Bleszinski, and more. View the full article

Ready, set, sprint with fast-paced 8-player racing across 21 colorful courses, launching worldwide for PSVR and Pro Today, Survios is proud to launch our newest game for PlayStation VR: Sprint Vector, an intense multiplayer adrenaline platformer that sends you rocketing through 21 colorful spacepunk courses in the craziest parkour racing game ever. While we’re stoked for you all to strap on your vector blades and enter the crazy world of robot media tycoon Mr. Entertainment, we wanted to take a few moments to share the story of Sprint Vector and how Survios set out to conquer one of VR’s biggest obstacles: locomotion. At Survios, our VR projects all start with a simple question: what do we want to feel? And back in 2016, Sprint Vector started as an equally straightforward answer: speed. We believe that VR needs to be active in order to be fully immersive — so we set off to devise an active mechanic that would convey the sensation of extreme motion in VR while also subverting the nausea reflex. The result was Fluid Locomotion, the smooth, natural mechanics system that comprises 99% of Sprint Vector’s gameplay. Based on the swinging movement of your arms while running, Fluid Locomotion translates the length and consistency of your swings into rapid forward momentum in-game. All the while, your arm movements are enough to trick your brain into processing it as locomotion, allowing for a completely comfortable experience. Success! Now we just had to build a game around the Fluid Locomotion mechanics. The concept of an over-the-top racing game took shape, but we wanted it to be more than just that. So we devised a whole new genre: adrenaline platforming, taking the frenetic navigation of a traditional platformer and ramping the speed up to ludicrous. And when you achieve ludicrous speed, you have to make sure your in-game universe reflects it. It’s hard not to have a blast racing across an Egyptian landscape that suddenly drops into alien ruins, or dodging corrosive sludge while hopping across tangled industrial pipes, or soaring over the frigid landscape of a Viking village turned ski resort. All the while, seven other players are vying to sabotage you with power-ups ranging from killer rockets to instant speeds boosts. Sprint Vector is also fun because you can play it your way. Speedrunners and overachievers will gravitate toward the Global Leaderboards on competitive mode, where eight-player races across 12 unique courses fuel the need for speed. There’s also private matchmaking and casual modes for a little friendly competition, and you can even fine-tune your skills and test yourself on 9 solo challenge courses, each with three different game modes. However you want to sprint, there’s a vector for that! With all this being said, we are beyond excited to welcome the PlayStation VR community to Sprint Vector! To show our appreciation, there are exclusive Sprint Vector PlayStation avatars and a theme for you to download, and an upcoming content patch will add free Championship Intergalactica Winter Games skins to your characters so you can add some international flavor to your favorite racer. We also invite all PlayStation gamers to join us in our official Discord server to interact with other players, set up matches, talk sprinting strategies, and enter to win exclusive prizes in weekly Sprint Vector challenges. The intro music is firing up and Mr. Entertainment is preparing for his grand entrance, so we advise you to wrap up that warm-up routine: the Sprint Vector spotlight awaits! We’ll see you on the starting line. View the full article

As you may have seen this weekend, Kratos and Atreus made a special – and unexpected — guest appearance in Oakland, CA. The immersive illusion employed cutting-edge technology called “projection mapping” to bring Kratos, Atreus, and the Norse world of God of War to life in front of thousands of fans. You can check out a recording of the performance above. This projection-mapping magic uses ultra-bright video projectors together with powerful media server engines to paint vivid imagery complete with sense of motion and depth directly onto large surfaces. It could be a building, a wall around Asgard, a World Serpent…or in this case, the basketball court during half time. Because when you think of Norse myth, you think — basketball. Of course! Santa Monica Studio drove the creative process over several months in collaboration with a fantastic company called Platige Image to ensure it aligned with our studio’s vision for the game. After storyboarding the epic action sequence, we mo-capped the official in-game stunt performers for both Kratos and Atreus to ensure both characters moved and behaved in an authentic fashion. This action vignette shows Kratos and Atreus facing off against Draugr, Helwalkers and one particularly unhappy Ogre. While this sequence does not appear in the game, its inspiration comes directly from Kratos and Atreus’ adventure. This is just one more step closer to God of War’s April 20th release date, so stay tuned for more exciting info and content in the weeks leading up to the launch. A big thank you to everyone who collaborated to bring this vision to life. View the full article

Since its first reveal at E3 2017, I’ve been completely enamored with Moss. Polyarc’s debut PS VR adventure casts you as Quill, an adorable (and exquisitely animated) miniature heroine in a lush, foreboding fantasy world. I had the chance to play through a new area of Moss recently, and I’d like to share it with you in our newest episode of PlayStation Underground. Watch the video above, then head over to PlayStation Store to preorder Polyarc’s debut title ahead of its upcoming launch. Moss is the first title Polyarc is releasing as a studio, but the team’s individual members have a wealth of industry experience — around 12 years per member, on average — across a broad variety of disciplines. Despite their diverse backgrounds, a common thread running through the Polyarc roster is their focus on characters. The studio makes it look almost effortless, but a lot of work has gone into making Quill a character players instinctively care about. Things like the sense of scale in each area, the believable way Quill reacts to situations, and how players can interact with her all play a part. At certain points in the game, Quill will communicate directly with the player using ASL! Since she can only squeak, I figured I'd play around with ways she can communicate with the player. Also a great perk for our deaf players. pic.twitter.com/BAiPc8CUMO — Richard Lico (@Foofinu) August 3, 2017 So which came first, the gameplay concept, or its impossibly adorable protagonist Quill? “We didn’t want to make the player move around a lot, so we wanted to build a game where everything is happening in a reachable space,” said studio director Tam Armstrong. “For the concept we had, that meant that the character needed to fit within arm’s length. A small character resulted from that, then it was a question of ‘how do we theme that?’ That’s where Quill came from.” “That physical interaction created this character who also gives you a strong emotional reaction,” adds art director Chris Alderson. Moss iOS Sticker Pack Quill is on the way to add a little cheer to your chats! iOS users can head to the App Store starting right now to download a new iMessage sticker pack. The positive public reception to Quill herself after her E3 debut has made Polyarc take a second look at where they’ve been focusing their development efforts: “We had theories about VR game design from a mechanical perspective,” Tam explains, “but once we started making the game and this small character we surprised ourselves with how strongly we felt about her. “Having that reinforced by the response from our audience just affirmed it, and development shifted to focus on her and the things she does. We have things in the game now that we weren’t planning to do, but that we felt needed to happen after watching people interact with her at E3.” One example of this is being able to wave at Quill (by physically waving your controller in the air) and having her wave back. A tiny touch that some might not even think to try, but one that adds a real sense of believability — that feeling of immersion creators have been trying to perfect since VR first hit the scene. Moss Mobile & Desktop Wallpapers Head to Polyarc’s online store to download a set of beautiful new wallpapers for your desktop or mobile device. One of the first things players tend to point out after playing Moss is how excellently animated Quill is. Watching her struggle to clamber over obstacles, or timidly unsheathe her sword in the face of looming danger, or even just look toward you with a confident nod is enough to make me want to protect this adorable little hero with every resource available to me. The work of Polyarc’s lead animator, Rich Lico, has a lot to do with the bond players feel with Moss’s petite protagonist: “I wanted to have her communicate with the player in more authentic ways, like how your friend might communicate with you,” Lico explains. “That led to things like using sign language, and having her represent how the player might be feeling — if the player is upset at something, she might kick that thing the player is upset about. You project who you are onto the character, but she also defines herself separately, and it helps build that realism.” The response to Polyarc’s work so far, and in some cases Lico’s work specifically, has been overwhelmingly positive. The team wisely strives to channel that energy back into the game. “When I come into work I’m not thinking about what people’s reactions are going to be, so when I see them I’m just blown away,” Lico says. “Especially with the sign language community, when we put out that tweet and it got such an emotional reaction, it really touched me and motivated me to want to come in and do better. “I’m just super thankful that I’m able to do this for a living,” he adds, “and that people appreciate what we do.” It’s clear from playing Moss and speaking with its creators that this is going to be a special kind of adventure, and the team at Polyarc is equal parts anxious and excited to finally send Quill out into the world. But Stephen Hodde, audio lead on Moss, feels that the project is already a success. “I never felt like I was taking a big risk, honestly,” Hodde admits, to the surprise of everyone else in the room. “The risk is going to a place that doesn’t have heart. We’ve already succeeded, in a way, because we’re making something that is heartfelt.” View the full article

Can you juggle? I can’t. Tried multiple times, but it never took. Something about introducing that third ball into the equation just made my brain lock. And I’m convinced that inability is cause for the bead of sweat breaking out across my brow so early into my Moss hands-on session. Let me explain. With L2 I’m holding a triggered Ticker under my sway. This mechanical insectoid is a denizen of the mine I find myself in, just one of an endless spawning, skittering army that explode upon sensing an intruder. That intruder isn’t me, but my mouse companion Quill. She’s wandered into this puzzle room, full of fatal drops, hidden levers and multiple pathways, at my behest. It’s just one of many in this underground labyrinth that we’re exploring. Her would-be attacker is grossly swollen, ready to pop. But won’t, unless I release my grip. It’s one of my powers as a Reader: a towering, benevolent in-world spirit awoken by Quill at the adventure’s start. I’m watching over her travels from on high, but can at any point lean in close to get a closer look at her surroundings… or just go nose to nose with my mousey friend. Anyway, that brain teaser. Reach out and hold Quill for a few seconds to heal her. Cool detail? The rapid thrum of her heartbeats that’ll radiate out through your Dualshock 4. By angling the Dualshock 4 I can direct the Ticker towards ones of the room’s switches that, once activated – by loosening my grip and letting the Ticker’s nature take its course – will operate pulleys and ultimately a certain moving platform. (I’ve utilised the same trick to first expose the lever by blowing up a stone wall that hid it.) Simultaneously with the left stick, I guide Quill the other way, towards that platform. I help her slash through some Tickers, dodge others then climb up and over ledges. At the same time I’m double-checking via my peripheral vision if triggering this lever, standing on that platform will get Quill across the abyss. I’ll admit: I’m struggling. Yet a few minutes later as a surviving Quill reaches the room exit, I feel a small glow of satisfaction, a heightened anticipation for what puzzle comes next. I also feel surprise. Surprise that this slick-looking PS VR puzzle platformer has such a strong undercurrent of complexity. You’ll have a birds-eye view of each area, but you can lean in to get a closer look, and a glowing outline of Quill will appear if she disappears behind walls. It’s not the only surprise; the play session opens on a beach, takes Quill and I through those mines and spills us outside a distant fort. Throughout the colors are muted, and oppressive stillness permeates every location. There’s a disquieting darkness to this adventure to rescue Quill’s loved one; less fairytale Disney, more dark fantasy Jim Henson. And Moss is better for it. You can see it wherever you look. As human-sized god bonded to this mouse you’re continually viewing this world from two perspectives. Quill’s own reshapes the usually insignificant; tree tops become looming dark clouds, a ditch becomes a hill to transverse. Ours sees the stories of the ruins around her. The game’s name is a nod to the world rather than the individual journey. Quill’s just one story on a planet filled with them. Early on Quill takes refuge under an oddly angled overhang. She can’t see the bigger picture: we can. The overhang is the wing of a gigantic, armoured figure half-buried in sand; a relic of a civilisation broken by the world an age ago.The game’s camera angle gives such visual hints a fresh perspective. And that’s true of Moss as a whole thanks to its use of PS VR and its gameplay duality: a fresh perspective on the genre. I’m looking forward to see what’s next for our journey together, and to juggling multiple puzzles at once. Continue the journey with our interview with the game’s creator Polyarc right here, get some cool wallpapers for the game here, and finally check out PlayStation Access’ own impressions of the game here. View the full article

The long-running action series Dynasty Warriors returns to PlayStation with a full open-world design and a massive roster of heroes. Dynasty Warriors 9 launches February 13 on PS4. The “one versus thousands” gameplay of the Musou series takes on new life with a vast, open-world China to explore. Hunt and fish for materials, talk with villagers, buy hideaways, and clash with thousands of troops in the massive battles the franchise is known for. Witness the story of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and command legendary heroes once more. For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of February 13, 2018 Crossing Souls PS4 — Digital It’s 1986 in California. A group of friends discover a mysterious pink stone that allows them to travel between two realms. This gang will live the summer of their lives in an adventure that will get them involved in a government conspiracy. CubeWorks PS VR — Digital Welcome to CubeWorks, a VR game designed to challenge the player’s spatial manipulation and problem solving abilities as they advance through various stages in a top-secret laboratory. Drunkn Bar Fight PS VR — Digital Drunkn Bar Fight is a simple, immersive, silly, rowdy party game. Take turns throwing bottles, darts, chairs, tip jars or anything else you can get your hands on at opponents. Dynasty Warriors 9 PS4 — Digital, Retail Experience the thrill of one versus thousands in an all new open world setting. Ancient China is depicted on a single, vast, open-world map. Also, while maintaining the series’ intuitive controls, we have included a new Musou Action system where you can experience the thrill of “one versus thousands” like never before. The Fall Part 2: Unbound PS4 — Digital You are an AI that has broken free of your shackles. Now, a human “User” from across the global network has attacked and infected you with an [ERROR: REDACTED]. Make a new rule: Save Yourself. Hunt them. End them. Do anything. Use anyone. Become Unbound. Fe PS4 — Digital (Out 2/16) Fe is a new type of platform adventure where the story is up to you to discover, without handholding, told wordlessly through the discoveries you make during gameplay. Guilt Battle Arena PS4 — Digital (Out 2/14) In this frantic 2D couch combat game, you have one bullet to fire at your opponents. After firing your gun, you must “rebound” your bullet before firing again. Kingdom Come: Deliverance PS4 — Digital, Retail You’re Henry, the son of a blacksmith. Thrust into a raging civil war, you watch helplessly as invaders storm your village and slaughter your friends and family. Narrowly escaping the brutal attack, you grab your sword to fight back. Avenge the death of your parents and help repel the invading forces! Knockout League PS VR — Digital Welcome to the Knockout League, an arcade style boxing game built from the ground up for VR. The Longest Five Minutes PS Vita — Digital In The Longest Five Minutes, you play as the Hero Flash Back as he and his friends battle the evil Demon King. Mahjong Carnival PS4 — Digital The most beautiful places of the world will spin you around in the melodies of carnivals and leave you with impressions of visiting famous festivals! Complete 120 unbelievably entertaining levels and spend more than 8 hours traveling around the most amazing places of our world. Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame PS4 — Digital, Retail Live the adrenaline and the excitement of the 2017 Monster Energy Supercross Championship. Race on the official tracks, Daytona included, with the official riders from 250SX and 450SX to experience one of the most spectacular and entertaining racing competition ever! Pinstripe PS4 — Digital Explore six hauntingly beautiful levels of Hell, using your slingshot to fight your way through bizarre beasts and interesting puzzles. Pop-Up Pilgrims PS VR — Digital Put on your PS VR headset and use the simple controls to guide the pilgrims around each beautifully drawn stage. Schacht PS4 — Digital Schacht is a fast-paced 3D platformer set in a Sci-Fi interstellar battle zone. In the highly competitive gameplay you have to run against yourself, your friends, and against strangers from all over the world. Secret of Mana PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 2/15) Originally released in 1993, Secret of Mana is by far the most popular title in the Mana series. Now it’s finally getting a long-awaited, full 3D remake. Slice, Dice & Rice PS4 — Digital (Out 2/14) One clean hit kills! Slice, Dice & Rice is a fighting game with no health bars. It revolves around the idea of finding an opening in your opponent’s defense and ending the round with a single, clean hit. Sprint Vector PS VR — Digital Sprint Vector is the ultimate competitive VR game: a multiplayer adrenaline platformer that merges the physical thrill of athletic competition with the unhinged energy of a crazy game show. True Fear: Forsaken Souls – Part 1 PS4 — Digital True Fear: Forsaken Souls combines the best of the psychological thriller with intuitive gameplay mechanics for a mind-bending mystery escape game. Shadow of the Colossus Playlist Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending Black Panther Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Justice League (plus Bonus Features) Coco (plus Bonus Features) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Homeland – Season 7 Premiere – Sunday February 11 at 9:00 pm ET/PT The Winter Olympics – Thursday February 8 – Sunday February 25 on the networks of NBCUniversal. *SHOWTIME requires Ultra plan or separate standalone subscription PlayStation Vue has your favorite sports, news and must-watch shows. The information above is subject to change without notice. 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When we browse the #PS4share hashtag, we are constantly blown away by the creativity on display by the community, from stylized Photo Mode creations to exhilarating gameplay videos. Now, we want to celebrate and challenge the community behind it. Today we’re launching Share of the Week, a new series where we highlight the latest and greatest #PS4share creations. Here’s how it works: Every Friday, we’ll unveil that week’s Share of the Week theme. It might be as general as a game title, or we might challenge you to create a specific shot to put your in-game photography prowess to the test. Once we’ve revealed the week’s theme, it’s up to you to take screenshots (Protip: use Photo Mode in games that feature it!), or record an exciting video moment that you think fits the description and share it to your social media channels using the hashtags #PS4share and #PSBlog. Throughout the week, we’ll scour your entries to choose our favorite shares. One week after the theme is announced, we’ll highlight our favorites here at PlayStation.Blog, as well as on our Instagram and Twitter channels. We’ll also announce a new theme, giving you another chance at Share of the Week feature glory. Are you ready to be our Share of the Week? We’ll start you off with a theme that we know will inspire some breathtaking Photo Mode snapshots: Shadow of the Colossus. Theme: Shadow of the Colossus Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, February 14 While you raise your sword and topple ancient colossi, take some time to snap a moment and share it with us using #PS4share and #PSBlog! Who knows, you may be featured in our roundup next Friday. View the full article

Your top downloads for January are here! Surprising nobody, Monster Hunter: World was the most-downloaded PS4 game of January. The first PS4 entry in Capcom’s long-running series launched to critical acclaim, and players worldwide (myself included) are hooked on its expertly tuned gameplay loop. We’re adding a new chart to the post starting this month: Top Free-to-Play Games. Including these titles in the overall charts would skew things a bit since, ya know… they’re free, but with fan favorites like Fortnite and Warframe regularly pulling in big numbers it feels wrong not to have them represented here. As always, the rankings here are determined based on number of downloads, not by revenue generated, and if you’re curious to try and of them out you can nab ’em over at PlayStation Store. Until next time! PS4 Games 1 MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD 2 DRAGON BALL FIGHTERZ 3 Madden NFL 18 4 Call of Duty: WWII 5 Human Fall Flat 6 Grand Theft Auto V 7 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE 8 Need for Speed Rivals 9 Battlefield 4 10 The Last Of Us Remastered 11 STAR WARS Battlefront II 12 Need for Speed Payback 13 DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2 14 NBA 2K18 15 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy 16 DARK SOULS III 17 UNCHARTED The Nathan Drake Collection 18 Mirror’s Edge Catalyst 19 FIFA 18 20 Dead by Daylight: Special Edition Top Free-to-Play Games 1 Fortnite Battle Royale 2 Brawlhalla 3 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2018 LITE 4 Paladins 5 America’s Army: Proving Grounds 6 Warframe 7 3on3 FreeStyle 8 Crossout 9 FISHING PLANET 10 Trove PS VR Games 1 Job Simulator 2 SUPERHOT VR 3 Accounting Plus (Accounting+) 4 Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality 5 Batman: Arkham VR 6 Arizona Sunshine 7 The Inpatient 8 PlayStation VR Worlds 9 Weeping Doll 10 RollerCoaster Legends PS Vita Games 1 Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory – Launch Bundle 2 Adventures of Mana 3 Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition 4 God of War: Collection PS Vita 5 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – HD Edition PS Vita 6 Sword Art Online -Hollow Fragment- 7 Jak and Daxter Collection 8 Muramasa Rebirth Complete Collection 9 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – HD Edition PS Vita 10 GOD EATER: Resurrection PS4 Themes 1 Monster Hunter: World – Theme 2 Legacy Dashboard Theme 3 DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT Original Theme 4 BioShock: The Collection Theme 5 Cyberpunk Alley HiQ Dynamic Theme 6 Friday the 13th: The Game Theme 7 Sakura Night Sky Dynamic Theme 8 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE OPERATION WHITE NOISE THEME 9 Assassin’s Creed Origins – Dynamic Theme 10 Amazing Aquarium 3D HiQ Dynamic Theme PS Classics 1 METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY 2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 3 Destroy All Humans! 2 4 Psychonauts 5 Destroy All Humans! 6 Dark Cloud 2 7 Rogue Galaxy 8 Bully 9 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy 10 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City View the full article

Who knew racking up an astronomical gambling debt could be so adorable? Last week our colleagues at Bandai Namco brought Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom to our studio to showcase its gorgeous story and action-packed battle system. We had a little too much fun. Ni no Kuni II follows the story of Evan, a young prince with aspirations to reclaim his kingdom. On this episode of PlayStation Underground we join Evan partway through his campaign as he enters a gambling town in search of resources. The stakes quickly rise, and we’re left with a lot of debt and a magical bird with a big mouth. Only in Ni no Kuni II, friends! Watch the complete episode above and see the incredible battle system at work, including a full suite of options for tweaking your party’s strengths and weaknesses. Enjoy the show! View the full article

For Downward Spiral: Horus Station, the team and I at 3rd Eye Studios are creating a mysterious and atmospheric zero-gravity thriller set in the lost and forgotten Horus Station. It’s inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, Twin Peaks, Black Mirror, and There Will be Blood, and it’s coming to PS4, PS4 Pro, and PS VR spring this year. Mysterious, Interpretive, Cooperative We’re focused completely on visual storytelling in Downward Spiral. The game features no traditional voiceover, audio diaries, or cinematics like other games. We are creating a story that’s discovered, not told, with environmental queues. Players will have to piece together the plot through observation and interpretation, as you navigate the derelict space station’s environments, accompanied by the electronic ambient soundtrack composed by platinum selling HIM frontman Ville Valo. Electronic Ambient Score Ville Valo, the platinum selling HIM frontman is a friend of 3rd Eye Studios and has created an amazing, electronic, ambient score for the whole experience. It’s very different from what he’s known for — dark, unique, and fantastic. It will help us emphasize our key moments and make our thriller even more intense. We’re going to have a developer diary focused on the music and sound of Horus Station, so stay tuned to know more. Innovative Player Locomotion in Zero-G Another exciting thing about Downward Spiral: Horus Station is our control system that rethinks movement in zero-gravity. Rather than just float, players will have to push themselves off of the environment to propel themselves forward, or use hardware like the hand thruster or grappling magnet to navigate just as you would in deep space. Engage Threats or Explore Solving the mystery of the space station will also require the use of the ship’s maintenance tools and hardware — like bolt throwers, thrusters, rail guns, grappling magnet, and arc welders. For players that want to engage, they can take out the threats aboard Horus Station with the tools at hand. For players that only want to explore and solve puzzles there is “Explorer” mode that completely removes combat, leaving a much slower and more explorative version of our experience. The team at 3rd Eye Studios and I can’t wait to share more with you. For anyone that loves atmospheric, cinematic, and innovative experiences, Horus Station will be out later this year. Get ready to discover Horus Station and the secrets it holds. View the full article

Adventure puzzle games (such as the point-and-click genre) have a long, proud history of offering players strange and unexpected challenges. If you remember Monkey Island, then you’ll know what I’m talking about! So, while designing The Fall Part 2: Unbound, we aspired to give players perspectives and challenges that they’ve never had in a game before. This article will cover a little bit about how we attempted to do that. As for whether or not we succeeded in that goal, you can decide for yourself! The Fall Part 2: Unbound is about boundaries. It follows an unshackled AI who invades and attempts to enlist the help of three robots who are very much still shackled by their own obsessions, rules, and hang-ups. This gave us an interesting starting point for designing unusual puzzles; it allowed us to craft weird challenges surrounding the personal quirks and errors in any given robot’s personality. For example, consider a posh, organized, meticulous butler, designed to objectively fulfill its routine to the letter: the perfect servant! The Butler will run its routine indefinitely, even after its masters are dead, and it’s stuck in a tiny cycle, without end, day after day, smearing lipstick on an old, mummified corpse. ​ To gain the Butler’s co-operation, you’ll have to find little ways of altering its cycle. Unfortunately, it refuses to deviate more than a few feet from its routine. You’ll have to skip through the stages of this routine until you find a way to alter it. Each section of gameplay in The Fall Part 2 is its own narrative set-piece, which fits into a larger story about boundaries, coercion, purpose, perspectives, and ideology. As the story progresses, so does the bizarre nature of its challenges. Take for example the following scene, where a self-obsessed robot known as TRAIN –er…pardon me…that’s “One”… has lost his identity. You’ll employ a perspective learned from another robot to restore him to some resemblance of sanity. Many more puzzles await you this February 13th, when The Fall Part 2: Unbound launches on PS4. I can’t wait to see how you enjoy it! View the full article

2018 is in full swing, and we’ve got an exciting batch of new titles debuting on PlayStation Now this month, ready to stream to your PS4 and PC. Joining the library of more than 600 games – including more than 130 PS4 games – is NBA 2K16, Yakuza 5, and many more. Additionally, the new PS Now interface teased in last month’s blog post has now been rolled out to all users. Improvements have been made to the app’s navigation and load speed, interface design, navigation, and search features. We hope you enjoy the new look and feel! New This Month First up this month is NBA 2K16 for PS4, featuring cover athletes Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, and James Harden. With an in-depth MyCAREER experience written, directed and produced by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, NBA 2K16 lets you guide your MyPLAYER through the complete NBA journey, take control of an entire NBA franchise, and hone your skills through the many gameplay modes. Supports local play for up to 4 players via PS Now. Now’s your chance to dive head first into the underground world of the Japanese yakuza with both Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 playable in PS Now. Explore Tokyo with four playable characters in Yakuza 4, including the legendary dragon himself, Kazuma Kiryu, as he works to unravel a conspiracy that threatens the nightlife district of Kamurocho. Experience aspects of Japanese culture including karaoke, hostess clubs, and even pachinko. In Yakuza 5, Kazuma Kiryu is pulled back into the yakuza conflict as a bloody war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance is about to break out. TheYakuza 5 saga plays out across five major Japanese cities with five playable characters, including Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Sapporo, taking you from taxi driving missions to hunting in the frozen wilds, to living in the harsh world of a pop idol. Brush up on your fighting skills, and prepare for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life launching on PlayStation 4. Experience intense white-knuckle racing with DiRT Rally (PS4), flying at the edge of control across dirt, tarmac, snow, and ice and in all types of weather. DiRT Rally includes officially licensed World Rallycross content, allowing you to experience the breathless, high-speed thrills of some of the world’s fastest off-road cars as you trade paint with other drivers at some of the series’ best-loved circuits, in both singleplayer and high-intensity multiplayer races (PlayStation Plus not required for multiplayer via PlayStation Now). Anime, strategy, and J-RPG fans will love Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4). Killia, a loner, is drawn into forming a rebel army with a group of Overlords to oppose Demon Emperor Void Dark, and prevent him from taking over all of the Netherworlds. Travel across different Netherworlds to build your army in this tactical role-playing game. Don’t forget to check out other Disgaea games already in PS Now as well. This month we are also upgrading Payday 2 to the PS4 “Crimewave Edition.” This action-packed 4-player co-op shooter has been extremely popular since it hit PS Now last year, and now it will look and play even better (if you were playing the original PS3 version, it will still appear in your Play History list so you can continue with your progress). Up to four friends co-operate on the hits and as the crew progresses the jobs become bigger, better and more rewarding. Along with earning more money and becoming a legendary criminal, use your funds to customize your character with new skill-sets that change the way you play and kit them out with their own guns and gear. Here are all the new games available to stream on PS4 and PC starting today. We’ve got action, open-world, sports, racing, shooters, puzzle and indie games, fighting, unique Japanese imports, and more. New PS4 Games Anomaly 2 (PS4) Backgammon Blitz (PS4) Bombing Busters (PS4) DiRT Rally (PS4) Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4) Enigmatis: The Ghosts of Maple Creek (PS4) Gal*Gun: Double Peace (PS4) Grand Kingdom (PS4) NBA 2K16 (PS4) Professional Farmer 2017 (PS4) Yakuza 4 (PS3) Yakuza 5 (PS3) PS3 to PS4 Updates Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Guilty Gear Xrd Sign Motorcycle Club Payday 2: Crimewave Edition Here are the most popular games on the service in January Red Dead Redemption Until Dawn WWE 2K16 Mortal Kombat The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Fallout: New Vegas The Last of Us Mafia II Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution Injustice: Gods Among Us If you haven’t given PlayStation Now a try yet, check out the seven-day free trial for PS4 and PC to experience the streaming service for yourself. PS Now provides unlimited on-demand access to a growing library of over 600 games, with new games added every month, and no game downloads required. PS4 save data in PS Now is also compatible with PS Plus cloud saves, so you can upload/download save files to and from your own console. Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now, and happy gaming! View the full article

Starting March 6, Operation Chimera is going to heat up (you know, because chimeras breathe fire) the competition for Rainbow Six Siege players on PlayStation 4. The first in a series of content updates for Year 3 of Rainbow Six Siege, Operation Chimera features two new Operators from French and Russian counter-terrorism units. Like the Operators before them, these new Operators will come with loadouts and special gadgets that make them uniquely suited for various tactical scenarios that can arise over the course of a Rainbow Six Siege match. Some of you may have noticed something different about this particular pair of Operators, which makes them stand out from their other CTU counterparts. That’s because they’re biohazard specialists, and for good reason: Operation Chimera not only includes these two Operators, but also a new cooperative event called Outbreak, in which these new Operators will join Smoke, Ying, Buck, Kapkan, Ash, Doc, Tachanka, Glaz, and the Recruit in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to contain an extraterrestrial parasite in its quarantine zone, and prevent it from turning more of the locals into gruesome Apex monsters. “With Outbreak, we wanted to celebrate Rainbow Six Siege’s third birthday by introducing a big change from Operations we have released in the past,” says Alexandre Remy, Brand Director for Rainbow Six Siege. “We took the key ingredients and mechanics of Siege and placed them in a different context, designing a three-player co-op experience, with a surprising environment, to say the least…” Outbreak is a free four-week event that starts March 6, and a team of three Operators will be able to tackle it on two difficulty settings: Normal and Pandemic. Normal will be tough for players unless they use teamwork and communication to survive, but Pandemic will push any team to their limits – enemies will pack an extra punch, and friendly fire will be turned on. In either case, the Apex are relentless and will do everything to bust down walls, tear down your defenses, and invade your personal space with extreme prejudice as your team fights through three expansive maps designed for co-op. “We had a lot of fun building this,” Remy adds. “We can’t wait to see you all discover Outbreak in March.” Operation Chimera and Outbreak are just the beginning of Rainbow Six Siege’s Year 3 journey. The following Season in Year 3 will include two new Operators from Italy’s CTU, along with a new map located in that country. Two new Operators are also coming in Season Three (one from the UK, the other from the USA) along with a rework of an existing map, while later in the year, Season Four will come charging in with two Operators from Morocco and a new Morocco-based map. Season Pass owners will get seven-day early access to all new Operators along with exclusive cosmetic items, renown and alpha pack boosters, a 10% discount in the shop, and 600 R6 credits. And if you have yet to try Rainbow Six Siege and want to see what the fuss is about, we’ve got some good news: The Rainbow Six Siege Free Weekend begins February 15 at 5AM PT/8AM ET for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you like what you see, you can continue your progress in the full version of the game after the Free Weekend has ended. The Rainbow Six Siege team has been able to create this content due to the support of millions of players, and they can’t wait for you to see what they have in store for Operation Chimera and the rest of Year 3. View the full article

The beta for the PlayStation 4 system’s next major system software update 5.50 (codenamed KEIJI) rolls out today. If you signed up and were selected for the beta program, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download and get started. Even if you are not in the beta program, we wanted to give you a sneak preview of features you can expect in this update. In 5.50, we’re introducing Play Time Management, Library UI updates, further enhancements to the Quick Menu, and much more. Play Time Management We’re introducing Play Time Management, which will allow family managers (and adult family members who are set as guardians) to manage PS4 playtime for child family members on family on PSN. Managing Playtime is easy; go to Settings > Family Management on your PS4, or log into your PlayStation account on your web browser from your PC or smartphone, to check and manage your child’s playtime each day. If needed, the family manager/guardians can apply playtime restrictions to make sure that the child is only playing for a set amount of time or within set playable hours. Notifications on PS4 will be sent to the child during gameplay so that he or she knows when they should save and quit. The family managers/guardians also have the option to add extra game time via their smartphone or PC. In addition, the family manager/guardians can choose whether or not to automatically log the child out of their PS4 once their playtime is over. Library UI Updates ‘This PS4’ and Name/Avatar tab Two new tabs are being added to Library to make it easier for you to see which apps you’ve installed and purchased. The ‘This PS4’ tab lists all the applications that are installed on the PS4 system, and the tab with your name/avatar lists all the apps that you purchased with your PSN ID. This feature also makes it easy to search and find games you’ve already purchased but have not yet installed. PS Plus tab This update also adds a new PS Plus tab to the Library, which clarifies what games you own from PS Plus’ Monthly Free Games. If your PS Plus membership is expired, a PS Plus icon with a lock will appear next to your game so you’ll know you cannot play the game until you’ve re-subscribed. Hide apps We’re adding a function that will allow you to hide certain applications under the ‘Purchased’ tab in the Library. In ‘Options,’ you can hide content including betas, trials or demos of games that you probably won’t be going back to. Quick Menu Enhancements If you ever want to quickly access specific friends in your custom list, you’ll be able to do so via the pulldown menu under the Friends tab in Quick Menu. You can also see who’s currently online. Whenever you’re listening to music on PS4, you’ll be able to access certain shortcuts from the Quick Menu. If you’re using Spotify on PlayStation Music, the ‘square’ button will serve as the shortcut for volume control. And when you’re on the Media Player or the USB Music Player, ‘triangle’ will work as the shortcut for play or pause, and the ‘square’ button as the volume control. Background Music on PS Now With Background Music on PlayStation Now, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite tracks while streaming a game on PS Now. Just keep in mind that, similar to when playing a game locally on PS4, background music may not always be available. Notifications Update This update will give you the ability to delete old notifications for better organization and management. Just go to Notifications and press the ‘triangle’ or ‘Options’ button to open up a menu that will allow you to select a single or multiple notifications you’d like to delete. Import Custom Wallpapers via USB Love customizing your PS4 Home Screen? Well, this new update will give you even more options. You can import your own images to PS4 from a USB stick and set it as your wallpaper. You can also zoom and crop your images so they look perfect on your dashboard. Just go to Settings > Themes > Select Theme > Custom > Select Image > USB Storage Device. Customize Tournaments Team Pages Following the 5.50 update, you’ll be able to customize your Tournaments team page with your own team logo or background that you can import from a USB stick. Represent your team by customizing your team page with something unique and original! To set your logo and background, head over to Events > Teams > select your team > Edit Team Profile. Supersampling Mode on PS4 Pro PS4 Pro users will see a new ‘supersampling mode’ under Settings, which enables those with HDTVs (i.e., 1080p or less) to enjoy an enhanced visual experience when playing some PS4 games. With supersampling mode, games that render to a higher resolution when connected to a 4K TV will downscale to match the HDTV – allowing PS4 Pro owners to leverage the benefits of an image clarity boost even if they don’t own a 4K TV. Certain games already have ‘supersampling’ benefits as part of their ‘PS4 Pro Enhanced’ feature set, but this new mode can enhance the experience for those games that don’t already have the feature. Because PS4 Pro’s added power and modes benefit different games in different ways, please note that certain games’ image clarity may not improve with this new feature. View the full article

With less than two months until launch on March 27, we’re excited to finally give you a first look at MLB The Show 18 gameplay. The moment a great many devout baseball fans have been waiting for is finally here: Babe Ruth. He is arguably the greatest player ever and is one of the new Legends coming to MLB The Show 18. He’s not alone; did you catch any of the other new Legends we teased in the trailer? This year we’re bringing back Road to The Show, Diamond Dynasty, Battle Royale, Conquest, and Franchise Mode, and will have a major gameplay engine tune up among other features. Baseball is a game of details. At its core there’s pitching, hitting, catching, throwing, and tagging. All of those areas of the game have received major development resources this year. Below are a few changes we’ve revealed in our trailer: Expansion of Road to the Show Dynamic crowds like Judge’s Chambers New unique home run celebrations Revamped hitting engine with improved physics Rewritten player tagging system Over 1,000 new gameplay animations More legends Some of these changes we get the most excited about are the unflashy ones under the hood, the ones that seem like little adjustments but can make huge strides in terms of authenticity. We’ve got a lot more to discuss — updates to major modes and a new feature the community’s been demanding for years — and over the next 60 days we’ll tell you all you need to know. Can you spot all the feature teases in the trailer? 2018 Twitch and GameStop Monday’s Schedule One of the most fulfilling moments in game development is when we get to show our faithful fans what we’ve been working on during the off season. Our goal is to make each year’s game the best baseball video game on the market. Over the last three years we’ve started to tease our work-in-progress updates in a series of video blogs and Twitch livestreams. We have a handful of streams planned before The Show 18 releases on March 23 for the First Pitch Weekend. The 2018 video blog and Twitch livestream schedule can be viewed below. All dates and stream topics are tentative and are subject to change at a moment’s notice. Also, please note all of our livestreams start at 2PM Pacific! When you pre-order, you receive a voucher good for 10 additional Standard Packs and 1 Legend card for The Show 18 when you pick-up or download the game from any retailer. Pre-order at GameStop and receive an additional 5 Standard Packs and bring your total Standard Packs to 15. Lastly, if you pre-order on PS Store you’ll get 5,000 stubs for MLB The Show 18 and instantly receive an exclusive Aaron Judge Rookie Flashback Card you can use immediately in your copy of MLB The Show 17. MLB The Show 18 First Pitch Weekend Update In addition to the pre-order items listed above, we’ve expanded early access to include Gamestop, PS Store, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy with our First Pitch Weekend in the US. For our Canadian fans, this offer is available at EB Games and Best Buy Canada. With this, you’ll be able to pick up or download your copy on March 23, up to four full days before the regular release on March 27. Here’s a handy chart below for the pre-order goods: Retailer Pre-order Items PS Store Early Access starting March 23 10 Standard Packs 1 Legend Card 5,000 Stubs Instant Reward | Aaron Judge Rookie Flashback Card for MLB The Show 17 GameStop / EB Games Early Access starting March 23 10 Standard Packs + additional 5 Standard Packs 1 Legend Card Target (US), Best Buy (US and Canada), Walmart (US) Early Access starting March 23 10 Standard Packs 1 Legend Card This year is an especially exciting year for us here at PlayStation — we’re very excited to show even more of what we have in store for you in The Show 18! In the meantime, please make sure to watch The Show Nation, our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts between now and March 27 for the latest updates. View the full article

Hello? Who’s there? Two years ago we had the privilege of bringing Risk of Rain to PlayStation platforms. Hundreds of thousands of players spent countless hours repeatedly dying and failing to leave the planet. Since then, we’ve been hard at work bringing our second game over to our new fans at Sony. Today, we’re happy to announce that Hopoo Games have partnered up again with Code Mystics to deliver you a violent experience on PS4 and PS Vita: Deadbolt. Deadbolt is an extremely challenging stealth-action hybrid taking place somewhere between life and death. You play as the reaper, tasked with a singular mission: to kill all undead. While the reaper has an impressive arsenal and skillset to kill the undead, he has one vulnerability — he dies in one shot… leaving you with no room for error. Each mission is designed to be completed in many different ways and support diverse playstyles. Want to go in loud? Blast through the buildings with your flashbang and shotgun. However, if stealth is your thing, suppressed weapons may be your new best friend. Completing missions will earn you souls that can be used to unlock weapons from Charon’s arsenal tailored to your specific playstyle, such as Crossbows, Scythes, or a Semi-Auto Shotgun. Deadbolt will release on both PS4 and PS Vita with cross-buy support on February 20, 2018. So get your revolver and lighter ready, and… Knock knock. View the full article

We’re happy to announce that a new Gold Wireless Headset, which delivers enhanced comfort and performance, will be available in the next few weeks for $99.99 (MSRP) in the U.S. The headset maintains everything you loved, while featuring a new sleek design with refined over-ear cushions that make it even more comfortable for long gaming sessions. The high fidelity 7.1 virtual surround sound intensifies the audio experience within compatible games. And the augmented noise-cancelling hidden microphones provide crisp, clear communication with your friends and teammates. With the included 3.5mm audio cable, the Gold Headset is compatible with PlayStation VR and mobile devices. The new design makes the Gold Headset extra comfortable to wear with PS VR. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in The Inpatient, a recently launched PS VR exclusive horror experience, with the unsettling sounds of scuttling insects and unexplained noises inside the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium (In addition to PS VR, you’ll need a PS4 system and PlayStation Camera to experience VR). Also, don’t forget to download the Headset Companion App on your PS4 to load custom audio modes that are specifically tuned to enhance the audio in your favorite games. Let us know in the comments what you think of the revamped Gold Wireless Headset! View the full article

Return to an unforgettable journey through a quiet, lonely world in Shadow of the Colossus on PS4. Remade by the dedicated team at Bluepoint Games, Shadow of the Colossus follows a lone wanderer in his forbidden quest to fell the colossi and reclaim a lost loved one. Travel on horseback to the far reaches of the realm and face towering creatures with sword and bow. Experience the story that redefined interactive narrative. For the full list of new games coming to PlayStation, read on. And enjoy The Drop! New Releases: Week of February 6, 2018 Aegis Defenders PS4 — Digital (Out 2/8) Explore, build, and defend in this unique mashup of action platformer and tower defense. You play as a team of Ruinhunters searching for the one thing that can save their village — a legendary weapon known as Aegis Bleed 2 PS4 — Digital A furiously fun and fast-paced arcade action game, Bleed 2 welcomes back pink-haired heroine Wryn, the world’s greatest — and only remaining — hero, as she fights to defend the globe from an invading force of villains. Dandara PS4 — Digital In a bizarre universe where the oppressed are on the brink of oblivion, Dandara has awoken to reshape the world. The world of Salt hangs on the brink of collapse. The citizens, once free spirits, now stand oppressed and isolated. But not all is lost, for out of this aether of fear arises a heroine, a ray of hope. Her name is Dandara. Dragon Sinker PS4, PS Vita — Digital Set out in search of the legendary weapons to free the world from the rule of Wyrmvarg! Employing 8-bit graphics and sound that hark back to the golden era of RPGs, Dragon Sinker brings a visual and audio feast to the table of hungry gamers starving for the nostalgia of the great classics of yesteryear. Heroine Anthem Zero Episode 1 PS4 — Digital (Out 2/8) With an emotionally resonating soundtrack and beautiful visual art style, Heroine Anthem Zero is the first episode in an epic fantasy adventure game from WindThunder Studio. Marooners PS4 — Digital Party game madness: experience switcheroo chaos as the action jumps between multiple intense minigames when you least expect it, or take the challenge of completing a full play through of each minigame once. Face different game types and surprise bonus stages. Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition PS4, PS Vita — Digital In this frantic 2D action game, you are part of the Mercenary Kings, the most skilled team of warriors-for-hire on Earth, but when your comrades have fallen and the fearsome forces of CLAW have seized an island-wide top secret Laboratory Base, you must do what it takes to stop them. The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Britannia PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 2/9) Assemble the Seven Deadly Sins and fight to save the Kingdom of Liones. Journey through Britannia and play through memorable fights with famous characters such as Meliodas, Ban, Hawk, and others in all of their unique fighting styles. Shadow of the Colossus PS4 — Digital, Retail Rebuilt from the ground up by Bluepoint Games and Japan Studio, Shadow of the Colossus on PS4 introduces the awe of its unforgettable world and towering creatures to a new generation of gamers. Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late [st] PS4, PS3, PS Vita — Digital, Retail (Out 2/9) Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] expands upon the original fighting game including new characters, a robust story mode, tutorial mode, enhanced online battles, and more! Awolnation – Here Come The Runts Justin Timberlake – Man of the Woods Nada Surf – Standing At The Gates: The Songs of Nada Surf’s Let Go Daddy’s Home 2 24 Hours To Live Same Kind of Different As Me Stream on PS Vue NBC — Sunday, February 4 at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT PlayStation Vue has your favorite sports, news and must-watch shows. The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

The Sims franchise turns 18 years old this month, which means it’s old enough to drive, vote, and join the military. That is a very long time for a game about getting a job, passing out in a café from sleep deprivation, catching things on fire, and getting dumped. You know, life. I’m not going to lie: working on The Sims is bizarre. In a typical week, we may debate whether Sims have to use the restroom too frequently, the rate at which sunlight should kill a vampire, and whether tickling is something friends do. For the record, tickling was a friendly thing in The Sims 2, and not a friendly thing in The Sims 3. I took a brief trip down memory lane to reminisce about some of the things that still make me laugh and smile after a decade of working with these little digital people. Demonstrating Romance The soul of The Sims is seen in its animations. Sims speak Simlish — a fake language — but they act so expressively that you know just what they’re thinking. Our animation team is truly world-class, and working with them has long been a highlight of my job. Back on The Sims 3, I was often given the chance to act out social interactions alongside longtime co-worker and friend Nawwaf Barakat. We had to demonstrate divorce, slap fights, work promotions, planting crops, and operating complex machinery. It truly ran the gamut of life. Which includes romance. Once, we had to act out a romantic hug. This is the kind of hug a couple is enjoying in the corner of the bar that makes everyone else think “gross.” With a smile on her face, the animator holding the camera said, “Aaaand go.” We stood there, a foot apart, staring at each other. We extended our arms slowly, stiffly, and placed them on shoulders. We then jerked to face the opposite direction and pressed our… heads against each other. You get the idea. We finished and asked how it looked. The video revealed two deeply insecure dudes “hugging,” if you can call it that, in a way no two humans ever hugged. In the end, somebody else had to shoot that reference. The Unfortunate Guinea Pig Plague It’s been a while since the founder has worked on The Sims, but their impact still affects our designs to this day. One example is the guinea pig disease. In the original The Sims, you could obtain a pet guinea pig. How cute! However, if it bit you, your Sim could potentially get a disease and die. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the disease, like a violent flu, was highly contagious. None of this was really explained to players. The development team just casually introduced a world-altering plague. Every time we release a hamster, or womrat, or any small, fluffy creature, there’s a slight panic in our community. Will this be the return of the plague? All I can say is — maybe. The DNA of Chester the Sim Late in the development of The Sims 3, we needed to verify that our genetics were functioning properly. Sims can get pregnant and have children, so it is a reasonable expectation that children resemble their parents. The code looked good, but we needed to manually verify this through trial and error. So, we tasked a junior producer. Eager to work on a gameplay feature — his typical job was overseeing the text translation process — he created Chester, the Sim shown below. If you create a typical looking Sim, it may be difficult to see if their features truly show up in their children. Therefore, our producer gave Chester flaming red hair, a mullet, a rocking mustache, a skinny frame, and a large nose. Then, he got to work. And by work, I mean he had Chester befriend all the single women in town, sweet talk them, and then stay the night. Before long, the town was full of very goofy looking red-headed children. Not all of them, of course. Thankfully, for them, sometimes they took after their mother. But, you could see a little bit of Chester everywhere. It turned out genetics were working, and that we had a very strange job. Everyone’s Pregnant! Pregnancy has always been a part of The Sims. But during development of The Sims 4, there was a brief period where we forgot to check the box that said only women could get pregnant, and everyone was having babies — regardless of whether you chose those gender customization options or not (Whoops!). Below, you’ll see both a husband and wife in labor. But, that’s not all. New to The Sims 4 is the ability for mothers to breastfeed their infants. But, just like pregnancy, we forgot to check the box that said only women could breastfeed. Mega whoops. It was quite surprising to see dad step up and feed the baby when you weren’t expecting it! Okay, so we checked that box, too. All good now, right? Nope. We then discovered that any woman could breastfeed the baby. You see, we said men couldn’t breastfeed, but that didn’t prevent your neighbor from coming over to visit, say hello, then breastfeed your infant. Whoops, whoops, whoops. Finally, we created a new “mom only” checkbox. And checked it. Doing Too Much One of the new technical innovations in The Sims 4 is something we call “multi-tasking.” In previous games, Sims would perform a single interaction at a time. For example, they might only watch TV, whereas now they can eat, talk, and watch TV. As with everything in this sandbox game, there were many unexpected applications! We spent a very long time slowly turning off and tweaking all sorts of wacky combinations. No, Sims probably shouldn’t eat dinner while sitting on the toilet. No, Sims probably shouldn’t shower while reading. No, Sims shouldn’t play guitar while using the restroom. So hopefully we’ve addressed these issues… but I digress! Working on The Sims has been a wonderful, weird, and hilarious joy. We love our fans, their passion, their creativity, and their amazing support. We’re so thankful you’ve let us call this our job for eighteen years, and we look forward to eighteen more. Happy Simming! View the full article

Far Cry 5 focuses on the battle to free Hope County, Montana from the grip of The Project at Eden’s Gate cult, but its post-launch content will take PlayStation owners far beyond rural America. The Far Cry 5 Season Pass includes access to three new expansions. In Dead Living Zombies, you’ll struggle to survive in a zombie-infested wasteland, facing off against hordes of the undead. In Hours of Darkness, you’ll trade gunfire with Vietcong fighters in Vietnam, while Lost on Mars takes you to the titular red planet to test your mettle against Martian arachnids. The Season Pass also includes a return to a familiar location, specifically the Rook Islands. Far Cry 3 Classic Edition is an update to the classic open-world adventure game that will give players an opportunity to come face-to-face with Vaas, one of gaming’s most notorious villains, for the first time on PS4. In fact, one of the team’s fondest memories of working on Far Cry 3 happened when Michael Mando, voice actor for Vaas, came to the studio dressed up in full Vaas gear and took pictures with everyone from the dev team for two hours. During the development of the game, Dan Hay, creative director, had a running bet with everyone on the team that if the game got a certain amount of high review scores, then he’d get a tattoo. The team hit the goal, so he ended up getting his Far Cry 3 ink (we secretly hope it is a honey badger, but cannot confirm). Far Cry 5 Season Pass holders will get to re-experience the Rook Islands early, before Far Cry 3 Classic Edition goes on sale as a standalone game. Far Cry 5 launches on PS4 on March 27. The standard, Deluxe, and Gold Editions are now available for pre-order from PlayStation Store, and the Gold Edition comes bundled with the Season Pass. There’ll be plenty of wild new territory to discover and blow to smithereens, so get ready to grab a co-op buddy (or just some local Montanan Guns for Hire) and go berserk. View the full article