Commander Fury

An earlier version of this post incorrectly mentioned that Yakuza titles will be available on PS Now. The post has been corrected. It’s officially 2018, and hot on the heels of last month’s batch of new PlayStation Now games, including Dishonored and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, is a slew of PlayStation exclusive games this month ready to stream to your PS4 and PC. As of today, PS Now features more than 600 games — with more than 120 PS4 games. The $9.99 1st month intro offer (US only) and the $99.99 12-month subscription are still available, so now’s the time to jump in and give it a try, or lock in your subscription for another 12 months. Act fast because these offers end February 6. Additionally, some users will start to see a new PS Now app interface roll out over the coming weeks. The interface update should make the app smoother and easier to use. Stay tuned for more on this update in next month’s blog post when we’ll also be introducing NBA 2K16. New This Month First up this month is Until Dawn, the acclaimed horror game where your choices determine who survives, and who dies. With branching storylines and multiple outcomes, guide eight friends through a deadly night at a remote mountain retreat. In Gravity Rush Remastered, the PS4 remake of the award-winning PS Vita game, gain a new perspective as Kat, a strong-willed girl trying to protect her future in a world that’s crumbling to pieces. With incredible gravity-altering abilities, Kat is the only one who can salvage the floating city of Hekseville — if only she could remember who she is… From Santa Monica Studio comes Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, a non-linear, open-world narrative experience that tells the story of a remote English valley town shrouded in mystery. Piece together the fateful events from the fragmentary memories of the former inhabitants through revolutionary environmental storytelling. What you see and hear is just as important as what you do. Enjoy frantic top-down twin-stick arcade action in Alienation. With hordes of alien creatures swarming across the planet, work together with up to three friends locally and/or online (PS Plus not required when playing online via PS Now) to drive back the alien threat and save the world. Some of developer Housemarque’s other hit titles are also available on PS Now, including Resogun, Super Stardust HD, and Dead Nation. Knack is a colorful platformer/brawler for one to two players. As Knack, collect powerful ancient relics to grow bigger and more powerful and help fight off the invading goblin army. But the ancient relics hold secrets and mysteries that could put all of humankind in danger… Quantic Dream is a studio known for their gripping, narrative-driven experiences. The PS3 versions of both Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls have been part of the PS Now library for a while, and starting today you can play the PS4 versions of both games in PS Now. Here are all the new games available to stream on PS4 and PC starting January 9. New PS4 Games Until Dawn Gravity Rush Remastered Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Alienation Knack Fat Princess Adventures Shadow of the Beast Escape Plan Hardware Rivals PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate PS3 > PS4 Updates Beyond: Two Souls Heavy Rain Super Stardust Ultra Hohokum Entwined Counterspy Here are the most popular games on the service in December: Red Dead Redemption The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Mortal Kombat WWE 2K16 Fallout: New Vegas The Last of Us Mafia II Injustice: Gods Among Us Sonic Generations Dishonored 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 more than 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. For new subscribers in the U.S. that want to take advantage of the $9.99 intro offer, you will need to purchase that directly, as the 7-day trial will transition into the standard monthly subscription. Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now, and happy gaming! View the full article

The Station drops you into a sci-fi mystery, serving up cosmic questions to ponder and problems to solve. Over a newly-discovered planet home to a hostile alien race, orbits a research space station. However, it has suddenly gone dark – all communication has ceased and the vessel’s stealth systems have shut off entirely. As a recon specialist sent to investigate the dark, ominous, puzzle-filled station, your only tools are your wits and the clues revealed through your augmented reality heads-up display (AR HUD). What you discover may have you questioning your ethics, morality, and beliefs. Welcome to the AR world of The Station. Your character is equipped with an AR device that feeds you audio and visual materials on board. Each crew member of the station was implanted with a device that would record moments during their mission. These audio logs were triggered by physiological reactions to stress and emotions. Your AR device renders these recordings as points of interests in the physical space. Discovering these orbs scattered around the station will reveal a crew member’s thoughts, decisions, and on occasion, their intimate desires. The information from these orbs will help you piece together what exactly went wrong. All your findings and discoveries are recorded in your TAB menu. This menu exists as a virtual object in space that you can interact with to find your map, inventory, and objectives. Provided you have enough room, at any time you can drop the menu in front of you at the press of the button. Feel free to walk around it, leave it, return to it, or drop it somewhere else. There’s no need for a journal when you have movable digital representation of your thoughts with you at all times. Additionally, the AR device displays the virtual notes left in the corridors, labs, and personal rooms by crew members. The crew left these messages around the vessel as public virtual messages for each other. Devices on the Station will also interact with your AR device, feeding you information and showing what life was like onboard in better times. The virtual signage will also help you interact with the Station, assisting with both navigation and puzzles. In many ways, the Station is as much of a character as the crew itself. The AR device is the only way to access information that will get you deeper and deeper into the Station’s systems, and closer to the heart of the mystery. The technology behind the AR HUD has been a challenge design, but we think you’ll enjoy using it to discover the hidden depths of the Station. It’s been difficult to keep these secrets to ourselves, but you’ll be able to untangle the web we’ve weaved for you on February 20. View the full article

Happy New Year! With 2018 in full swing, we’re back with our ongoing series of new releases coming to PlayStation next week. Thank you for your patience as we took a brief rest at the end of last year for the winter holiday. Without further ado, let’s get to those new PlayStation games! See the full list below, and enjoy. New Releases: Week of January 9, 2018 The Count Lucanor PS Vita — Digital Join Hans in a fantasy world and experience a unique adventure, full of surprises and challenges. Get hooked on an immersive tale, where every decision counts and every clue is a piece to solve the puzzle and get the treasure. Energy Invasion PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Out 1/10) Energy Invasion — an arcade game inspired by the classic Breakout. Unlike the original game, your ball does not break blocks on its own, but can launch missiles in a chosen direction. Happy Drummer PS4 PS4 — Digital (Out 1/11) Happy Drummer is easy to play. All the in-game music was tailor-made by different composers worldwide, perfectly mixed to take you into a fully immersive world. Little Red Lie PS4, PS Vita — Digital Little Red Lie is a narrative-focused, interactive fiction experience that reduces the traditional nine-verb adventure game structure down to a single, context-dependent interaction: lie. Planetbase PS4 — Digital (Out 1/11) Planetbase is a strategy game where you guide a group of space settlers trying to establish an outpost on a remote planet. In the game you play the role of the base architect and manager, telling your colonists where to build the structures they will need to survive. Plox Neon PS4 — Digital Plox Neon’s classic visuals and exciting music turn this action-packed puzzle game into an entrancing experience. Use your wits to find the best way to clear areas of the map and trap monsters to earn points. Sword of Fortress the Onomuzim PS4 — Digital Many a century ago, in a land far away, a mighty king faces rebellion. This was the beginning of the most epic struggle between good and evil ever seen. Your Name (Original Japanese Version + regular) – Pre-Order Earth: One Amazing Day Jigsaw The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Welcome to 2018! The future! We all know 2017 was an incredible year for games, but now we can see exactly which ones players picked up. Read on to see PlayStation Store’s most-downloaded PS4 and PS VR games for the year of 2017. You’ll notice we’ve added a category for top PS4 Themes, as well. A lot of the titles on these lists are to be expected, but there are some surprises tucked in there… Friday the 13th at #3 on the PS4 list? Whoa! Oh, and just FYI: The charts here are based on the number of downloads from PlayStation Store — not total revenue. As we head into the new year, which games (that have been announced so far) do you think will end up on this list in January 2019? PS4 Games 1 Call of Duty: WWII 2 Destiny 2 3 Friday the 13th: The Game 4 Horizon Zero Dawn 5 Grand Theft Auto V 6 NBA 2K18 7 Rocket League 8 Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition 9 Madden NFL 18 10 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands PS4 Add-ons 1 Call of Duty Black Ops III: Zombies Chronicles 2 Destiny 2 – Expansion Pass 3 Call of Duty: WWII – Season Pass 4 Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds 5 Battlefield 1 Premium Pass 6 Black Ops III – The Giant Zombies Map 7 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Year 2 Pass 8 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – DLC1 Sabotage 9 Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer 10 Call of Duty: MWR Variety Map Pack PS4 Themes 1 Legacy Dashboard Theme 2 Friday the 13th: The Game Theme 3 For Honor Dynamic Theme 4 Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Ops Theme 5 Assassin’s Creed Origins – Dynamic Theme 6 The Last of Us Part II Stop Sign Theme 7 The Last of Us Outbreak Day Theme 8 Blue-eyed Wolf Theme 9 Rasta Reggae Skull HiQ Dynamic Theme 10 Skeleton Dance HiQ Dynamic Theme PS VR Games 1 Job Simulator 2 Superhot VR 3 PlayStation VR Worlds 4 I Expect You To Die 5 Batman: Arkham VR 6 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR 7 Fruit Ninja VR 8 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 9 Until Dawn: Rush of Blood 10 Driveclub VR PS Vita Games 1 God of War: Collection PS Vita 2 Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom 3 Jak and Daxter Collection 4 Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition 5 Persona 4 Golden 6 Salt and Sanctuary 7 Need for Speed Most Wanted 8 Ratchet & Clank Collection 9 Star Wars: Battlefront II 10 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale PS Classics 1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2 Bully 3 Twisted Metal: Black 4 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy 5 Destroy All Humans! 2 6 The Warriors 7 Destroy All Humans! 8 Psychonauts 9 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy 10 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City View the full article

Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here You know Ashly Burch? Of course you do. She’s in this episode! We’ve got two new interviews in this episode, shining a light on Life is Strange: Before the Storm and upcoming PS VR megaton Blood & Truth. Plus, Ryan, Kristen and Justin gather to share what they played and watched during their respective holiday breaks. Happy new year! Stuff We Talked About Life is Strange: Before the Storm Blood & Truth Game of the Year 2017 Black Mirror Assassin’s Creed Persona 5 Recent Episodes 274: The Best of 2017 273: Donuts and Jedi 272: Sweet Dreams Are Made of PSX The Cast Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA Kristen Titus – Social Media Specialist, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 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

Hey whats up PlayStation Blog people! I’m here to announce that OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes will be available on January 23rd! Let’s check out the first official gameplay trailer! When I was a teenager, I got a job at a grocery store to fund my addiction to video games and comics. My feelings for that time would eventually inspire OK K.O.! I wanted to make something that felt like those lazy weekend afternoons playing games and watching cartoons. So imagine my surprise when I not only got to make a cartoon based on my idea, but a video game too! Even as a cartoon fan, I’m immediately wary of cheesy tie-in games, so we knew this had to be different. We wanted to find a developer with an affinity for the material, and create the game in tandem with the show so neither the game developers or animators are trying to imitate one another. It was a tall request, but Cartoon Network eventually connected me(and my Co-Executive Producer Toby Jones) with Capy Games, the developer of Super Time Force and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. I’d known about Capy for some time and was excited to work with them, but when we started, there was no real show yet to base things on. We had an old pilot, some character designs and a few story ideas, but we were still brainstorming and developing the show, and we wanted the game to develop in the same way. OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes | Screenshot Gallery The basic idea for the game came from a couple of great hangouts where we geeked out about games we love, weird gameplay concepts and ideas for jokes. We immediately invited Capy into the animation process, so they could understand the characters and see where we were headed. It became a true collaboration, with Capy integrating many of our ideas into the game, while the show team found similar inspiration in many of Capy’s ideas. In the end, Capy created an awesome game, with a storyline that works on its own. I’m a big fan of when pieces of media feel personal to the people who made them- the OK KO! show is a labor of love and you can see the fingerprints of the artists in the final product. The game is the same way. You can see a specific, personal style that is all Capy! There’s also tons of original animation by Capy and Exit 73 Studios. And the game features an amazing soundtrack by doseone (whos music you may have heard in Samurai Gunn, Enter the Gungeon, Niddhogg 2 and others). OK, K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes airs on Cartoon Network (go watch now!) and it’s about a group of friends who work at a convenience store and are also cool heroes. The main character is a kid (K.O.) who dreams about leveling up so he can save the day just like the heroes he looks up to. The console game, OK K.O.! Let’s PLAY Heroes, is part side-scrolling beat-’em-up brawler, part RPG, and just like in the series, it’s about questing to help your friends and fellow heroes while honing your own special skills. In the game, these quests play out kind of like a season of short episodes, where you’re helping people at Lakewood Plaza Turbo, and as you build stronger relationships with those characters, you get to call them in to assist you in battle. And of course, it wouldn’t be a beat-‘em-up without tons of killer punches, kicks, jump attacks and super moves! OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes is coming to PS4 on January 23, 2018. View the full article

The team over at PlayStation EU have put together an excellent series of posts gathering some end-of-year thoughts from a group of prolific creators. We were thrilled with how they turned out, so we’re running the series here as well. If you’re based in Europe, do yourself a favor and bookmark the EU PlayStation.Blog for more high-quality, region-appropriate updates and announcements into 2018 and beyond. Hear that? That’s the sound of multiple Trophies being unlocked worldwide, as we try and clear our backlog in anticipation for what’s ahead in 2018 and beyond. Some of the gamers causing that iconic sound to ring out? Developers of your favourite games this year, who are also rushing to clear their gaming calendars. We asked them what titles have got them personally excited. Here’s their selection. God of War As chosen by… “I am really looking forward to this father and son adventure. The new direction Santa Monica Studios is taking the franchise is looking very promising and I can’t wait to see what larger-than-life set pieces they have been creating.” Hermen Hulst, Co-founder, Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) “It has been a while since the last title in the series, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how Kratos has evolved. From watching the video that has been released, I get a sense that the actions and gore are really going to live up to expectations.” Fumihiko Yasuda, Director, Team Ninja (Nioh) “The player experience is obviously great, but seeing how far they can push the technical limits of the PlayStation 4 hardware and thus raise the bar for game developers all over the world is both frightening and exhilarating at the same time! Seeing if my own predictions about how the story will develop is also something that I am secretly looking forward to a lot!” Naoki Yoshida, Director, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn) Days Gone As chosen by… “Days Gone looks like a fabulous mix of third person zombie carnage and smart storytelling that will be a brutal blast to play. I can’t wait.” Steve Goss, Director of Design, Supermassive Games (Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Hidden Agenda) “ZOMBIES, and bloody loads of them. Get in my PS4 Pro right now!” John McLaughlin, Senior Producer, XDev Studios Marvel’s Spider-Man As chosen by… “My son and I have played the trailer for Insomniac’s Spider-Man so much that we’ve worn a groove in YouTube. Looks. Amazing. Cannot. Wait!” Capsar Field, CEO, Wish Studios (Knowledge is Power!) “It just looks so much fun to play!” John Johanas, Director, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within 2) “I am really looking forward to experiencing the same kind of roller-coaster ride feelings from the movies in video game form.” Takashi Katano, Director, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) Monster Hunter: World As chosen by… “I have a big interest in seeing how fans overseas rate this new Japanese-made Monster Hunter that has been reborn for PS4!” Hiroaki Kato, Producer, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) “I spent countless hours playing all the Monster Hunters and never get tired of it. I played it at PAX this year and it just stoked the fire even more. The level of polish is nuts. Can’t wait!” Steve Madureira, Lead Designer/Lead Animator, Airship Syndicate (Battle Chasers: Nightwar) Dreams As chosen by… “Of course I am very biased here, as I previously worked with Media Molecule a few years ago and Dreams was already in the works. Now I’m just eager to see how far they improved it. It’s a very ambitious project with fabulous technology.” Omar Cornut, Co-founder, Lizardcube (Wonder Boy) “I had the chance to play it and it is incredible!” Raul Rubio Munarriz, Co-founder, Tequila Works (Rime) The Last of Us Part II As chosen by… “The first game was an amazing accomplishment that made me re-evaluate what is possible in terms of video game storytelling. Part II looks even more fantastic.” Jens Matthies, Creative Director, MachineGames (Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus) “I can’t wait to see what Naughty Dog has in store for us. It’s going to be heartbreaking, but oh-so worth it!” Brad Davey, Lead Designer, Sumo Digital (Snake Pass) Red Dead Redemption 2 As chosen by… “Red Dead Redemption is one of my most cherished videogame experiences in recent years. Rockstar took their open world formula and created a breath of fresh air with their western setting… now, after a long eight years, we will be returning to the amazing world that grabbed me in and held tightly. I simply cannot wait to see what Rockstar delivers.” Khalil Osaimi, Media Designer, Housemarque (Nex Machina, Matterfall) Ace Combat 7 As chosen by… “First and foremost, I have high hopes for PS VR. Apparently you’ll be able to frantically swing your head around to see enemy fighters, just like you would in a real fighter jet. I can’t wait to experience those true-to-life dogfights next year.” Keiichiro Toyama, Director, SIE Japan Studio (Gravity Rush 2) Dragon Quest Builders 2 As chosen by… “In the first title, you had to defend cities you designed from bosses, and you needed to construct buildings based on set plans by putting materials together. It did a great job of balancing elements that make people want to do and have more and more. I have been looking forward to the sequel ever since I finished the first one.” Tsutomu Kouno, Designer, SIE Japan Studio (LocoRoco) Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom As chosen by… “I cannot wait to immerse myself in the gorgeous world of Ni No Kuni again. Thinking back on how great Oliver’s story was, and all the emotion that comes rushing back with that has me ready to explore the other parallel worlds Revenant Kingdom has waiting for us.” Jeramy Bergerson, Associate Producer, Arkane Studios (Prey) Detroit: Become Human As chosen by… “This is the one that I will buy and play on day one.” Henrik Larsson, Producer, Tarsier Studios (Little Nightmares, Statik) Death Stranding As chosen by… “I can safely say this is the game I’m most looking forward to. I’m a big fan of Hideo Kojima and Mads Mikkelsen. The teaser trailers have been very strong so far, even though I didn’t understand anything that was going on in them! Classic Kojima.” James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion (Battlezone) 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim As chosen by… “The one that I’m most curious about is probably 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Mr. Kamitani from Vanillaware makes games that are so appealing, I always end up buying them.” Yoko Taro, Director, Platinum Games (Nier: Automata) Concrete Genie As chosen by… “Another Paris Games Week treat. It looks really beautiful and expressive and unlike anything else… I want to steal those visuals!” Gavin Price, Creative Lead, Playtonic (Yooka Laylee) View the full article

The team over at PlayStation EU have put together an excellent series of posts gathering some end-of-year thoughts from a group of prolific creators. We were thrilled with how they turned out, so we’re running the series here as well. If you’re based in Europe, do yourself a favor and bookmark the EU PlayStation.Blog for more high-quality, region-appropriate updates and announcements into 2018 and beyond. While story, characters and visuals are all key components of what makes a videogame memorable, it’s their core mechanics and gameplay systems that make them fun – and 2017’s release roster offered fun in abundance. To celebrate the last 12 months’ embarrassment of riches, we wanted to call out the systems that have wowed players over 2017 – and what better people to ask than the expert developers who have crafted some of PlayStation’s games over the past 12 months? Gravity-shifting in Gravity Rush 2 As chosen by… “I loved playing around with this and ‘flying’ through the world.” Hermen Hulst, Co-founder, Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) “I know it’s technically not a new gameplay mechanic, as it was the star of the first instalment of the series, but it’s still awesome. The addition of gravity styles means you get to play around with some new tricks. Roaming through the floating city really gives me the feeling of freedom every time.” Michał Dobrowolski, Senior Game Designer, CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Gwent) Control precision in Assassin’s Creed: Origins As chosen by… “My favourite part was the system that allowed you to walk along with cats. Also, the quality of the action surprised me. Although the combat and animation have always been high-quality, the latest title raised the feel and touch of the controls to the next level, yet I feel that people didn’t recognise these improvements.” Fumihiko Yasuda, Director, Team Ninja (Nioh) “Being able to enjoy the world of Assassin’s Creed Origins through the air with the eagle or in auto-walk mode on the camel’s back is brilliant. The world is the star of the game and this allows you to enjoy it even more. No limitations, just pure freedom.” Damien Kieken, Game Director, Ubisoft (For Honor) The multiple game modes of Nier: Automata As chosen by… “Having things change from shoot ’em up, to a 2.5D platformer, to an open-world 3D RPG. I can’t remember ever having played a game that not only deftly switched between completely different genres of games, but that did each of them so seamlessly and to such a high level of execution that I would totally have played each of them as a standalone game.” Jeramy Bergerson, Associate Producer, Arkane Studios (Prey) “Platinum Games have created a unique beast of a game that successfully combines gameplay elements from totally different genres. Its seamless transitions from hack ‘n slash to twin stick shooter creates a new experience for gamers.” Khalil Osaimi, Media Designer, Housemarque (Nex Machina, Matterfall) The upgrade system of Nier: Automata As chosen by… “There have been a few games that have made me put the controller down and simply admire the ingenuity of the teams behind them and this year that game was Nier: Automata. The way the game contextualises upgrading 2B, 9S and A2 through the chip system and the way that thread carries throughout the game was a masterstroke. Game mechanics and story coming together to create this near-perfect whole.” Brad Davey, Lead Designer, Sumo Digital (Snake Pass) Going driving in Everybody’s Golf As chosen by… “Driving the go-carts in Everybody’s Golf. I spent way too much time just running into other players, I’m surprised they didn’t ban me. I’ve since learned to drive responsibly and respect others.” John Johanas, Director, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within 2) The stealth system in Horizon Zero Dawn As chosen by… “Horizon’s stealth mechanics are very gratifying, I love sneaking around in the tall grass, scanning enemies to identify weaknesses and setting up traps to take them down like a total badass. Triggering slow-mo whilst jumping and take down machines with the bow and arrow are easily my favourite moments in the game.” James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion (Battlezone, Sniper Elite 4) “Argh! I hate it when developers do this in interviews, but honestly, I love the core mechanic in That’s You! When we hit upon the idea of asking players questions where they themselves are the answers, it was just immediately brilliant. It’s so simple and pure, and usually hilarious to play with friends. We regularly laughed ’til we cried while play testing it at Wish, and there aren’t many games you can say that about.” Capsar Field, Wish Studios (Knowledge is Power!) “It is blowing my own trumpet somewhat, but I would say the double-speed mode in Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age. Previously you have had to accept that you need to invest a lot of time to play an RPG, but I would like to brag that with the double-speed mode we put in, you can play in a pleasingly speedy manner!” Hiroaki Kato, Producer, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) The dark rot in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice As chosen by… “There’s so much to love and applaud with that game but the Dark rot visual and what it stands for in terms of game-over was very well executed.” Gavin Price, Creative Lead, Playtonic (Yooka Laylee) The Nemesis system of Shadow of War As chosen by… “The new Nemesis System in Shadow of War, hands down. In all its complexity and – let’s not ignore it – cruelty, the dimension of your actions echoes all over Mordor.” Raul Rubio Munarriz, Director, Tequila Works (Rime) “It was impressive to see a bigger, more extensive version of Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis system in 2017’s Shadow of War. Controversies aside, the Nemesis system seems like a great addition to improve players’ experience in a sandbox game. Watching people playing Shadow of War, I couldn’t help but wonder the possibilities of those mechanics applied to other major sandboxes like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption or Assassin’s Creed.” Román Echevarrena, Producer, RecoTechnology (Numantia) PlayLink in Hidden Agenda As chosen by… “We may be a bit biased given that we developed Hidden Agenda, but PlayLink’s ability to offer new design opportunities to developers and open up gaming to new audiences, meant it was my favourite.” Steve Goss, Director of Design, Supermassive Games (Hidden Agenda) View the full article

Hi there! Justin here, just checking in on the ol’ PlayStation.Blog to make sure everyone is having an excellent time while the team is away on holiday break. Everyone good? I hope you had a great Christmas, if you celebrate it. Ah! While I’m here, I’ve got something for you: we’ve gathered the ten top-performing trailers published to our YouTube channel in 2017, and collected them here for you to peruse. Perhaps you could queue a few of these up after an especially filling meal, or before you decide to call it a night and bundle up in bed. We debuted some real doozies over the past 12 months, and I figure what better way to dive into 2018 than by reflecting on all we’ve seen and achieved this year? Okay, sorry to bother you! I’m going to go take a nap. Enjoy the trailers, and happy new year. <3 10. Ghost of Tsushima – PGW 2017 Announce Trailer | PS4 9. UNCHARTED: The Lost Legacy – PS4 Story Trailer | E3 2017 8. Marvel’s Spider-Man – PGW 2017 Teaser Trailer | PS4 7. UNCHARTED: The Lost Legacy – Accolades Trailer | PS4 6. Detroit: Become Human – PS4 Trailer | E3 2017 5. Shadow of the Colossus – PS4 Trailer | E3 2017 4. Gran Turismo Sport – Join The Human Race PS4 Trailer | E3 2017 3. The Last of Us Part II – Teaser Trailer #2 | PS4 2. God of War – Be A Warrior: PS4 Gameplay Trailer | E3 2017 1. Horizon Zero Dawn – Story Trailer | PS4 View the full article

The team over at PlayStation EU have put together an excellent series of posts gathering some end-of-year thoughts from a group of prolific creators. We were thrilled with how they turned out, so we’re running the series here as well. If you’re based in Europe, do yourself a favor and bookmark the EU PlayStation.Blog for more high-quality, region-appropriate updates and announcements into 2018 and beyond. 2017 is a year packed not only with great gameplay moments, but with fantastic characters. Be it new heroes (Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy) or returning rogues (Uncharted’s Chloe Frazer), we asked developers from across the PlayStation spectrum to name their favourite faces from the past 12 months. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’s Senua As chosen by… “That has to be Senua, or better yet the actress playing Senua, Melina Juergens. She has done a tremendous job in bringing the character to life.” Hermen Hulst, Co-founder, Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) “She’s a massive leap forward in characterisation, executed very thoughtfully, very skilfully. I’ve definitely never played a character like her before – and I want more!” Gavin Price, Creative Lead, Playtonic (Yooka Laylee) Buy Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice from PlayStation Store now Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s Chloe Frazer As chosen by… “Aside from being an extremely cool individual, she felt like a very real person – they weren’t merely depicted as female characters created to serve as eye candy.” Fumihiko Yasuda, Director, Team Ninja (Nioh) “The more you play, the more you understand the different nuances that defines her; rough on the outside but way more complex on the inside.” Damien Kieken, Game Director, Ubisoft (For Honor) “I was already a fan of Chloe since Uncharted 2 and I was so glad when I heard Naughty Dog had decided to make a spin-off based just on her. After Horizon: Zero Dawn, The Lost Legacy, Hellblade and Battlefront II’s main campaign, it’s good to see that female leads are finally getting the attention they deserve in AAA productions. It’s a bold move, really, and I appreciate the studio for giving us more of Chloe’s adventures.” Román Echevarrena, Producer, RecoTechnology (Numantia) Buy Uncharted: The Lost Legacy from PlayStation Store Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy As chosen by… “A smart, realistic new gaming heroine.” Steve Goss, Director of Design, Supermassive Games (Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Hidden Agenda) “In a world with games and movies that feature superheroes and powerful characters that face extinction-level threats all the time, it’s always interesting to play as characters like Delsin (Infamous: Second Son), Nathan Drake (Uncharted) or Aloy – characters that have to discover what it is they’re good at, improvise when thrust into dangerous situations, and handle threats that exist more on a personal level than a global one. “The thing that makes Aloy so interesting is that she’s not only discovering herself, she’s starting out from a much lower point than some other characters – from a place of exile, as an outcast from birth, and for reasons she’s never even been told. It’s not a story that gets told so well very often, and it makes you think about the real places in our world where a story like Aloy’s — being an outcast solely because of tradition, superstition, or caste — might not be fiction.” Jeramy Bergerson, Associate Producer, Arkane Studios (Prey) “Horizon’s Aloy was just a genuine surprise for me, the game intro really created a very strong bond between her and the player.” James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion (Battlezone) “Aloy is such a great character; warm, compassionate, motivated and capable. Ashley Burch gives her such depth in her performance. Every interaction was a treasure in a game already full of them.” Brad Davey, Lead Designer, Sumo Digital (Snake Pass) “It’s nice to see a female character done well.” Mark Healey, Creative Director, Media Molecule (Dreams) Buy Horizon Zero Dawn from PlayStation Store now Nier: Automata’s 2B As chosen by… “Video games often struggle conveying subtle emotions in their human characters. Nier: Automata is a game about fighter androids who are not allowed to have feelings or even their own name. Yet 2B ends up displaying a wide range of believable emotions throughout the many twists and turns of the story. I was expecting a kick-ass action game, but 2B took me on a deep dive to the depths of the human soul. All the while kicking ass left and right!” Joona Heinikoski, Gameplay Engineer, Housemarque (Nex Machina, Matterfall) Buy Nier: Automata on PlayStation Store now Battle Chasers: Nightwar’s Gully As chosen by… “It may be a little shallow since I worked on the game, but I think Gully, from Battle Chasers: Nightwar, is an awesome protagonist! It’s not every day you get to play a badass 12-year-old girl with super strength, who can hold her own against giant War Golems and hordes of the undead.” Steve Madureira, Lead Designer/Lead Animator, Airship Syndicate (Battle Chasers: Nightwar) Buy Battle Chasers: Nightwar from PlayStation Store Knowledge is Power’s Wiener As chosen by… “The ‘Wiener’ for me is HotDog guy from Knowledge Is Power. I’m definitely selecting one of my own games for this one.” John McLaughlin, Senior Producer, XDev Studios Buy Knowledge is Power from PlayStation Store Undertale’s Papyrus As chosen by… “Papyrus was awesome and well written. He works hard, like me and you got a whole section of the game where you got to hang out with him so we bonded.” John Johanas, Director, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within 2) Buy Undertale from PlayStation Store Yakuza’s Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima As chosen by… “The chemistry between these two is just something else. I think it captures this idea of true rivalry perfectly. Plus, if there ever was an award for best bromance, theirs is one for the ages.” Michał Dobrowolski, Senior Game Designer, CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Gwent) Buy Yakuza 5 from PlayStation Store N. Sane Trilogy’s Crash Bandicoot As chosen by… “I bought the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and even though I had completed all the original games, I had forgotten everything this time round and am having a lot of trouble progressing through them. I play intensively for around 30 minutes each day.” Hiroaki Kato, Producer, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) Buy Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy from PlayStation Store Playdead’s Arnt Hensen As chosen by… “I suppose I’d have to say it was actually Arnt Jensen of Playdead – the company who developed Inside. He appeared on stage at the Tokyo Game Show and was so shy and so quiet that he left quite an impression on me. There are a lot of people from abroad who would stand on that stage with tons of confidence, so I was rather charmed by the very different figure he painted.” Yoko Taro, Director, Platinum Games (Nier: Automata) Buy Inside from PlayStation Store View the full article

The team over at PlayStation EU have put together an excellent series of posts gathering some end-of-year thoughts from a group of prolific creators. We were thrilled with how they turned out, so we’re running the series here as well. If you’re based in Europe, do yourself a favor and bookmark the EU PlayStation.Blog for more high-quality, region-appropriate updates and announcements into 2018 and beyond. Whatever your tastes, 2017 has been a banner year for gaming, with a dizzying array of unforgettable titles hitting the shelves over the last 12 months. With that in mind, we got in touch with a selection of the genius creators responsible for some of the aforementioned future classics and asked them for their own personal PlayStation highlights of the year. Read on – and please do share your own favourite moments in the comments below 1. Besting bosses in Nioh “The moment I defeated Onryoki in Nioh.” Hermen Hulst, Co-founder, Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) “The release of Nioh in February. I could hardly sleep that week due to being anxious before the release and then excited after it. Team Ninja really put their hearts and souls into developing the game, and I’m glad that so many players were able to enjoy the result.” Fumihiko Yasuda, Director, Team Ninja (Nioh) 2. Terrifying friends in PS VR “Seeing my friend play PS VR for the first time and tear off the headset when they got to the level swarming with spiders in Until Dawn: Rush of Blood – ever so slightly arachnophobic…” Steve Goss, Director of Design, Supermassive Games (Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Hidden Agenda) 3. Being scared senseless by Resident Evil 7 “Shipping three titles: Wipeout The Omega Collection, That’s You! and Knowledge Is Power. Them aside, I think s****ing my pants on numerous occasions playing Resident Evil 7 in the dark. 7.1 Surround Sound is made for games like this!” John McLaughlin, Senior Producer, XDev Studios 3. Piloting an X-wing “Realising my childhood dream of being a Rebel pilot. Jumping into an X-wing cockpit for the first time in the most real way in Rogue One: X-Wing VR mission.” Etienne Aubert, Animation Director, Arkane Studios (Dishonored 2) 4. Completing Crash Bandicoot “Getting all the gems and clearing all the time trials in the original Crash Bandicoot from the N.Sane Trilogy. Good to know I still have the skills to do it…” John Johanas, Director, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within 2) 5. Trying PS VR at home “I got my PS VR headset this year, and sitting at home, playing in VR in a relaxed environment was amazing. I think Sony has managed to pull off something truly incredible with releasing a VR headset for a home console.” Henrik Larsson, Producer, Tarsier Studios (Little Nightmares, Statik) 6. Experiencing the world of Skyrim in a whole new way “Probably the launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR. I’m a massive fan of the game. Plus, when you have the Alduin statue from Skyrim’s Collector Edition on your desk — well, that’s kind of a dead giveaway. Long story short, I was really looking forward to it and it delivered. For me, the shift in perspective is like playing Skyrim for the first time all over again. Which feels great.” Michał Dobrowolski, Senior Game Designer, CD Projekt Red (The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, Gwent) 7. Announcing and demoing PlayLink “Aw, easy one! Our studio, Wish, shipped two games for PlayLink this year: That’s You! and Knowledge is Power. Going to E3 to see them both announced, and to demo them for the first time, was totally thrilling. I wish the whole team could have been there – it was fantastic.” Caspar Field, CEO, Wish Studios (That’s You! and Knowledge is Power) 8. Still being shaken by that The Last of Us Part II reveal “That Last of Us: Part 2 teaser reveal: brutal and surprising.” James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion (Sniper Elite 4) 9. Releasing Nier: Automata “This year, the game NieR: Automata – which I directed – was released. The SIE team in Taiwan held a NieR: Automata concert and even included it in a music video. I also received an award at the Japanese PlayStation awards. I’m so grateful for all of the support I’ve received from Sony! “But out of everything, what’s stuck with me the most is that the video I shot in England where I try to forcibly take off Takahisa Taura’s (PlatinumGames) T-shirt surpassed 440,000 views.” Yoko Taro, Director, Platinum Games (NieR: Automata) 10. Attending Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival “There were a lot of memorable game scenes, but I would say it was a real-life event for me; the FFXIV Fan Festival in Frankfurt that we held in February. I really cannot forget the cheers of joy at the moment when we played the opening trailer for Stormblood, the latest expansion for FFXIV, during the keynote speech in the event’s opening presentation.” Naoki Yoshida, Director, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn) 11. PS4’s continued success “Seeing the PS4 console selling so well. This invigorates the games market and ties in to new chances for creators like myself, so I want it to continue selling into next year as well.” Hiroaki Kato, Producer, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) 12. Japanese games getting in the spotlight “It is not one specific article or anything, but I was very happy to see so many Japanese made PlayStation titles getting attention in 2017.” Takashi Katano, Director, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) 13. Chloe and Nadine’s relationship “My favourite moment is in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy – mini-spoiler alert – when Nadine pushes Chloe into the water just after you’ve climbed the wall for a good minute. You have to redo all the climbing, but the trade-off is amazing, the characters and their relationship became even more real. I loved that moment – it’s the kind of detail that really makes you believe in the whole thing, even at the cost of player progression. Hats off, Naughty Dog.” Damien Kieken, Game Director, Ubisoft (For Honor) 14. Being Poe Dameron “Hopping into Poe Damaron’s signature black Incom-Frietek T-70 X-Wing fighter in Star Wars Battlefront II. I’ll make no apologies for saying that Poe is my favourite of the new characters in the latest Star Wars trilogy and getting to fly that ship with BB-8 as my co-pilot was pretty special, even if I flew it straight into a capital ship after spawning. One hell of a pilot indeed.” Brad Davey, Lead Designer, Sumo Digital (Snake Pass) 15. The reveal of The Gardens Between “Catching the reveal trailer for The Gardens Between at the Paris Games Week – it looks very imaginative!” Gavin Price, Creative Lead, Playtonic (Yooka Laylee) 16. Playing Resident Evil 7 together “Playing Resident Evil 7 with my wife. It says something about the game that it can keep someone entertained the entire time just from watching someone else play. It was an awesome entry into the series, harkening back to the feel of Resident Evil 1 and 4 for me, and it was a lot of fun sharing the experience with my wife.” Steve Madureira, Lead Designer/Lead Animator, Airship Syndicate (Battle Chasers: Nightwar) 17. The end of Nier: Automata “On a personal level, the release of Rime< after almost four years of development was quite intense. But that was nothing compared to the response of fans who reached the ending and shared their own personal stories. "Since talking about your own game may sound selfish, there's another moment that literally broke with so many conventions which is the final decision you must take at the (real) end of Nier: Automata. I won't spoil it here but the realisation of what it meant for other players gave a new light to all your actions as a player." Raul Rubio Munarriz, Director, Tequila Works (Rime) 18. The opening of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus “The beginning of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Having played (and thoroughly enjoyed) The New Order and The Old Blood, I was expecting some more Nazi-killing shenanigans á la Inglorious Basterds, courtesy of the modern videogame Schwarzenegger, B.J. Blazkowicz. “Instead, during the first 15 minutes or so, I got flashbacks of Blazkowicz’s traumatic childhood, showing his relationship with his abusive and racist father. It was a nice touch. A way for the developers to say ‘Hey, this is not just another Doomguy. This guy’s got issues’. “And right when you think the story is getting too personal, they hit you with the Tarantino artillery: putting a ruined, stitched-back-together Blazkowicz in a wheelchair to repel a Nazi invasion. For the war never ends, and B.J. is far from done with it.” Román Echevarrena, Producer, RecoTechnology (Numantia) View the full article

Happy New Year PlayStation Nation! We hope “play more games” is one of your resolutions for the new year, because PlayStation Plus members have some great titles coming in January! Before we go any further, we are happy to announce that PlayStation Plus members can get Starblood Arena as a bonus game starting January 2 through March 6. This arena combat game was built from the ground up to be played in VR with your PS VR headset*. Attack, evade, and move in any direction as you compete against pilots from across the galaxy. You’ll fight for glory, credits, and your life. Now, on to the PlayStation Plus monthly games for January! First up, we have Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. This sequel follows the immediate aftermath of the Aug Incident, the day when mechanically augmented citizens all over the world were stripped of control over their minds and bodies. This game mixes first-person action, stealth, and RPG-elements to make for an enthralling adventure. Next, we have Batman: The Telltale Series. Take on the role of Batman, both as the hero and his alter ego

The team over at PlayStation EU have put together an excellent series of posts gathering some end-of-year thoughts from a group of prolific creators. We were thrilled with how they turned out, so we’re running the series here as well. If you’re based in Europe, do yourself a favor and bookmark the EU PlayStation.Blog for more high-quality, region-appropriate updates and announcements into 2018 and beyond. You and I aren’t the only ones looking forward to settling in over the next several days and sinking some serious time into just some of the spectacular games that have released over the past 12 months. So to are the developers behind those hits. Which brings us to this list. We asked a selection of creators who have released games over 2017 to reveal what games have hooked them during downtime between work commitments this year. And also, fair warning: spoilers ahead. Horizon Zero Dawn As chosen by… “I was amazed by the quality of the graphics and the art style, deep story, stealth tactics, and combat were all top notch making everything run in perfect unison.” Fumihiko Yasuda, Director, Team Ninja (Nioh) “The game offered a real sense of place, with the robot machines some of the best gaming foes we’ve seen in years.” Steve Goss, Director of Design, Supermassive Games (Hidden Agenda) “I’m a huge fan of the Killzone games so I’m always looking forward to anything they make but this game still surprised me on many levels. Great narrative, gorgeous visuals and animation, and really really tight combat mechanics. Absolutely outstanding.” James Valls, Senior Producer, Rebellion (Sniper Elite 4) “A lot of western mecha designs can feel as though they lack detail to Japanese audiences, but the mecha designs in this game are surprisingly intricate, incorporating elements of anime and sci-fi films. I felt a bit threatened knowing that designs like this are coming out of western studios!” Yoko Taro, Director, Platinum Games (Nier: Automata) “There’s definitely something under the skin of Horizon Zero Dawn that stays with you long after the credits have rolled. While, at its core, it’s a game about tearing through giant robot animals and dinosaurs, the world building (and previous destruction!) give the game a sense of believability and humanity that you can’t really help but fall in love with and want to return to. I’m very excited about what the future holds for Horizon and, of course Aloy.” Brad Davey, Lead Designer, Sumo Digital (Snake Pass) “It’s great that a studio like Guerrilla took the risk with a new IP, and made it such a great success.” Mark Healey, Creative Director, Media Molecule (Dreams) Buy Horizon Zero Dawn at PlayStation Store Persona 5 As chosen by… “From the demon negotiation, which was more interesting than the random tarot cards that would happen after battles in Persona 4, giving some personality to the personas while trying to get a read on their personalities, to my standout character from all PlayStation games during the year, Futaba Sakur, and all the way to the final battle and having everyone in the city cheering you on, not to mention Shoji Meguro’s soundtrack playing throughout (which is top notch at all times).” Josh Phelan, Senior Gameplay Engineer, Arkane Studios (Dishonored 2) “It has to be either Persona 5 or Nioh. But man, it’s a tough choice to make. Got a Platinum Trophy in both, which goes to show just how much I enjoyed spending time with them. And I did spend a lot of time with them, trust me. Thinking about it now, though, I find myself leaning towards Persona 5 a bit more. Meeting each of the game’s characters and getting to know them, the thrill of being one of the Phantom Thieves, unraveling the mystery behind the story – all these elements of Persona 5 are made in such a way that they get you emotionally involved and make you care. It’s like a weird second home, and every time you boot the game up again, it feels like coming back.” Michał Dobrowolski, Senior Game Designer, CD Projekt Red (Gwent: The Witcher Card Game) ” I love the Persona series, and this turned out to be an amazing one. I had been waiting for a Persona game for eight years since Persona 4 came out. The silver lining with waiting two console generations for a sequel is that it’s a huge jump from the previous games in the series, taking advantage of two huge steps in hardware upgrades.” Steve Madureira, Lead Designer/Lead Animator, Airship Syndicate (Battle Chasers: Nightwar) Buy Persona 5 at PlayStation Store Uncharted: The Lost Legacy As chosen by… “I loved diving back into the world of Uncharted. And The Lost Legacy is everything that the Uncharted series has become. Naughty Dog has created an exhilarating adventure that reminds me of all the great adventures the series has brought us.” Hermen Hulst, Managing Director, Guerrilla Games (Horizon Zero Dawn) “This one is a spin-off, but it still really captures the atmosphere of the series and was great fun. The series itself is technically top-class, and you can really feel how the developers want to make the player have fun through the play mechanics too, so I always look forward to new Uncharted games.” Takashi Katano, Director, Square Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) “I think I’ve spent most time playing Uncharted 4’s multiplayer this year, but it’s a game from last year so I’m not sure that it counts!” Henrik Larsson, Producer, Tarsier Studios (Little Nightmares) Buy Uncharted: The Lost Legacy at PlayStation Store Farpoint As chosen by… “Though we are still in the dawn of the VR age, Farpoint ranks as one of the best experiences in the medium. Featuring the fantastic Aim Controller, Farpoint gives players an incredible level of immersion. It’s hard to believe that games have come this far already. As a kid, this was the kind of game I dreamt possible in the future. Getting older, I resigned myself to the fact that games like that would never be possible in my lifetime. But now there’s one right here, right in front of me.” Keiichiro Toyama, Director, SIE Japan Studio (Gravity Rush 2) Buy Farpoint at PlayStation Store Everybody’s Golf As chosen by… “Probably one of my favorite series ever so I was so happy to try out new courses and get back in the groove.” John Johanas, Game Designer, Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within 2) Buy Everybody’s Golf at PlayStation Store now Dragon Quest XI As chosen by… “Sorry that it is one of ours, but I have to say Dragon Quest XI. The fact that I have previously been involved in developing Dragon Quest games is one reason, but more than that, it’s that I have been playing the series right from the start and it really marked a big turnaround in my career as a developer. The quality of the story experience goes without saying, but I feel that the PlayStation 4 version has such a wonderfully unique color and visual style that just could not be done in games from any other series or made in any other country.” Naoki Yoshida, Director, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XIV) Resident Evil 7 As chosen by… “I have played every game in the series, but this entry is a real return to RE’s roots and perfectly fits the description ‘survival horror’, so I have been suitably scared. I want to try playing in VR, but that inevitably looks even more scary, so I have not done so yet.” Hiroaki Kato, Producer, Square-Enix (Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age) Buy Resident Evil 7 at PlayStation Store Assassin’s Creed Origins As chosen by… “I worked previously on the franchise for many years, so it’s true that it has something special to my heart and being able to enjoy the game as a real player certainly had its impact. But in the end, what really amazes me is the scale of the world, the variety of its landscapes and the pure joy of just wandering around and discovering new objectives every minute or so. I loved every minute of it, I’ve played it every day since it launched and I just can’t wait to go back home to enjoy Egypt even more!” Damien Kieken, Game Director, Ubisoft Montreal (For Honor) Buy Assassin’s Creed Origins at PlayStation Store Nier: Automata As chosen by… “I love Ending L. Sea creatures gave androids a reason to exist.” Nusso, Developer, Nussoft (Ace of Seafood) Buy Nier: Automata at PlayStation Store Steamworld Dig 2 As chosen by… “It’s a great, characterful series that is very more-ish with fantastic music too!” Gavin Price, Creative Lead, Playtonic Games (Yooka-Laylee) Buy Steamworld Dig 2 at PlayStation Store Last Day of June As chosen by… “It’s a little off the path, but with my wife Sarah we enjoyed playing Last Day of June. Without spoiling it – we all had those moments of “what ifs”, sometimes triggered by bad luck, mistakes, or missed opportunities, where we try to imagine how different things could have been. And of course it’s not really possible, but we can’t help thinking about it. It’s a game where your character dreams and play those situations, trying to correct something that happened. It’s a simple game, a moving story and we found the art direction is very beautiful.” Omar Cornut, Designer, Lizardcube(Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap) Buy Last Day of June at PlayStation Store What Remains of Edith Finch As chosen by… “What Remains of Edith Finch is the culmination of the sensibility Giant Sparrow showcased with The Unfinished Swan. It’s intimate, poetic, powerful.” Raul Rubio Munarriz, Director, Tequila Works (Rime) Buy What Remains of Edith Finch at PlayStation Store Injustice 2 As chosen by… “The first Injustice game hooked me with its premise from the very beginning, and I was curious to see where this one would go. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. I think Injustice 2 captures perfectly what a clash between major DC characters would look like without having to explain everything to those who haven’t read the comics. It feels like a video game made by comic fans for comic fans.” Román Echevarrena, Director, RecoTechnology (Numantia) Buy Injustice 2 at PlayStation Store The Mummy Demastered As chosen by… “WayForward are experts of retro action, and The Mummy Demastered is no exception. The music and graphics create a strong sense of mystery, and the somewhat slow but punishing gameplay force you to think tactically instead of just blasting your way through.” Ville Nurmi, Programmer, Housemarque (Nex Machina, Matterfall) View the full article

Hey PS VR fans, One thing to know about us at, Zen Studios, is that we are every bit as much into virtual reality as you are. This is why we develop games for this revolutionary platform and why we can’t wait to tell you all about them. We know a lot of you are new to the platform after getting PS VR as an incredibly awesome gift for the holidays, so we figured now’s a great time not only to give you a nice rundown of all Zen has to offer, but also to provide a few tips, straight outta our home office in Budapest. Let’s hit the ground running with an epic and funny fantasy adventure! If you pre-order Out of Ammo, our newest title coming on January 30, you will receive CastleStorm VR for free! You can bolster your VR library on the double! What is CastleStorm VR all about? Plan your castle carefully, and place your important rooms in strategic positions as you battle Vikings, orcs and fire-breathing dragons in this tower-defense/RPG hybrid. All this in the unprecedented viewpoint of VR – making the perfect headshot with your ballista has never been easier! Zen Tips: Turkey for everyone! If you can’t bring down the unstoppable Golem who’s battering your gate, then load your Turkey Elixir into the catapult and smash it into his rock-face. Berserkers or Wolves are very fond of turkeys, so spawn in some of them to follow up. The results will be funny. Good hunting! Royal Architecture: Your castle can never be too large! Build multiple rooms of your favorite troop type and ensure that a lucky stone from your opponent doesn’t disable the production of your army. The safest area of your castle is in the bottom part of the far side from your foe. Speaking of aiming carefully, in Infinite Minigolf you’ll have to angle your shots perfectly to score a coveted hole in one! With over 20,000 holes created by the community, you are sure to find all kinds of challenges in a charming environment. Use the powerups to your advantage, and fly, jump or speed across the golf course, and seize the world record on each creation! You can even challenge opponents in Multiplayer matches while getting the edge in perception with your PlayStation VR headset. Zen Tips: If you see the Fly (indicated with a ball with wings) and the Heavy (a big dumbbell) power-ups bunched up, that means you’ll have to make a very precise landing! Make sure to activate the flying power-up right before picking up the Heavy. Then, when you see your target, press the button again, and the weight of your ball will pull you down right away. If you grew up spending all your quarters in arcades, then you are old friends with pinball machines. The closest you can get to the real thing in a video game format is Pinball FX2 VR! With a variety of totally different pinball tables and breathtaking environments, this is how video game pinball is supposed to be played. Make sure to hit the ball where the lights flash, and follow the instructions on the dot-matrix display – that’s your ticket to the top of the leaderboards! Remember, multiballs can take you a long way just keep those balls in play! Zen Tips: During a monster battle on “Epic Quest” – an actual pinball RPG – there are a few things to keep in mind: Pay close attention to the health of the monster and your own. These are indicated left and right of the flippers. A timer will go down indicating when the monster will attack. If you shoot the Sword ramp, you’ll hit him and the timer will reset! If you are a daring knight, hitting the Smash target will land a critical hit but will not reset this timer, so you may end up with a dent in your armor! Out of Ammo, developed in collaboration with RocketWerkz is a title that was so beloved on PC, we absolutely wanted the PlayStation community to enjoy it as well. In Out of Ammo you can assume the role of a battlefield commander and plan your defense carefully to repel the enemy. Build up towers and barricades, while assigning your troops to key points. To execute your strategy to the letter, you might have to take matters into your own hands sometimes. Assume the roles of your soldiers, and rush into battle guns blazing in a first-person view. Zen Tips: The five rules of a successful general: Use your airstrikes in emergencies. An enemy at a chokepoint is a controlled enemy. It’s always easier to repair something than build it anew. A clear line of sight can make or break a defense. It never hurts to fire a few rounds yourself. ;) Don’t forget, you can pre-order Out of Ammo today and receive CastleStorm VR for free with the purchase to help your wait until the January 30 release! View the full article

Seasons greetings from PlayStation Store! A couple of weeks ago we announced our five-week long Holiday Sale. But in the spirit of giving, we’re adding a Flash Sale to the mix – with up to 60 percent off some of the year’s biggest games! Starting right now, save on Star Wars Battlefront II: Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition, Call of Duty WWII + Destiny 2 Bundle, Gran Turismo Sport Digital Deluxe Edition – plus top films like Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, and more. Check out the full lineup below, but don’t wait too long – PS Store’s Flash Sale deals end December 27 at 8 a.m. PT. Games Platform Title Sale Price Original Price PS4 ABSOLVER $20.09 $29.99 PS4 ASASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS – GOLD EDITION $66.99 $99.99 PS4 ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS $40.19 $59.99 PS4 ASSASSIN’S CREED ORIGINS DELUXE EDITION $46.89 $69.99 PS4 BATMAN THE TELLTALE SERIES SEASON 2 – SEASON PASS $12.49 $24.99 PS4 CALL OF DUTY: WWII + DESTINY 2 DELUXE BDL $139.99 $199.99 PS4 CALL OF DUTY: WWII + DESTINY 2 STANDARD BUNDLE $77.99 $119.99 PS4 DRAGON’S DOGMA DARK ARISEN $20.99 $29.99 PS4 F1 2017 $35.99 $59.99 PS4 FIFA 18 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 FIFA 18 ICON EDITION $49.99 $99.99 PS4 FIFA 18 RONALDO EDITION $39.99 $79.99 PS4 FINAL FANTASY IX DIGITAL EDITION $14.69 $20.99 PS4 GRAN TURISMO SPORT $39.59 $59.99 PS4 GRAN TURISMO SPORT DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION $59.99 $79.99 PS4 L.A. NOIRE $29.99 $39.99 PS4 LIFE IS STRANGE: BEFORE THE STORM – DELUXE EDITION $17.49 $24.99 PS4 MADDEN NFL 18 $23.99 $59.99 PS4 MADDEN NFL 18 – HOLIDAY EDITION $31.99 $79.99 PS4 NBA 2K18 $38.99 $59.99 PS4 NBA 2K18 LEGEND EDITION $59.99 $99.99 PS4 NBA 2K18 LEGEND EDITION GOLD $89.99 $149.99 PS4 NHL 18 $23.99 $59.99 PS4 NHL 18 – DELUXE EDITION $31.99 $79.99 PS4 NHL 18 – SUPER DELUXE EDITION $39.99 $99.99 PS4 PERSONA 5 $39.59 $59.99 PS4 PERSONA 5 ULTIMATE EDITION $79.99 $124.99 PS4 RUINER $13.39 $19.99 PS4 SONIC FORCES DIGITAL BONUS EDITION $27.99 $39.99 PS4 SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE $29.99 $59.99 PS4 SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE GOLD EDITION $44.99 $89.99 PS4 SPINTIRES: MUDRUNNER $29.99 $39.99 PS4 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II $34.79 $59.99 PS4 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II: ELITE TROOPER DELIXE EDITION $46.39 $79.99 PS4 STREET FIGHTER V – DELUXE EDITION $31.99 $79.99 PS4 THE MINECRAFT: STORY MODE BUNDLE $13.99 $34.99 PS4 THE TELL TALE MEGA COLLECTION $51.99 $129.99 PS4 THE TELLTALE BATMAN BUNDLE $15.99 $39.99 PS4 WAR OF THE CHOSEN $29.99 $39.99 PS4 WARFRAME 370 PLATINUM $12.99 $19.99 PS4 WARFRAME: 1000 PLATINUM + RARE MOD $29.99 $49.99 PS4 WARFRAME: 170 PLATINUM $6.99 $9.99 PS4 WARFRAME: 2100 PLATINUM + DUAL RARE MOD $54.99 $99.99 PS4 WARFRAME: 3210 PLATINUM + TRIPLE RARE MOD $74.99 $149.99 PS4 WWE 2K18 $35.99 $59.99 PS4 WWE 2K18 DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION $53.99 $89.99 PS4 YAKUZA KIWAMI $19.79 $29.99 PS3 NBA 2K18 $41.99 $59.99 PS3 PERSONA 5 $32.99 $49.99 PS3 PERSONA 5 ULTIMATE EDITION $73.59 $114.99 Movies Title SD Sale Price SD Original Price HD Sale Price HD Original Price A GHOST STORY $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 ALIEN COVENANT $10.99 $17.99 $10.99 $19.99 ALL EYEZ ON ME $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 AMERICAN SNIPER (2015) x x $9.99 $12.99 ATTACK ON TITAN – LIVE ACTION MOVIE – PART ONE $6.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 ATTACK ON TITAN – LIVE ACTION MOVIE – PART TWO $6.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 BABY DRIVER $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 BABY DRIVER / DRIVE (2011) – SET $17.99 $19.99 $17.99 $21.99 BATMAN VS. TWO FACE x x $9.99 $17.99 BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE 5-FILM COLLECTION x x $38.99 $46.99 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) x x $14.99 $19.99 BEN 10, SEASON 1 $4.99 $14.99 $8.99 $19.99 BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 BLACK MASS x x $9.99 $12.99 BLAIR WITCH $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 CHIPS (2017) x x $9.99 $17.99 CURE FOR WELLNESS, A $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 DCU: BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $19.99 DEADPOOL $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 DEEPWATER HORIZON $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 DIE HARD COLLECTION $25.99 $49.99 $25.99 $49.99 DRAGON BALL Z RESURRECTION F (DUBBED) $6.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 DRAGON BALL Z: BATTLE OF GODS – UNCUT $6.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 EMOJI MOVIE $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 EX MACHINA $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 FAST & FURIOUS: THE ULTIMATE RIDE COLLECTION (EXTENDED) $51.99 $59.99 $51.99 $69.99 FINDING DORY x x $14.99 $19.99 FREE FIRE $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 GHOST IN THE SHELL $10.99 $7.99 $10.99 $9.99 GIFTED $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 GOING IN STYLE x x $9.99 $17.99 GOLD x x $7.99 $8.99 GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $9.99 GRENE ROOM $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 HACKSAW RIDGE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 HELL OR HIGH WATER $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $12.99 HIDDEN FIGURES $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 HITMAN 2 PACK $9.99 $24.99 $9.99 $24.99 INFERNO (2016) $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 INTO THE FOREST $10.99 $12.99 $12.99 $14.99 IT COMES AT NIGHT $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 JOHN WICK CHAPTER TWO $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 KEANU $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 LA LA LAND $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $19.99 LIFE (2017) $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 LION $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 LIVE BY NIGHT $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 LOGAN $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 MARINE 5, THE: BATTLEGROUND $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 MECHANIC RESURRECTION $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 MOANA x x $14.99 $19.99 MOONLIGHT $9.99 $12.99 $11.99 $14.99 OVERDRIVE $7.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 6 MOVIE COLLECTION $22.99 $44.99 $22.99 $44.99 PASSENGERS (2016) $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (EARLY SUSTAIN) x x $14.99 $19.99 PLANET OF THE APES 9 FILM COLLECTION $51.99 $79.99 $51.99 $79.99 PSYCHO-PASS: THE MOVIE $6.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 RESIDENT EVIL COMPLETE COLLECTION $40.99 $44.99 $40.99 $49.99 RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 RESIDENT EVIL: VENDETTA $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 RINGS $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 ROUGH NIGHT $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 RUROUNI KENSHIN – PART I: ORIGINS $6.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 RUROUNI KENSHIN – PART II: KYOTO INFERNO $6.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 RUROUNI KENSHIN – PART III: THE LEGEND ENDS $6.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 SABAN’S POWER RANGERS $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SAN ANDREAS $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $19.99 SEA OF TREES $10.99 $12.99 $12.99 $14.99 SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 SPIDERMAN 6 MOVIE COLLECTION $51.99 $54.99 $51.99 $59.99 SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $19.99 STAR TREK BEYOND $7.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 STARSHIP TROOPERS: TRAITOR OF MARS $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 STEPHEN KING’S, IT! (1990/TV) $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 STEVEN UNIVERSE, SEASON 1 $4.99 $19.99 $8.99 $24.99 SUICIDE SQUAD: EXT x x $9.99 $17.99 SULLY $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 T2: TRAINSPOTTING $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 TED DOUBLE FEATURE $11.99 $19.99 $11.99 $23.99 THE ACCOUNTANT $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 THE ADDERALL DIARIES $10.99 $12.99 $12.99 $14.99 THE BIG SICK $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 THE DARK TOWER $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 THE FOUNDER $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 THE HITMAN’S BODYGAURD $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $14.99 THE LAST WITCH HUNTER $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 THE LEGEND OF TARZAN $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 THE NICE GUYS $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 THE ROCKY HEAVYWEIGHT COLLECTION $27.99 $49.99 $27.99 $54.99 TRANSFORMERS 1-5 COLLECTION $40.99 $49.99 $40.99 $59.99 TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (DIGITAL) $10.99 $14.99 $10.99 $19.99 TYLER PERRY’S BOO! A MADEA HALLOWEEN $7.99 $12.99 $7.99 $14.99 UNDERWORLD COMPLETE COLLECTION $35.99 $39.99 $35.99 $44.99 UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 WAR DOGS $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES $9.99 $17.99 $9.99 $19.99 X-MEN APOCALYPSE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change. View the full article

Today sees the launch of Patch 1.10 for Gran Turismo Sport, and with it the introduction of the exciting new GT League mode and 12 brand new cars, all in time for the holiday season. There are plenty of exciting plans being finalized for 2018, so stay tuned to PlayStation.Blog to see what else is in store for GT Sport. Patch 1.10 – Features GT League GT League is a single player game mode that includes several series of races that have appeared in past GT titles, including fan favorites such as the ‘Sunday Cup’, ‘Clubman Cup’ and ‘FF Challenge’, in which you’ll be able to tune and race a wide variety of cars. New Cars Take to the track in 12 brand new cars, including new additions to the Ferrari and Lamborghini line-up, as well as a brand new manufacturer in KTM and the introduction of the 2013 Sema Award winner from “Chris Holstrom Concepts.” Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible (C3) Chris Holstrom Concepts 1967 Chevy Nova Ferrari Enzo Ferrari Ferrari F40 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor KTM X-BOW R Lamborghini Countach LP400 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) Nissan Skyline GT-R V・spec II (R32) Nissan Skyline GT-R V・spec II Nür (R34) Suzuki Swift Sport Volkswagen Samba Bus Type 2 (T1) We look forward to seeing everyone out on track with this new selection of cars, and the new GT League mode! Master the Nürburgring GP track with Lewis Hamilton Also dropping today, we’re excited to introduce the first of our Lewis Hamilton mentor videos, as Lewis takes to the Nürburgring GP circuit. Never before has a four-time world champion sat down and offered such detailed insight into their driving technique and philosophy. This latest update provides two videos; a standard and extended version, both of which are packed with tips and practical advice that will help you become a better racer. Both videos provide a real insight into how Lewis races – from how he selects his racing lines and braking points, to his general racing philosophy that guides how he tackles every circuit. It was an honor to sit down with Lewis at the peak of his career and get a better understanding of what makes him tick. Nothing like this has been captured before, and I believe this will provide useful insight for GT fans and future generations of racers. Both videos can be found in the Lewis Hamilton section of the Brand Central area. Here’s a peek: Stay tuned to the Gran Turismo website, as well as the GT Facebook page, to ensure you’re up-to-date with the latest news. From everyone at Polyphony Digital, happy holidays and a happy new year! View the full article

Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here It’s the last Blogcast of the year! Join us as we discuss our Game of the Year picks for 2017, and stay to the end for an in-depth spoilercast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Or, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, close the episode immediately when we start talking about it! Stuff We Talked About Our Game of the Year picks Star Wars: The Last Jedi spoilers (at the end of the episode) Not a whole lot else It’s the end of the year, give us a break We still love you <3 Nier: Automata is the best game of 2017 That’s right, I said it. I’m the one building this post, fite me Recent Episodes 273: Donuts and Jedi 272: Sweet Dreams Are Made of PSX 271: The Original AC The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Kristen Titus – Social Media Specialist, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 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

Hello readers, and goodbye 2017! It’s been a heck of a year, but I’m ready to kick back for a couple weeks and play just… a ton of video games until 2018. Maybe I’ll finally finish Persona 5! A lot of really talented folks stopped by to write posts at the ol’ PlayStation.Blog this year, and we’ve invited a bunch of them back to share digital versions of their teams’ holiday cards with all of you. There’s some quality stuff in here! I didn’t count (get off my back!), but I think this might be the biggest holiday card post we’ve ever done? Either way, the PS Blog team and all our friends below wish you and and your families a refreshing, prosperous holiday. See you next year! View the full article

Holy moly, what a year! It’s hard to argue against 2017 being one of the best years for gaming since… well, one of the best of all time, really. Its first few months alone saw the likes of Resident Evil 7, Nioh, Horizon Zero Dawn, Nier Automata, and Persona 5. Come on! We’ve got a lot of the same categories below that we’ve featured in previous years — plus a few new ones. You may notice a slight change to this year’s “Most Anticipated” category: since The Last of Us Part II won the Platinum Trophy in that same category following its announcement last year, it’s no longer eligible for a nomination in that category this year. Games that previously won Gold, Silver and Bronze Trophies get another shot at the Plat. All the polls you see below are open now, and will remain so until we close out 2017 at 11:59pm Pacific on December 31. Get those votes in, and remind your friends to do the same! Finally, from the entire PlayStation.Blog team, thank you for an incredible year. We’re privileged to have the best fans in the biz, and it’s thanks to you that we get to keep doing what we do. Cheers! Best PS4 Game Best PS4 Game Best PS VR Experience Best PS VR Experience Best Independent Game Best Independent Game Best PS Vita Game Best PS Vita Game Best Performance Best Performance Best Art Direction Best Art Direction Best Soundtrack Best Soundtrack Best Multiplayer Best Multiplayer Best Story Best Story Best Sports Game Best Sports Game Best Post-Release Content Best Post-Release Content Best PlayStation Console Exclusive Best PlayStation Console Exclusive Best PS4 Theme Best Theme Best Use of PS4 Pro Best Use of PS4 Pro Most Anticipated PS4 Title Editor’s note: Since The Last of Us Part II won the Platinum award in this category last year, it is no longer eligible for nomination here. Most Anticipated PS4 Title Most Anticipated PS VR Title Most Anticipated PS VR Title Studio of the Year Studio of the Year View the full article

Now is the best time to jump into the dynamic and ever-evolving world of Grand Theft Auto Online. The recent release of The Doomsday Heist offers epic new cooperative Heist missions for 2-4 players where you’ll save San Andreas from total annihilation over a three-act story. And GTA Online is currently celebrating the holidays with its annual Festive Surprise, which includes gifts for all players and the rarely seen Los Santos snowfall. If you’re new to Grand Theft Auto Online, the Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack is the fastest way for you to jumpstart your criminal empire. Get access to a huge range of the most exciting and popular content in GTA Online including properties, businesses, weapons, vehicles and more. Launch business ventures from your Maze Bank West Executive Office, research powerful weapons technology from your underground Paleto Forest Bunker or tear through the streets with a range of vehicles, including a Supercar, Motorcycles the weaponized Dune FAV and more. In addition, you’ll get GTA$1,000,000 along with powerful weapons, all to help launch your reign over Los Santos and Blaine County. The Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack gives you over GTA$10,000,000 in value with access in Grand Theft Auto Online to: Properties: Maze Bank West Executive Office Paleto Forest Gunrunning Bunker Senora Desert Counterfeit Cash Factory Great Chaparral Biker Clubhouse 1561 San Vitas Street Apartment 1337 Exceptionalists Way 10 Car Garage Vehicles: Dune FAV Maibatsu Frogger Enus Windsor Obey Omnis Coquette Classic Turismo R Pegassi Vortex Huntley S Western Zombie Chopper Banshee Weapons, Clothing & Tattoos: Compact Grenade Launcher Marksman Rifle Compact Rife Stunt Race & Import / Export Outfits, Biker Tattoos Grand Theft Auto Online is included in every copy of Grand Theft Auto V. Save on Grand Theft Auto V and Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack Bundles until January 2nd starting at 50% off. Visit PlayStation Store for more details. View the full article

Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition is out in stores now! In addition to the New Game+ and Photo Mode enhancements that were added to Horizon Zero Dawn after launch, the Complete Edition also includes the expansion pack The Frozen Wilds, which contains a sizeable chunk of new content. That means more ancient mysteries to uncover, more gripping quests to complete, more dangerous machines to defeat and more colorful personalities to meet! And speaking of colorful personalities that you can interact with in Horizon Zero Dawn: we recently had a chance to ask the team at Guerrilla how their characters go from rough ideas to realistic, fully voiced and animated individuals. To illustrate this process, the various teams in the studio weighed in on the creation of one of the game’s newest faces: the fortune hunter Gildun from the recently released expansion The Frozen Wilds. Step 1: The quest that determined a quest-giver “The character of Gildun first emerged from a collaboration between the Quest Team and the Narrative Team,” Principal Game Designer Tim Stobo says. “He was built to fit the quest, rather than the other way around.” The team started by thinking about the type of experience they wanted the player to have: to explore a large, old-world site in a unique way. Once the site was determined to be an old dam facility, Quest Designer Samantha Schoonen and Writer Dee Warrick worked out a reason for Aloy to visit the dam. “While her motivations changed over multiple iterations, Aloy always met a member of the Oseram tribe there,” Tim recalls. “He was either responsible for the damage caused to the dam, or attempting to fix the damage caused by someone else.” Thus, the Oseram fortune hunter Gildun was born. “Samantha had mapped out exactly what she wanted the player to do in this space and, in the process, did a lot of research into how modern dams work,” Tim says. “It became clear that multiple pieces of the dam had to have failed or been broken for the quest to make sense.” Step 2: Fleshing out Gildun’s personality and backstory In turn, this provided an important clue to Gildun’s personality for the Narrative Team. “The chain of failures in the dam came close to absurd, and I think that was where Gildun really started to emerge as a person,” Lead Writer Ben McCaw explains. “He struck us as someone who might be eternally optimistic, but also rather clumsy, and that unfortunate combination of character traits put him in his predicament at the dam.” At the same time, the team didn’t want Gildun to come off as just comic relief. “There’s a sadder side to him, something that becomes apparent towards the end of the quest,” Ben says. “The closest analogue I can think of is John Candy’s character in Planes, Trains and Automobiles –upbeat and overly talkative, but with a tragic background.” Step 3: Conceptualizing the character’s appearance The Story Team provided an outline of Gildun’s character to the Concept Art Team, who set out to visualize him. “In the main game the Oseram people mostly stuck to warmer climates, so they had no need for thick layers of clothing,” Senior Concept Artist Ilya Golitsyn recalls. “But given the location of Gildun’s quest, we felt that regular Oseram clothing wouldn’t provide enough protection against the elements.” Luckily, the team didn’t have to search far for inspiration. While going through earlier Oseram clothing concepts for ideas, they found a design that closely matched their requirements for Gildun’s outfit. “From there, it was a matter of updating the design to include fur lining and additional padding,” Ilya says. Step 4: Translating the concept into a hyper-realistic game character After the concept art for Gildun was finished, the Character Art Team oversaw its translation into a game character that could fit with the hyper-realistic style of Horizon Zero Dawn. “This process always involves striking a careful balance,” Character Art Director Dan Calvert explains. “On one hand the concept art, which can be slightly exaggerated, needs to be interpreted into a 3D model with realistic proportions and material expression. On the other hand, the 3D model needs to retain and do justice to the core appeal of the concept art.” Step 5: Preparing the character for animation A first-pass version of the model consisting of 140,000 polygons was then handed off to the Animation Team for rigging and skinning. “We also did a pass on the procedural setups for Gildun’s clothing and muscles, to allow them to move more realistically” Lead Technical Animator Bart Wijsman says. “We even added procedural bones to dent his scarf based on where he was looking.” In total, an additional 108 extra joints were added on top of Gildun’s logical skeleton. While the team performed a final optimization pass on Gildun’s body, his face was scanned and rigged in a separate track. Once Gildun was fully assembled and able to move, all that was needed to breathe life into the character was an actor capable of delivering the right performance. Step 6: Finding an actor to perform the character “Casting Gildun was a rather laborious process,” Voice Director Jochen Willemsen says. “We went through samples for 80 different voice talents before agreeing on a selection of five that we felt were suitable for the role.” Of those five, actor Donovan Patton’s reading stood out the most. “He understood that the key to Gildun’s likeability was his pathos,” Jochen says. “His performance hit exactly the right tone.” For Gildun’s most prominent scenes, the Cinematics Team used full-performance motion capture. “We recorded Patton’s body, face and audio in sync to get a very natural-looking performance,” Jochen says. For other scenes, the team recorded Patton’s face and audio first, then used the recording of his voice performance to inform the movements of a separately recorded body double. “Patton had great chemistry in his scenes with Ashly Burch,” Jochen recalls. “He put so much fervor into the role, our body double had no trouble finding the body language to match.” Remarkably, even though the body double only had a recorded voice performance to work with, his movements ended up being very close to the ones Patton made during the recording. “Just from listening to his delivery, you can tell so much about the character’s physical energy,” Jochen says. “It’s the hallmark of a good performance.” The result is a unique character that comes across as affable, clumsy and slightly annoying – but also deserving of Aloy’s help and sympathy. Her interactions with Gildun rank as some of the funniest moments in the game, and make an already fun quest even more entertaining. We hope you enjoyed our dive into the creation of Horizon Zero Dawn’s characters. The game (and the expansion!) are full of interesting individuals like Gildun above, so pick up a copy of Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition if you haven’t played them yet. Also, be sure to follow Guerrilla on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Horizon Zero Dawn news. View the full article

The world’s first manic blend of scanning, serving, packing and shooting has arrived on PlayStation VR, only possible with two motion controllers. We’ve held back a ton of unannounced features until now, including a brand-new job packing produce in the warehouse, more ridiculous ballistics, a bullet-time style power up, and more variety in the fruit bowl (including flying bananas!). We’ve got a store full of useful tips to help you on your steps into the world of Shooty Fruity! Shooty Fruity | Download at PS Store Packing We have a new job for you! Head to the Super Mega Mart warehouse to pack the right produce down the chutes and send them on their way once you complete an order. Whilst fending off mad fruit hiding behind the boxes, obviously. Newly revealed weapons! Explosive additions to your arsenal include a Gatling gun and rocket launcher – but you’ve got to earn them as they are ludicrously powerful. Recently spotted in an aisle near you Bunches of grapes team up against you by getting close and shooting themselves directly at your face. Coming in both green and red varieties, you can spot their stalk corpses lying around the store if you manage to get them first. Got the work blues? The blueberries are here to wreck your shirt. Tiny, agile and arrives in groups but easily squishable. Tips & Tricks We know not everyone is a gun-toting, scanning multitasking maniac by nature, so we’ve pulled together some tips and tricks to help get you through your shift. Use both hands: A lot of newbies tend to forget they possess two entirely independent hands, so you can scan and shoot, shoot and shoot, scan and scan – whatever works best for you! Collateral damage: Destroy your environment to get a better line of sight for oncoming fruit. (Just don’t tell the manager we said that) A tidy workspace for a tidy mind: Ignoring the pulpy explosions and general madness in the store, keeping your counter tidy will mean you won’t end up trying to shoot an enemy with a can of beans. Multitask: Try not to focus on one task more than the other. You might get distracted by the hordes of fruit, but you’ll quickly be outgunned if you avoid your duties. Be a ballistic hoarder: All those guns floating past your head may come in useful later. Grab them early and leave them to one side using the conveniently placed shelves. Don’t let them blindside you: Some fruit will sneak around the sides and attack from out of sight. Be a high achiever and attempt a skillshot: Get bonus points by shooting your enemy from far away or in mid-air. Go for broke and get multiple kills in one go. Scan multiple items: If your workload is piling up, drop the guns and scan with both hands to get things moving again. Supersize by scooping: Consumerism at its finest, get a higher score by piling food on the trays using your open hands as scoopers. Bail: If you can’t find the right produce and want to move on, pull the lever and you’ll get a new one. Not sure what heat to pack? We’ve got some loadout ideas to suit your playstyle but experiment and see what works best for you: Close shave – 3 shotguns (Ginelli Pump Action, Dunderbuster Mk2 and Feckler 500) and the C4 Launcher Gun Slinger – Just the Biff and Jetson .44 or the Dessert Fox .45 Revolver Demolition Time! – All Explosive weapons The Big Guns – Spratling ‘Chain gang’ Special Assault Rifle and the Stockard 19 Don’t forget to add a Pistol to your loadout to deal with your smaller foes with ease. Join our nDreams PSVR Community on PSN to share scores, chance to be featured as our employee of the month and to ask the community team any questions. View the full article

Hello everyone! Judith from NIS America here with some exciting news. Fans of detective and murder mysteries, noir games, and Suda51 will want to rejoice at the upcoming title The 25th Ward: The Silver Case for PS4! The 25th Ward was originally released as a mobile phone game back in 2005 exclusively to Japan. Set seven years after the events of The Silver Case, a string of new mysteries emerge as new and familiar faces converge to solve the murders that plague the 25th Ward. Now with the PS4 remake on the way, Suda51 himself — as well as Grasshopper Manufacture Director Nobutaka Ichiki — sits down with us to discuss his journey from past to present. Below is an exclusive interview with Suda51 and Nobutaka Ichiki and their vision for the remake of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case. What does the revival of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case — one of your very first titles — mean to you? Ichiki: The original was a mobile game released in 2005 in an episodic fashion. Nowadays it’s nearly impossible to find an environment that will actually be able to play this game, and for a long time this game has been considered a “lost work.” The 25th Ward is the first game that I worked on as a developer roughly 12 years ago, and I have always asked Suda that if there’s going to be a remake, to involve me as well. Making a re-debut of this game, including the English translation, means that my lasting wish has been fulfilled. Suda: The 25th Ward is a game that could be called Grasshopper’s buried treasure, as there is currently no way to play it. It’s a crime suspense title that delves much deeper into the world introduced in The Silver Case. For this remake, or shall I say revival, it was approached as though it were a entirely new visual novel and we see it as an opportunity for people to play it as a brand-new Grasshopper title. As for meaning, this release means that the world of The Silver Case will continue. Thinking back on the conception of The 25th Ward, who and/or what inspired you creatively? Ichiki: I was inspired by the British sculptor Antony Gormley and his work. When I saw Mr. Gormley’s sculptures, it overlapped with a personal conception I had with the “observer” that appears in Suda’s scenarios. This time, the game is designed so that “the story is from an observer’s viewpoint.” The UI is largely influenced by Mr. Gormley. Suda: While we were writing and developing The 25th Ward, we were also in the middle of developing No More Heroes. We wanted to make something that was the polar opposite of NMH, which gave us strength during the creative process. Also, during this time, Tokyo was in the process of transforming into a huge city and foreign companies were building up offices and subsequently residential areas along the bay. A new city. A new local government. How would these things affect people? Also, how would the people who newly lived here be distorted and what kinds of crimes would occur? With these thoughts in mind, The 25th Ward took shape. What challenges did you face when remaking The 25th Ward for PS4? Ichiki: The challenge was how to make the focal point of the game — that is the story — be directly inviting to the player. More concretely, we made rules for how everything is displayed on the screen. It then becomes necessary that things be displayed in a certain way and this necessity creates a unique rhythm. Due to the limitations of cell phones at the time, we couldn’t express everything that we wanted, but in this remake, we are paying special attention to the finest details. Suda: The Silver Case remaster was brought to life by the talented people at AGM. The team for The 25th Ward consists of a core of veteran staff from Grasshopper which is supported by a talented group from AGM who worked on The Silver Case remaster. The key staff member Nobutaka Ichiki has taken this game from a remaster to a remake — it’s a totally new experience and it will also contain new scenarios as well. The theme of the entire project, indeed, is to make The 25th Ward a “new” game. We’ve evolved the Film Window System from the first game and from that we want to see how deeply we can go in the world of visual novels. All of this is being done in an indie style with a staff count of only a few people, but we are actually a larger movement daily challenging what “game development” is. In order to have the strongest lineup possible, we have former Grasshopper staff member Jun Fukuda providing sound effects and Masafumi Takada working on the music. The magnetic power of The Silver Case pulled all of these people together. What are some prevailing themes you included in The 25th Ward? Ichiki: This work is a compilation of several themes; “orderly society” and “heinous crimes” are themes that are shared with The Silver Case. Particularly, in this work I feel that “crimes that cannot be seen” is a very prominent theme. But since the story is discovered by the players, there are an infinite number of possibilities in the themes they might discover. Suda: Through the world of The Silver Case, we’re exploring the essence of the formless power of crime as it is propagated. People, genetics, will, neighbors, lifestyle, the city, time, tradition, plots, plans, analyses, network crime are birthed from various places and in opposition to it stands justice. We’ve tried to interpret these omnipresent ideas from a new perspective and that is what we put into the game. What do you hope fans look forward to most in The 25th Ward for PS4? Ichiki: I feel that in its balance between seriousness and humor this game is without equal. Even people who have not played The Silver Case will be able to greatly enjoy this game, to say nothing of those who have played it. We have added four additional scenario chapters to the game for an even more fulfilling experience. We hope you give the game a try! Suda: The 25th Ward is like a beast wearing the skin of The Silver Case. At this very moment, right next to me, the staff is hard at work developing the game. I’m also pushing myself to the limit writing the new scenarios. This is a game that won’t lose to that young, hungry indie creator that was my past self, and will be sharp with its own edge. Be sure to check it out and experience something completely new. And there you have it! The 25th Ward: The Silver Case arrives on PS4 next year. Check out the official website for more information, stay tuned for the release date in the upcoming weeks! View the full article

Dive into layer after layer of VR madness with Accounting+, brought to you by Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and Crows Crows Crows designer William Pugh. Accounting+ features instruments made out of human remains, dark secrets, demonic summons, and an angry Tree Guy. I will be honest when I admit that I don’t understand what this game is about. I encourage you to play it instead of reading this text. For a full list of new games out next week on PlayStation, read on. And enjoy The Drop! New Releases: Week of December 19, 2017 36 Fragments of Midnight PS4 — Digital In this procedurally generated platforer, you have to avoid deadly lasers, circular saws, and spikes to collect all the Fragments and get their greatest gift. Do you have what it takes to collect them all? 3D Billiards PS4 — Digital With 3D Billiards you can enjoy the ultimate billiards and pool experience in the comfort of your own home! Step up to the virtual table and show what you can do with a cue! Accounting + PS VR — Digital Accounting returns to its roots with Accounting+, a nightmare adventure comedy made by Crows Crows Crows and designed with Squanch Games! It’s got the guy who voiced Rick and Morty — for real this time! Cat Interstellar PS4 — Digital Cat Interstellar is a short story-driven science fiction game about humanity’s attempt to terraform Mars. Play as a DOG V4 drone, a newly activated maintenance bot who is assisting in the terraforming effort. Defunct PS4 — Digital (Out 12/21) Defunct is an indie adventure game with a focus on flow, speed, and an engaging world. You are a broken robot that accidentally falls out of a giant cargo ship onto a post-human Earth, now inhabited by robots. You have to get back to your ship before it’s too late! Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 PS4 — Digital Jump into the hot seat of a combat helicopter and fly behind enemy lines under heavy fire as you search and rescue hostages! Gunhouse PS Vita — Digital Gunhouse is part puzzle, part active tower defense, as you make big combos to launch a hail of bullets and special attacks at the alien invaders who would like nothing better than to consume your delicious orphan friends. Hammerwatch PS4 — Digital The highly acclaimed hack & slash Hammerwatch is finally here! Kill hordes of enemies with varied looks and features through unique environments with traps, hidden secrets, and puzzles. Rollercoaster Legends PS4 — Digital (Out 12/21) Transport yourself to the land of Greek mythology on a RollerCoaster ride you’ll never forget. Tiny Metal PS4 — Digital (Out 12/21) Outfight the enemy with your own army of foot soldiers, tanks, helicopters, tactical vehicles, and fighter jets. Capture rival territories and extend your military power over the sprawling map of Zipang. Ultrawings PS VR — Digital Ultrawings is the first aerial-themed, open-world game where you’ll pilot multiple aircraft to complete a variety of missions across an island-themed world. VirtuGo PS4 — Digital VirtuGo is a classic puzzle game. Colored tiles come at you nonstop, and you must put them on your carrying platform and arrange them as best you can on a 5×5 grid. Have fun! VR Apocalypse PS VR — Digital Release date updated. Xenon Valkyrie + PS Vita — Digital Xenon Valkyrie is a rogue-lite platformer game with RPG elements in which you must fight to the deepest part of a moon and halt the plans of a wicked witch. Eminem – Revival Star Wars: The Last Jedi Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – John Williams Battlefield 1: They Shall Not Pass (Original Game Soundtrack) – Johan Söderqvist and Patrik Andrén American Made The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

It’s been a fairly long flight (See what I did there?) getting Ultrawings ready for PS VR, but that day is finally here. Mark December 19th, 2017 on your calendars (yes, only a few days away) as that’s the day you’ll be flying the Ultralight, rocket-powered Glider, Sport Plane, and Gee Racer across an island-themed world we hand built for this game and you. Also, Ultrawings launches both in North America and European territories simultaneously. Thanks, Sony, for making this a reality! For those not in the know, Ultrawings is an open-world, flight game where you pilot multiple aircraft to complete a variety of missions across an island-themed world. What kind of missions? You’ll fly through score rings, pop balloons with a dart gun, perform spot landings, take pictures using your fully working tablet, participate in air races, and much more. A simple flying game this is not. How are you going to fly these awesome aircraft? You can choose to play with your standard DualShock 4 but, for those pilots that want an even more immersive flight game, you’ll want to break out your PlayStation Moves (you’ll need 2 of them) and use your virtual hands to grab and manipulate the flight stick, buttons, and switches. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Ultrawings is a flight game with real progression and rewarding challenges to overcome. As you complete missions you’ll earn money and, in turn, you’ll spend that money on new airports and new aircraft. We estimate it takes an average pilot around 15 hours just to complete the missions and double (or even triple) that to get a gold medal on all of them (and yes there is a Trophy for that!). Finally, we love feedback so if you run into any issues or have any questions please let us know. P.S. Many thanks to our fans who have waited patiently for the release! View the full article