Commander Fury

Gather ’round, RPG aficionados! Aksys Games and Nihon Falcom are proud to announce Tokyo Xanadu for PS Vita and Tokyo Xanadu EX+ for PS4! Tokyo Xanadu is a massive action RPG and will release Summer 2017 in North America. Tokyo Xanadu EX+ is an enhanced version of the base game and will release Fall 2017 in North America. In addition to the standard editions of each game, we’ll be releasing two limited editions stacked full of awesome goodies! What’s in the booox(es)?! Let’s take a closer look… Tokyo Xanadu Physical Copy (Vita) 5″ Deluxe Morimaru Plush Blade Card Game Deck 60 page Art Book CD Soundtrack Collector’s Box Tokyo Xanadu EX+ Physical Copy (PS4) 9″ Deluxe White Shroud Statue Blade Card Game Deck 60 page Art Book CD Soundtrack Collector’s Box So what’s Tokyo Xanadu all about? A colossal earthquake devastates Tokyo and changes the lives of its inhabitants forever. 10 years pass and the city and its inhabitants slowly return to a semblance of normalcy. However, behind the veil of this newly rebuilt metropolis lies another world, one with a sinister secret. The earthquake that originally destroyed Tokyo was actually caused by the emergence of a mysterious and lethal shadow world known as Eclipse. Now, action must be taken to thwart the legions of Eclipse and ensure the protection of peace. (That’s where you come in!) Epic stakes always make for dramatic quests, but any hero worth their weight in loot and XP knows that no adventure is ever complete without a memorable cast of quirky characters. Tokyo Xanadu offers this in spades as you’re guaranteed to encounter a multitude of eccentric personalities in your journey through Moriyama City. Build relationships and forge alliances as you unravel the secrets of Eclipse and get ever closer to the truth behind the mysterious shadow world. The EX+ version of the game will offer a plethora of additional features to those looking for more content including new monsters, dungeons, modes and a new playable character: the White Shroud. So there you have it, gamers! Whether you game on the go or at home, Tokyo Xanadu and Tokyo Xanadu EX+ both offer something for everyone! View the full article

Puhuhuhu… Hello everyone! This is Judith from NIS America. I’m here to announce that Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls will be arriving on June 27, 2017 for PS4 at retail and on PlayStation Store! For those of you who don’t have a PS Vita (where it was initially released), you now have a fantastic opportunity to play! Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls deviates from the visual novel formula and gives players the thrill of action-packed battles between Komaru Naegi, Toko Fukawa, and the Monokuma robots. While Komaru wanders and explores Towa City, Toko’s “battery gauge†fills up slowly, and when full, players can have Toko transform into Genocide Jack, a ruthless killer who is immune to all damage! However, once her battery gauge is fully depleted, she turns back into Toko, and Komaru once again leads the exploration. But what is the source of the despair? Komaru discovers that the Warriors of Hope — elementary school children who seek to create a utopia by murdering all adults with Monokuma robots — are behind the chaos. By using her Hacking Gun to confront the Monokuma robots, Komaru just may stand a fighting chance against the onslaught of murderous bears! What’s so special about the Hacking Gun is its variety of Truth Bullets that can be used in different situations. For instance, some puzzles will require clever use of the “Move†Truth Bullet, which can flip switches, activate machines, and solve puzzles! New and familiar faces will appear in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, and for those of you curious about where in the timeline this game takes place in the Danganronpa world, it is set between Danganronpa 1 & 2. Are you ready to live (or relive) the despair of the Danganronpa world? Grab your Hacking Gun and brace yourself for a despair-filled adventure! For more information about Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, be sure to visit the official website. Puhuhuhu!!! View the full article

For Honor offers players the chance to storm battlefields as one of 12 heroes who can tear through rank-and-file enemies and stand against nearly any foe. Each one of these heroes is suited to a different play style, so if you’re looking for a warrior with the range to keep sword- and axe-wielders at bay, you’ll want to try the Nobushi. One of the four Heroes of the Samurai faction, the Nobushi is a mysterious masked warrior who carries a spearlike naginata, using its reach to confound and destroy opponents. If you’d like to get an early chance to play For Honor and try out its unique Art of Battle combat system, register now for the For Honor Closed Beta, which begins January 26 and runs through January 29. For Honor will be available on February 14 for PS4. View the full article

When you work in an industry as close-knit as independent VR game development, you often find yourself with the chance to collaborate with some very cool, very talented people. For Archiact, that opportunity came in the form of a partnership with E McNeill and his award-winning puzzle game, Darknet. Together, we’ll be bringing the hacker hit to PlayStation VR in early 2017! Winning awards such as “Best Gameplay†at the Proto Awards, Darknet was released in 2016 and has since earned praise from critics, as well as a devoted online community. Players will find themselves immersed in the darkest corners of cyberspace, with entire networks just waiting to be hacked; using viruses, exploits and other digital tools, it’s a race against the clock to collect data and conquer the deep web. Fans like the game for the same reasons we do; Darknet brings the kind of immersion that really makes VR feel like the tech breakthrough it is, and offers clever, challenging gameplay without a punishing learning curve. The Archiact team has been digging the 80’s cyberpunk vibes of Darknet since the game was first released, so when we had the opportunity to join forces with the creator and build upon an already-proven title, we jumped right in. We’ve worked hard to refine and tailor Darknet for PlayStation VR, and our final build includes several new improvements. Full audio integration has been added for Dualshock 4, which brings another layer of immersion to the up-close-and-personal hacking experience. We also couldn’t resist sneaking in some new art; players will notice enhancements to areas such as the in-network nodes, the user interface, and the main menu. And of course, we created some new PS VR Trophies for you all to hunt down and collect. The best part about a collaborative effort between passionate developers is the osmosis of knowledge and skills that inevitably takes place. Anyone active in the VR community will be familiar with E’s particular brand of deceptively simple game design, as well as his genuine respect for players. Values like these are what make independent game development unique, and something we ourselves are constantly striving for. Now that we’re charging full-force into our biggest year yet, we loved the chance to work closely with E and his indie ethos. The end result is a fresh take on a classic, with subtle yet impactful improvements. In early 2017, we’ll get to bring this favorite to an even wider VR audience — we know you’ll love it! The neon networks of Darknet will be hitting PS VR early this year, so be sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates on the release date. See you in the net, hackers! View the full article

Hey, PlayStation gamers! The Deep End is super excited to partner with Feardemic and bring our debut Perception to PS4. First, a bit of backstory about this atmospheric game. Perception is a first-person narrative horror adventure that tells the story of Cassie, a blind heroine who uses her extraordinary hearing and razor-sharp wits to unravel the mysteries of an abandoned estate that haunts her dreams. After months of research, she discovers an abandoned mansion in Gloucester, MA. Once there, Cassie finds that Echo Bluff is worse than her nightmares. A ghostly Presence has tormented its inhabitants over generations, and it now hunts Cassie. She must solve the estate’s mysteries or become one of its victims. Cassie finds her way by tapping her cane and can “see†via echolocation. She needs to avoid detection and uses ambient sounds of the house to help her navigate or uses objects to create distractions. Every sound creates a visual. But there is a cost…sound will attract your enemies and reveal your location. But you’ll also need to match wits with the Presence, a mysterious force that haunts the mansion. When playing, you must carefully weigh the risk of making too much noise against the possibility of being discovered. Once spotted, your only hope is to run, hide, and pray that it doesn’t find you. Cassie can also use the ambient sounds of the house to her advantage, by throwing objects like alarm clocks to create “sound bombs†that can distract her enemies. Then there is the mansion of Echo Bluff, which has grown to almost be a character unto itself as it shifts through the different time periods and messes with the player. We’re proud of Perception’s echolocation feature, which allows us to bring an innovative new perspective to a genre we hold near and dear to our hearts. And since The Deep End Games team was formed by industry veterans who have worked on the BioShock series, Dead Space and many more, you can bet that some serious scares will be in order. We’re excited to be working with Feardemic, a new publishing label focused on bringing players unique psychological horror games, to bring this to PS4. View the full article

It’s really exciting for us at NetherRealm to share our first teaser of the Injustice 2 story with everyone. The studio’s been working incredibly hard to make it a worthy sequel. Go ahead. Take a peek! Injustice 2 picks up where Injustice: Gods Among Us left off. Though Batman has won the battle with Superman, he’s still facing threats on all sides. Former members of Superman’s regime continue to elude justice. And a shadowy new group, The Society, threatens chaos across the globe. With many of his allies either victims of, or collaborators with, Superman’s failed regime, Batman faces this dangerous world short of help. That’s why he’s brought together a new squad of Super Heroes. When Earth is invaded and threatened with destruction, Batman and his new team are thrust into action! Crafting Injustice 2’s story has been exciting and challenging. The first game’s story and the great tie-in comic book series gave us a wealth of ideas on how to continue the stories of the first game’s characters like the Flash and Harley Quinn. They also gave us a solid foundation for adapting the canonical histories of the game’s new faces, like Supergirl and Blue Beetle, so that their stories fit within the Injustice universe. The biggest challenge? Extending the Injustice narrative, without repeating ourselves. We knew that the game’s core conflict — Batman versus Superman — had to remain front and center. But to keep Injustice moving forward, we needed more. Enter Brainiac. There are few in the DC universe that could top “Dictator Superman†as a foe for Batman. The challenges don’t come much bigger than a determined Man of Steel. But in Brainiac, Batman faces a challenge like none he’s faced before. Brainiac possesses superior intelligence, impossibly advanced technology, and inexhaustible resources. The overwhelming threat he poses to Earth forces Batman to question everything he knows. It also makes him consider crossing lines he’d vowed to never cross… What will Batman do? And just how does Superman respond to this crisis? To find that out, you’ll have to play the game! Injustice 2 hits PS4 May 16, 2017. View the full article

Taking place in war-torn feudal Japan, Nioh will test your ability to swing a katana against legions of 16th century samurai and otherworldly demons from Japanese folklore. This is a game designed for players who love a challenge — it’s reminiscent of the Souls series. Nioh is developed by Team Ninja, a studio long celebrated for its fast-paced, challenging, polished action games including Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. Action fans will find Nioh’s relentless enemy waves familiar, but will notice a number of major, game-defining differences that push Nioh into challenging new territory. With Nioh, Team Ninja is embracing a deep level of player customization which, when combined with the studio’s legendary action-game prowess, will arm players with powerful new options. Examples include weapon-specific fighting stances, magic talismans that can imbue your arsenal with potent abilities, and guardian spirits that can turn the tide in the heat of battle. Nioh’s multiple fighting stances bring a great deal of variety and mastery to the game’s melee combat: High stance delivers powerful, slower attacks Low stance delivers faster, but weaker attacks Mid stance allows for a more balanced approach Nioh features quite a few weapons which, when combined with the fighting stances and upgrades provided by in-game blacksmiths, bring serious depth and customization to the game’s fast-paced combat. It often pays to experiment with different combinations! Players can also wield more than 50 different types of magic and Ninjustsu, which are powerful abilities that can do everything from deploy projectiles to exploit a specific enemy weaknesses. Then there’s the in-depth loot system, which rewards players for tackling ever-greater challenges. As with many games of this nature, the stronger the enemy you defeat, the greater the chance will find a highly valuable item. And believe me, there are a ton of desirable items in Nioh: rare, exotic, uncommon, and common weapons; various armor types; consumables; key items; projectiles; even smithing materials. You can buy and sell these items at in-game merchants, or forge weapons and armor yourself from the blacksmith. Now that you understand a bit more about the game’s mechanics and gameplay style, tell us — what else would you like to know about Nioh? View the full article

Rain World is a dark, dank, and grimy landscape. It seems to have once been industrial, but it’s crumbling under devastating rain, intense enough to crush the bones of any critter caught outside. You play as a little animal called a “Slugcat,†nimble and clever, but decidedly outgunned in terms of raw killing power when compared to… basically all the other beasts inhabiting the dripping ruins around you. With Rain World, we are doing quite a lot of things differently from the standards of video games. As much as a game, we’ve built a kind of living ecosystem simulation where creatures exist independently of the player and autonomously search throughout the world for food and shelter. The slithering neon lizards you encounter have brutally dangerous claws and teeth, but are also individuals that can learn to recognize you. The mighty vultures swooping down from above are fierce hunters of both lizards and slugcats, but they’re not mindless machines — if you wrong one it may decide to track you specifically and you’ll never again be able to pass under open sky without an anxious eye upwards. The scruffy scavengers rooting through the garbage heaps are distrusting and dangerous, but save one from the jaws of a vulture and you might make a friend, or eventually even gain the trust of the entire pack. Playing as a slugcat, you are not a mighty hero mowing down foes. Instead you are a quite insignificant inhabitant of a large and chaotic food chain. Often in games even the elements meant to hinder you are in some way pandering to you — they’re intended as obstacles for you to conquer. We wanted to create another experience, where the world and its inhabitants give you no special treatment. You as the protagonist don’t get an easier time than any other creature, but surprisingly a fearsome beast might pass you over because you’re just not the most delicious prey around! What slugcat does have to set it apart, is its wit. You play as a crafty and clever little critter, and you’ll gain knowledge about how other creatures work such as their hunting habits and tastes in prey. You can learn to trick them, or play them against each other. You don’t gain stats or equipment; it’s the knowledge you accumulate that makes previously insurmountable obstacles possible to overcome. If you stay in hiding you will see scenes such as the mighty leviathan emerging from the deep to feed on scurrying tadpole fish, or rival lizards fighting it out over territory until the less dominant gives up and departs. Choose the right moment to emerge or intervene, and you will be able to proceed un-eaten. Survival and exploration are the main objectives for slugcat. However, as a backdrop to the struggle for survival lies the remnants of something larger — buildings and machines clearly constructed by someone more resourceful than the animals that now inhabit them. Slugcat is intelligent enough to harbor a suspicion that the rusting machines once had a purpose, but a full understanding is just out of reach. There are connections between the old metal, the peculiar symbols, the rain, the strange dreams, and the vast structures looming above. The answers to these mysteries can be vaguely sensed, but pragmatism takes the day — first you must eat and avoid being eaten. But who knows, perhaps those who become true masters of survival can catch a glimpse of these larger schemes… Please feel free to ask questions in the comments, we will try to answer as best as we can while staying clear of spoilers! View the full article

It’s time to take gravity for a spin. The colorful, dizzying, and pulse-pounding world of Kat comes spiraling back into the spotlight next week with Gravity Rush 2, out January 20 on PS4. Continuing her search for answers, our high-flying hero Kat faces new enemies in the soaring open world of Gravity Rush 2. With Raven by her side, Kat must master three unique styles of gravity-bending combat in order to unravel the riddles of her origin and save the very universe itself from a terrible fate. For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of January 17, 2017 2064: Read Only Memories PS4 — Digital Neo-San Francisco, 2064 AD. Your life as a struggling journalist is interrupted by the world’s first sapient machine, a ROM (Relationship and Organizational Manager) named Turing. Together, you and the quirky robot will encounter a colorful cast of locals and overcome challenges as you uncover the city’s secrets behind the overlapping futures of technology and humanity. Can you survive in Neo-SF? Or will the mystery go unsolved? Atelier Shallie Plus: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea PS Vita — Digital, Retail Atelier Shallie has returned with additional features on PS Vita! Experience the world of Atelier through the expanded stories of the two Shallies as they meet characters from previous Dusk entries and use alchemy to fulfil their goals in this conclusion to the enchanting Dusk trilogy. Dead Effect 2 PS4 — Digital Dead Effect 2 is a sci-fi horror first-person shooter set aboard a derelict colonization spaceship. Stand up to the challenge as an elite soldier and try to seize control of the monster-infested ship. Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star PS4, PS Vita — Digital, Retail Experience lightning-fast battlefield action across an epic story! In the digital realm of SE.RA.PH, the Holy Grail War is over, but the land’s new ruler faces challenges and threats from all sides. Those Servants who survived the war now find themselves drawing up tense and unlikely alliances, preparing for a conflict that may tear SE.RA.PH apart… or destroy it entirely. The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition PS4 — Digital The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition is a wilderness survival game in which a girl and her dog travel on foot and by raft down a procedurally-generated river. Scrounge for resources, craft tools, remedy afflictions, evade the vicious wildlife and, most importantly, stay healthy in a dangerous wilderness. Gravity Rush 2 PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 1/20) Another mind-bending adventure awaits gravity queen Kat as a new danger emerges to threaten the fabric of the universe itself. Still searching for clues behind the mystery of her origin, and with the powerful Raven at her side, Kat must master three unique gravity attack styles as she takes on enemies and massive bosses. Joe’s Diner PS4 — Digital Somewhere along the venerable Route 7, in the middle of nowhere, you will find Joe’s Diner. As an employee working the graveyard shift for the next month, your primary task is to keep the tables clean — no tough challenge at all. Unfortunately, the old diner was built on the site of a burial ground… Quest of Dungeons PS4 — Digital Quest of Dungeons is a turn-based dungeon crawler and a roguelike, featuring a good old 16-bit retro artistic look. An evil Dark Lord has stolen all the light, so your mission is to enter his lair and defeat him. By playing as either a Warrior, a Wizard, an Assassin, or a Shaman, you have to traverse dungeons, defeat enemies, and loot everything you can in order to survive. RWBY: Grimm Eclipse PS4 — Digital Get ready for intense combat action as you battle Grimm across familiar locations of Remnant including new areas never before seen in the show. Play as Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang in this character-driven adventure that explores new storylines, new Grimm types, and a new villain! Siegecraft Commander PS4 — Digital Play through the Knight campaign as you battle against the tribal Lizardmen or enjoy the groundbreaking PvP combat system that will deliver fast-paced real-time strategy action or tactical turn-based gameplay. The objective of each battle is to destroy the opponent’s keep. Players can decide to either quickly attack an opponent’s base, adopt a more defensive strategy by fortifying their own headquarters, or maintain a balance of offense and defense. Supermagical PS Vita — Digital Welcome to the incredible world of Supermagical, where bubble popping has never been so much fun! Supermagical is a unique puzzle adventure with a rich world to explore, an award-winning soundtrack, and tons of powers, spells, pets, and mounts to unlock. AFI — AFI (The Blood Album) Starset — Vessels Nicky Jam — Fénix Jack Reacher: Never Go Back Trespass Against Us Surf’s Up 2: Wave Mania Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence — January 15 at 9/8c (Investigation Discovery) Scandal — January 19 at 9/8c (ABC) Baskets — January 19 at 10/9c (FX) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Ahoy hoy! We’re only in the second week of January, so we feel it’s still appropriate to take the time to reflect on 2016. To help us do that on this week’s Blogcast, we were happy enough to be joined by the illustrious Scott Rohde, Senior Vice President of Product Development at Worldwide Studios. Scott takes us on a deep dive on his favorite games of the year, and gives us a sneak peek at what he’s most excited for in the years to come. Plus: we discuss the just-announced PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year awards, and share some thoughts on what games we’d like to see in VR. What types of games do you want to experience in PlayStation VR? Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Stuff We Talked About Scott Rohde’s 2016 Picks Most Anticipated Games No Man’s Sky Battlezone Tricky Towers Way too many games. Recent Episodes 231: 2016 in Review 230: New and Improved! 229: Experience the Infinite The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA Zac Minor – Sr. Social Media Manager, 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

From all of us here at Rooster Teeth Games, we are extremely excited to announce RWBY: Grimm Eclipse is launching January 17 on PS4! That’s right! In partnership with our friends at Panic Button, we are finally bringing the non-stop action of RWBY: Grimm Eclipse to your living room. RWBY: Grimm Eclipse is four-player, online hack-n-slash based on Rooster Teeth’s international hit series RWBY. Choose your favorite Team RWBY character and jump online with your friends as you explore a new storyline, new locations, new enemies, and a never-before-seen villain revealed in the game. Each playable character has their own unique unlockable abilities and upgrades, giving you plenty of choices on the battlefield and lots of replay value. Take a break from the story campaign to conquer Horde mode, an intense co-op action-strategy mode where you and your team must defend security nodes from endless waves of enemies. We designed the fast-paced combat to be easy to pick up, yet hard to master. Basic combat is split between light and heavy attacks with your Ultimate ability bringing the most damage. Depending on your playstyle and how you upgrade your character, you can choose from long-ranged attacks or up-close melee combos. Here are a few tips to give you an advantage on the battlefield. Use ranged attacks to finish off enemies with low health, aggro enemies, or keep your combo meter going. Higher combo counts fill your Ultimate bar faster. Attack enemies who are stunned with a fully charged heavy attack to set up a team attack. Bigger enemies like Ursas and Alpha Beowolves are best fought as a team since they can only target one player at a time. Frozen enemies will not break out of ice for a set period of time, so try to deal as much damage as you can before they escape. When an Ursa performs its ground-pound attack, wait until it is almost done and dodge out of the way. It will stun itself, giving you time to perform a fully charged heavy attack. In Horde mode, communicate with your teammates as much as possible. Evenly space yourselves out, and as soon as someone is downed make sure someone else revives them. Working as a team is critical in Horde mode. Damaging any enemy in Horde mode will immediately redirect its attention away from the security nodes. Use this strategy to pull enemies away from damaged nodes. If only one security node goes down, it’s game over! While expensive, shotgun turrets are extremely powerful and can deal with most enemies on their own. To make your experience even sweeter, we will soon launch Team JNPR as downloadable content. Team JNPR will come with four new characters, each equipped with an entirely new set of unlockable abilities and upgrades. Experience the story campaign in a whole new way with Team JNPR. Mix and match your new JNPR abilities with other Team RWBY players or even take them into Horde mode for RNJR mayhem. But wait, there’s more! Our partners at Panic Button are also working on a series of dynamic Themes featuring your favorite RWBY characters, enemies, and locations. And as a special bonus, if you purchase RWBY: Grimm Eclipse in the first two weeks of launch (Jan 17-31), you’ll receive an exclusive “Grimm Beowolf†dynamic Theme that’s sure to add some fervor to your PlayStation. We hope RWBY fans enjoy playing RWBY: Grimm Eclipse as much as we enjoyed developing it. We can’t wait to see you on the battlefields of Remnant! View the full article

Hey dood! This is Judith from NIS America, and I’m here to announce that A Rose in the Twilight is arriving on PS Vita April 11, 2017! From the creator of htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary comes a dark adventure about a girl named Rose, inflicted with the Curse of Thorns and trapped in a somber castle devoid of color and time. For those of you who have played htoL#NiQ: The Firefly Diary and are familiar with Masayuki Furuya’s games, you will definitely enjoy A Rose in the Twilight and all of the bloody mysteries and puzzles it has to offer. A Rose in the Twilight puts the player in direct control of Rose and the giant, and in order to successfully navigate and escape the castle, the two will have to work together to solve puzzles and take turns using their own unique abilities. Rose possesses the Power of Thorns, the ability to absorb blood and inject it into static objects, which then returns the presence of time. On the other hand, the giant possesses super strength and can move large objects that are in its way, or simply overcome any obstacle it comes across. Switching between them is vital to solving almost all the puzzles you will encounter. As she begins to familiarize herself with her surroundings, Rose will discover a series of grim vignettes where memories are revealed to her when she absorbs blood from the fallen. With this element of visual storytelling, these fragmented memories will help piece together what it was like in the castle before Rose awoke from her slumber, and may hold answers to why she is there in the first place. In the end, what is the cruel fate that awaits Rose? Will she make it out of the castle alive? And what is the Curse of Thorns? All of that and more will be revealed when you play A Rose in the Twilight in April. If you want a physical copy of the game, you can pre-order it today exclusively from our online store. For more information about this game, please visit the official website. We hope you look forward to launch day, dood! View the full article

The readers (That’s you!) have spoken, and the votes have been tallied. Just below these very words are the winners of the PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year 2016 awards. This year’s awards pulled in a staggering number of votes — more than a half-million in total! — across categories including Best PS4 Game, Best PS VR Game, Most Innovative, the ever-popular Most Anticipated, and Studio of the Year. There are a few surprises in there, but one title in particular stood out and took multiple Platinum Trophies home… read on to see for yourself! Best PS4 Game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End A stupendous year for high-quality games, with strong poll showings from The Last Guardian and Doom. But in the end, it was Naughty Dog’s send-off for Nathan Drake that claimed the Platinum, scoring more than 40% of total submitted votes. Final Fantasy XV Battlefield 1 Overwatch Editors’ Choice Overwatch. Blizzard’s meticulously designed, ultra-polished, and highly accessible team shooter represents the biggest leap for the competitive FPS genre in nearly a decade. Its impact will be felt for years to come. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Dark Souls 3. It’s been a great year for games, no? Uncharted 4, Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2 ran it close, but my pick for GOTY (predictably) goes to Hidetaka Miyazaki’s latest dark masterpiece. The “shock of the new†might be gone, but the level and boss design is as good as any in the series. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog The Witness. The minimal aesthetic lets Thekla’s brain-squeezing puzzles take center stage, and I couldn’t bring myself to give up on them. Thank goodness for that, because finally completing “The Challenge†is one of the most rewarding moments of any game in recent memory. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Hitman. The masterful level design and vast array of player choice — combined with the brilliant games-as-a-service structure — kept me coming back to the game week after week and resulted in my most satisfying gaming experience this year. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Overwatch. This is one of the strongest debuts by a collection of characters since Street Fighter II. Every hero is uniquely individual and instantly memorable, yet Blizzard manages to make this mob perfectly balance against one another. I can get my fix with a quick match or happily lose an evening to a whole season of them. Just great design, mechanics, and balancing. Brilliant. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Best PS Vita Game World of Final Fantasy Fan favorites Steins;Gate 0 and Odin Sphere Leigthrasir fared well as write-ins, but ultimately Square Enix’s love letter to Final Fantasy landed the PS Vita Platinum award. Lara Croft Go Dragon Quest Builders Darkest Dungeon Editors’ Choice Darkest Dungeon. Red Hook’s unforgiving roguelike RPG practically feeds on the dread and misery it generates in the player. On the bright side, that only makes the thrill of victory all the more intoxicating. Easily one of the best games of 2016, no matter the platform. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Severed. Drinkbox Studios knocks another one out of the park. Severed is an interesting case study: what if a studio took the main mechanic of Fruit Ninja… and built a full-sized first-person dungeon crawler around it? The ensuing RPG is a frenetic, haunting journey that every PS Vita owner should experience. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Downwell. A great mobile game which becomes an even better PS Vita game thanks to snappy physical controls. Addictive, intense, and incredible fun. Arcade shooting given a roguelike spin, and at its very finest. Corey Brotherson, SIEE Content Producer Day of the Tentacle Remastered. As a long-time fan of the LucasArts stable, this was the one I was desperate to get the Double Fine remaster treatment, and it’s everything I remembered. Hilarious, fiendish, and satisfying. It’s also available to download on PS Plus this month, conveniently. So go and get it! Rhys Sutheran, SIEE Content Producer Best Independent Game Firewatch Though Firewatch was the decisive overall winner, voting trends in this category showed a wide spread. Alone With You, Severed, and Darkest Dungeon all left a strong mark on the polls, though not enough to place. Inside The Witness Stardew Valley Editors’ Choice Darkest Dungeon. I’m determined to plug this game in every available venue! There are plenty of great turn-based RPGs, but few evoke dread and despair as vividly as this macabre gem. It’s a masochist’s dream come true. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Steamworld Heist. Image & Form’s delightful follow-up to quirky 2013 side-scroller Steamworld Dig successfully transposed the action into an entirely new genre (turn-based strategy) while retaining the charm of the original. Flab-free and heaps of fun. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog The Witness. Maybe the most impressive part of The Witness is that it was built by such a small team. Crucially, the fact that this massive project was executed by a handful of people accentuates its singular, cohesive vision. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Firewatch. I think Firewatch’s greatest feat was to make its final return to the humdrum of reality feel as fascinating and thought-provoking as its initial slow descent into paranoia. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Best Use of PS4 Pro Battlefield 1 A decisive win from Battlefield 1, which impressively elevated its graphical presentation on the powerful PS4 Pro hardware. Titanfall 2 and Ratchet & Clank also earned noteworthy support from the PlayStation community. Final Fantasy XV Rise of the Tomb Raider Watch Dogs 2 Editors’ Choice Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Infinity Ward’s latest is a tremendous technical achievement no matter where you play it, but it takes on a vivid new dimension thanks to the raw horsepower of PS4 Pro. The action setpieces look spectacular, but it was the UNSA Retribution’s hyper-detailed flight deck that blew me away. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. By offering a trio of settings to fit a range of different visual mode configurations, Crystal Dynamics gives players a clear and easy choice to experience the action-adventure the way they want to. I’d love to see similar practice adopted as a standard in the future. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix has been known to embrace new technologies and generate some of the most impressive visuals of any given console generation, and Final Fantasy XV is a perfect showcase of PS4 Pro’s capabilities. Players can choose to experience super-smooth gameplay or render at a massive resolution — either way, FFXV’s spot-on art direction really shines on the new hardware. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. A great example of a developer really going all out to take advantage of PS4 Pro. With an array of options that balance stunning enhanced visuals with a slicker frame rate, Crystal Dynamics took what was already a technical achievement and dialed it up to 11. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Best PlayStation VR Game Batman Arkham VR The votes were fairly split here, but Rocksteady’s atmospheric mystery ultimately took the top slot. Rez Infinite, Rigs, and VR Worlds each saw lots of support in the polls, though not quite enough to place. Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-wing VR Mission Job Simulator Eve Valkyrie Editors’ Choice Carnival Games. Perhaps a bold choice, but put an hour into it and you’ll understand why. I loved Battlezone, Rez, Robinson, and Job Simulator to death, but in the end, this was the one I picked up again and again. The shooting gallery, ring toss, and climbing wall are not to be missed! Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes. Dashing any concerns that PlayStation VR would be an isolating experience, the most enjoyable couch multiplayer experience I had all year was with this fiendishly fun asynchronous cooperative puzzler. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog SuperHyperCube. While many games go to great lengths to prove how convincing an escape VR can be, Kokoromi’s psychedelic puzzler is an admirably subtle use of a brand-new technology. SuperHyperCube is an exercise in creative restraint, and it’s all the better for it. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Batman: Arkham VR. While my heart will always beat faster at the thought of returning to Rez in 3D, there’s no better example of the immersive nature of PlayStation VR than Rocksteady’s debut on the hardware. Giving everyone the chance to don the Dark Knight’s iconic cowl and become the world’s greatest detective? Amazing. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Best Story Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End In perhaps the biggest blowout category this year, Naughty Dog’s PS4 epic managed to score nearly half of all vote submissions. Honorable mentions included Batman: The Telltale Series, Mafia 3, and Firewatch. The Witcher III: Blood and Wine Final Fantasy XV The Last Guardian Editors’ Choice Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Yet again, Naughty Dog has raised the bar on interactive storytelling with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The masterful script and stunning performance capture made for a game that grabbed me from the very beginning and didn’t let go until the beautiful epilogue. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog The Last Guardian. There were plenty of unknowns when it came to the long-anticipated release of The Last Guardian. One thing was never in doubt though: the storytelling was always going to be out-of-this-world. Sure enough, Fumito Ueda and his team did not disappoint. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog Firewatch. Firewatch captivates with simple, candid character writing that chokes you up right from the opening sequence and keeps you hooked all the way to the end, seeding tension and intrigue with dialogue so impressively effortless that it almost seems throwaway at times. An understated and cunningly haunting tour de force. Matt Groizard, SIEE Content Producer The Last Guardian. Okay, so it’s relatively light on straight-up storytelling, but for me, this is “less is more†in action. The progression of the boy’s relationship with Trico, reading your feathered friend’s emotions and figuring out the mysterious setting together fully drew me into the world and made me desperate to see what would happen next. Rhys Sutheran, SIEE Content Producer Best Performance Nolan North (Uncharted 4) Unsurprisingly, Uncharted 4’s cast fared nicely here. Outside of the winners circle, Troy Baker (Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Telltale Series) and Alex Hernandez (Mafia III’s Lincoln Clay) mustered impressive support. Trico (The Last Guardian) Emily Rose (Uncharted 4) Camilla Luddington (Rise of the Tomb Raider) Editors’ Choice Wayne June as “The Ancestor†in Darkest Dungeon. An uber-strong year for game performances, but Darkest Dungeon’s gravel-throated narration took me by surprise in the best possible way. Executed with impunity! Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Emily Rose as “Elena Fisher†in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Uncharted 4 is (deservedly) walking away with a huge number of awards this year, and I’m going to toss in another one: Emily Rose’s performance as series mainstay Elena Fisher gives the story of A Thief’s End an emotional anchor, lending a sense of believability to this soaring, swashbuckling adventure… and more importantly, its stars. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Mark Noble as “Emiel Regis†in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine. Giving voice to such a well-loved character from Andrei Sapkowski’s long-running series of novels was never likely to be an easy task. That Noble was able to bring Geralt’s old friend Emiel Regis to life with such a perfect balance of charm, eloquence, and self-deprecation is an achievement worthy of note. Matt Groizard, SIEE Content Producer Cissy Jones as “Delilah†in Firewatch. Along with great work from Rich Sommer as Henry, Cissy Jones’ Delilah in Firewatch was my standout performance this year. Creating a genuine relationship just by walkie-talkie communications, without the characters ever seeing each other, can’t have been easy — but it’s this interplay that’s at the heart of the game, and what makes the whole thing so compelling. Rhys Sutheran, SIEE Content Producer Best Soundtrack Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Another win for Naughty Dog, though Final Fantasy XV nearly squeaked into the Platinum slot in late voting. Watch Dogs 2, The Last Guardian, and Mafia III all saw plenty of votes, too. Final Fantasy XV Doom Dark Souls 3 Editors’ Choice Doom. Id Software’s demonic shooter was one of my favorite games this year, and Mick Gordon’s ultra-heavy industrial soundtrack is one of the key reasons why. A superior example of how audio can fuel and amplify the gameplay experience. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Firewatch. Chris Remo’s warm ambient noodling provided the perfect backdrop to Campo Santo’s refreshing backwoods adventure. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog Final Fantasy XV. An incredibly tough category this year! Uncharted 4, Watch Dogs 2, No Man’s Sky, Firewatch, Doom… but considering the sheer breadth of Yoko Shimomura’s Final Fantasy XV score (and the goosebumps I still get when I hear Apocalypsis Noctis), it gets my vote. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Firewatch. Chris Remo’s minimalist Firewatch score beautifully elevated the game’s shifting and nuanced tones of melancholy, mystery, and adventure. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Best Visuals Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Technical powerhouses rule this roost, but The Last Guardian hangs tough thanks to its phenomenal art direction. Fans also showed support for other gorgeous titles, including Dark Souls III, Watch Dogs 2, and Ratchet & Clank. Final Fantasy XV Battlefield 1 The Last Guardian Editors’ Choice Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Naughty Dog boasts some of the best rendering tech in the business, but it’s the studio’s sublime art direction that makes Uncharted 4 one of the best-looking games ever released on any platform. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Dishonored 2. No other AAA blockbuster in recent memory boasts such a singular, bold, and unusual aesthetic as Arkane Studios’ highly stylized stealth series, and the art team really went to town with this year’s sequel. Someone put it in a gallery already. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog The Witness. When somebody asks you why art direction is important, show them The Witness. The island’s bright colors and clean edges have produced a number of the desktop wallpapers I currently have in rotation. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Dishonored 2. In a year filled with brilliant visuals, Dishonored 2 stands out for its incredible art direction and style. From the character models to the world design, the visuals throughout bolster the tone of the narrative and create an incredible sense of place. Simply nothing else feels like Dishonored. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Best Multiplayer Battlefield 1 Though Overwatch mustered impressive support, Battlefield 1 ultimately secured nearly 30% of the total vote for the top slot. Outside of the winner’s bracket, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Tom Clancy’s The Division, and Street Fighter V all performed well. Overwatch Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Titanfall 2 Editors’ Choice Overwatch. No surprises here. One year ago, I would never have guessed that the creators of Warcraft and Diablo could conquer the competitive shooter category with such grace and confidence. It’s a genre milestone and a brilliant game. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Overwatch. First-person shooters are a tough nut to crack, but Blizzard has swept in — as they always seem to — and effortlessly shifted the industry’s idea of what the genre is and can be. Perhaps most importantly, they’ve hit the sweet spot of depth and accessibility, making Overwatch approachable and enticing, truly, for gamers of all skill levels. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog Overwatch. I think Overwatch, I think escalation. It feels like every session I spot a strategy — by team or lone wolf — I hadn’t considered before, continually making me reevaluate my understanding of what my favorites can do, or how to take better advantage of a map’s layout. Mid-match Hero changes halt any frustration at being stuck with the wrong character and grants continually changing, but always intriguing team combinations. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Titanfall 2. Titanfall 2’s masterful campaign has been deservedly well praised, but the multiplayer hooked me like few shooters in recent years. The multi-leveled combat between humans and mechs, lightning fast locomotion, and smart lobby system resulted in one of the best multiplayer games this year. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Best Post-Release Content The Witcher III This category now includes any and all post-release game updates. The Blood and Wine expansion catapulted last year’s winner The Witcher 3 back to the top. Fans voted in droves for Fallout 4, Black Ops 3, and Final Fantasy XIV as well. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Overwatch Destiny Editors’ Choice Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth. Afterbirth manages to pull off a neat trick: making an expansion pack so robust that it could almost be mistaken for a sequel. The wealth of new items, environments, enemies, and gameplay refinements propel an already spectacular roguelike to addictive, disturbing new depths. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel. Not for the faint-hearted (the climactic multi-stage boss battle is as difficult as anything FromSoftware has ever inflicted on its audience) but this was a beautifully crafted postscript to a brilliant sequel. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog Destiny. Bungie has been leading the charge in a new generation of shooters, and they continue to not only tweak the game’s foundational mechanics, but add new content by way of paid expansions (Rise of Iron) and free in-game events (The Dawning). Destiny’s community is a vocal one, and Bungie’s willingness to embrace their feedback ultimately leads to a better game. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog No Man’s Sky, Foundation Update. As game-changing updates go, it’s hard to beat. I liked No Man’s Sky a lot from day one, but this update saw it begin to fulfil its potential with base building, deeper crafting and trading, and more ways to really forge your own path in the vast galaxy (for the record, I’m currently trying to make my name as a hot-shot pirate hunter, keeping freighters safe from attack). Rhys Sutheran, SIEE Content Producer Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked. My Don’t Starve addiction is well documented, but it’s the soul-stealing crafting game which just keeps on giving. Shipwrecked is almost a whole new game unto itself, as your old tactics won’t work here — and I’ll happily take more glorious nightmares wrapped in brilliant gameplay from Klei. Corey Brotherson, SIEE Content Producer Hitman. The brilliant Elusive Targets add new difficult-to-find targets to familiar maps, and give you only a few days in real-time to execute the hit. But unlike the rest of the game, there are no saved games — once you find and assassinate the target, you must complete the mission. Fail, and that’s it — there are no second chances. These small twists brought heightened tension and mayhem, and were one of the many elements that kept me glued to Hitman throughout the year. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Most Innovative The Last Guardian PlayStation fans honored genDESIGN and SIE Japan Studio’s emotional epic The Last Guardian in the polls, though competition was stiff throughout the category. PS VR title Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Hitman, and The Witness also saw strong voter support. Overwatch Tom Clancy’s The Division Firewatch Editors’ Choice Overwatch. Blizzard has managed a seemingly impossible task: broaden the appeal of the competitive shooter by catering to a wide array of play styles and even skill levels. Then they pumped in a steady stream of maps, characters, and modes, all for free. Devs — this is how you build a long-term multiplayer classic. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog PlayStation VR Worlds. Few would disagree that VR was the most exciting innovation of 2016 and, while I put more time into other launch titles, PlayStation VR Worlds felt like the perfect encapsulation of the platform’s promise. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog Hitman. Hitman’s key innovation is not any of the game’s individual elements — it’s the way they seamlessly come together to create a game that is so much more than the sum of its parts. The steady drip of new missions not only kept fans returning to the game month after month, but it also allowed players the time to explore the massive (and rewarding) possibility space hidden within each level. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Hitman. Innovation awards are normally reserved for the tech side of gaming, but with development cycles becoming ever longer, and consumers keener than ever to get the most out of their favourite games, Hitman’s episodic approach of releasing miniature sandboxes each month and adding fresh targets and contracts from week to week made for a winning and rewarding formula. Matt Groizard, EU PlayStation.Blog Most Anticipated The Last of Us Part II This category has expanded to include any announced game, irrespective of release date. Though PSX 2016 surprise announcement The Last of Us Part II claimed the coveted Platinum award, competition was fierce. Horizon Zero Dawn, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and Death Stranding also saw plenty of love. God of War Red Dead Redemption 2 Final Fantasy VII Remake Editors’ Choice Resident Evil 7 biohazard. Luckily, we don’t have long to wait! RE7 leapt to the top of my list after my hands-on experiences earlier this month. In short, the shift towards FPS (complete with full PS VR mode) was a brilliant, daring move that pays off big time. Don’t sleep on this one. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Red Dead Redemption 2. One of those rare games you book time off work to get lost in. I can’t wait to get back in the saddle. Fred Dutton, EU PlayStation.Blog Horizon Zero Dawn. It captured my attention from the first moment I saw it at E3 years ago, and now we’re only a couple months away. Every time I see the game I become more excited to meet Aloy and explore the mysteries of the world. I’m going to be sinking a lot of time into this one. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog Final Fantasy VII Remake. In a show full of surprises, two in particular stand out for me at E3 2015. The reveal of Final Fantasy VII Remake was one, my reaction to it another. Even as long term fan of the PSone original I was taken aback by the sudden lump in my throat — and a twist in my stomach — when that familiar music, unknowingly embedded deep in my psyche, kicked in. Gillen McAllister, EU PlayStation.Blog Studio of the Year Naughty Dog Despite stiff competition from an array of highly accomplished game developers, Naughty Dog ultimately secured the Platinum award for its genre-defining work on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Square Enix Blizzard DICE Editors’ Choice Owlchemy Labs. Who are these guys? The creators of what is likely the first bonafide hit VR game, the hilarious and endlessly replayable Job Simulator. Let’s hope their next game pushes the nascent VR medium further still. Sid Shuman, US PlayStation.Blog Naughty Dog. Few studios lavish their projects with such staggering levels of care and attention as Naughty Dog. This year’s Uncharted 4 continued that tradition, setting new visual benchmarks with stellar environmental design, best-in-class animation, and industry-leading technical virtuosity. They define the standard of excellence, pressing hard against technological boundaries to demonstrate the true potential of videogames as a medium. Matt Groizard, SIEE Content Producer Naughty Dog. What more can possibly be said about Naughty Dog? There is simply no other group of creatives in the biz that consistently raises the bar on visuals, narrative, and polish. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End yet again showcased the sublime talents of the kennel, and surpassed even my greatest expectations. The extra mile they go, especially in regards to accessibility, is simply unparalleled. Zac Minor, US PlayStation.Blog id Software. id’s reboot of the pivotal first-person shooter tuned the series’ core elements to perfection, injecting a bit of jet fuel into its veins for good measure. I hope to see more from id soon, because they have clearly and definitively proven with Doom that yes, they’ve still got it. Justin Massongill, US PlayStation.Blog That’s it for this year! Thanks again to everyone who voted. And if you missed out on any of the great games you saw here, check them out on PlayStation Store. See you next year! View the full article

It’s nearly time for another major system software update for PS4, and we could use your help beta-testing before it launches. Starting today, you can sign up for a chance to be a beta tester and get an advance look at some of the improvements and new features coming to PS4. You can register to be a beta tester anytime between today and the start of the beta in early February. Users must be 18 years or older. Once the beta starts, we’ll close registration. Beta testers for our last system software update, 4.00, got to see things like our overall PS4 UI refresh, Folders, the revised Quick Menu, and much more before launch. If you’re part of the program, you’ll receive an email with instructions on downloading the beta version of the next system software. In order to sign up, you’ll need a PS4 with an internet connection, and access to a Master Account. And remember — you can roll back to the previous system software at any time. We’ll be back soon with an update on the features you can expect in the beta. Many thanks to everyone signing up — especially our returning beta testers! You’re helping us make the system software update even better. View the full article

Hello! Julien Desourteaux here to introduce our game via the latest trailer before our launch in March this year. Today, you can watch Styx subvert Elven defenses in a stealthy attack that sees him using throwing daggers, knives, traps and even chandeliers to distract and kill his enemies — just a few of the abilities you’ll be enjoying in the game — and steal the coveted Quartz, a source of magical power. As a nimble Goblin, Styx’s strengths are boosted by a magical Amber flowing through his veins, allowing him a plethora of magical abilities such as amber vision, a short-lived invisibility, and even the possibility to clone himself. As well as these, Shards of Darkness introduces crafting, allowing Styx to create tools and gadgets to distract, disable, and kill his foes. If you take a little time to explore each of the large, varied levels, you’ll be able to find new equipment to bolster your arsenal and lead the perfect stealthy attack on unsuspecting Elves, Dwarves, and other enemies in the world. If you’re a fan of stealth games, you’ll enjoy that every tool in your disposal has been created to supplement a clever, stealthy approach whether it means killing everyone, or merely disabling enemies for a clean run. Either way, you can remain unseen, and undetected! It’s entirely up to you. So I hope you enjoy Styx: Shards of Darkness when it launches in March of this year for PS4. Make use of each of the skill trees that’ll allow you to level up and improve our nimble green goblin to better suit your needs as a player! View the full article

After about a year’s work on our end, it’s great to see the launch of Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star just around the corner. If you’re seeing the game for the first time in this blog, it’s a battlefield action game set in the Fate universe, where the spirits of historical and mythical figures come together to fight. If you’ve ever wondered whether Alexander the Great could beat Lu Bu, or how a trickster fox spirit might fare against Medusa, Fate will be right up your alley. As the localizers and North American publishers, we’ve spent about the last ten months working through the lengthy script. Fate/Extella has a unique and inventive story, and it’s been our job to make sure that story is as clear and as accurate to the Japanese as it is engaging to an English-speaking audience. It’s been a challenge sometimes. The series’ main Japanese author, Kinoko Nasu, likes to pack his prose with wordplay, literary references, and a kind of free-form poetry. Keeping true to that style, while also making the English text both clear and in character, hasn’t always been easy. But now we’re ready to roll the game out, and while there will always be bits and pieces we’d like to go back and keep polishing, we hope everyone will enjoy what we’ve been working on. Now’s a good time to look back on some of the more memorable moments and steps along the way. Here below, please enjoy our top five: 5.) We’ve talked before about the linguistic puzzles of Tamamo no Mae, one of the main characters, but those aren’t her only quirks. One of the most multifaceted characters in an already-colorful cast, Tamamo keeps everyone (including us) off guard with her unpredictable personality. On the one hand, she loves to play the part of the doting wife to her player-character “husband,†but she also loves to play the villain, the benevolent ruler, the divine mystic, and even — just once, and just because she likes you — the giggling high school girl. For us, the trick to writing each of those different “voices,†while still making them all sound like the same person playing different roles, was to remember that she always has the same goals and desires, and is just expressing them differently through those various personas. 4.) The game’s hidden character, Artoria, has the most obscure unlock requirements some of us have ever seen, so much so that we’ve had to put together a walkthrough. (Feel free to avoid the walkthrough if you’d rather try to find her yourself, but if you do, it’ll probably be through sheer luck.) 3.) At first glance, the characters in Fate don’t always resemble their namesakes. Nero Claudius is female, Elizabeth Bathory is a half-dragon J-pop idol (in training, at least), and Thomas Edison (not appearing in this game, but elsewhere in Fate lore) is a lion-man who’s also a former President of the United States. But as the game unfolds, some of the characters subtly start to show why those choices were made and how they relate to the story. Nero, for example, is a passionate lover of art and beauty, and like most Roman emperors, likens herself to a deity, in her case Venus. One of her main adversaries, Altera, has little or no inner passion, and also has a history with the god Mars, and so the two of them clash on various levels, both narratively and thematically. More details would give too much away, but the upshot is that these unique takes on the characters gave us the opportunity, as translators and editors, to get inside the characters’ heads from a different angle. Incidentally, and on a personal note, if we do another Fate game, I want one of the LE goods to be a dollar with lion-man Edison’s face on it. 2.) We always start a new localization project by familiarizing ourselves with the lore and characters of the game’s world. As part of that, we researched the history of the historical and mythical figures the game’s characters are based on. (For completeness sake, we also looked up some of the other Fate characters who don’t appear in Extella. Pro tip: do not look up the history of Gilles de Rais.) Among other factoids, we learned that Emperor Nero was so convinced of his own artistic genius that he would lock audiences into his theater, forcing them to listen to his performances for hours at a stretch. You’ll see a bit of that in the game too, if you happen to ask Nero for a lullaby. 1.) Our friends at Aksys, whose office is down the street from ours, localized Fate/Extra back in the PSP days. While we were gathering reference material for Extella, we asked if they could share their material, and they graciously sent us copies of their script and notes. We didn’t always stick to those notes, but reading them gave us both raw information and insight as to how that information had been used before, both invaluable for our own work with the series. Thanks again, guys! The game’s all set to launch on January 17 in North America. On the physical side, we put together the Noble Phantasm Edition, for both PS4 and PS Vita, which comes with various LE goodies including a 24″ by 17″ cloth poster, a fully translated and hardcover version of the Japanese Materials Book, and a pack of sixteen 3″ by 5″ collectible cards depicting each of the game’s Servants. Digitally, there’s a pre-order bundle available for the PS4 version, which comes with an exclusive Theme and the equally exclusive “Shackled Bride†outfit for Nero. (The outfit carries over to the PS Vita version if you buy the PS4 pre-order bundle.) At launch day, and for the first two weeks after launch, the PS Vita version will come in an “Early Bird†bundle, which will include the PS Vita equivalent of that exclusive Theme, as well as Gilgamesh’s exclusive “Cold-Blooded Warden†outfit (which, once obtained as part of that bundle, carries over to the PS4 version). But our work isn’t quite done yet; we’re still finishing up on various Themes, avatars, and costumes. So I’ll get back to that for now. Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, comment away. View the full article

To date, Horizon‘s trailers have offered glimpses of the game’s majestic, post-post-apocalyptic world and awe-inspiring machines. There’s a lot we’ve yet to show, but we’re starting the new year with a big new trailer that focuses on yet another threat for Aloy to face. The video likewise affords glimpses of some of the allies who may join Aloy’s cause, from the mighty to the mysterious. Who are these masked warriors, and what is the source of their power over the machines? Who will rally to Aloy’s side on the field of battle? The answers to these and other questions will be revealed on February 28, 2017, when Horizon Zero Dawn launches exclusively for PS4. For everything Horizon Zero Dawn, keep your eyes on our Twitter and Facebook channels for new updates. View the full article

Can you feel the electricity in the air? It can only mean one thing: the latest rhythm game featuring the world’s foremost virtual singer, Hatsune Miku, is out today on PlayStation Store! That’s right, the pure arcade experience of the Hatsune Miku rhythm games, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone is now available with all of its 220+ songs. *record scratch*“Wait, did he just say 220+ songs?†Yep, that’s right dear PlayStation.Blog reader, Future Tone comes divided into two massive expansion packs: Colorful Tone and Future Sound, each with more than 100 songs. The packs are $29.99 apiece, or you can get the bundle for some extra savings at $53.99. And when I say it’s a pure arcade experience, that’s exactly what it is: a giant list of songs, up to five difficulty levels per song (Easy, Normal, Hard, Extreme, and ­– wait for it — Extra Extreme), and a ton of modules to unlock. And there’s some new arcade controls, too! The traditional rhythm game format of “press the right input at the right time†is still there, but the arcade style of Project Diva includes new multi-button presses (i.e. hitting Triangle and Square at the same time), slides (hitting R1 or L1 at the right time for the right length), and other stark differences to previous Project Diva games. To highlight these differences, look no further than the song “Decorator†by kz. Project Diva superfans might recognize this song as the title track to Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd for PS3 and PS Vita. It’s made a return in Future Tone (available in the Future Sound expansion pack) but with new arcade controls, and another big difference. The ensemble song features Miku and all of her friends, and now in Future Tone, you can actually customize every individual (in Diva F 2nd, you could only change the main singer’s appearance, everyone else was standard). Does that mean you can have Miku singing along with five different Mikudayos? Yes, yes it absolutely does. Not only is your lead singer fully customizable with different costume and accessory modules, but so are the partners for any given song. Mix and match to your heart’s content! As you complete the songs in Future Tone, you’ll be earning VP, a currency you can exchange to unlock the costume modules and accessories for Miku and her friends. You’re going to want to check back often, as there are tons of them to choose from, and even some SEGA throwback modules. What exactly do I mean? Well, aside from Miku versions of songs from classic SEGA Arcade games, like Afterburner, Power Drift and OutRun, Miku and her friends can don costumes inspired by old SEGA properties. Virtua Fighter, Valkyria Chronicles, Space Channel 5, and more! There’s even the Miku costume from Atlus’ Persona 4: Dancing All Night! Speaking of Project Diva superfans, let’s talk for a second: a couple of things you may not have realized. First, the western version launching today features all of the updates already applied to the Japanese version — all those tweaks and fixes are currently in place. Second, and this is probably more important, we’re going to be supporting all the DLC released in Japan. All three Encore Packs will be released in the Americas at the beginning of February, March, and April respectively for $9.99 per pack, and there will also be a season pass option for all three DLC packs available in February for $24.99. Each Encore Pack contains a mixture of songs and modules to contribute to the overall Future Tone catalog. (And yes, for those wanting a shortcut in unlocking modules, the Unlock Everything DLC will be available today as well!) Good luck to those digging into the 220+ songs waiting for you in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone, available today exclusively on PlayStation Store! View the full article

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is a turn-based RPG that’s launching January 27 on PS4. While its foundations lie in the classic stylings of the genre, it’s been built to take advantage of modern trends and feel contemporary. Lead artist Fredrik Dahl from Snowcastle Games walked us through the juxtaposition of the Revered and the New that makes Earthlock an interesting proposition for RPG fans. 1.) It’s built by turn-based RPG fans, for fans. “When we sat down and had a round table after we finished up our previous production, it quickly became clear that we all had fond memories of turn-based RPGs. When we set out making Earthlock, we missed those type of games, and believed that to be true for a lot of people that had grown up playing them.†2.) Strategy is key to survival, not the grind. “In the traditional turn-based RPG, I don’t think it’s a big secret that there’s a lot of grinding going on — to level up in order to beat a boss, for example. We’ve tried to limit that by focusing more on a tactical experience. Usually you can get through the bosses in Earthlock by choosing the right strategy, getting your talent board set up, and having the right character pairings. Getting wiped out is more often than not a case of having the wrong party setup.†3.) Like all great RPGs, relationships matter. “If you pair up two characters, their bond grows stronger as they do battle side by side, and this unlocks perks and passive abilities unique to that pair. So in addition to the Talent Board, the battle bonds are a great way of customizing the party depending on what kind of enemies the player is up against.†4.) You can switch your character abilities at any time… “Character-specific Talent Boards enable players to customize their characters on the fly throughout the game, enabling them to switch up their strategy depending on what kind of creatures or bosses they’re up against.†5.) …as well as your party setup. “We don’t use a progression tree, but rather a board where you can place talents that affect abilities and stats. This board can be rearranged at any point, so the player is free to balance their team in any way they want. We’ve been playing around with a lot of different character builds in house, so the game is playable in a bunch of different ways.†6.) It’s adding a new take on item farming. “One of the earlier ideas that stuck through the whole thing was that we thought it’d be fun to grow your own ammo by growing and harvesting plants. We don’t think we’ve seen that anywhere before, and it ended up being a pretty addictive gameplay aspect.†7.) The customizable combat system keeps you front and center in the battle, not buried in menus. “In older games, the player often deals with menus nested in menus nested in menus. We wanted to have a more minimal UI during combat. So the player sets up the abilities they want to bring into combat mapped to the controller buttons. They have two pages of these button-mapped abilities making anything in combat less cumbersome to utilize. There’s no delay between an enemy finishing its action and the player being able to use his next ability either, so the combat flow feels pretty streamlined.†8.) One character’s traded in a trip to the dentist for a life of fantasy adventure. “We carried over one of our main cast, Gnart, from our previous title, Hogworld: Gnart’s Adventure, that was tailored for a younger market. There his biggest concern was making friends and getting to the dentist because he had a tusk that was hurting! Now he lives in the perilous world of Umbra in Earthlock, working as a librarian. He grew up visually during the transition, going from a striped sweater to a much more stylish coat and tie. He kept his backpack though, which is always good to keep books and journals of his travels in!†View the full article

We’re back! Joining us for our inaugural 2017 episode is farm-fresh new face Zac Minor, who recently joined the PlayStation social media team. This week, we discuss what we played over the break (Carnival Games!), adventures in VR gaming (Carnival Games!) and plenty more (Carnival Games!). How was your holiday break? What did you play? Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Stuff We Talked About Carnival Games on PS VR Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy XIII Overwatch Hitman Spelunky Day of the Tentacle Remastered Recent Episodes 231: 2016 in Review 230: New and Improved! 229: Experience the Infinite The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Zac Minor – Sr. Social Media Manager, 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

The stage is set. The spotlight is bright. The crowd is roaring. The world renowned vocaloid prepares for another performance in Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone, launching next week on PS4. Celebrate all things Miku with Future Tone, a massive collection of songs and pure arcade gameplay. Two different sets of music on PlayStation Store (Future Sound and Colorful Tone) come packing more than 220 songs for you to master. With callouts to classic SEGA games (OutRun, Space Channel 5, Valkyria Chronicles) and plenty of unlockables, this will keep Miku fans singing for a while. Finally, you may notice a few changes with The Drop as we move into the new year. Starting this week, we’ll begin including more PlayStation Store coverage right here on The Drop in lieu of a dedicated PS Store Update post. In addition to revealing the week’s new releases, The Drop will curate a list of other content starting each Tuesday, from major add-ons and DLC to select discounts, themes, and more. Let us know what you think! Have a great 2017, and enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of January 10, 2017 Arcade Archives NeoGeo Fatal Fury PS4 — Digital (Out 1/12) Fatal Fury is a fighting game launched in 1991 by SNK. Players take part in brutal street fights in a variety of locations, with the goal of toppling the infamous crime lord Geese Howard. The game included very unique features when compared to other fighting games available at the time, including a special Line Battle system that allowed players to traverse between the foreground and background. Asdivine Hearts PS4, PS3, PS Vita — Digital One year ago, the world of Asdivine was enveloped by a brilliant flash of light. Since that time, the influence of shadow has continued to grow ever more powerful across the face of the land. Asdivine Hearts boasts plenty of subquests, a battle arena, treasure to dig for, and an enemy guide to complete. How far can you level and how many millions of damage points can you dish out? Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone PS4 — Digital Explore the infinite world of Hatsune Miku through the most comprehensive Project Diva game ever released! Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone Prelude comes with two songs and modules to customize. To unlock the full potential of Future Tone, purchase two packs bursting with 220 songs: Future Sound and Colorful Tone. Life of Black Tiger PS4 — Digital (Out 1/12) The story of a black tiger, born as a variant and abandoned by his parents and brothers, fights against human and shows his love to his family. You can have a vivid and realistic experience set in jungle, field, and forest. Acting as a cruel hunter in the vast plains and fields, players are thrown into a fight against human beings and other beasts of prey. Planet 2000 PS4 — Digital (Out 1/13) Experience futuristic vehicular combat in this fast paced strategy game. Assemble your team from a crew of fully realized AI companions as you take part in epic land battles. Your objective is to destroy the enemy’s base before they destroy yours. Spheroids PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross Buy) In Spheroids you take control of Lucas, a jumpy Canadian boy who sets out on an adventure with his crazy scientist companion Otto after it’s discovered that the government has been hiding alternative universes from the cubic world they live in. Unfortunately, these alternative universes contain spheres that wish to turn everything round, so it’s up to Lucas to save the world from these dangerous aliens: the Spheroids. Sylvio PS4 — Digital (Out 1/13) Sylvio is a psychological horror game set in a tranquil, disturbing atmosphere. Ghost recorder Juliette Waters trespasses into an abandoned family park, shut down since a landslide in 1971. The voices of the deceased captured on her reel-to-reel recorder reveals a tale of an evil curse and a wicked family cult, currently living in the park. Xenoraid PS Vita — Digital Xenoraid is an intense scrolling shoot ’em up with dynamic combat. Classic action gameplay with modern features like procedurally driven missions, fighter switching, and squadron management make Xenoraid a fresh and thrilling shooter! The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody The xx – I See You Code Orange – Forever Queen of Katwe 74th Golden Globe Awards- January 8 at 8/7c (NBC) Taboo- January 10 at 10/9c (FX) Full Frontal With Samantha Bee- January 11 at 10:30/9:30c (TBS) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

2016 was a pretty fantastic year for games, but you’ll never guess what the most downloaded game at PlayStation Store was this year. Rocket League! Psyonix’s supersonic acrobatic take on vehicular sporting continues to delight — even though it launched in 2015 (free for PS Plus members, even!) it garnered more downloads than anything else on our network. Impressive! Read to see the full PS4, PS3, PS VR charts and more for the full year. You’ll find December’s top downloads a bit further down, just under the 2016 tables. Enjoy! Top Downloads: 2016 (Full Year)PS4 Games 1 Rocket League 2 Battlefield 1 3 Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition 4 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare 5 Tom Clancy’s The Division 6 Grand Theft Auto V 7 Overwatch: Origins Edition 8 Battlefield 4 9 No Man’s Sky 10 EA SPORTS FIFA 17 11 NBA 2K17 12 Need for Speed 13 Star Wars Battlefront 14 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE 15 Battlefield Hardline 16 Madden NFL 17 17 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition 18 UNCHARTED 4: A Thief’s End 19 The Last Of Us Remastered 20 FINAL FANTASY XV PS3 Games 1 Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition 2 The Last Of Us 3 Grand Theft Auto V 4 LittleBigPlanet 3 5 Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 6 Battlefield 4 7 Call of Duty: Black Ops III 8 Need for Speed Most Wanted 9 EA SPORTS FIFA 17 10 Watch Dogs 11 Dragon Ball Xenoverse 12 Dark Souls II 13 Goat Simulator 14 Red Dead Redemption 15 EA SPORTS FIFA 16 16 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 17 Gran Turismo 6 18 Battlefield Hardline 19 MLB The Show 16 20 Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 PS4 Add-ons 1 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Awakening 2 Destiny: Rise of Iron 3 The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited – ESO Plus 4 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Season Pass 5 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Eclipse 6 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Descent 7 Black Ops III – The Giant Zombies Map 8 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Salvation 9 Rocket League – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Car Pack 10 STAR WARS Battlefront Season Pass PlayStation VR Games 1 Job Simulator 2 Batman: Arkham VR 3 Until Dawn: Rush of Blood 4 PlayStation VR Worlds 5 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 6 Here They Lie 7 Sports Bar VR 8 Carnival Games VR 9 Harmonix Music VR 10 EVE: Valkyrie PS Vita Games 1 DIGIMON STORY CYBER SLEUTH 2 Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition 3 GOD EATER: Resurrection 4 XCOM: Enemy Unknown Plus 5 Borderlands 2 6 Persona 4 Golden 7 Jak and Daxter Collection 8 Sword Art Online -Hollow Fragment- 9 Ratchet & Clank Collection 10 Severed PS Classics 1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2 Bully 3 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy 4 Dark Cloud 2 5 Twisted Metal: Black 6 The Warriors 7 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 8 Star Wars Bounty Hunter 9 Rogue Galaxy 10 Manhunt Top Downloads: December 2016 (Month Only)PS4 Games 1 ARK: Survivor’s Pack 2 FINAL FANTASY XV 3 Need for Speed 4 Grand Theft Auto V 5 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare 6 Battlefield 1 7 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 8 Watch Dogs 2 9 Star Wars Battlefront 10 Rocket League 11 Titanfall 2 12 EA SPORTS FIFA 17 13 Minecraft: PlayStation 4 Edition 14 Bloodborne 15 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE 16 EA SPORTS UFC 2 17 Overwatch: Origins Edition 18 Madden NFL 17 19 NBA 2K17 20 Until Dawn PS3 Games 1 EA SPORTS FIFA 17 2 Grand Theft Auto V 3 The Last Of Us 4 Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition 5 Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 6 Goat Simulator 7 Need for Speed Most Wanted 8 Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 9 Madden NFL 17 10 LittleBigPlanet 3 11 Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions 12 Shadow of the Colossus 13 Watch Dogs 14 Call of Duty: Black Ops III 15 Gran Turismo 6 16 South Park: The Stick of Truth 17 Destiny 18 NBA 2K17 19 Saints Row 2 20 Mafia II PS4 Add-ons 1 FINAL FANTASY XV Season Pass 2 STAR WARS Battlefront Season Pass 3 The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited – ESO Plus 4 The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Season Pass 5 TOM CLANCY’S RAINBOW SIX SIEGE – Year 2 Pass 6 Battlefield 1 Premium Pass 7 Black Ops III – The Giant Zombies Map 8 Destiny: Rise of Iron 9 Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Salvation 10 Tom Clancy’s The Division Expansion II: Survival PlayStation VR Games 1 Job Simulator 2 I Expect You To Die 3 Fruit Ninja VR 4 PlayStation VR Worlds 5 Batman: Arkham VR 6 Until Dawn: Rush of Blood 7 Sports Bar VR 8 Here They Lie 9 Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes 10 Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality PS Vita Games 1 Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom 2 Muramasa Rebirth Complete Collection 3 Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition 4 Jak and Daxter Collection 5 XCOM: Enemy Unknown Plus 6 Darkest Dungeon 7 Axiom Verge 8 Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution 2 Plus 9 Ray Gigant 10 Severed PS Classics 1 Twisted Metal: Black 2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 3 Bully 4 METAL SLUG ANTHOLOGY 5 Star Wars Bounty Hunter 6 Destroy All Humans! 2 7 The Warriors 8 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy 9 THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2000 10 Destroy All Humans! View the full article

Beginning today, PlayStation Now subscribers can enjoy even more of Bandai Namco’s biggest franchises. Experience FromSoftware’s hit RPG Dark Souls II and explore the dangerous world of Drangleic. Or pick your favorite fighters and go head-to-head in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Also new this month are Namco Museum Essentials (Pac-Man, Xevious, Galaga, DigDug, Dragon Spirit, and Xevious Resurrection), as well as Dead to Rights: Retribution. Don’t forget to check out our other Bandai Namco games already available including fantastic RPGs like Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and Eternal Sonata. And consider timeless classics like Katamari Forever, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, and Galaga Legions DX. Besides Tekken Tag Tournament 2, PlayStation Now also has a strong line-up of heavy-hitting fighting games like Mortal Kombat, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, WWE 2K15, Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, Darkstalkers Resurrection, The King of Fighters XIII, BlazBlue, Virtua Fighter 5, and many more, with versus multiplayer support. If you’re an RPG and JRPG fan, we’ve got you covered with even more games like XCOM Enemy Within, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1 and 2, Disgaea 3, Disgaea 4, Disgaea D2, Rainbow Moon, Costume Quest 2, Dragon Fin Soup, Legasista, The Witch and the Hundred Knight, and more! If you’re not a PS Now subscriber yet, check out these games and more with the seven-day free trial. You can also take advantage of our introductory pricing of just $9.99 for the first month (new subscribers only), or upgrade your subscription with another 12 months for $99.99, for a few more days. Take advantage of these deals before the promotion ends! Here’s a list of some of the most popular games on PlayStation Now over the past month: Red Dead Redemption Mafia II Mortal Kombat WWE 2K15 The Last of Us Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Beyond: Two Souls Injustice: Gods Among Us Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution NBA 2K14 Catherine Tomb Raider Saint’s Row IV Sonic Generations Batman Arkham Origins Wheel of Fortune Farming Simulator 15 Saint’s Row 2 Uncharted 3 Drake’s Deception Ultra Street Fighter IV God of War III Lego Batman 2 DC Super Heroes Twisted Metal Batman Arkham City Greg Hastings Paintball 2 God of War: Ascension Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 The Sly Collection Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 The Walking Dead Heavy Rain View the full article

Despite being busy trying to earn those last few Trophies in our favorite 2016 games, we’re already pondering the experiences to come, both this year and in the years to follow. But what we really wanted to know was what developers are looking forward to playing when they find time between their own projects. So we sent out the call, asking multiple names across multiple continents exactly what’s getting them excited for the years ahead. This is what they chose. The Church of DarknessAs chosen by… “The Church in the Darkness looks to be a remarkable entry. It explores the shadowy world of cults, paranoia, and utopia, and seems like it will be something that expands the medium of games. Can’t wait to sit down and play it.†-John Watson // Technical Director of The Banner Saga, Stoic Detroit: Become HumanAs chosen by… “It has to be Detroit: Become Human, from the fellow frenchies at Quantic Dream — such an interesting setting!†-Audrey Leprince // Co-founder of The Game Bakers on FuriDreamsAs chosen by… “I know these guys and they are absolutely crazy (which is a necessary condition to create the game they want to make), as well as very talented, as everyone knows. What they want to achieve seems almost impossible. This is why I hope so much they will make it and deliver once again an amazing game.†-David Cage // Founder of Quantic Dream, Detroit: Become Human FarpointAs chosen by… “My most anticipated PlayStation game is Farpoint. One of the ‘holy grails’ of VR development is delivering a first-person shooter where a player’s movement and the shooting mechanics are fluid and intuitive. From everything I’ve played so far I believe they are incredibly close to delivering this, and it could be another landmark achievement that will push this exciting new medium even further.†-Andrew Wilans // Lead Designer on EVE: Valkyrie, CCP GamesFinal Fantasy VII RemakeAs chosen by… “Most anticipated PlayStation game? I’ll say Final Fantasy VII Remake. FF7 has been my favorite game since I played it in 1997, so the remake can’t come soon enough.†-Chris Davis // Founder of Mouldy Toof Studios, The EscapistsFor HonorAs chosen by… “I’m looking forward to For Honor from Ubisoft. For more than 20 years I have been shooting and blasting various enemies in-game, so I’m really looking forward to a more up-close and physical type of combat. Also, this game has samurai, but I think it would be even better if I were allowed to oversee the development of the look of this character and the way he uses his sword.†-Katsuhiro Harada // Project Director on Tekken, Namco Bandai God of WarAs chosen by… I’m looking forward to God of War. I’m not great at action games, but I’ve managed to complete the entries in this franchise. Previously, the series used to have a bird’s eye view and dynamic camera work, but that’s changed to an over-the-shoulder view. I’m quite interested about how this will alter the dynamic and dramatic action God of War is known for.†-Kazutoki Kono // Project Director on Ace Combat, Bandai Namco “I’m going to have to plum for God of War. This eagerly anticipated game is 100% guaranteed to serve up all of the cool action we’ve grown to love over the years, but this time with the added addition of more character development with Kratos being forced to curb his seemingly endless rage and become a father figure for a talented young lad with awesome powers. I cannot wait!†-Tim Wileman // Producer on Lego Star Wars, TT GamesGran Turismo SportAs chosen by… “Hard to choose… Gran Turismo Sport is for sure the best driving game on circuit out there!†-Paul Narducci // Lead Designer on The Crew, Ivory Tower Horizon Zero DawnAs chosen by… “I’m most excited about Horizon: Zero Dawn because of it’s unique art style. How could you not get excited about giant robot dinosaurs?†-David Hensley // Killing Floor 2 Lead, Tripwire Interactive “Guerilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn is definitely my most anticipated PlayStation game. I’m looking forward to exploring every corner of their beautifully crafted world. Plus, Aloy’s a badass with a bow — which is something I always appreciate in games.†-Scott Walters // Ast. Designer on Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics “It’s difficult to look beyond Horizon: Zero Dawn’s beautiful, marauding mecha-dinosaurs. I quietly hope Guerrilla will consider including our own dinosaur, Rextro Sixtyfourus as a support NPC.†-Andy Robinson // Writer on Yooka-Laylee, Playtonic Games “I hadn’t looked into this game much. Then, at a trade show in Australia, I walked past a booth where it was playing, and it literally stopped me in my tracks. ‘What the heck is that?’ I asked the person I was with. ‘Oh, that’s Horizon: Zero Dawn!’ I was like, ‘I must try this!‘ So I tried the demo — yep I will play this one! The character design is super-strong, the whole concept of machines as an evolutionary track is amazing, and I love the execution of the action/RPG on it. Can’t wait.†-Jason Vandenberghe // Creative Director on For Honor, Ubisoft Monteal “I know I’m not alone here at Rocksteady in being very excited about Horizon: Zero Dawn. I was lucky enough to play the 4K demo on PS4 Pro while we were touring to promote Batman: Arkham VR, and the stunning visuals really bring the game’s mysterious world to life.†-Gaz Deaves // Social Marketing Manager on Batman Arkham VR, Rocksteady “I’m probably a little bit biased, but Horizon: Zero Dawn from our sister studio in Amsterdam is going to be a massive deal next year. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some hands-on time with their demos and everyone is in for an epic treat.†-Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou // Art Director on Rigs, Guerrilla Cambridge “It’s got to be Horizon: Zero Dawn. I can’t wait to see what the team at Guerrilla has done. I’ve been watching with keen interest over the course of its development and I’m looking forward to its release. I think it’s fantastic that the team is challenging itself with a new genre and new gameplay. Aloy looks like the kind of character I’d like to get to know more about, so I’m really looking forward to its launch. I also have a bit of an RPG itch, so maybe it’ll be the game to scratch that for me.†-Michelle Ducker // Producer on Dreams, Media Molecule “That is it for me. That’s like my gaming crack. Being able to run around and explore, have solid combat. I like the idea of the world, the look of it, the characters, the RPG-actioness of it. Truthfully I cannot wait to get my hands on it.†-Scott Campbell // Creative Director on Starblood Arena, WhiteMoon Dreams “The protagonist looks really cool, it looks pretty open-ended in how you approach problems. I’m a big fan of Far Cry and those big open world action games. It looks beautiful.†-Richard Rouse // Director at Paranoid Productions Kingdom Hearts 2.8As chosen by… †I was surprised but enchanted to see that Kingdom Hearts 2.8 was announced to be released in 2017! I’ve played all of the Kingdom Hearts games and of course I can’t wait to play the third one. 2.8 will help me get ready for it! All the more as I really adored the Birth By Sleep episode on PSP, probably my favorite in the series, and the perspective to play as Aqua once again, all in HD, for an exclusive story is really exciting.†-Anthony Solaire // Int. Product Manager on Just Dance, Ubisoft ParisThe Last of Us Part II“We didn’t get a release date in the announcement, but I really hope we can play The Last Of Us Part II soon, as I loved the first game.†-Masachika Kawata // Producer on Resident Evil 7, Capcom Mass Effect: AndromedaAs chosen by… “I love [the Mass Effect] series, and you can always count on BioWare to make an amazing game, something really special that’ll keep you coming back. In fact, I’ve played the Mass Effect games more than I played Modern Warfare 2, and I played that game so much my wife made a joke about it in our vows! The early gameplay footage is gorgeous, and I’m really excited to see what they do with 4K.†-James “Jlo†Lopez // Producer on Borderlands, Gearbox Software “I’m looking forward to the new Mass Effect: Andromeda. I’m a huge fan of the series, and have spent many hours on previous games getting caught up on the storylines.†-Sarah Hebbler // Executive Producer on Rocket League, Psynoix “I’m going to sound like an EA shill but I love Mass Effect. So I’m excited for Andromeda, like, to no end.†-Paul Keslin // Producer on Star Wars Battlefront, DICEMLB The Show 17As chosen by… “I’m a huge baseball fanatic so MLB The Show 17 is at the top of my most anticipated list next year (and nearly every year). It’s the greatest sports game out there. Ken Griffey Jr. is on the cover this year! I named my dog Griffey, so, obviously, I’m super excited for it, especially after playing the retro mode and thinking about how to gear up my avatar in Road to The Show mode.†-Eric Monacelli // Director of Communications, Infinity Ward Nier: AutomataAs chosen by… “I had a chance to play a tiny bit of it at E3 and the fluid combat system created by PlatinumGames impressed me.†-Spencer Yip, Director on Fallen LegionOutlast IIAs chosen by… “There is no better way to relax and enjoy a quiet evening than by screaming your lungs out and (digitally) running for your life. This is why we are eagerly awaiting Outlast II, developed by our friends at Red Barrels. We already have stacks of bourbon, beef jerky, and diapers ready for its release.†-Guillaume Voghel // Producer on Mordheim, Rogue Factor Persona 5As chosen by… “The Persona series brings some of the most stylish and cohesive games out there. I love the immersion that is maintained between the music, sound effects, the HUD, the menus, and the combat presentation. It all keeps me in the mentality of the protagonist.†-Jason Schroeder // Senior Producer on South Park, Ubisoft San Francisco “Persona 5! I need to go to school and hang out with my friends!†-Dave Crooks // Game Designer on Enter the Gungeon, Dodge RollPreyAs chosen by… “Prey. After losing myself in the city of Karnaca, I’m very interested in what Arkane has in store for us next.†-Matthias Worch // Design Director on Mafia III, Hangar 13Red Dead Redemption 2As chosen by… “Red Dead Redemption 2. If any developer is automatic, it’s the Rockstar team. I can’t wait.†-Jake Solomon // Creative Director on XCOM 2, Firaxis Games “I’m looking forward to Red Dead Redemption 2. The first was a beautiful game, and I think Westerns are hugely underserved, as far as genres are concerned. Excited to see what Rockstar has done to build on the technology and success of GTA IV and V. I’m hoping for another massive open playground in a living world.†-Michael Gamble // Producer on Mass Effect Andromeda, BioWare “Red Dead Redemption 2. I can’t wait to see how they have improved upon the stealth of bears in the woods and to also single-handedly annihilate numerous wildlife species with my wanton lust for harvesting meat.†-Brian Hayes // Creative Director on EA Sports UFC 2, EA Canada “I’m really looking forward to Red Dead Redemption 2. As a kid I was one of the few guys who didn’t like western movies that much but for some strange reason Rockstar Games managed to totally drag me into the story and world of Red Dead Redemption. The story and characters were amazing and I can’t wait to see how it will look like on a PS4.†-Martin Rabl // PR Manager on Farming Simulator 17, Giants Software “There’s a ton of amazing stuff coming to the PS4 next year, but tops on my list right now is Red Dead Redemption 2. I love Rockstar’s wild ambition and creative courage, and the open nature of the Wild West setting is the perfect marriage of world and mechanics.†-Ian Milham // Game Director on Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics “Red Dead Redemption 2, for sure! I really liked the first opus, and on a more general level I’m really into the whole cowboy fantasy. Just riding on horseback through the countryside and getting into this incredible Wild West mood is a unique thrill.†-Stéphane “Fergus†Beley // Game Director on The Crew, Ivory Tower “The game I’m looking forward to the most next year would have to be Red Dead Redemption 2. Red Dead Redemption is one of my all-time favorite open world games. Riding around in the old west and being immersed in that world was an incredibly fun experience start to finish, and I can’t wait to do it again — bigger and better on PS4.†-Eric Jensen // Sr. Game Designer on Days Gone, Bend Studio “My most anticipated game is Red Dead Redemption 2. I was a big fan of the original and I love how Rockstar Games completely encapsulate the feel of old Spaghetti Westerns across the whole Red Dead franchise. From the music, the lighting, the characters, it all just screams The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Given that the first Red Dead Redemption was released in 2010 and still looks pretty good, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Red Dead team can achieve visually on PS4.†-Dominic Matthews // Product Development on Hellblade, Ninja Theory “My most anticipated PlayStation game has to be Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar always delivers compelling narrative and excellent characterisation, which together alongside the visuals and gameplay make for an epic gaming experience. The original Red Dead Redemption was fantastic and a definite highlight of the last 10 years for me, so when I heard about the sequel and saw the announcement trailer it shot straight to the top of my most anticipated list, though special mention must also go to Gran Turismo Sport and God of War!†-Phil Nightingale // Senior Designer on Tethered, Secret Sorcery Resident Evil VIIAs chosen by… “Resident Evil VII — it will be one of the first full-fledged VR games to come out and it’s RE on top of it! I mean, experiencing a RE game in first person in my VR gear will be one hell of a ride.†-Jean-François Dugas // Exec. Game Director, Deus ExShenmue IIIAs chosen by… “Shenmue III. Any person who works on non-linear games has to pay tribute to a long lineage of games! Having Shenmue back is a great moment for all of us; can’t wait to see what they come up with.†-Nouredine Abboud // Sr. Producer on Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Ubisoft Paris “So many great games to choose from, but for me it’s Shenmue III. I’ll never forget playing its predecessors on Dreamcast. And the soundtrack was so good that I still regularly listen to it.†-Mathijs de Jonge // Game Director on Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla GamesShovel Knight: Spectre of TormentAs chosen by… “Across the studio there’s an unanimous excitement for it. It’s our founder’s favorite game of all time, and now it’s getting a prequel.†-Gavin McCarthy // Art Director at Household Games Inc Spider-ManAs chosen by… “I have my fingers crossed for Insomniac’s Spider-Man. The fun of Ratchet and Clank realized in a modern New York City with ‘silky’ animations could be an ‘amazing’ game.†-Ken Chua // Assoc. Sft. Engineer, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Crystal DynamicsTorment: Tides of NumeneraAs chosen by… “Going full old school geek, I would say Torment: Tides of Numenera. It’s a crowd sourced spiritual successor to one of my all-time favorite games, Planescape Torment.†-Dominic Guay // Sr. Producer on Watch Dogs 2, Ubisoft MontrealWhat Remains of Edith FinchAs chosen by… “It just looks like a game that I’ve never really seen before. It seems to be doing things in a very specific way that’s unique. It tickles my… well, I can’t say.†-Martin Kvale // Audio Lead on Mosaic, Krillbite View the full article

A New Year and a new set of games coming to PlayStation Plus members! This month we have the excellent Day of the Tentacle Remastered and This War of Mine: The Little Ones. First up, we have the zany Day of the Tentacle Remastered. This is a mind-bending, time traveling, puzzle adventure in which three unlikely friends work together to prevent an evil mutated purple tentacle from taking over the world. Originally released in 1993, this remastered game is a classic and not be missed. Now, if you are looking for something a bit more serious, look no further than This War of Mine: The Little Ones. Play as a group of civilians trying to survive in a city under siege while struggling to collect food and medicine. Make life-and-death choices driven by your conscience, while dealing with the constant dangers of war. Full lineup: Day of The Tentacle Remastered, PS4 (Cross buy on PS Vita) This War of Mine: The Little Ones, PS4 Blazerush, PS3 The Swindle, PS3 (Cross Buy on PS4 and PS Vita) Azkend 2, PS Vita Titan Souls, PS Vita (Cross Buy on PS4) Enjoy the New Year and new games! View the full article