Author: Trafficblast

Wrestlemania 37 Night 1 Results, Review, And Recap

WWE’s Wrestlemania 37 will be the biggest PPV event for the company throughout 2021. Numerous championships will be defended, feuds will come to an end, and the walking BBQ zombie The Fiend will get revenge on Randy Orton–as Orton set The Fiend on fire months ago. Like last year, Wrestlemania 2021 will be a two-night event, Saturday and on Sunday. Check out the final results for Night 1 and reviews of each match below.

Months of preparation, story building, and production design have gone into this year’s Wrestlemania, which takes place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. This is the home of the NFL team the Buccaneers, so hopefully, WWE puts the giant pirate ship inside the stadium to good use–because why wouldn’t you? In the US, if you want to watch Wrestlemania, you’ll need to be signed up for a premium Peacock account, NBCUniversal’s streaming service.

As Wrestlemania 37 is a two-night event, the 14 matches for the PPV have been split between the two nights. On Night 1, there will be three championship matches. And the rumor is that Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair will be the main event of the evening. However, we’ll have to wait and see if that’s true. Check out the Night 1 match card below.

Night 1 match card:

  • Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE Championship
  • Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair – Smackdown Women’s Championship
  • Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison
  • Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
  • Naomi & Lana vs. Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke vs. The Riott Squad vs. Natalya & Tamina – Tag Team Turmoil
  • The New Day (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos – Raw Tag Team Championship
  • Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)

Throughout the evening, GameSpot’s Wrestle Buddies–Mat Elfring and Chris E. Hayner–will be updating you with the winners and losers as the show airs. Additionally, a few minutes after the conclusion of each match, we’ll be delivering reviews of each match, offering up our wrestling fan expertise. Make sure to come back to GameSpot on Night 2 for coverage of the show, and following the conclusion of Night 2, there will be a special post-Wrestlemania episode of Wrestle Buddies.

Kickoff Show:

No Caption Provided

The Kickoff Show has begun. You can watch it live for yourself below in this handy-dandy YouTube link. It’s free to watch, whether you subscribe to Peacock or not. Throughout the Kickoff Show, there may be some changes, and if there are, we’ll note them below.

Because of the storm in Tampa, there may be some delays, but who knows? We’ll keep you updated regardless. Have a great Wrestlemania everyone!

Surprisingly, there was no Kickoff Show match for this year’s Mania–just a lot of commentary about the upcoming matches.

Main Card

There’s a rain delay, so it’s a bunch of backstage interviews going on right now. This could be a very long night.

Fans are being let back in, and the promo package for the WWE Championship match has begun.

No Caption Provided

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – WWE Championship

Winner: Lashley by submission

Mat: How about that 40 minute rain delay? That was fun, right? John Morrison had glasses on that said “Drip drip” in a backstage interview while WWE was trying to kill time. Anyway, this is a match of two very large, muscular men challenging each other to tests of strength–a teeter totter of momentum. You know what you’re getting with a match between these two: power moves, breaks in between said moves, and muscle-men posing. That’s not a bad thing by any means, as long as I am entertained.

This is what I want from these two. It’s a match contained within the ring–for the most part–and it’s straight-up powerhouse wrestling. Neither is the underdog, which makes for a little more of a compelling match, as this could go either way. Of course, Lashley is the heel here, so of course MVP comes into play, with him helping get Lashley out of the ring, and distracting McIntyre as well.

I’m also going to probably say this a lot, but isn’t it great to have a live reaction from a crowd? It just adds so much excitement to the match. It was pretty cool to see the audience shocked over the McIntyre loss. I’m probably scoring this higher than I should, since it’s Mania and there’s an audience again, but I really enjoyed this one.

Rating: 8/10

Chris: Wait, the show started? Sorry, I was napping. Honestly, the company did great filling the time before they could actually start the show by letting the wrestlers great with promos do just that. When we finally got to Lashley vs. McIntyre, I honestly kept waiting for them to call for another rain delay. Honestly, what happens if officials evacuate mid-match?

On the surface, it’s hard to imagine this match being much different from the 2020 bouts between these two. However, this was the perfect place-setting for WWE’s return to live audiences: Two beefy, sweaty boys slugging it out for all their worth just for the opportunity to call themself champion.

I have to say, the right decision was made for the winner, but the way it happened was kind of a cop-out. MVP distracted Drew just by yelling from outside of the ring? I don’t really buy that, especially since he was yelling for most of the match. Regardless, this was a super fun match to kick the show off with and it’s the right choice to not feature as the main event.

Rating: 8/10

No Caption Provided

Tag Team Turmoil

Winner: Tamina and Natalya by pin

Mat: Wait, this is a gauntlet match and not an elimination–everyone in the ring at the same time–match? As you may or may not know, but during our predictions episode of Wrestle Buddies, Predictionbot3000 predicted The Riott Squad to win.

Naomi and Lana go out early to Carmella and Peyton Royce. Honestly, I missed it because I was typing about a bit from the podcast. Riott Squad took out Carmella and Peyton Royce with a nasty-looking tag team maneuver. Mandy or Dana slipped while walking to the ring, and that was pretty funny. I couldn’t tell which person it was.

This has been a showcase for the Riott Squad, but not a good one. It’s sloppy. There’s no time to really build a story here between all the competitors. Did I mention this is sloppy? Anyway, after all this goodwill is built up around the Riott Squad, Natalya and Tamina win. Everything about this match was bad, including who was booked to win. Sorry, Predictionbot3000.

Rating: 2/10

Chris: This was…awkward. Gauntlet matches can be hard to pull off and, sadly, his one didn’t pull it off for me. I think one major issue is the number of makeshift tag teams that simply haven’t had the chance to distinguish themselves yet. Beyond that, some of the work was just way too sloppy and the weather interfered when Mandy Rose slipped on a wet ramp during her entrance. Even the announcer botched a spot, announcing that the wrong team was eliminated at one point.

Additionally, it’s a shame that Naomi isn’t a cornerstone of WWE’s women’s division like she should be. It’s also a shame that nobody in WWE seems to realize Billie Kay is doing better character work than almost anyone else in the company. And Peyton Royce isn’t even on the card–why are we still without an Iiconics reunion?

In the end, Natalya and Tamina–a heel team–win and will face Shayna Baszelr and Nia Jax–a heel team–for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. So, honestly, I don’t even know what we’re doing here.

Rating: 3/10

No Caption Provided

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Cesaro by pin

Mat: ReversalMania! Do you enjoy wrestling matches with a lot of counter, reversals, and never-before-seen moves? You should because it’s awesome and constantly surprising. That’s what Rollins and Cesaro was: a bunch of “how they do that?” moments.

So the Cesaro Swing is great and all, but bless Cesaro for bringing back the Airplane Spin–a devastating finisher in like 1950. Cesaro brings an element of fun to in-ring competition without being a comedic character, and as a giant goofball myself, I appreciate the hell out of that.

In all honesty–this is a review, so I’m supposed to be honest, I guess–this match lived up to my expectations, which were high. This is a real cool Wrestlemania moment for Cesaro, one of the best wrestlers in the company. Now, WWE… let’s keep that momentum going.

Rating: 8.51/10

Chris: First thing’s first, I love Rollins’ new music. And, of course, we got the swing in. But Rollins made Cesaro work for it, coming up with a number of creative reversals to avoid the dastardly dizzying move. And we saw some new tricks from Rollins, who executed a corkscrew splash from the top rope–and it looked fantastic.

I’m going to be honest here, I don’t like the swing. I don’t like being dizzy, but also it’s been so overused over the years that I’m just not a fan. But I’m clearly in the minority. It’s super over with the audience and I love it for that.

But let’s talk about the outcome. We’ve been talking on Wrestle Buddies how this was the moment to elevate Cesaro to become a main player in WWE and with a decisive victory over Rollins, I really hope that’s what ends up coming to pass. This man is too talented to not be one of the top names in the company. But regardless of what happens next, these two put on a wildly entertaining match with a crowd-pleasing outcome, some interesting high spots, and plenty of hard-hitting moves.

Rating: 8.52/10

No Caption Provided

The New Day (c) vs. AJ Styles & Omos – Raw Tag Team Championship

Winners: AJ Styles and Omos

Mat: Big E introducing The New Day made me so very very very happy. Like tear-to-my-eye happy. Hearing the crowd chant “New Day Rocks” made me very happy. The New Day just makes me happy.

The story in this match is “AJ is going to tag Omos, eventually.” It’s so weird that we’re not seeing The Phenomenal AJ Styles here. It’s more of Styles just trying to tag in his very tall friend. Then, Omos finally gets tagged in and all the agility and wherewithal that The New Day has goes completely out the window, to cater to the in-ring debut of Omos–who did very little here.

When all is said and done, Omos and Styles have the win. I don’t mind those two getting the titles, but the first half and the second half of this match have two very different versions of The New Day. It just didn’t feel real to me. I know, this is wrestling, it’s predetermined and what not–but I need it to feel real.

Rating: 5/10

Chris: Big E kicking things off with a proper New Day introduction was exactly what we all needed. That said, this match is so odd to me. I’ll say this, it was wildly entertaining. The New Day were amazingly funny throughout, and seemed to be having the best time making AJ Styles look foolish. But why is AJ Style made to look the fool? This is a multiple-time world champion and one of the greatest wrestlers in the business. Making him look like an incapable moron seems to be bad planning, long-term.

Now, let’s talk about Omos. He’s a great visual. He’s a giant just throwing people around. But having him thoroughly destroy the New Day in seconds for the tag titles, to me, is incredibly short-sighted. AJ gets nothing from this, Omos needs more seasoning to live up to this. Again, I’ll say this was an entertaining match, but let’s be clear: Omos didn’t have to do much. The New Day bumped around the ring like lunatics for everything he hit them with and then the match was over. I don’t know how to feel about it.

Rating: 5/10

No Caption Provided

Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)

Winner: Braun Strowman by pin

Mat: This match does nothing for anyone. You know from the get-go that this was all about Shane taking a massive bump, which he did from the top of the cage into the ring. But hey, Braun ripping apart the cage while Shane escaping happened, and that was a thing.

Braun ends up getting the pin–instead of escaping for some reason–and nothing will come of this. He also flexed in front of the pirate ship, which was the most enjoyable part of the match. Make Braun a pirate.

Rating: 2/10

Chris: This match was a bust for me from the jump. I refuse to believe, in any way, that Shane McMahon could physically best Braun Strowman. Yet, in the early parts of the match that’s what happened. The end result was never in doubt and the feud that it was built on was a massive failure. At least it didn’t last long, I guess.

Rating: 1/10

Additionally during the evening, 2K Games announced WWE 2K22, and revealed the first–very early–footage for the game. If you want to learn more, check out the Wrestle Buddies mini episode about the footage we watched for a press event below.

No Caption Provided

Bad Bunny & Damian Priest vs. The Miz & John Morrison

Winner: Bad Bunny & Damian Priest by pin

Mat: The match opened with a bunch of bunnies coming to the ring, then John Morrison and The Miz performing one of their songs live. I did not appreciate WWE commentary crapping all over it. Booker T enjoyed it though, and that made me happy.

For the majority of the match, I was putting my kid to bed, so I missed almost everything else. Family comes first, even during Wrestlemania. Unless I was actually at the show, then he’d have to read a book to himself.

Here’s what I saw. Bad Bunny doing some great selling. Bad Bunny caring about wrestling as a craft. Bad Bunny doing a Canadian Destroyer. Again, while I can’t rate this match, from what I saw, it was a blast. Bad Bunny rules.

Rating: NA

Chris: This is a match of amazing entrances, from an army of bunnies to Bad Bunny on top of a semi-truck. It all looked awesome and, had the match ended there, it would’ve been perfectly serviceable. That said, this match was actually a lot of fun. Bad Bunny has clearly been training for his Wrestlemania spotlight. He may not be a technical marvel, but he more than held his own in a very entertaining match. Heck, he even busted out a Canadian Destroyer!

This was also a showcase for Damian Priest, in his Wrestlemania debut, and he delivered. Hopefully, this leads to him getting a substantial push on Raw. As for Bad Bunny, chances are this is the last we’ll see of him but what a way to go out on top. In the world of celebrity involvement, this has been one of the best.

Rating: 8/10

No Caption Provided

Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair – Smackdown Women’s Championship

Winner: Bianca Belair by pin

Mat: Hey look, a main event quality match that’s actually the main event. There’s a reason these two are center stage for Night 1. Sasha Banks puts on high-quality PPV matches and Bianca Belair is everyone’s new favorite wrestler because she’s a monster in the ring.

So many moments from this match were the moment of the night, and Belair carrying Banks above her head, walking up the stairs, and throwing her in the ring was amazing. I have not been this invested in the match and the in-ring storytelling between two wrestlers in years. This was captivating, and although my expectations were high, it somehow surpassed it. I don’t see anything else on Night 2 being this good–and this is after a long day where the show was delayed for an hour.

I’m at a loss for words. I’m simply wowed by these wrestlers. Hell yes. Thank you.

Rating: 10/10

Chris: I’m glad this match is the main event. It deserves it. The feud leading to it was a bit hit-and-miss for me, but there are no two more deserving to headline this show and them having an excellent match was a foregone conclusion.

Sasha Banks deserves a lot of credit for her heel work here, and the use of Bianca’s braid against her was practically perfect evil wrestler material. But holw cow, Belair showing just how powerful she is over and over again was just fantastic. I honestly don’t have any critiques. The story that was told from these two, the innovation in the ring, all of it was just top notch and so worthy of being a Wrestlemania main event. I dare any match from Night 2 to top this. And good luck getting the sound of that hair whip out of your mind.

Rating: 10/10

See you all tomorrow night.

Now Playing: WWE’s Breezango Battles GameSpot’s Created Wrestler In WWE 2K18

WWE 2K22 Announced During Wrestlemania 37 With First Game Footage

During Wrestlemania 37, the very first video was released for WWE 2K22. After the franchise took last year off, a new entry is coming sometime later in the year, and 2K Games plans on delivering more early-concept footage prior to launch.

The short, 22-second clip features Rey Mysterio taking on Cesaro in the Raw arena, along with some hero shots of Mysterio, who is bound to be a future Hall of Famer. The footage is very polished and features some highly-detailed character models. Check out the video for yourself below.

In a briefing with press, a 2K representative told us that we’ll be seeing a lot more behind-the-scenes footage of progress working on the game, along with character models, motion capture, audio samples, and more in the months leading up to the game. This reveal comes much earlier in the year compared to when 2K typically begins to show off its annual WWE 2K wrestling game.

2K Games skipped out on releasing a WWE simulation game in 20201–although it did release the arcade-style 2K Battlegrounds. The last game released in the simulation series was the infamous WWE 2K20, which was exceptionally buggy at start. Patches followed in the upcoming months, in which the game saw many of the glitches disappear, but 2K Games took 2020 off.

At this time, no other info about the upcoming game has been released, and all we know is Cesaro and Mysterio are in the game. For more in-depth talk about the video, the upcoming game, and a Peacock press event, check out this brand-new episode of Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s wrestling podcast, below. Also, make sure to come back to GameSpot on April 11 for coverage of Night 2 of WrestleMania.

Bianca Belair Makes WWE History With 2021 Wrestlemania 37 Main Event

Bianca Belair made WWE history tonight as she is the first woman to main event her first super bowl of WWE PPVs at Wrestlemania 37. Having won the Women’s Royal Rumble this year, Bianca earned a championship match against whoever the champion would be at the time, and when it was announced that she and Banks would be the main event, she made herself the first woman on a very exclusive list.

The only WWE stars who had a main event spot for the first time at the big dance, outside the initial four performers at Wrestlemania I are Brock Lesnar, Ted Dibiase, and Sgt. Slaughter. Brock debuted in 2002 after Wrestlemania 18, and main evented with Kurt Angle the next year for the WWE Championship. Both Slaughter and Dibiase had just joined the company at their respective times and found themselves in the main events of Wrestlemania IV and VII respectively.

Obviously, this isn’t counting the one-off celebrity match between Lawrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow at Wrestlemania XI, as neither made another appearance, but when we’re talking about how historical the match between Sasha and Bianca actually was, it’s substantially more when you add this element to it.

Both Sasha and Bianca made their own bit of history collectively as the first time two women of color have been in the main-event spot at Wrestlemania, but having Bianca becoming the first woman, much less a Black woman to join this list, is double history.

Age Of Empires 4 Will Let You Command A War Elephant

Age of Empires might not be one of Microsoft’s biggest series, but fans have been enjoying the history-filled real-time strategy and massive battles for a very long time. Age of Empires 4, developed by Relic Entertainment, will we the long-awaited next game, and a preview event has given us some new information on playable civilizations and improvements–including powerful war elephants.

The Delhi Sultanate will be a playable civilization in Age of Empires 4, and they have access to the massive War Elephant unit, similar to the second game, for causing massive chaos during attacks on fortresses. Sending a few of those through a group of enemy soldiers should be enough to disrupt their lines and let you push deeper into an area.

One of four campaigns available in the game, the Norman campaign begins at the Battle of Hastings in England and follows Duke William and descendants Robert, William II, and Henry I as they fight for control of the nation. This means it will take place over about 100 years, but shouldn’t be confused with the Hundred Years’ War that followed a few centuries later.

There are four Ages in total to play in Age of Empires 4, so the name kind of serves two meanings. Medieval, Feudal, Castle, and Imperial are all available, and in the Feudal Age you’ll be able to play as the Chinese and Mongol civilizations. These require their own tactics, with the Mongols excelling at hit-and-run attacks while the Chinese use technology and powerful defenses.

More content was also revealed for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition during this event, including new campaign, cooperative battles, and even a United States civilization in the latter game.

For more on Age of Empires 4, you can check out the Virtual Village. This gives you quick access to a whole bunch of gameplay videos and a teaser for naval action.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Sony’s London Studio Is Hiring For PS5 Game, But Is It VR?

Sony’s London Studio has often worked on accessory-based games for PlayStation systems, and its recent efforts have been on PlayStation VR. Now, it appears the studio is gearing up for a PS5 project that’s going to have online play, but it’s not clear if it will be a VR game.

A listing on the studio’s site says it needs an online gameplay designer who will work on a PS5 project. The listing specifically mentions online multiplayer, as well as working with narrative and mission leads, so there will apparently be some sort of story content that could work alongside the multiplayer. The specifics on what kind of game it is are otherwise pretty much nonexistent, however.

We do know that London Studio is working on making VR content work for PS5, at least as far as past games go. A patch released shortly after the PS5’s launch added improvements to Blood & Truth, which originally launched for PS4’s PSVR. It added higher frame rates and resolutions as well as better textures while still using the original headset and an adapter on the new console.

We do know a PS5-exclusive version of PlayStation VR is coming, as Sony has revealed some details on its controllers and single-wire design already. Presumably, investing in hardware like that would mean Sony also wants its own development teams making games for it, and London Studio is the plausible choice for the job, but it could also surprise us.

Prior to its work on toy-based and VR games like EyeToy and SingStar, the studio created the Guy Ritchie-style crime game The Getaway: Black Monday. A traditional, controller-based video game, it didn’t receive great reviews, but Blood & Truth shows London Studio still has a knack for crime stories.

Why Kong Is the Hero of Godzilla vs. Kong

Warning: Full spoilers follow for Godzilla vs. Kong.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Godzilla vs. Kong is now in theatres, and on HBO Max, and given that it’s smashing pandemic box office records, it appears that audiences around the world have been eagerly anticipating this long-awaited rematch. In the lead-up to the film, the marketing campaign encouraged people on social media to declare who they were rooting for in the big showdown. Were you Team Godzilla, or Team Kong? Of course, that was the big question going into the film. Which of these Alpha Titans would emerge the definitive victor? But now that the film is out, it seems to be concerned with something else entirely. Godzilla vs. Kong is the first MonsterVerse movie where one of the monsters is the actual main character — the hero. It just so happens to also be the monster who loses the fight.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=monsterverse-every-major-monster&captions=true”]

Kong: Favoring the Unfavorite

By any metric of runtime or structure, Godzilla vs. Kong is a Kong movie through and through. He’s the first character we see after the opening logos, and the last one we see right before the end credits. He’s featured across the whole film’s narrative, while Godzilla seems to pop in about once every 20 minutes or so. Kong has a supporting cast of humans who actually interact with him and matter to his journey, while the characters loosely affiliated with Godzilla are kept at a distance from him. Taken without any outside expectations regarding franchise crossovers or the history of these monsters, the film as presented clearly positions Kong in the role of protagonist and Godzilla in the role of antagonist.

Despite this, the film also acknowledges that the matchup between these two monsters is not on equal terms. The first battle is in the water, definitively Godzilla’s domain, and Kong is left completely winded after a fight where he required the military’s help with depth charges to survive Godzilla’s assault. The second battle in Hong Kong has Kong put up more of a fight, but not only does he have to use the dorsal fin axe he found in the Hollow Earth to stay in the game, but he spends a lot of the battle on the defensive, fleeing from Godzilla’s atomic heat beam. Across the film, Kong is the underdog, but unlike many movies like this, he doesn’t triumph against his rival. Godzilla beats Kong to near death, and leaves him unable to pick himself up (before getting some help from his human pals). If Kong is our hero, why does he lose? Because defeating Godzilla was never his endpoint.

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/28/whos-the-better-friend-godzilla-or-kong]

Escape From Monkey Island

When we first encounter Kong on Skull Island, he’s fast asleep. It’s an appropriate visual to introduce him to us. Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) may talk about Kong as a rival Alpha to Godzilla, but that doesn’t really mesh with Kong’s portrayal here. He’s a complacent ruler, lazily going about his days, and although he does throw trees at his prison walls, he doesn’t seem to be attempting to escape with any real urgency. Kong is a king without a purpose, his only relationship being with Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a deaf girl and the last of the Iwi natives who shared the island with him. He may be a friendly protector to Jia, but unlike Godzilla, who pursues his goals in this film with ruthless abandon, Kong starts off without much motivation beyond being reactive.

This changes when Kong arrives in Antarctica and learns that more of his kind may be in the Hollow Earth. We know from his solo film that Kong was the last of his species on Skull Island back during his adolescence, and the potential to uncover his origins is apparently a call he cannot resist, even more so than his burgeoning rivalry with Godzilla. Consider his encounter with the anti-gravity well and the floating rocks, where he sees a statue of a giant hand pointing out to him, and he takes a leap of faith towards it. He may not find any other Kongs in the Hollow Earth, but he does discover the history of his species and his place within the wider world. Kong craves a real home, a connection to his past, in a manner more human than any other Titan in the MonsterVerse.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/8-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-godzilla-and-king-kong”]

The Race to Second Place

Even then, Kong still believes he can challenge Godzilla for his role as Alpha Titan, in a battle he was never going to win. In fact, Kong losing the title fight is of prime importance to understanding why Kong is the hero of the film. After all, Godzilla may be an antagonist to Kong, but he isn’t the villain. If anything, Godzilla in this franchise is above our conception of morality, acting as a protector of the Earth, yet also steadfast in maintaining his dominance above all other living beings. He only attacks when something threatens the hierarchy of nature. Like the human characters in Godzilla: King of the Monsters who had to accept their place in the natural order and work alongside Godzilla to save the planet, Kong needed to be humbled for his subsequent alliance with Godzilla to have meaning.

That alliance comes in the form of the two Titans taking on MechaGodzilla, a synthetic monstrosity built by the corporation Apex that represents the last gasp of the outdated philosophy of mankind’s attempted dominion over nature. Naturally, it backfires, resulting in the deaths of all the Apex characters and a remnant of Ghidorah’s consciousness taking over the mecha. It’s important to note that when MechaGodzilla starts battling Godzilla, Kong is under no obligation to intervene. He’s far enough from the fight that he could flee, and leave Godzilla to his fate. Yet a plea from Jia, a human child who could easily be far beneath Kong’s notice if he so chose, convinces him to join the fight. Kong’s arc concludes by aligning himself with humanity, accepting the very same humility that we once did, and he is rewarded not just with a new home in the Hollow Earth, but a new purpose as an ally to the Titan he once considered his enemy.

kong-mechagodzilla
Kong, hero.

He may not end the film as the new Alpha, but Kong proves while holding up MechaGodzilla’s severed head that even if you aren’t the most powerful force in the world, you can still have victories all the same.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.

PlayStation’s Focus on Too Big to Fail Games Is Concerning

Sony’s consistent output of critical and commercial smash hits is undoubtedly a key factor in PlayStation’s rise from the ashes after the troubled launch of the PlayStation 3. By doubling down on beloved franchises like Uncharted, a revived God of War, and more recent hits like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ghost of Tsushima, Sony’s stable of first-party studios has become synonymous with chart-topping, award-winning games.

But a new report from Bloomberg suggests that Sony’s upper management primary focus on blockbuster games that are ‘too big to fail’ comes at the expense of riskier, more inventive projects. If the picture painted is an accurate one, Sony may be losing a key facet of its identity that’s not only been a hallmark of the company since its earliest days, but is also directly responsible for some of PlayStation’s biggest hits over time.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/the-last-of-us-remake-in-development-days-gone-2-rejected”]

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Jason Schreier’s report covers a handful of allegedly canned or altered projects among Sony’s suite of first party studios, like a The Last of Us remake that changed hands several times, a Days Gone sequel that will never see the light of day, and more. It’s certainly fascinating to learn about the projects that have and haven’t materialized from a company that’s been notoriously quiet in recent years, but the report points towards a company and leadership ethos that leaves little room for a bedrock of gaming, experimentation.

The most damning example comes from what we learned about the development studio properly spinning up to be its own team within the Visual Arts Service Group, a Sony team that pinch-hit and assisted other Sony studios cross the finish line with their games. Rumors have abounded for years that they would be continuing the Uncharted franchise, but Schreier’s report states the team was allegedly working on a Last of Us remake that never got the support it needed there, and has since been moved to Naughty Dog. While the lack of support is troubling enough, The Last of Us – a benchmark of excellence at Sony – isn’t a game that screams the need for a remake eight years on, and in the wake of a perfectly good remaster.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=the-best-ps5-games&captions=true”]

A quality-over-quantity approach isn’t inherently a bad thing, of course, and Sony’s output of successful first-party releases this past generation is a big reason why people buy PlayStations. But as the Horizon Zero Dawns and the God of Wars became the focal point of PlayStation’s first-party stable, there was less and less to keep players entertained in between. That led to the odd showings in the later years of the PS4, where Sony trotted out the same group of exclusives for years at PSX, State of Play, and E3 showcases.

While almost every new Sony first-party launch has been coupled with a record-breaking sales headline, and later end-of-year accolades from around the industry, the report suggests that the quality bar came at the expense of games and potential franchises that weren’t hits right out of the gate. While Days Gone didn’t necessarily review as favorably as other Sony first-party games, it amassed a dedicated fanbase and was reportedly profitable. Developer Bend Studio has shown its dedication to the game, with consistent patches and post-launch support to improve the tech issues critics noted. But even despite all that, the years of marketing pushes it got, and all the work Bend did to create its Freaker horde tech and establish this world, Bloomberg reports a Days Gone 2 was not “seen as a viable option.”

In the case of Days Gone, it’s a particular shame because there was clearly a gem of an idea buried underneath its issues. Bend’s reverence for motorcycle movement made the vehicle a joy to ride, its Freaker hordes are both frightening and thrilling to tackle, and Sam Witwer delivered a strong performance as Deacon St. John. Game franchises can come back from shaky starts, especially when there’s a solid foundation. Just look at Assassin’s Creed, which debuted to middling reviews but found its footing with the fantastic Assassin’s Creed II. And even within the halls of Sony you can find sequels that drastically improved upon the first. Uncharted 1 was well received at launch, but Uncharted 2 crystallized what the series could accomplish on a spectacle and design scale in a way the first just couldn’t. Sequels are meant to be improvements, and it’s a shame Days Gone may never get to be proof of that.

The decision was reportedly enough to cause team members to leave while Bend was assigned to help Naughty Dog on both a multiplayer game and a new Uncharted, which led to fears “they might be absorbed into Naughty Dog, and the studio’s leadership asked to be taken off the Uncharted project.“

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/20/the-last-of-us-hbo-series-will-cover-the-first-game”]

(The merits and timeliness of a Last of Us remake are another debate entirely, but it’s of course worth noting that a more modernized version of one of Sony’s most beloved games hardly counts as much of a risk as a brand new franchise would. More so, the alleged lack of funds or trust in the SVAG team feels emblematic of the larger problem – why should Sony bet on a new team, even if it’s working on a known property, when they can simply put it in the hands of one of their most successful teams? And sure, that might, on paper or in a boardroom, make sense, but then how does that new team find a chance to succeed?)

And if a project that, from the outside, seemed as sure a thing as a Days Gone sequel can’t move forward, how much room is there for new ideas, and risks that can lead to the next The Last of Us or God of War? Of course, these games were risks themselves! It’s almost a folly to think any one publisher can produce only hit after hit without some stumbles along the way, or experiments that, even if they don’t work on first blush, may lead to greater success down the road. It’s worrying to read about a laser focus on these big projects alongside something like first party studio Media Molecule’s Dreams, a creation-suite that, as Bloomberg notes, never quite got the marketing it deserved. Its dedicated audience is certainly there, but in an era where creation platforms like Minecraft, Roblox, and more become some of the biggest games in the world, it’s disheartening that Sony didn’t try to push Dreams into that stratosphere.

The Sony Japan Studio restructuring is further proof that Sony is hedging all its bets on only its most unflappable blockbusters. With the reorganization of Sony Japan to be focused around Team Asobi, undoubtedly due to the success and acclaim of Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro’s Playroom, the development house that has led to some of Sony’s most eclectic, memorable experiences is singularly focused on the series that sells consoles… or convinces players to buy into the innovative DualSense. Seemingly gone are the smaller, but no less worthy games like Gravity Rush, Ape Escape, Shadow of the Colossus, and the talent behind those franchises. The only, truly small-scale studio that exists within Sony these days is Pixelopus, the Concrete Genie devs whose latest game was certainly a charmer, but didn’t necessarily capture the same mindshare as Days Gone did in the same year. Does that studio’s creative wit have a place in modern-day PlayStation? I truly don’t know, and as a fan of their work, that worries me.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=the-evolution-of-playstation-hardware&captions=true”]

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Despite all the worrying signs, the PS5 continues to sell out, the first party studios Sony is paying all its attention to are seemingly thriving and have massive sequels like the next God of War, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Horizon Forbidden West on the way that are, again, probably too big to fail. And PlayStation series seem to be of wider importance to Sony than ever, with Uncharted, The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima on the docket for film and TV adaptations. There is clearly a long, healthy life ahead for many of these series, and it would be hypocritical to say that I can’t wait for the sequels, both announced and assumed, to come.

But PlayStation has historically never rested on safe bets. Through its stumbles and successes, the lineup of PlayStation exclusives across the generations is marked by risks, some that worked and some didn’t, but all of which proved the company’s ethos of putting intriguing game experiences first. What the new report shows, more than anything, is the picture of a company more concerned with the bottom line and capitalizing on what’s already worked, rather than blending in new, bold steps to find renewed success elsewhere. It’s why, in the wake of the report, a video of former PlayStation Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden has been circulating widely on social media.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/the-history-of-the-playstation-4″]

Talking about Vib-Ribbon at E3 several years back, Layden said “A personal favorite of mine that really embodies the PlayStation spirit. It wasn’t a multi-million seller, but that’s not the point. Vib-Ribbon was unafraid to go against the tide. It was courageous in its ambition, and it brought a completely new experience to gamers. It’s an incredible time to be part of the PlayStation family… After all, guys, it’s all about the games, isn’t it?”

It’s a broad statement, and of course, I’m sure Layden would agree, it’s equally about the people making those games, and the audiences who play them. But the spirit of what he’s saying rings so true: Vib-Ribbon wasn’t an exception to the rule but rather emblematic of it. Would it be released today, though? It sure would feel like an exception. Creating art within a commercial space will also have to conform to some amount of oversight, but it seems that art disconnected from a guaranteed, monumental win doesn’t even have the room to be imagined in the first place. And with the loss of space for those ideas to grow, it’s natural to worry that some of the PlayStation legacy will be lost, too.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush and check out his new Persona 5 podcast.