PlayStation Showcase: The Biggest Announcements And Games Shown

Sony held its PlayStation Showcase on September 9, and it was one of the biggest gaming events the company has put on in quite a long time. Essentially taking the place of E3, this show gave us a look at upcoming games from a bunch of major series, as well as all-new experiences. If you thought Insomniac Games was resting for even a moment, you would be very wrong, and PC players weren’t left out of the fun, either.

These were the biggest games shown during PlayStation Showcase 2021.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake

The first game shown during the event was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, developed in partnership with Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games. Created specifically for PS5, the game trailer did not mention BioWare, making it unclear if the original studio will be involved with the project, which was initially only on the original Xbox.

Project Eve

Project Eve, a previously announced game looks like Nier had a baby with Bloodborne and Devil May Cry, was shown during the showcase with a Japanese-language trailer showing off some flashy combat from main character Eve and a floating drone-like companion. A slowdown mechanic when dodging attacks also resembles the Bayonetta games, and it looks to be fairly disturbing.

Forspoken

The next big action-adventure game from Luminous Productions and Square Enix, Forspoken’s latest trailer began with an emotional, character-driven moment like something out of Life is Strange before transitioning to a fantasy world through a magical portal. Vast plains with giant, spiky structures shooting out of ground are visible in the distance. The world is filled with dangerous enemies, including fire-breathing dragons, and you’ll be able to soar into the air and control objects with your mind as well as conjure melee spells out of thin air. The game is coming exclusively to PS5 in Spring 2022.

Alan Wake Remastered

Remedy’s cult-favorite third-person adventure series Alan Wake is back, this time published by Epic Games. A pre-rendered trailer for the game’s PlayStation debut was shown during the PlayStation Showcase, along with gameplay showing some impressive visual improvements compared to the Xbox 360 original. Alan Wake Remastered will be available on both PS4 and PS5 on October 5.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V was shown off for PS5, with enhanced gameplay and “seamless character switching” that should be even quicker than the previous versions of the game. Grand Theft Auto Online will be free for a limited time to PS Plus subscribers, as well, with both arriving in March. It’s one of the most successful games of all time on PS5, and it’s going to sell like hotcakes once again.

GhostWire: Tokyo

Bethesda and Tango Gameworks showed off new footage of GhostWire: Tokyo during the event, including a look at a creepy Slenderman-like enemy and a masked, mysterious target talking about the “critical work” and “truth” that must be faced within the city. Though not a full-on survival horror game, it certainly seems like it will carry on the studio’s creepy legacy while also offering action-packed first-person combat against lots of different demonic monsters. No release date was given, but the game is expected in 2022.

Uncharted

Both Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy are being remastered, and not just for PS5. Both games are also coming to PC, and though they certainly looked plenty nice on PS4, they’re sure to get an extra dose of visual oomph on the more-powerful hardware. The main Uncharted series has never released on non-PlayStation platforms before, and this follows a few other big-name titles like Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone coming to PC.

Marvel: Wolverine

Insomniac Games isn’t done making Marvel games, and that extends beyond Spider-Man. A short teaser for Marvel: Wolverine was shown, and it’s coming to PS5. However, no gameplay was shown, nor did we get any indication of a release window or even a release year. Insomniac’s track record is certainly strong, though.

Gran Turismo 7

The Gran Turismo franchise has been on ice for a while, and it’s coming to PS5 with Gran Turismo 7. The game looks stunning, as we expected, but it’s also apparently going to feature some open-ended elements, similar to the Forza Horizon games. Icons for a variety of activities are visible on a big map, though on-track races still look to play a big role in the game. World circuits are also visible, meaning you won’t be limited to just one region, and cars’ interiors are rendered in impressive detail–even the tinting on the windshield.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Insomniac Games is certainly keeping itself busy, as another Spider-Man game is already on the way. Miles and Peter are seen battling baddies together before Venom appears from the shadows, his fangs barely visible. However, you’re going to have to wait quite a while to play the game, as it’s not going to release for PS5 until 2023. Given Insomniac’s plethora of projects, that’s not that unexpected.

God of War: Ragnarok

The sequel to one of the most acclaimed games of the last generation, God of War: Ragnarok (yes, that is the title) was featured with new in-engine footage during the presentation. Atreus and Kratos argue over whether it’s time for the boy to look for answers surrounding the pesky Loki himself, and we get a brief look at ice-sledding as well as the returning boat from the previous game. There appear to be more non-player characters to meet, andThor and his famous Mjolnir hammer will be making an appearance, as if there were any doubt.

Radiohead and Epic Games Tease Mysterious Collaboration, Kid A Mnesia Exhibition

Kid A Mnesia Exhibition, a mysterious new collaboration between Radiohead and Epic Games, was revealed at today’s PlayStation Showcase.

Very little was shown during the brief teaser, other than a few brief, dark glimpses of writings on walls. The game — or, really, whatever this is — is set to hit the PS5 in November.

According to Sony, Kid A Mnesia Exhibition is “an upside-down digital/analogue universe created from original artwork and recordings to commemorate 21 years of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac.” Aside from that tiny bit of info, though, Radiohead fans will be left wondering about this new apparent interactive experience.

The news comes as Radiohead prepares to celebrate the 20th/21st anniversary of two acclaimed albums, 2000’s Kid A and 2001’s Amnesia, with an upcoming reissue, Kid A Mnesia, which will release on Nov. 5. The new reissue will feature both original LPs, in addition to outtakes and previously unreleased music on a third disc, according to Rolling Stone.

On Sept. 7, Radiohead wrote on Twitter that Kid A Mnesia is “a coming of age for Kid A & Amnesiac and it’s joined by a new album, Kid Amnesiae, a memory palace of half-remembered, half-forgotten sessions & unreleased material.”

Kid A Mnesia Exhibition was one of the most off-beat selections in the latest PlayStation Showcase, to say the least. Among the other reveals were the official announcement of Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac Games, the cinematic trailer for The Knight of the Old Republic remake, and a new gameplay trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5.

Spider-Man 2 Announced By Insomniac Games

In a surprise reveal, Insomniac has announced Spider-Man 2, continuing the story of Peter Parker and Miles Morales in its video game Spider-verse, coming exclusively to PlayStation 5 in 2023.

Revealed at today’s PlayStation Showcase event, Venom was teased as at least one of the big bads you’ll face in a trailer also showing Peter and Miles taking down criminals together.

“While pushing the capabilities of the [PS5] will be very exciting, we’re equally pumped to craft all-new stories for Peter and Miles in this sequel,” Insomniac’s Ryan Schneider said in a post on the PlayStation blog. “Just as in our previous Spider-Man games, we not only want to tell a great Super Hero story, but also deliver a compelling human story, one full of heart and humor that dives deep into the people behind the mask.”

Schneider goes on to say that much of the original development team is returning for the sequel, including Creative Director Bryan Intihar and Game Director Ryan Smith. He also confirmed that Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter will reprise their roles as Peter and Miles, respectively, and that Tony Todd will voice Venom.

After introducing the series with Marvel’s Spider-Man, Insomniac kicked off the PS5’s life with the superb expand-alone game, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. That spin-off set things up for a sequel that could feature Peter Parker and Miles, and it seems Insomniac has been working on just that.

It was also revealed during the showcase that Insomniac is making a Wolverine game with Marvel as well.

Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy Being Remastered for PC and PS5

Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: Lost Legacy are being remastered for PC and PS5 by Iron Galaxy.

Revealed at today’s PlayStation Showcase event, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will feature enhanced versions of both of the Naughty Dog adventures release for PS4. You can see some of the screenshots from the next-gen remaster just below.

Uncharted 4 was first released back in 2016, which we awarded a 9/10 in our review. Uncharted: Lost Legacy, a side-story of sorts, was released the following year.

Sony has been investing more heavily in porting its exclusives to PC in the last year, and even bought Dutch studio Nixxes to assist with that move. Apparently, Epic previously offered $200 million to make that happen, but Sony seems to have gone in a different direction.

The Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection will release in early 2022.

Insomniac Is Making Marvel’s Wolverine

In a surprise reveal at today’s PlayStation Showcase, Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games revealed that it has a Wolverine game in development for PS5, seemingly titled simple Marvel’s Wolverine.

The reveal was done via a very brief teaser trailer, in which we see Wolverine in a cowboy hat sitting at a bar as a large man advances on him from behind. As the man gets closer, Wolverine extends his claws, revealing his identity.

Aside from that, the PlayStation blog stated that Marvel’s Wolverine is a “standalone game” and is being directed by Brian Horton and Cameron Christian, the latter of whom was a creative lead on Miles Morales. It’s still “very early” in development, but one hint to its story offered by the blog compared it to Spider-Man, in that “Both heroes feel deeply compelled to defend people who are less able to do so.”

That’s it for now. Insomniac’s been a busy place lately though, with the recent release of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which we found to be a “stunner” and a “fantastic experience.” We similarly loved Marvel’s Spider-Man and Miles Morales, effectively solidifying Insomniac’s superb track record with these kinds of games. It also just announced today that it’s working on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, exclusive to PS5. Though we don’t know what genre Wolverine will fall into, Insomniac has built some serious goodwill with Marvel titles already, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing more of this as it gets closer to release.

Unfortunately, there’s no release date or window forthcoming for Wolverine, and so far it seems like it might be a PlayStation exclusive, or even a PS5 exclusive, as the final title card stated it’s “In Development for PlayStation 5.”

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt Coming to PS5 This Year

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt is coming to PlayStation 5 later this year. Announced at today’s PlayStation Showcase event, the free-to-play battle royale is coming before the end of 2021, but we don’t have an exact date yet.

More details were announced on the PlayStation Blog, including that the game will aim to hit 60 fps, and it will, “make full use of the DualSense controller.”

Bloodhunt is set in the World of Darkness universe. In Bloodhunt, players control vampires fighting off hunters by using supernatural powers. The game is out now in early access on Steam. Bloodhunt is the debut game from UK and Sweden-based developer Sharkmob. It was originally revealed in late 2020.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Gets Another Sassy New Trailer Ahead of Launch

If you somehow haven’t gotten enough of a taste of what Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will have to offer when it launches next month, today’s PlayStation Showcase delivered with yet another look at some of the humorous, snappy story moments coming up in the Guardians’ adventure.

The new trailer opens with the Grand Unifier, who we’ve seen in previous trailers, giving a dark, ominous speech before Star-Lord feigns a heart attack to, one can only presume, distract or throw him off balance, while Gamora shakes her head in exasperation. And it all goes silly from there.

We also get a look at Cosmo, a dog with superpowers, intelligence, and the ability to telepathically communicate, who has a prior relationship with the Guardians. There are more looks at combat (both on foot and in space!) and hints at some big dramatic moments.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is still geared up for release on October 26 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch via cloud, following its announcement earlier this year. We’ve already seen tons of the game so far, including a cinematic trailer centered around Grand Unifier Raker, and deep dives into changes to Star-Lord’s backstory.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

New Wolverine Game Announced At PlayStation Showcase

Insomniac is heading up another Marvel superhero game. Announced in a brief teaser-trailer at the PlayStation Showcase, its next game will be Marvel’s Wolverine. A brief teaser-trailer showed a bar that had been utterly trashed, before slowly panning to a single man left standing. And if there were any doubt remaining, that man extended his adamantium claws while reaching for his drink.

Insomniac is also known for its work on Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. During the PlayStation showcase, the studio also showed a teaser trailer for Spider-Man 2, which will feature the antagonist Venom.

Now Playing: Marvel’s Wolverine | PlayStation Showcase 2021

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Insomniac announced that Wolverine will be a standalone game led by Brian Horton (creative director) and Cameron Christian (game director), who both worked on Miles Morales. The studio also noted that it feels Wolverine and Spider-Man have a surprisingly common core of feeling a deep desire to protect vulnerable people who can’t protect themselves.

New Ghostwire: Tokyo Trailer Looks Trippy, But Still No Release Date

After going quiet for some time, Shinji Mikami’s Ghostwire: Tokyo reappeared today, showing off new visuals from the upcoming supernatural thriller but otherwise offering little in the way of new info.

Shown at today’s PlayStation Showcase event, you can see some of the images from the trailer below.

The Oni mask bleeding black blood is perfectly scary, at least.

Despite being made by a Bethesda studio, Ghostwire: Tokyo is one of the few games that will remain PS5 console exclusives despite an acquisition by Microsoft. Mikami’s previously told us that it technically isn’t a horror game, and it was delayed to early 2022 to protect the health of staff working on it.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is still expected to be released early next year.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Preorders Available Now

Gearbox showed off new footage of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, the upcoming Borderlands spin-off, during the latest PlayStation Showcase. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is available to preorder now for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC ahead of its March 25, 2022 release date. There are multiple editions available to order and bonuses to secure.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is set in a high fantasy world starring customizable heroes who are on a mission to thwart the nefarious Dragon Lord. Since this is a Borderlands spin-off, customization is key here, and you’ll have plenty of guns, swords, and magical abilities to use during your quest. Tiny Tina will act as your guide, helping you progress through the monster-filled world.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands starts at $60 on PC, Xbox One, and PS4. Current-gen editions for PS5 and Xbox Series X start at $70.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands preorder bonuses

All Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands preorders come with the Golden Hero Armor Pack, which contains two golden armor themes that can be used with any set in the game.

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