PlayStation just held their first ever episode of State of Play, their own take on Nintendo Direct and Inside Xbox. If you didn’t manage to catch the stream and you can’t be arsed to trawl through page after page of individual announcements then fear not, I’m here to compile them all into one place for you. You’re welcome.
Iron Man VR is coming this year
The stream started with a short trailer for Iron Man VR, which is slated for release later this year. The trailer largely comprised of the usual “not actual game footage” cutscenes, but we did get some footage of a player using their hands to control Iron Man’s hand blaster. The official description for the game reads:
“Don the PlayStation VR headset* to suit up as the Armored Avenger in an original Iron Man adventure! Using two PlayStation® Move motion controllers** fire up Iron Man’s Repulsor Jets and blast into the skies with an arsenal of iconic Iron Man weapons at your fingertips. Face off against Iron Man’s greatest foes in high stakes, action-packed battles. Upgrade tech in Tony Stark’s garage to customize Iron Man’s sleek suit and awesome abilities.”
No Man’s Sky is getting VR support
No Man’s Sky will be getting VR support this summer as part of the previously announced Beyond update. While it’s not currently known exactly how it will be implemented—you’ll note that the trailer says “mode included” in the corner, which could suggest it’s a separate mode rather than the full game—the trailer did show a player exploring a planet on foot, racing around in a land buggy, and flying a ship through space.
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted coming in Spring 2019
If donning the PS VR headset to explore outer galaxies isn’t your thing then perhaps you’ll prefer having the holy hell scared out of you by creepy looking animatronic characters jumping at you out of nowhere. The trailer for Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted is brief and it doesn’t give much away, but the official description indicates that it’s largely based on previous entries in the series:
“Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted is a collection of VR experiences based on the original Five Nights at Freddy’s games, but it includes several new experiences as well.”
Upcoming PS VR games
If you haven’t had enough of PS VR announcements then fear not, because there was also another short section dedicated to promoting a few more PS VR games that are due to release this year, in a sort of “best of the rest” section. Loads of games are briefly on show in the video, including Mini-Mech Mayhem, Everybody’s Golf VR (which I’m sure will please BuffNerfRepeat’s Glen), Falcon Age, Trover Saves The Universe, Vacation Simulator (are they running out of ideas?), and more.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled will have Crash Nitro Kart content
During the stream there was a new trailer for the upcoming Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, which confirmed that the game would also feature content from 2003’s Crash Nitro Kart, such as tracks, karts, and the games battle mode. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a remaster of 1999’s Crash Team Racing, it’s due to release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on Friday 21st June, but PS4 players will get some exclusive retro skins.
Blood & Truth gets a story trailer and confirmed release date
State of Play also gave gamers a new story trailer for the highly-anticipated upcoming PlayStation VR game Blood & Truth, which I will be calling Jason Statham Simulator from now on. It’s an action-packed trailer full of cockney bravado, and the stream also confirmed that the game will release on Tuesday 28th May.
“Star in your own explosive action movie blockbuster with this PS VR exclusive shooter. Battle through the crime-ridden London underworld as elite soldier Ryan Marks in your deadliest mission yet… to save your family from a ruthless criminal empire. Take out your targets with breathless, over-the-top epic gun play as you drive, parachute and rappel across the city amid exciting set pieces.”
Concrete Genie gets a new story trailer
A large part of the stream was dedicated to a new story trailer for upcoming PS4 exclusive Concrete Genie, which is due for release later this year. The official description for the game reads:
“Concrete Genie is a game about a bullied teenager named Ash, who escapes his troubles by painting spectacular living landscapes and mischievous creatures throughout his abandoned hometown of Denska. As he masters this magical paint, he discovers it can purify Denska’s polluted walls. Can Ash overcome the bullies and paint his hometown back to life?”
It looks different, charming, and has a gorgeous art-style, and there are definitely some Epic Mickey vibes going on. The stream also confirmed that the game will be getting VR support. Check out the trailer below and remember, bullying ain’t cool, kids:
ReadySet Heroes announced
Sony also used State of Play to announce ReadySet Heroes, a fast-paced multiplayer dungeon crawler featuring a roster of cute characters to choose from. In a bit of a twist on the usual Dungeon Crawler genre, ReadySet Heroes will have you dungeon crawling in co-op play with a friend against another team of players who are doing the same, culminating in the two teams doing battle in a winner-take-all arena brawl. Sony is promoting it as “classic couch multiplayer” that’s “suitable for all ages”, and they also described the combat as “crunchy” during the stream. It’s releasing this year, but there’s no release date yet.
Observation gets a story trailer
Upcoming sci-fi thriller, Observation, got a new atmospheric story trailer during the stream. In an unusual turn, players will control the AI on board a space station, using the station’s security cameras and onboard controls to try and aid Dr. Emma Fisher in finding out what the bloody hell is going on. It all looked very Christopher Nolan. The official description reads:
“Observation is a sci-fi thriller uncovering what happened to Dr. Emma Fisher, and the crew of her mission, through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M. Players assume the role of S.A.M. by operating the station’s control systems, cameras, and tools to assist Emma in discovering what is happening to the station, the vanished crew, and S.A.M. himself.”
It looks very interesting. Observation will release on Tuesday 21st May. I’m off to watch Interstellar.
Days Gone gets a new story trailer
Days Gone is just a month away from its release date of Friday 26th April, and to celebrate Sony unveiled a new story trailer for the game during State of Play. It’s the stuff of pure post-apocalyptic zombie cliché but it does set the scene and introduce a few new characters, and I have to say it has made the game look a lot more character-driven than I originally envisioned. There was also some short clips of gameplay footage shown after the trailer that still has me feeling a little unsure about the combat, it doesn’t quite look impactful enough. Anyway, I still think the game is effectively going to make you feel like Daryl from The Walking Dead, which is probably reason enough to buy it anyway.
New Mortal Kombat 11 trailer confirms Jax, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang
I’ve been a massive fan of the trailers for Mortal Kombat 11 so far, it’s been an insanely good marketing campaign from NetherRealm Studios, and the new trailer that concluded State of Play has only added to it. The trailer shows various characters battling their younger selves as part of the games time-travelling storyline, all to a soundtrack of Ice Cube and Vince Staples – marvellous stuff. The trailer also gave us official confirmation that three more series staples, namely Jax, Kung Lao, and Liu Kang, would be returning for Mortal Kombat 11 when it releases on Tuesday 23rd April. You can check out the trailer below – it’s called Old Skool Vs New Skool, mainly because Kombat has been spelt with a K, but also because intentionally mis-spelling words is cool.
So, there we have it, the very first episode of PlayStation’s State of Play stream done and dusted. I was a little underwhelmed with it; very little new information was actually given, we were largely just given new trailers for games that we’re already expecting, and there was a bit too much emphasis on VR games for my liking. That said, Concrete Genie, Observation, and Mortal Kombat 11 were definite highlights for me, and there was arguably something for everybody.
What did you think? Let us know in the comments.
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