Just as Nintendo offers fans a digital showcase for its upcoming content with Directs, the Sony State of Play formula has given PlayStation fans something to anticipate over the years. The last major State of Play was held in October 2021, followed by a special event focused entirely around Gran Turismo 7 on February 2, 2022, but today brought a more general 20-minute showcase of titles coming to PlayStation 4 and 5 in the near future.
While Sony confirmed ahead of the event that it was going to avoid discussing any hardware, including details about the PlayStation VR2 headset and its debut title Horizon Call of the Mountain, there was still plenty of content to delve into. Between updates for established titles like Returnal and brand-new reveals for games releasing into 2023, the PlayStation fanbase has a lot it can look forward to.
Exoprimal
A Capcom trailer that features warriors in mech suits fighting dinosaurs seems like a shoo-in for fans to expect their next installment in the beloved Dino Crisis franchise. However, the first trailer in Sony's latest State of Play was actually for a new team-based action IP called Exoprimal.
The world of Exoprimal, set in 2040, is apparently subject to strange vortexes that drop dinosaur outbreaks into unsuspecting cities. An AI named Leviathan is developed that predicts where these outbreaks will occur, and people put on exosuits reminiscent of BioWare's Anthem to take on the threat. Players can adapt assault, tank, or support roles when fighting waves of dinosaurs, with combat that appears reminiscent of the one-versus-100 Dynasty Warriors style. The game is set to release in 2023 for PS4 and PS5.
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a long-anticipated action-adventure game with supernatural horror elements that's set to release on March 25. Developed by Tango Gameworks, founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and renown for the Evil Within series, it has been building up to launch with content like a Ghostwire: Tokyo prelude visual novel. Sony's State of Play didn't reveal much about the upcoming PS5 game, but it included an official launch trailer that lets prospective players "experience the mysterious events" leading into its story.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Like with Ghostwire: Tokyo, today's new trailer for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin did not reveal many more details about the game. However, PS4 and PS5 owners can now download a demo leading up to its official March 18 release, giving them one last chance to try Team Ninja's next project before getting their hands on the real deal.
Forspoken
The second Square Enix title to be featured in the March 2022 Sony State of Play, Forspoken was recently delayed to October 11, 2022. Its new "Worlds Collide" trailer reflects this release date, but again is not much more than another showcase of Forspoken's gameplay as protagonist Frey moves about the land of Athia battling monsters. Among the creatures in this trailer are immense dragons, fiery skeleton demons, and more humanoid threats. For those interested in Forspoken, a pre-order is available now with in-game cosmetics for PS5 owners.
Gundam Evolution
The Gundam mecha franchise has thrived since the 1970s, and is still receiving new anime series as well as bigger attractions like Fukuoka, Japan's Gundam Park. Gundam Evolutions is a free-to-play 6v6 team-battle shooter that many have compared to Blizzard's Overwatch, announced in July 2021 and set to release for PS4 and PS5 sometime in 2022. A new trailer released during Sony's State of Play event focused primarily on the upcoming title's three competitive game modes: Point Capture, Domination, and Destruction. It also announces a network test to be held in both the United States and Japan sometime this spring.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
Similar to Gundam, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has long been a mainstay in American popular culture, originating with comic books and cartoons in the 1980s. Over time there have been numerous movie and video game adaptations, continuing with projects like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, and the newly announced Cowabunga Collection for PS4 and PS5 - a product of Nickelodeon and Konami - aims to bring much of that history together.
The brief trailer teases 13 returning TMNT games from both consoles and the arcade with new features like save states, rewinding, and more. According to a PlayStation Blog post by Konami senior producer Charles Murakami, this collection will include all regional variants of each title, and will feature both online and local co-op for applicable games. The Cowabunga Collection is set to release sometime in 2022.
GigaBash
Fans of old-school Godzilla fighting games should find a lot to love in GigaBash, a four-player "Arena Brawler" with destructible environments starring both Kaiju and Heroes; set to release in early 2022 for PS4 and PS5. The Sony State of Play trailer focuses on Rawa, the Dragon King known as "the Extinction Dragon" whose "imperious presence floods his surrounding in a sea of cataclysmic fire."
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R
While 2022 was primed to be an incredible year for fighting games early on, the reveal of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R coming to PS4 and PS5 in early fall is sure to make that more accurate. The original All Star Brawl, developed by CyberConnect 2, released for PlayStation 3 in 2013. It returns for modern hardware with 50 playable characters, including a seemingly heavy focus on people like Jolyne Cujoh from Stone Ocean, the most recent Jojo's arc to receive its anime adaptation.
Trek to Yomi
Polish studio Flying Wild Hog's Trek to Yomi has been on many peoples' radars since it was announced by Devolver Digital at E3 2021. At the end of last year it was confirmed that Trek to Yomi would be included in Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass at launch, but today's State of Play story trailer is more focused on its performance via PS5. It shows off Trek to Yomi's unique black-and-white combat that leans heavily into Samurai movie tropes. At the end, players are introduced to the game's cast of characters and their voice actors, who will make their appearance in spring 2022.
Returnal
Returnal was a big hit, acting as one of the first major showcases for Sony's PS5 and leading to Sony acquiring developer Housemarque. The March 2022 State of Play revealed a surprise 3.0 update for Returnal called "Ascension" that gives fans and newcomers alike more reasons to jump back into the roguelike come March 22. Ascension notably includes a new co-op mode that lets players take on its challenging campaign together, and there will be a "mysterious survival mode" called The Tower of Sisyphus that has Selene working her way through a gauntlet of enemies across 20 floors.
The DioField Chronicle
The March 2022 showcase ended off with the reveal of two brand-new Square Enix games coming out sometime this year on PS4 and PS5. First was The DioField Chronicle, a tactical RPG with some clear comparisons to titles like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Triangle Strategy. It's full of the medieval fantasy tropes one might expect from this genre, centering a conflict between the Trovelt-Schoevian Empire, Rowetale Alliance, and Kingdom of Alletain. What promises to help DioField Chronicle stand out is its "Real-Time Tactical Battle" system, in which units get to break out of their grid and get into live combat encounters.
Valkyrie Elysium
Wrapping up the Sony State of Play was Valkyrie Elysium, a new entry in Square Enix's Valkyrie Profile series that abandons its traditional turn-based combat in favor of action-RPG mechanics. Valkyrie Elysium is steeped in Norse mythology and promises an "epic story, beautiful environments, and new, fast-paced combat." The game certainly has potential for long-time fans of the Valkyrie franchise and those who enjoy Square ventures like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and possibly even the upcoming Forspoken.