PlayStation Showcase 2021 Was Wild
I just finished watching the PlayStation Showcase event and it was…hang on, let me check my professional journalist notes here…kinda awesome. One after another, Sony revealed exclusives and other triple-A bangers that had me wondering just how easy it would be to invent a time machine so I could just wake up with those games on my PS5. Hyperbole much? as we used to say, once upon a time in the Whedonverse. Maybe. It really was a good show, but there were some moments that, if not sell-your-Sony-stock terrible, were at least somewhere on the disappointment-o-meter. Let’s talk.
5 Things We Loved
We’re in for Some Amazing ARPGs
Although Elden Ring sat this one out, the show began with, count-em, three incredible looking action games or ARPGs (four, counting the Knights of the Old Republic remake): Project Eve, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Forspoken, each one outdoing the other in visual richness, imagination, exciting action and the potential for being the Next Big Thing. None of them were exclusives, but they all brought something pretty unique to the action genre. Wonderlands looked like a high fantasy RPG doing its best Borderlands cosplay, complete with a wicked sense of irony and some amazing-looking combat both with magic and the highly-touted guns. Forspoken was maybe the most surprising of the bunch, with its story of a young woman being inexplicably transported to a realm of magic and fantasy.
Car Porn at its Finest: Gran Turismo 7
One of the exclusives Sony showed off was the latest installment of Polyphony’s Gran Turismo. The trailer was all pipe organ music playing ersatz Bach, while the visuals were glistening curves and pistons a-pumping. It also looks like a thoroughly contemporary, incredibly full-featured installment of one of the best and most realistic racing sims and we can’t wait to see it in action.
God of War Ragnarok and Teen Angst
Another exclusive, and a new and extended look at the follow-up to God of War, only now our hero Kratos is dealing with a fully adolescent son, perhaps the cruelest fate and biggest challenge of all (with maybe the exception of Thor himself). It looks like, once again, we’re in for amazing combat, a richly rewarding story, and perhaps an extra helping of irony and wry humor, not to mention jaw-dropping environments and a stellar cast of voice actors working their magic.
It Was a Marvel-ous Show
More Spider-Man? Yes, please. And Wolverine? Who saw that one coming? (Well, probably everyone who pays attention to the franchise) Apparently Insomniac has found its groove, because both Spider-man 2 and Wolverine certainly sucked the oxygen out of the room for more than a few Marvel fans. While the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy is being developed by Eidos-Montreal, it still looks like it has the potential for pleasing both fans of the comics as well as those players looking for a fast-paced third person adventure game with wit and action.
No Frills, Just Thrills
Gotta say, I personally appreciated the minimal and generally un-cringeworthy presentation that focused on the games and not witty banter or fish-out-of-water celebrities. Sony gave us an hour or so of what we wanted, crafted to show off the best of what’s coming up. Simple, slick and to point.
What didn’t we like? Jump to page 2 to find out.