PS5 Reveal Event Impressions
Amidst all of the uncertainty and sadness in the world right now, today something truly special happened. Playstation unveiled the next generation of gaming with the PS5. They also set the bar astoundingly high with a vast number of first and third party titles showcased for the new console. In this article I will break down the highlights of the PS5 reveal event and what it means for the future of this hotly anticipated console.
Sony has been extremely quiet in regards to PS5 coverage leading into the console’s launch of Holiday 2020. Outside of the October Wired article, Mark Cearny’s technical messaging and the Dualsense controller reveal, there hasn’t been much in terms of what games would be coming to the system. Playstation changed that today and unveiled a total of 25 PS5 titles including huge AAA studios and smaller independent projects.
My biggest surprise from the event was the announcement of Spider-Man: Miles Morales from Insomniac Studios. Coming this Holiday 2020, presumably as a launch title, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is such an exciting and pleasant surprise to set the tone for the amazingly varied press conference to follow. As Spider-Man was my personal game of the year in 2018, I can’t wait to dive into the game with the excellent web-swinging traversal mechanics and combat of the original game. With Miles Morales as the star of the game, it will be interesting to see how the narrative of the series evolves going forward. The use of the subtitle rather than a numbered sequel leads me to believe that the game will be a shorter title priced at $40 similarly to Uncharted: Lost Legacy, however this is pure speculation at this point.
Another exciting moment was the return of our favorite gun-wielding/platforming mascots with Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. In the beautiful trailer, we saw how the PS5 ray-tracing capabilities are put to use as Ratchet and Clank move through multiple dimensions with seamless load-free motion. After the fantastic remake of the original Ratchet and Clank released in 2016, it will be awesome to see the series receive a new entry built from the ground up for PS5. With no release date announced, we can only hope that we get to see this intriguing title sooner rather than later.
The greatly anticipated sequel Horizon: Forbidden West was also showcased and looked absolutely stunning. The trailer featured Aloy swimming with new aquatic enemy types making an appearance. The trailer also shows a breathtaking view of what looks like the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco indicating the game is taking place in what was once the west coast of the United States. With no mention of a release date, I think it is safe to assume we will see this title in 2021 as Playstation already has a first party title for launch with Spider-Man: Miles Morales launching in Holiday 2020.
In addition to huge blockbuster titles, Playstation also showcased a number of unique third-party and independent titles. My most anticipated third-party title shown was undoubtedly Returnal developed by Housemarque. It was so refreshing to see Housemarque branch out into a story-based title set in a unique sci-fi universe. With thematic elements similar to Remedy’s Control coupled with the frantic gameplay Housemarque is known for, Returnal is certainly one to watch. Another cool third-party title showcased was Project Athia, a new RPG from Square Enix. The project features a team of notable TV, film, game, and fantasy literature writers led by Gary Whitta to create a brand new IP for Square Enix. It is always exciting to see a new IP at the start of a console generation and with the graphical fidelity and strong narrative behind it, Project Athia is off to a great start on PS5.
Now let’s talk about the fantastic indie titles that Playstation showcased as well, including the charmingly quirky title Bugsnax from Young Horses, the studio behind Octodad: Dadliest Catch. The narrative-based title Goodbye Volcano High with a beautiful art-style features dinosaur characters as teens, developed by KO_OP. Additionally, Jett: The Far Shore looks to be an extremely unique experience as players uncover the mystery of this bleak world, developed by Superbrothers who made the fantastic mobile game Sword and Sworcery EP. After seeing these trailers and more, I was thrilled to see Playstation’s commitment to independently developed titles on PS5. Keep Playstation weird, unique, joyous and fun as that is the purpose of video games.
There are many other titles that were shown during the showcase, but these are just a few of the titles I am most excited about. I highly recommend watching the press conference and seeing the trailers for yourself. Playstation also announced the following titles at their event: GTA 5 for PS5, Gran Turismo 7, Stray, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Destruction Allstars, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Oddworld: Soulstorm, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Godfall, Solar Ash, Hitman 3, Astro’s Playroom, NBA 2K21, Deathloop, Resident Evil Village and Pragmata. With so many amazing-looking titles, look for more my impressions to come as more information becomes available.
To say I am excited for the Playstation 5 would be a massive understatement. I have been a long-time Playstation fan and PS5 is proving to be no different in earning my support. With a mountain of first-and third-party exclusives there are a myriad of reasons to pick up a PS5 this holiday. Now that Sony has unveiled a number of PS5 titles in development as well as the box itself, two questions remain: when will PS5 release, and how much is it going to cost?
Closing out the conference was the unveiling of the PS5 box itself along with its Dualsense charging stand, HD Camera and Media Remote. Additionally the PS5 Digital Only Edition was announced, pushing consumers toward using digital media and eliminating the ability to use physical media. It will be interesting to learn more about pricing of the two skews of PS5. I predict that the Digital model will be around $400 USD and the disc-drive model around $500 USD. Some may argue that Sony will price the system higher than that to cover the production costs of new tech, however Sony was burnt in the console wars with Playstation 3 priced at a whopping $599 USD and its counterpart the Xbox 360 priced at $399 USD at launch. This price gap created a sales divide that took Playstation most of the generation to recover from, and I don’t believe that they will make that mistake again. With Microsoft holding their games-focused Inside Xbox event in July we will get a chance to see how their lineup compares to that of the PS5.
Stay tuned to LukeWarmGames for coverage of next gen consoles announcements and more. Also, look for my review of The Last of Us Part II on June 28th at 9am.
