The Future is Almost Here – PlayStation 5’s Big Reveal
Sony has some big news for us on their live stream event, so we’re going to relay all the game related news here, the new exclusives that are coming our way, and everything in between.
Skip to the bottom of the post to see all the juicy details about the PS5 Specs and the new features!
It’s plain to see that the angle is “futuristic”, right from the gate; a beautiful throwback to the legacy that Sony has created for itself marks the beginning of the stream, and it hits right in the nostalgia feels, calling all the way from 1994. It’s still hard to believe that PS4 will be 7 years old in November… Without further ado, though:
Onto the Games!
GTA V will now span 3 of Sony’s systems, released on PS3 just 2 months before Number 4 took the helm – and now, PS4 passes the torch onto PS5, where it will get a facelift and an expansion. Upon release, PS5 owners will get GTA Online free at launch when 2021 rolls around (PS Plus requirement notwithstanding). Not only that, but current owners of GTA V on PS4 will get $1M in GTA cash every month until PS5’s release next year.
Nifty.
Next up to the plate, we’ve got some web-slinging and butt-kicking action – it’s Spidey!
Following Insomniac’s resounding success with their release of Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018, as well as the jaw-dropping Into the Spider-Verse movie that dropped just a few months later, the next installment will feature Miles Morales swinging onto your screens somewhere around the end of 2020 – and even though the trailer was short, it was pretty sweet:
Even though the action in the trailer was captured on PS5 specs, there’s still reasonable hope that there will be a PS4 release, though it will mean eking out every ounce of processing power it can muster.
Blink and you’ll miss it, but we spy another Spidey flying by in the background of the image below…
Gran Turismo has been notably absent for quite a while, the last mainline installment having originally been released on PS3 way back in 2013. The interim was bridged by Gran Turismo Sport in 2017, which made some impressive strides in the realism, both sight and sound, that it brought to car enthusiasts.
Polyphony Digital have been working hard these last number of years to bring you their latest and greatest Gran Turismo 7 – and we have no doubt that it was worth the wait.
With a burgeoning roster of cars from across the globe (and what will be potentially expanded upon after the initial release), Polyphony Digital are back in the race with a title that squares off against Xbox’s Forza franchise.
Details are scant, but there are glimpses of the main menu of a new campaign mode, car customization options and a whole slew of tracks to dust your opponents on.
Insomniac are coming out with all guns blazing for this event, and this time, they’re time-hopping through different dimensions; Ratchet and Clank are back!
The trailer sees our dynamic duo falling through rifts of time and space, unstable and cracking at every turn. For us, that means its chock full of environments to explore and interact with, like this one:
And this one:
Any fan of the series will know, the plot thickens with this one:
As with every new installment in the series, the game comes with a slew of new weaponry, gadgets and gizmos aplenty to cross the universes in, and all with loving attention to detail. For pre-Alpha footage, it’s looking pretty sweet:
Square Enix and Luminous Productions coms to the fore with what is being codenamed Project Athia, that tells the tale of a woman on a journey of discovery in a world that is not her own – which is about as vague as it gets, but we’ll allow it – the imagery of the trailer alone speaks volumes of the arduous task they’ve set themselves, and it looks astonishing.
The entirety of the game is being designed exclusively for PS5,
Cinematic from start to finish, the trailer ends with this huge, hulking dragon staring us down…
Call us intrigued.
Continuing down the path of intrigue is this little number from Annapurna Interactive and BlueTwelve – Stray will be releasing sometime in 2021, and shows a world that is devoid of humans, and populated with robots in their stead, but curiously the only creature we see that is biologically alive are the numerous cats weaving in and out of the shadows.
The trailer follows the footsteps of one little creature in particular with a backpack. If that ain’t the cutest thing…
Herman Hulst introduces Housemarque’s interplanetary horror/adventure game, that sees the main character crash land on a planet, get attacked, die, and somehow, circle back to the moment where she crash landed on the planet once again.
Returnal puts you in the space boots of the ship’s pilot, as she tries to break the looping cycle, like some twisted version of Groundhog Day – except it’s you against the entire planet.
We have no other details for Returnal at the moment, but we’re pretty stoked to see more.
Anyone who remembers Little Big Planet will fondly remember Sackboy – now, Sony’s little knitted mascot will suit up to get his own spin-off adventure game in Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Sumo Digital reprise their development roles as we see Sackboy run around in a 3D platformer, taking inspiration from Super Mario games and putting their own unique twist on it, resulting in a colourful, vibrant and exciting game in the works.
Multiplayer is also a definite possibility, as we see a whole roster of characters jumping, smashing and bopping around with Sackboy – in which case, we can’t wait for the madness and mayhem.
And in carrying on the spirit of mayhem, Destruction Allstars is as about as manic as you can expect from a destruction derby – except with more colour and explosion and all-out fun.
This guy has the right idea.
The goal is simple; your team against another, and wreak havoc, smashing up as many vehicles as possible in the arena. From the trailer, it also looks like you’re not limited to the vehicle you start with – meaning there’s opportunity to hijack, steal or “acquire” a new vehicle to wend a trail of destruction in.
Think Rocket League, except everyone’s a ball and everyone is kicking.
Developed by Lucid Games, Destruction Allstars will be a PS5 exclusive.
Ember Lab, a small indie studio, punches above its weight as it shows off gorgeous visuals and the promise of a story of growth and redemption in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. You may have seen their work before, either in their lovingly crafted, entirely fanmade Majora’s Mask – Terrible Fate short on YouTube, or even in their sci-fi film Dust, that brought them worldwide acclaim at various festivals and conventions.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a PS5 exclusive, designed to take advantage of the controllers new haptic feedback features, resulting in much more refined combat, puzzle solving and adventuring for players. Revolving around the titular character, Kena is on a journey to discover the mystery behind the downfall of a forgotten village, while battling ancient enemies and befriending little fluffy black bundles of joy, also known as… the Rot. Lovely.
Goodbye Volcano High from Ko-Op comes to us with a cinematic adventure narrative, one that holds the potential to make us feel much more intensely than we’re prepared to.
Cue us reenacting *that* scene in How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
It’s a coming-of-age narrative of multiple endings and different (often difficult) choices, heavy with emotional dialogue, and reminiscent of games like Life is Strange and Night in the Woods.
Goodbye Volcano High is slated for release in 2021 for PS4, PS5 and PC.
Oddworld makes a triumphant return to continue the age-old story of Abe, a game series that has spanned the different eras of PS consoles. So unusual and unique is the series, that it’s impossible to confuse it for anything else, and in this newest game, Lorne Lanning, the creator, promises “an emotionally engaging story, where rescuing is rewarding, failure is devastatingly hilarious, and the memories should last you a lifetime.”
Soulstorm will also be coming to PS4.
Tango Gameworks shows us the surreal and thrilling vistas of an alternate Tokyo, as we get to see more of Ghostwire: Tokyo, which we saw a glimpse of last year at Bethesda’s E3 event.
Spooky.
Coming in 2021 to PS5 and PC, the game sees the player be dropped into a Tokyo where 99% of its residents have disappeared, and evil spirits, known as Visitors, pose a threat to those who still exist.
Superbrothers and Pine Scented’s entry into the reveal reel comes to us in the form of JETT: The Far Shore. Fans of Swords & Sorcery will recognise the developer team, and pleased to see them return after almost a decade.
JETT: The Far Shore shows a spaceship with two young travelers taking to the skies to find what is assumed to be a new home for their people, a journey that will take the explorers to many different planets.
Gearbox and Counterplay shows off some sweet combat and superb looking weapons and armour in their foray into the melee genre – Godfall is coming to PS5 at the end of this year.
Annapurna Interactive, and Heart Machine, the creators of Hyper Light Drifter, have collaborated to bring us a hyper stylized and vibrant new game, called Solar Ash, coming to consoles in 2021.
“The Void is Calling.”
IO Interactive’s third installment into the current Hitman World of Assassination trilogy will be all drama, stealth, intrigue and nail-biting suspense, as the trilogy concludes with the words “Death Awaits”. It’s been slated for release in January 2021, In what is described as Agent 47’s most “intimate and professional contract” yet.
The Playroom makes a return to the next gen console, and Japan Studio and Team Asobi team up to reveal Astro’s Playroom, which is as cute and colourful as you’d expect.
Little Devil Inside comes as a surprise – albeit a pleasant one – to the roster, showcasing an adventurer trekking across various harsh lands and environments, on the hunt for various creatures of exotic designs, both big and small, to bring them back to an elderly man to examine.
It started out as a Kickstarter game some years back, with plans for release on Wii U, even – the developers, Neostream from South Korea, released a Pre-Alpha as far back as 2015, and a more polished test build in 2017, both of which are still available to watch on their YouTube channel.
It’s now been relegated as a console exclusive, for both PS4 and PS5, for a limited time, as well as getting a PC release.
Basketball fans, rejoice; NBA 2K21 is on it’s way in just a few short months, slated for release this autumn. The trailer features New Orleans’ Pelicans Zion Williamson, getting up close an personal, and… sweaty. But very, very realistic sweat! And it appears the PS5 can handle the extra detail with ease.
In what is probably one of the most bizarre trailers we’ve seen, the creators of OctoDad are back with Bugsnax, which is about – you guessed it – bugs that are also snacks.
It looks super strange, but will probably be a hit with younger players for its wacky features and colourful designs. Bugxnax will arrive later in 2020.
BluePoint Games and Japan Studio have clubbed together to remake the beloved PS3 classic title of the same name – and rather than being a mere remaster, remake entails the game being built from scratch, down to the last polygon, from the ground up. Sharing the same director as the Dark Souls games, Hidetaka Miyazaki, the games share similar traits, but are not directly related plot-wise.
Fans of the game will be delighted to see this big guy returning to the fray. Trust us when we say, he’s bigger than he looks.
Arkane Studios in Lyon bring the heat with their time-loop rival assassins square-off in DeathLoop, with mechanics reminiscent of Dishonored and Prey brought into the mix. Black Reef, the game world, is the name of an island that hosts a killing party for the main protagonist, Colt “The Captain” – essentially, you.
If at first you don’t succeed… Die, Die Again. You die, you get sent back to the start of the loop.
There’s eight targets that you must reach and kill before midnight hits on the island, but there’s a snag – Julianna “Jules” Blake, the island protector, is the one thing standing between your character and freedom.
Resident Evil VIII – Village is in the works at Capcom, and steps into what appears to be the dark underbelly of of fairy tales, and let’s face it, will probably have us all nervous wrecks when we do get around to playing it.
Set a number of years after Resi 7, Chris turns up to drag Ethan into a new nightmare adventure, this time in a village beleaguered by terrors of the night.
Look, the trailer even has a castle – and don’t get me started on the guy that looks like a Van Helsing knock off.
Resi 8 is slated for release sometime in 2021.
Capcom aren’t done yet, though; as well as mainlining their new Resident Evil game, they also have something called Pragmata in the works, which looks like a love letter to Deadspace and Bioshock all at the same time.
The trailer alone looks astounding, and we can’t wait to see what they do with the game.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated games of the staff here at Bone-Idle, Guerilla grace us with the wonders of Horizon: Forbidden West.
Widely acclaimed Zero Dawn captured the hearts and minds of players when it released in 2017, and has recently unlocked its exclusive access, extending its reach to Steam, Windows PC, and potentially Xbox consoles in future.
As well as the amazing vistas above ground, the trailer shows Aloy swimming into deeper waters, so the potential to discover old world ruins below the waves is definitely alluded to.
It’s hard to choose which screenshots to place in here – Zero Dawn proved to be incredibly photogenic, regardless of what you were doing, and was bundled with its own Photo Mode; Forbidden West is shaping up to follow the same tangents, with extraordinary sights, and the continuation of a great story to boot.
And then finally… the machine itself.
4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray.
Ultra High Speed SSD.
Ray Tracing.
3D Audio.
Just a tiny glimpse of what the specs are, and over an hour’s worth of games trailers to prove what it can handle from the get go. And not only that, there are two editions – a digital edition, and an edition that supports discs. The digital edition sports a sleek and symmetrical design, and while the disc edition still looks pretty slick, it has added bulk to support the drive. It has been confirmed that PS5 will indeed will be backwards compatible – but not for every single game ever made. At last count, it’s been confirmed that, of the over 4000 PS4 games back catalogue, the top 100 appear to be backwards compatible with the new console, and they’re expecting most, if not all, to be playable at PS5 launch. Compatible games will of course be benefiting from the extra boost of power and stability the PS5 offers, and because of this immense power, loading screens may just become a thing of the past…
PlayStation will also be releasing their own headset, controller charging dock, media remote control, and a HD camera – although, unless as part of a bundle, these items will more than likely be sold separately.
There will be more news regarding backwards compatibility in the coming month, but more details have been outlined on the PlayStation Blog regarding the hardware specs. To help, PlayStation released a handy quick view chart to outline all the hardware that the new console sports, and to be fair, they’re within the range of matching a fairly power gaming PC.
Moving onto the controller:
Haptic Feedback.
Adaptive Triggers.
USB Port.
Motion Sensor.
Built-In Microphone.
Integrated Speaker.
Headset Jack.
Many of these we already experienced with PS4, but the introduction of adaptive triggers, something that Xbox has done with their Elite controllers, will be a game-changer, and combining that with the more refined haptic feedback, it gives much more precision and control in FPS, Driving and Fighting games, for example.
It’s not certain yet whether DualSense 4 (PS4 controllers) will register with the new console yet. There’s also the question of whether PS5’s controller will play ball with being plugged into a PC, considering PS4 DualSense controller is recognised by Steam (PS3 controller can work, but only with a little bit of smoke and mirrors), but we imagine (and hope) that it will be the case.
Also no word on the price tag yet, but as always, more as we get it. We hope you enjoyed the showcase as much as we did!
