Sony kicked off the 2017 edition of Paris Games Week with a slew of new announcements for both PS4 and PlayStation VR games. For the most part, the reveals were focused on 2018 and beyond. Alongside trailers for big games like Spider-Man and God of War, Sony showed a solid range of new titles, from the melancholic The Gardens Between to sequels for games like Spelunky and Guacamelee to new blockbuster titles like Ghost of Tsushima. Here are PlayStation’s most important announcements.
Ghost of Tsushima by Sucker Punch
Sucker Punch the studio behind the superhero series Infamous and Sly Cooper is back with a brand-new game called Ghost of Tsushima. The game is set during the era of the samurai in feudal Japan and will be an open-world adventure.
The year is 1274. Samurai warriors are the legendary defenders of Japan — until the fearsome Mongol Empire invades the island of Tsushima, wreaking havoc and conquering the local population. As one of the last surviving samurai, you rise from the ashes to fight back. But, honorable tactics won’t lead you to victory. You must move beyond your samurai traditions to forge a new way of fighting — the way of the Ghost — as you wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Japan.
Spelunky 2 by Mossmouth
One of the most celebrated indie games of all time is getting a long-awaited sequel. The cave-dwelling adventures of Spelunky will soon continue, though for now, details are slim. For those who haven’t played the previous game it’s an endless mirror-hall of sequels, a procedural platformer in which, each time you die, the game rebuilds itself around a set of inviolate rules that nonetheless manage to generate surprises, shocks, and set-pieces that seem to challenge you in new ways.
Guacamelee 2 by DrinkBox Studios
Guacamelee is a stylish Metroidvania in which a luchador hero is tasked with saving a remote village from the clutches of evil. The game was a breakout hit for DrinkBox. The side-scrolling adventure is a direct follow-up to the original and will introduce a new threat to “the very fabric of space and time” — as well as much-improved chicken action.
The Gardens Between by The Voxel Agents
The Gardens Between is a breathtaking puzzle game where best friends, Arina and Frendt, find themselves in a surreal world of garden islands. Traverse back and forwards in time to discover each garden’s secrets and reveal a story about friendship, childhood and growing up. It looks to follow the story of two characters as they make their way through a strange world filled with impossibly huge objects. The developers say you can control the flow of time in the game, which should make for some interesting narrative puzzles.
Megalith by Disruptive Games
Megalith is an action-packed hero shooter from a team of veteran multiplayer-focused developers, many of which come from Insomniac Games. Think colorful team-based games like Overwatch— but the twist is that it plays out in virtual reality. There is full free locomotion reportedly, but the debut trailer was all cinematic without any gameplay. You’ll be able to check it out on the PSVR in 2018.
Star Child by Playful
Star Child is a lovely platformer that’s coming to PlayStation VR exclusively in 2018. In Star Child, a woman named Spectra and her companion are on an important mission on an alien planet. As you might expect, things don’t go well. But, once Spectra gains the ability to control the world around her, she fights back against the overwhelming force threatening to destroy everything.
The Hong Kong Massacre by Vreski
Following the recently released Ruiner, The Hong Kong Massacre is a game that looks to marry the brutal violence of Hotline Miami with a distinct cyberpunk look and feel. We don’t know much more beyond that, but you can get an early look at the top-down action in the debut trailer above. The main game mechanism, according to early development documents, is the ability for the player to slow down time. The latest trailer, shown today, includes many particle effects that take advantage of that. The Hong Kong Massacre is coming to the PS4 in 2018.
Concrete Genie by Pixelopus
A beautiful-looking adventure about a child exploring a world full of magic and monsters, Concrete Genie puts you in the role of a bullied teen who escapes by creating his own “living landscapes”. From the looks of its trailer, it will meld painting puzzle gameplay with adorable visuals and a tender coming-of-age story.
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?
Erica by Flavourworks
Erica is a moody adventure game from London studio Flavourworks where the player influences the story by making decisions. It’s designed to work with PlayLink, which means friends can use their mobile devices to help shape the narrative as well. The upcoming Erica looks to be one of the more intriguing games to utilize the concept; it’s a live-action drama where you can interact with the narrative.
Blood & Truth by Sony Interactive Entertainment
One of the best initial offerings for PSVR was a mini-game called The Heist, which threw you into a series of Guy Ritchie-style action sequences. It was fairly simple, but the core of the idea was really exciting. The upcoming Blood & Truth looks to expand on that by fleshing out the concept with a larger experience and more cohesive story.
