The PlayStation Showcase September 2021 has arrived, detailing new information on the hottest upcoming PS5 games.
We began the PlayStation Showcase September 2021 with an intense live-action video filled with stunts performed by a rather colorful cast of people who looked like they wandered off the set of a Lady Gaga video. Dirtbikes, armored cars, and more charged through the streets while a man with a crown mused around a giant chess set. This live-action video also featured several subtle references to gaming history here and there, too, continuing the long legeacy of weird PlayStation commercials.
Jim Ryan then took to the stage to extoll the virtues of the PS5 console and the greater PlayStation ecosystem. We then got right into the action, kicking things off with our first game — and it's something that nobody expected.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake Surprisingly Revealed
Sony kicked things off with a massive surprise: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake. Unfortunately, all we got to see was a short cinematic teaser and a promise that the game was coming to PS5. We've wanted a remake of these classic Star Wars games for some time and it's great to finally see it happening.
A subsequent post on the PlayStation Blog explains that this isn't just a graphical overhaul - Aspyr and Sony Interactive Entertainment are remaking this game "from the ground up." The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake will be a PlayStation 5 console exclusive on launch (whenever that might be).
Project EVE Still Looks Great
Next up was a game from Shift Up featuring a high-flying girl battling terrifying monsters in a space station. Based on the trailer, Project EVE is all about a woman heading back down to a ruined earth that is infested with creatures called "NA:tive" that have ravaged the planet, forcing humanity to flee to outer space.
Project EVE was first announced by South Korean developer Shift Up all the way back in April 2019. The game apparently takes place 70 years after mankind abandoned Earth; now, it's time to return and reclaim it from the creatures who have made an awful mess of things. Unfortunately, we still don't have the slightest hint of a release date.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Continues to Deliver the Borderlands Brand of Chaotic Fun
Next up in the PlayStation Showcase September 2021 was an extended look at gameplay from Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. Featuring guns, tons of loots, and a diamond unicorn, this game is shaping up to provide the same kind of insane action we love to see from the Borderlands franchise.
"It’s a high-fantasy take on a looter shooter," Tiny Tina’s voice actor Ashley Burch explained to Geoff Keighley at the Summer Game Fest 2021. "If you’re a fan of Borderlands, you’ll probably recognize some fantasy elements inspired by Assault on Dragon Keep which was the Borderlands 2 DLC that was beloved by the devs. And so, this kind of inspired Wonderlands."
When is the Tiny Tina's Wonderlands Release Date?
The Tiny Tina's Wonderlands release date is March 25, 2022.
Enter the Fantasy World of Forspoken
We next saw a woman chilling in an apartment with an adorable cat. She had a few brief moments of rest before being taken through a portal to another world. A regular person has been thrust into a world of adventure - this is Forspoken, a rather interesting new game coming to PS5.
Frey is transported to the mystical land of Athia. She's not quite alone, though - she's accompanied by an apparently sentient group of bracelets on her arm that appear to give her magical powers. She'll need them, too - Athia is filled with all sorts of nasty creatures that would be all too happy to eat her up.
When is the Forspoken Release Date?
The Forspoken release date will be sometime in Spring 2022.
New Rainbow Six: Extraction Gameplay and Details Shown
The PlayStation Showcase September 2021 moved onto a look at Rainbow Six: Extraction with a cinematic-esque trailer showing off gameplay that should be well-familiar to Rainbow Six Siege veterans. If you haven't been following the game, this trailer does a nice job of explaining what it's all about and giving you a general idea of iits gameplay.
Ubisoft is currently facing a lawsuit from a union over the treatment of employees, and the employees also accuse management of avoiding the issues over the past year.
When is the Rainbow Six: Extraction Release Date?
The Rainbow Six: Extraction release date is sometime in January 2022; a more specific release date has still not yet been announced.
Alan Wake Remastered Revives a Classic
Alan Wake is returning with a shiny new graphical overhaul - Alan Wake Remastered is looking pretty darn good, and we got a lengthy look at some gameplay and the world in a new trailer.
The game was officially confirmed just two days ago by Remedy's Creative Director Sam Lake. Don't expect anything in terms of new content, though - this will feature updated character models, visuals, and revamped cinematics while preserving much of the original games you first enjoyed all those years ago.
When is the Alan Wake Remastered Release Date?
The Alan Wake Remastered release date is October 5, 2021.
Grand Theft Auto V is Coming to Yet Another Platform
The PlayStation Showcase September 2021 then moved on to showing a game that pretty much everyone with a pulse is familiar with: Grand Theft Auto 5. There's nothing truly notable in this trailer; it simply serves as an announcement of the PS5 release window and gives you a good idea of what you can expect from the game if you haven't already played it by now.
When is the Grand Theft Auto 5 PS5 Release Date?
The Grand Theft Auto 5 PS5 release date will be sometime in March 2022
Ghostwire Tokyo is Shaping Up Nicely
We then moved onto a game filled with all sorts of horrifying creatures from Asian mythology - Ghostwire Tokyo, a game that made a splash when Ikumi Nakamura made an adorable and heartwarming presentation on stage a ways back. There are tons of cool character designs in the game, and it definitely looks like it'll live up to the hype.
"The Visitors" are a series of strange creatures that have invaded tokyo after a menancing man named Hannya has unleased a fog upon the city of Tokyo which wipes out most of its population. He leads a group called the Faceless that prowls the streets of the depopulated city in the aftermath of this event.
Enter our protagonist, Akito. He awakens in the world-famous Shibuya Crossing, partially possessed by a spirit and surrounded by the deadly Visitors. It is only by allying with this spirit that Akito can defeat the Visitors and the Faceless, all with the ultimate goal of protecting his sister.
When is the Ghostwire Tokyo Release Date?
The Ghostwire Tokyo Release Date will be sometime in Spring 2022. Unfortunately, that's all we know for now.
A Longer Look at Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
The next trailer showed us a new look at the story of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy title from Eidos Montreal. This trailer shows the guardians watching a number of alien races joining some kind of space cult. This Universal Cult of Truth seems to be the primary antagonist of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
The gameplay shows combat with each of the guardians on the ground, as well as some space combat. You'll be able to play this upcoming game when it launches next month.
More Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt Details Revealed
Next up was an overview of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt, the upcoming Battle Royale game set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. The trailer opened by showing off a bit of customization - after all, it wouldn't really be a Battle Royale game with a ton of cool cosmetics.
We then moved into a quick look at gameplay. Vampires can feed on humans, of course, and these creatures of the night are pretty capable in battle, too - we saw a player firing off a gun while running at high speed, deflecting incoming shots with a katana, and then teleporting in to close range to finish off an opponent.
When is the Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt Release Date?
A specific Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt release date for consoles has still not yet been announced, but you can expect this game to arrive sometime in 2021. It is currently available on Steam.
Deathloop Goes Down the Rabbit Hole
Moving on, we got an overview of the upcoming game Deathloop, a game that's all about a handful of characters that are trapped in a time loop and are constantly faced with deadly battles. We got a quick look at some of the game's combat interspersed with some worldbuilding that teases us with a bit of the game's mystery.
Aside from standard shooter gameplay, we also got a look at some of the more interesting innovations in the game world. One such example was shooting out a vending machine, littering cans on the ground, and causing an enemy to trip up. This seems like a bit more than your standard first-person shooter with nice little touches like that. You'll be able to play Deathloop when it launches in just a few short days.
Kid A Mnesia Exhibition Celebrates The Best of Radiohead
A creepy video showed a glowing red and white monument in the distance, shifting occasionally to strange drawings on the wall. This isn't a game, though - this is the Kid A Mnesia Exhbition that's being put together by Radiohead and Epic Games, coming to PS5 in November.
So what is this, exactly? The YouTube trailer description explains that this will be an "upside-down digital/analogue universe" featuring a mix of artwork and recordings as a celebration of 21 years of Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac.
Tchia Promises an Adorable New Adventure
We then had a total shift in tone, featuring an adorable girl playing a ukelele through a radial menu. Of course, she's not an ordinary girl - our protagonist has the power to look at various animals and possess them to explore the world.
Tchia is a game inspired by New Caledonia and it looks like a colorful, interesting new adventure that will be coming to the PS5 in the future. This game was first announced late last year during The Game Awards 2020 preshow.
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
Nathan Drake returns in Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, a game that bundles remastered versions of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy for PC and PS5, coming to PS5 and PC in 2022. We were treated to a montage of the various games featuring the legendary treasure hunter, and man are they looking good.
Hermen Hulst Talks PS5 Development
Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst then took to the stage for a short intermission to talk a bit about PS5 developers, mixed in with some footage of the various upcoming games. His message was relatively brief, though, and we got right back into the games.
"I'm Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios," Hulst said. "PlayStation Studios, at its heart, is a diverse and passionate group of storytellers at our collective of AAA studios all across the globe. Everything we do is driven and inspired by storytelling. As creators, PlayStation 5 gives us the opportunity to push the boundaries of storytelling even further. Our world-class development teams at PlayStation Studios have already delivered such incredible gaming experiences for PS5 and we're only just getting started. As you'll see today with the lineup of exclusive games coming from PlayStation Studios, we're going to continue to drive innovation [and] advance gaming while always embracing the legacy of PlayStation and creating games that matter. Games that you're not gonna find anywhere else. Enjoy."
Marvel's Wolverine is Coming to PS5
Next up was a mysterious teaser from Insomniac Games. A man wearing a flannel shirt and a cowboy hat sat at a bar, surrounded by the broken bodies of people who probably tried to fight him (rather unsuccessfully, I'd say). One of the fallen men got up and drew a knife, quietly approaching the man at the bar. The man at the bar then clenched his fist and revealed three metal claws, officially serving as the announcement for Marvel's Wolverine.
As a PlayStation Blog post explains, Marvel's Wolverine is being supervised by Creative Director Brian Horton and Game Director Cameron Christie. Building on their experience with Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, this will be a new game in a similar style as the Spider-Man PlayStation games that tells an original story featuring the iconic mutant from the X-Men. It will share a universe with the Spider-Man games.
Get Up to Speed on Gran Turismo 7
Gran Turismo 7 showed off some of its next-gen graphics and a ton of tracks. This trailer also revealed a pretty darn impressive photo mode that will make it easier than ever for players to take the perfect snapshot.
Naturally, this game will also feature tons of cars (and the parts that power them up) for players to enjoy, allowing you to tinker your ride to your heart's content. Racing will extend beyond high-speed tuners, too; at one point, we saw army jeeps driving in an intense offroad race.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is In Development
Our next surprise was a new Spider-Man game, but it wasn't quite what we expected - we saw not one, but two Spider-Men battling an enemy in the streets. This teaser featured Kraven the Hunter giving a voiceover as the two Spider-Men fought another enemy, and then Venom was revealed to be hiding in a nearby alley. This was the announcement for Marvel's Spider-Man 2.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is being made by many of the same people who helped create Marvel's Spider-Man for the PS4 according to a PlayStation Blog post released today, headed up by Creative Director Bryan Intihar and Game Director Ryan Smith. Both Peter Parker and Miles Morales will appear in this game.
What's particularly interesting, though, is that the two of them fighting together in the trailer implies that co-op may be a part of this game, although nothing has been confirmed just yet. What we do know for certain is that this game will continue the stories of both Parker and Morales as established in their earlier PlayStation games.
When is the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Release Date?
The Marvel's Spider-Man 2 release date will be sometime in 2023.
God of War: Ragnarok Closes Out the Show
God of War: Ragnarok was the final game shown during the PlayStation Showcase September 2021. As this PlayStation Blog post explains, this game picks up the story a few years after the events of the 2018 God of War game. Kratos, Atreus, and Mimir are having a hard time surviving in the Norse wilds, especially with the winds of Fimbulwinter covering the land.
This trailer gave us a very brief look at Thor and Freya, the main antagonists of this new game. Krato has made Freya somewhat upset with the whole "killing her son Baldur" thing in the previous game and she has all sorts of weapons at her disposal. Thor isn't too happy with Kratos either, and it seems that he'll be all too happy to unleash his wrath on Kratos (or anyone remotely near him).
The world of the previous game has been further expanded, too - players will now be able to visit all nine realms with the addition of Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, and Asgard, alongside the addition of new areas for locations from the previous game.
There are a ton of great games on the way for PS5, and today's presentation has only scratched the surface for all of the cool new stuff that's one the way. That's it for the PlayStation Showcase September 2021!
