Sony's PlayStation 5 showcase is finally here! We got our first look at plenty of games for the console, and even a look at the hardware itself. Didn't get to see the presentation? Think you may have missed something? Don't worry, as we've got a write-up of the events and all the fun links in this article.
As usual, Sony was a little late in starting. Once they did start we got to see some footage of some of the biggest hits on the PlayStation 4, ranging from launch games like Killzone: Shadow Fall to games not even out such as The Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima.
After this, we saw clips of the PlayStation 4 version of Grand Theft Auto V. The clips ended noting that an expanded and enhanced version of Grand Theft Auto V will be launching on PlayStation 5 in 2021. In addition to this, all PlayStation 5 owners will get Grand Theft Auto Online for free, and PlayStation 4 owners will get free in-game currency in GTAO every month until the PS5 version launches.
After this, all footage was captured on PS5, starting with the announcement of Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The quick clip showed Miles with the powers we would expect of him, including the ability to shock people. The trailer ended saying that the game will be a Holiday 2020 title, making it seem like it will be a launch title.
Gran Turismo 7 followed up, with a return to the famous realistic racing series. The game was easily one of the most beautiful in the showcase and contained what is very likely the best graphics of the show. The gameplay showed the racing that fans of the series have come to know and love, and it seems like a good step up after Sport.
Insomniac was quick to return, as we got to see their famous duo return. Ratchet and Clank get a dimension-hopping adventure in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. The trailer saw them falling through rifts that instantly and haphazardly teleported them to different worlds. The gameplay segment after saw them using this to their advantage, with a weapon that let them literally jump through a rift and speed their way forward towards enemies. It was fast and frantic, showing off an insane amount of stuff happening on screen and making good use of the updated graphics.
Square Enix quickly showed up to show off Project Athia. While we didn't get many details on the game, we did get to see a magical woman running around and using thorns to trap wolves, which was very cool. It was followed by cyberpunk indie game Stray, which saw you wander around a future sci-fi city as a cat. While there wasn't much detail on either game, it was a solid showing.
This was then followed by some reminders of features we knew about the PlayStation 5 already. It will have a 4k Blu-Ray player, an SSD, ray tracing, and 3D audio. The controller has haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, USB-C, a motion sensor, and a built-in mic and speaker. Nothing new, but always good to remember.
The next chunk of games opened up with Returnal. While Housemarque is known for its fast-paced arcadey shooters, this time around they were playing things a lot more seriously, with a story-heavy mystery game. Not that there isn't some fast-paced shooting, the trailer certainly showed that, but it's a bit of a departure from their usual games. The serious tone was followed by the absolutely goofy Sackboy: A Big Adventure, which saw the LittleBigPlanet mascot repurposed into a 3D platformer that seemed delightfully charming.
What followed was several smaller games. Destruction Allstars looked like a fun take on multiplayer combat, only with more smashing cars into other cars. Kena: Bridge of Spirits was a beautiful platformer that saw elements of ordering minions around and fighting monsters. Goodbye Volcano High seemed like a sweet yet angsty trip back into the teenage days. Finally, Oddworld: Soulstorm is the noticeably more action-heavy follow-up to the remake of Abe's Odyssey.
The next major game shown off was Ghostwire Tokyo, where we got to see gameplay after its announcement at E3 last year. The first-person action game has players battling monsters in the streets of Tokyo, casting magic, and using a bow and arrow to kill creatures based on Japanese mythology. Also, they're creepy and carry around umbrellas, which is fantastic.
More smaller games were shown off again. Jett: The Far Shore is the next game by Superbrothers, and it looked to have you exploring the stars in search of a new home. Godfall was announced back at the VGA, but we got to see some gameplay showing off the hack and slasher. Solar Ash is the next game from the developer of Hyper Light Drifter, and it has a similar artstyle but with more space. Finally, we got a cinematic trailer for Hitman 3, which didn't show off much of the game but does let us know that it's coming.
In what was a bit of a rude move, Sony then very quickly teased the PlayStation 5's UI. However, before we got to see more, we were instead cut to a showing of Astro's Playroom. This platformer is the non-VR follow-up to Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, the beloved VR platformer.
Two smaller games were shown, with Little Devil Inside giving us a very weird, and very hilarious, look into monster hunting. It also had a lovely papercraft world, which looked fantastic. Bugsnax was a lot more quirky, showing characters eating food-like bug and becoming the food. It also had its own silly theme song. Both games were cute.
Yet two big titles also made their debut here. Sports fans got their first look at NBA 2k21, which didn't show any basketball gameplay but was another impressive graphical showcase for the PS5. The other major announcement was the remake of Demon's Souls, which sees the game that started the souls craze given a fresh coat of paint.
Bethesda showed up again to show the first gameplay of another E3 announcement. Deathloop had some strong Dishonored vibes, only with a time loop, a crazy setting, and an angry man who just wants the party to be over by now. Worse, he's being hunted at all times by a woman who wants no part in ending the loop.
Capcom had a pair of their own announcements. Their biggest one was for Resident Evil VIII: Village, which sees Ethan's story continued in, well, a village. There's new enemies that appear to be werewolves, Chris has clearly lost his mind, and there's tons of classic Resident Evil nonsense. Capcom then followed up with Pragmata, a new IP that sees a man in a spacesuit and with a portable 3D printer trying to break out of the moon with a little girl. Looked rather strange, but strange is always good.
Sony finished the game portion of its show off with Horizon: Forbidden West, the sequel to the beloved Horizon: Zero Dawn. While there wasn't much gameplay show, the new game looks absolutely stunning and we got to see more of the robot animals that I am certain we will be spending a lot of time hunting down in the new game.
Closing out the show, we finally got a look at the PlayStation 5 itself. Sony announced there will be two models: one with a disc drive and an all-digital one. We also got to see some of the first few accessories for the console, including the controller, a media remote player, and headsets. There's still no word on cost or release date, but this is the most we've known yet.
Sony really let the games do the talking during this show, and had plenty to show off. The PlayStation 5 is still set for release this holiday, so expect to get your hands on some of these games before the year is even out.
How did you feel about the PlayStation 5 showcase? Excited for any of the games? Like how the console looks? Let us know in the comments below!
