I wasn’t expecting much fromPlayStation’sState of Playshowcase, considering it was announced just one day before it streamed and was only 35 minutes long, but I was somehow still left aghast at the slate of gamesSonyshowed players. I knew PlayStation’s 2024 slate was dry, but my god, things are looking dire.
Like many other people, I was frustrated at howboringthese games looked. It felt like not only had I seen some variation on all of these games before, but that even within the same showcase, they felt similar to each other. My eyes glazed over as it went on, and everything started to bleed together – I’d already seen it all before, so why bother picking it all apart?
Oh, A Live-Service 5v5 Game? Revolutionary.
There weretwoof these in the showcase. The first wasConcord, which admittedly looked very cool and entirely up my alley. That is, I thought it did until the cinematic trailer ended, the gameplay trailer began, and I realised it was just a first-person shooter that looked suspiciously likeOverwatch.
A couple of trailers later, we got a brief gameplay trailer that announced a closed beta on PS5 forMarvel Rivals, another live-service game that plays like Overwatch, but with a Marvel licence and in third-person.
We already knew that PlayStation was working on a bunch of new first-party live-service games in an attempt to profit off an already over-saturated genre, so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing them in showcases now. I had hoped the games would try to differentiate themselves from Overwatch more, but I’m not surprised that they don’t.
I’ve Seen These VR Games Before
No, seriously, haven’t I seen these before?VRas a genre seems to barely have evolved over the years, especially if you’re looking at PlayStation’s VR games in particular. There’s really only so much you can realistically do in VR right now, and none of it allows for a ton of creativity.
Skydance’s Behemothis practically indistinguishable fromSkyrimin VR (making it just Blade & Sorcery again), andAlien Rogue Incursionis justyetanother horror game where you’re in the dark and things attack you, but it’s got an Alien licence. Also,only two VR games? Yikes, PS VR 2 really is cooked.
Soulslikes Too? Sure, Why Not
Two of the very few new IPs in the showcase wereBallad of AntaraandWhere Winds Meet, both of which were made by Chinese developers.Just days ago I bemoaned the lack of culturally Asian games that weren’t Japanese, and today the monkey’s paw curled into a fist and started bashing me over the head.
Ballad of Antara is a very obviously Souls-inspired game, with dark and moody colours, strong dark fantasy vibes, and multiple playable characters. It has a single-player story, but also has multiplayer support for up to three players. It’s also, inexplicably, free to play, which sets my teeth on edge.
Where Winds Meet is more interesting. The gamefocuses on Chinese history and culture, which is pretty cool. Also heavily inspired by Souls games, the game mixes Wuxia martial arts into the combat to freshen things up a little. But it’s still a variation on the same theme, with dark environments, unsettling creatures, and speedy combat.
Picture a Soulslike, and you already know what both games look and play like. Neither are revolutionary, unfortunately, and not only do they look similar to each other, but they look like almost every other Soulslike.
Sequels, Ports,AndRemakes? How Creative
In keeping with a trend that hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, the showcase was sorely lacking in new IPs. Apart from the Soulslikes, a VR game and a live-service game, everything we saw was either a port, a sequel, or a remake.God of War Ragnarokiscoming to PC.Until DawnandSilent Hill 2are remakes.Path of Exile 2,Monster Hunter Wilds,Astro Bot,Dynasty Warriors Origins, and Infinity Nikki are all entries in already existing franchises, while Alien Rogue Incursion and Marvel Rivals use existing IPs.
Path of Exile 2 is also a Diablo-like, so… nothing really new there, either.
Some are new takes on old series, sure, but this State of Play is retreading the same ground year after year. I was hoping to see something,anythingunique, but apart from Infinity Nikki’s intriguing mix of open-world and dress-up gameplay, there’s really nothing here we haven’t seen before.
Maybe some of these games will prove themselves and redefine their genres, but if you’re looking for something new and exciting, there’s very little to see here. I suggest turning to the indie space for innovative games and takes on genres, because PlayStation has firmly positioned itself as being For The Most Boring Gamers.
