The first ever Sony PlayStation State of Play address is in the books, with the gaming giant bringing us up to speed on some hotly awaited-titles, with new trailers, gameplay footage, game announcements and release dates.
The 20-minute address, simply featured a voiceover narration talking us through upcoming titles like Mortal Kombat 11, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, Days Gone, Concrete Genie and plenty of forthcoming games for PlayStation VR, including Iron Man VR from Marvel Studios.
Related: Upcoming PS4 games 2019
Let’s start with the closing item. The new Mortal Kombat 11 story trailer showcases “old skool vs new skool” action and gives us the look at clashing timelines with many of the game’s most illustrious characters taking on their former selves in brutal combat. The young Johnny Cage vs the grizzled present day iteration will make you chuckle.
Sony also announced that believed former characters Jax, Kung Lau and Liu Kang will return to the fray in MK11, which is out on April 26.
State of Play also gave us a new look at Crash Team Racing Nitro-Field, which will feature remastered content from the original game. Nitro-Fueled will also feature all of the original tracks. That’s out on June 21.
As we mentioned, Sony offered a treasure trove of information on forthcoming titles for the PlayStation VR headset. The most noteworthy of which was the announcement of the Iron Man VR game from PlayStation Worldwide Studios, developer Camouflage and Marvel Studios.
Related: Sony PS5
The footage showcased during the State of Play event showed gamers will be able to peer through the heads-up display in Tony Stark’s suit, which is pretty darn sweet. After a string of poorly executed Marvel Studios games down the years, fans of the MCU will hope this is more akin to the PS4-exclusive Spider-Man release.
We also got the first word of a major update for No Man’s Sky called Beyond, which will include a PlayStation VR mode. The update is free and is coming this summer.
Sony also announced Friday Night At Freddy’s: Help Wanted, which is the first game in the franchise to arrive in virtual reality. Gamers will literally face the horror, which features new levels and others from the original games. That title was listed as coming soon.
Sony also detailed many of the other games coming to PSVR over the next couple of months, including Falcon Age, Trevor Saves The Universe, Everybody’s VR Golf, Table of Tales, and Vacation Simulator. State of Play also delivered the release date for Blood and Truth, another PlayStation VR title with a definite adult theme. That’s out on May 28.
We also got a new story trailer for Observation, the AI sci-fi thriller set in space, which lands on PS4 on May 21. In that title, from developer No Code, gamers will take on the role of an AI assistant S.A.M to control a space station and assist the lead protagonist Emma.
That’s not everything though. In the fast-paced address, Sony also announced the dungeon crawler ReadySet Heroes. Gamers will be encouraged to team up to slay monsters and collect loot and reach the end of the dungeon.
The team will be pitted against another group of players roaming the same dungeon. After the initial race to the finish line, teams will then battle it out in combat in a winner-take-all scrap for the loot on offer. It’s out in 2019, but no firm release window.
There was also an update on Concrete Genie for PS4, which was announced way back in October 2017. This is probably the best look yet at the title, which will see gamers take on the role of a bullied teenager whose task it is to paint his town back to life. It looks just gorgeous.
Finally, Sony delivered what’s likely to be a final look at the Sons of Anarchy-style PlayStation exclusive Days Gone, charting the fortunes of a loner bounty hunter in a world increasingly dominated by ‘Freaker’ monsters. That title is out in little over a month, on April 26.
There were no hardware announcements at the event, but plenty for current PlayStation and PSVR owners to get their teeth into.
Did State of Play satisfy your thirst for PlayStation content ahead of E3? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
