Last week, Sony offered up an online showcase of what it had in store for players in the coming months. We’re three years into the PlayStation 5’s lifecycle, though it seems that Sony isn’t giving up on the previous generation or its VR headset any time soon. They presented a wide array of PS4/PS5/VR games that elicited personal reactions that ranged from “eh” to “oh!” Overall, it was one of the better PS showcases of recent memory. I went in with mild expectations and came away feeling that Sony was finally swinging for the fences. It’s about time, right? Well, in my own mind, the question is: are PlayStation’s offerings are enough to drag me away from my Xbox with Starfield still on the horizon? I already opted to invest in Street Fighter 6 on the PS5, so they got me there. What else caught my attention in ways middling and unexpected? Let’s see…

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Reaction: Eh.

“Project Q“

I mean, we all get it. Sony hasn’t had a handheld on the market since the Vita, so they were bound to eventually come up with something. But is this handheld the answer? Like my cohort Hatmonster, I’m confused and skeptical. Well, whatever “Project Q” turns out to be when actually released, I hope it has different aesthetics, at least. A screen with halves of a PS5 controller stuck on either side just looks…unappealing.

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Phantom Blade 0

My immediate thought here was “bleh, another soulslike.” And then, I softened a little at seeing that perhaps it was more of a very pretty, slick hack and slash title. Either way, though it is very pretty, it looked rather generic – dark vibes, familiar motifs, brooding protagonist, fancy schmancy swordplay. Benn there, done that. But I’m sure its developers couldn’t care less about what I think, so I wish Phantom Blade 0 all the best.

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Ultros

Was it just me, or was it really difficult to distinguish the all-too colorful characters from the all-too colorful background in this all-too colorful game? Don’t get me wrong, the metroidvania Ultros looked graphically fantastic, but boy oh boy, it is ever busy. I feel like my platformer days are waning, so maybe Ultros wouldn’t be in the cards for me anyway, but it’s more like that my old eyes just couldn’t handle its intense visuals.

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Reaction: Oh!

Dragon’s Dogma 2

This. This is a pretty big deal. Rumors of the a sequel to Dragon’s Dogma have been circling for what feels like forever (or at least a decade), and it’s finally happening. I enjoyed but never quite found my footing in Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, and I’d love to think that taking a turn in its sequel would have better results. Well, I’ll probably have lots of time to think about that, and make a return to DDDA, too, because there’s no telling when we’ll actually see DD2 for real.

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The Talos Principle 2

Delighted though I was about Dragon’s Dogma 2, the announcement of this sequel was a much more significant and happier surprise. (I read after the fact that it had been first announced a couple years ago – I did not know that.) The Talos Principle was an utterly brilliant puzzle game; one that I should have played much sooner than I did. The fact that this sequel is coming out this year only added to my joy. It’s going onto my PS5 wishlist straightaway.

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Metal Gear Solid Master Collection, Vol. 1

This little reveal came in the form of the bigger reveal of the remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. That’s cool and all, but I would much rather have the compilation with MSG, Sons of Liberty, and Snake Eater, which is supposedly coming out, again, later this year. Not only is having more Metal Gear Solid in one’s life a good thing, and I know I need more of it in mine generally, but since we already have the fourth and fifth MSG games, I could then marathon the entire series! Now, if that isn’t a 2024 goal, I don’t know what is!

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Lede image © Sony Interactive Entertainment.