Sony’s PS5 showcase had a lot to show off, including our first look at the console’s robo-genital design and its banana controller! But we all really were there (virtually speaking, of course) for the games, and it was a good mix of weird, wild, and wonderful. For more w-based words, refer below for my list of Top 5 and maybe one more because I’m indecisive list of PS5 showcase games!
5. Ghostwire: Tokyo
Do you ever feel like something is being marketed directly to you? Well, in the world of nihilistic cynicism, we call that corporate pandering, but since this is a case of something I want, I’m calling it providence! Ghostwire: Tokyo is a first-person action game in which you wander Tokyo killing ghosts and monsters with hand-based mystical jutsu. Apparently, Sony has been getting my emails and just decided to combine all my ideas into one game. While there wasn’t much else revealed about the game, wandering around metropolitan Japan blasting headless schoolgirls with ninja fire is enough to hold my interest and make me excited for what is sure to be a bizarre walk through a beautiful city.
4. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Ratchet and Clank has been a staple franchise for both Sony and my own gaming adventures since the days of the PS2. After 2016’s fun reboot of the series, fans were wondering when exactly we were going to get to see more of our favorite gun-toting, robot-slaying duo, and the answer turned out to be, “Not until the next console generation.” Rift Apart looks to be the most ambitious game the series has ever attempted by a long shot; the trailer features several portions of traveling through time and space rifts to various locales, including space pirates and a cyberpunk-looking world. Also new is a tool Ratchet uses throughout the game that pulls him through rifts in the game environment to basically teleport. Some new weapons were shown, and overall it looks to be exactly what you want out of a new entry in an old series: fun new mechanics, more gameplay options, and a ton of wholesome, wrench-beating fun.
3. Demon’s Souls Remaster
The bastards really did it. Rumored for ages but always written off as a fantasy, a remaster of Demon’s Souls–the game that started all the Dark Souls fanfare and consequently changed games journalist vocabularies forever–is coming to the PS5. While no gameplay was shown, the game itself has aged pretty well for still being on PS3 anyway. As one of the few FromSoft games I’ve never personally finished, it’ll be great to die over and over again in an incredibly lore-rich world with the beautiful character designs and environment showcased. I can’t wait to shame people for dying to the Phalanx!
2. Spider-Man: Miles Morales
People are probably texting me right now to check on me. Am I sick? Is something wrong? Did I spend too much time watching another sad anime again (My New Life as an Anime Fan returning when??)? Look, I am elated that we are getting more Spider-Man content, and the fact that it is starring Miles is incredible! I’m extremely hype! The only reason it ranks at 2 and not 1 is that it is not going to be a full game. Developers since the showcase have explained that rather than it being a full new game, it will be some kind of add-on to the 2018 game that will be ported to the PS5. Still, it’s super exciting and huge for representation in video games. I just immediately reacted to it as a new, full game, and hearing that it will not be was a little bit of a knock to my own excitement.
1. Resident Evil: Village (8)
Resident Evil gets the top spot in my list for a few reasons: 1) I love Resident Evil, 2) expanding their bestiary of enemies to include what looks to be and is reported to be werewolves, 3) punchy boi Chris Redfield cameo, 4) for being a trailer of one of my favorite games franchises and yet being enough of a surprise that it got me to audibly shout while watching the showcase when the title card came up, and 5) continuing the Resident Evil tradition of Chris not having a consistent character design over the years (I for one welcome the arrival of Chris “Ben Swolo” Redfield). The game looks beautiful, it’s really investing in their efforts to introduce new things to the franchise while capitalizing on the success of RE7, and we get to see where Ethan’s storyline goes following the end of the last game. I’m all in on more horror games next generation, and with the staunch lack of Silent Hill (everyone pull out your Fandom Correspondents bingo card, I said it), RE is really looking to be a leading franchise for the new console.
Honorable Mention: Returnal
There were tons of other games I’m excited to try: Kena, Little Devil Inside, Stray, Project Athia, Godfall, Deathloop. 2k21 looks like it’ll have more sweat beads than last year. Goodbye Volcano High is an anime that accidentally snuck into the games showcase. Bugsnax. . .is. . .a game coming out. But the one that stood out from these games but didn’t quite show enough to end up on my list was Returnal. The concept looks really interesting: an astronaut gets stuck in a timeloop where she dies on an alien planet, and every time it happens the planet changes or offers new life and environments. I like third-person shooters, and the combat looks intense with all kinds of weird alien life coming at you. Weird space stuff is also a favorite of mine, so this was definitely an eye-catcher for me. I’m excited to learn more about the game in the future, and it currently just edges out Kena and Godfall for me in terms of new IP’s coming up that do not involve jutsu-ing a ghost businessman along the streets of Tokyo.
