Playstation recently broadcasted two State of Play showcases within a week of each other, one on January 31st, which spanned roughly 43 minutes, and the other on February 2nd. The showcases came with a lot of announcements; here are the most important:
Stellar Blade
After being announced in late 2021 under the name “Project Eve,” developer Shift Up finally unveiled an extended gameplay and story trailer for their upcoming PS5 exclusive. Stellar Blade is a semi-open world action-adventure game set to release on April 26, 2024. The trailer showed snippets of the combat system, a skill-based progression, a reputation system, and some developer commentary. From what was shown in the trailer, the game bolsters beautiful visuals, a deeply customizable combat system, a player-driven story, and heavy emphasis on its story and world-building.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
The highly esteemed Hideo Kojima stole 9 minutes of the 47-minute presentation to show off Death Stranding 2’s story and world while also teasing new gameplay mechanics. The initial reveal of Death Stranding 2 came as a shock to many, considering how polarizing the original title was back in 2019.
Sonic x Shadow Generations
Sega teased a remaster of the beloved Sonic: Generations ten years after the game’s initial release. Sonic x Shadow Generations reimagines the stages from the previous game and adds a new story featuring the legacy character Shadow the Hedgehog. Not much was shown outside of some very short gameplay snippets.
Silent Hill: The Short Message & Silent Hill 2: Remake
Konami brought out not just a trailer for the game, but announced that the game would be available for download shortly after the broadcast. The Short Message is a short, new take on the Silent Hill series, being the first Silent Hill to be in a first-person perspective. More surprising however was the teaser for Silent Hill 2: Remake entering development. Unlike The Short Message, Silent Hill 2 still does not have a release window.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The February State of Play was dedicated entirely to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. After a long period of deliberation, the showcase showed gameplay alongside developer commentary. For those who are unaware, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second part of the remake of the classic Playstation title. The broadcast showed off the new story, the world map, and various gameplay segments.
