Sony has just held their first State of Play for 2024, and they came out swinging with something for nearly everyone. This presentation had everything from a remake of a classic horror game to Hideo Kojima’s latest weird project and everything in between. While some people may have been a tad upset at the lack of a particular series (*cough* Kingdom Hearts 4 *cough*), I’m sure there was still something for them. Enough of this preamble; let’s go over the main highlights from this State of Play.
GOT PLACES TO GO, GOT TO FOLLOW MY RAINBOW! Sorry about that, got a little excited over the new Sonic game announcement, Sonic x Shadow Generations. This is a remaster of Sonic Generations, a game that came out well over a decade ago, so it probably needed an update. But this isn’t just your simple updated graphics type of remaster; they’re adding the edgiest of hedgehogs as a playable character. That’s right, we’ll get to play as Shadow the Hedgehog through a whole new set of levels. We got a sneak peek at some of the new Shadow levels in the trailer, and they’re referencing the Shadow the Hedgehog game with Black Doom as a boss fight! Hopefully, they’ll give Shadow a gun like they did in 2005. This was my favourite part of the entire presentation, and I can’t wait to see more and play this game later this year.
One thing I enjoyed about this State of Play was the variety of new games. There was a new look at the RPG Dragons Dogma 2, which seems to have improved on everything from the first game. We got a new look at the next game from miHoYo (the team behind Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail) called Zenless Zone Zero (say that three times fast). We didn’t get to see much gameplay from this one, but the trailer we got did showcase the flashy action this miHoYo is known for.
A new game from the creator of Bioshock was also revealed, and it’s called Judas. We were able to see some snippets of gameplay and story, and from them, this game looks like Bioshock in space with robots instead of mutants; it seems fun. They also showcased Team Ninja’s latest project, Rise of the Ronin, with a gameplay overview. The game looks like a mix of Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and Nioh, which are three banger games. You can also deploy an early version of a wingsuit to move around faster. I didn’t know this game existed before this presentation, but I’ll keep my eye on it now.
If you’re a fan of horror games, this State of Play would’ve piqued your interest. Firstly, we got a new Silent Hill 2 remake trailer that shows off the combat gameplay. I never played Silent Hill 2 (because I’m a coward), so I don’t know if this is what people wanted, but it looks decent to me. They’ve taken inspiration from the recent Resident Evil Remakes, but they’re amazing, so why not copy them? They also released a free game called Silent Hill: The Short Message right after the presentation (let’s see if this one will also get delisted in a few months). Aside from a remake of a horror classic, we’re also getting a revamped version of Until Dawn (the one with Rami Malek). There will be a new 3rd person mode and new music, and it’s also coming to PC. I also didn’t play Until Dawn (again, coward), but I remember people saying how good the story was. Who knows, maybe I’ll be brave and try it out (probs not).
The final section of this State of Play was all about Kojima. More specifically, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has a new trailer showcasing some of the new characters and environments appearing in the sequel. The original Death Stranding was an odd game, to say the least, but it looked gorgeous and had a complex but engaging story. It looks like the sequel will expand on what made the first so successful, but this time with more creepy puppets and fewer babies. A guitar also fired lightning bolts and then turned into a sword (classic Kojima). This wasn’t the only announcement from everyone’s favourite crazy man because Hideo Kojima and Hermen Hulst (who runs PlayStation) announced a brand new game series from Kojima. It will be an action espionage game and apparently be the culmination of Kojima’s career. We don’t know much about the game outside of the apparent title of Physint (that’ll probs change, or it’ll stay the same; no one really knows). I’m interested in seeing what Kojima and pals cook up, given that he pretty much invented the action espionage genre.
Those were some highlights from the first State of Play for 2024. If you want to check out the full presentation, which some other games I didn’t mention here, check out the video below. 2024 is looking to be a big year for PlayStation and gaming as a whole, and I’m excited. This isn’t even the end because a State of Play all about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was announced for February 6th. Rest assured, I’ll be screaming so loud about that, you’ll hear me from Australia. For even more coverage of PlayStation and all things gaming, stay right here on Couch Soup to feed your hungry nerd soul.
Did you watch the State of Play? What games are you excited for? Are you keen for Kojima? Let us know in the comments where we can talk about all things gaming.
