Here's a round up of 8 games that really caught our attention during the 2023 PlayStation Showcase - with trailers for each!
Over 30 games were shown during the recent 2023 PlayStation Showcase. It’s hard to pick out those with the most promise, but hey – let’s try!
Let’s get this one out of the way. Yes, Spider-Man 2 is in the showcase – it’s right at the end and takes up almost a quarter of an hour of your time – and yes, it’s some impressive stuff. You have Peter Parker as black Spiderman / Venom and at the same time, Miles Morales running about doing his stuff.
It looks absolutely incredible, with all the smooth movement we demand from this franchise and the graphics to match. Add to that some incredible action-level design, a compelling script (from what we have seen), brilliant character choices and design and there is no question at all that Spider-Man 2 is exactly everything we want. Like its predecessors, it’s a must-own title for the PS5.
But we don’t just want to talk about Spider-Man 2…
Another sequel that quickly impresses. There was a lot of sword-slashing, magic-throwing, third-person action in this year’s showcase – so much, in fact, that it started to blur a little. Dragon’s Dogma II stood out immediately. It was all in the monster design, creatures that were immediately recognisable from the mythology and stories we have all grown up with (and no, I don’t mean Harry Potter).
There are dragons, of course, but it’s the chimera, the gorgon, and the gorgeous sphinx that really push this one to the front. Given that the first game (now over a decade old) was great, there’s every chance that this one is going to be a must-have for action RPG fans.
Take a moment to stop and really admire those graphics. Plenty of games have taken the cartoon-style take on graphics, of course, but Neva is in a league of its own, feeling like it comes from a completely forgotten time of loving artistic animation. It almost feels 1970s in its touches but without the grainy Betamax qualities.
There’s a giant white wolf with a tree growing out of its head, fluid combat that evokes some of the more surreal Disney film moments of old, and a loving sense of story that digs right to your inner child. I don’t have a clue what this game will be like to actually play, but I know I want it.
I’ll admit to knowing nothing about Granblue Fantasy before watching the showcase, but as soon as the trailer came on, it touched all the JRPG nostalgia buttons in me. It wasn’t just the action, or the graphics (though they were part of it), it was the sound. Everything about it oozed… something I recognised. Was it Blazblue? Was it something else?
Turns out it was both. This JRPG spin-off from the weird combat world of Blazblue, combined with a touch of master composer Nobuo Uematsu, just feels right. Perhaps this is exactly what fans of 90s JRPGs are looking for.
It looks like all the stuff that made the Assassin’s Creed series is finally back. The gameplay trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Mirage may not have oozed originality, but it did shine with polished quality, bringing a solid Assassin’s Creed title to the PS5 generation. It looks utterly fantastic, with sweeping sword combat, plenty of clever kill strategies, and a world to explore that looks so real it brought the warm sunshine with it.
For those who love the series, this is an inevitable purchase; for those who are new to it, this is likely to make them a fan.
There were a few obviously-indie games that managed to get their way onto the showcase, but none impressed quite as much as The Plucky Squire. Aimed, perhaps, at a generally younger audience, the way the game seemingly morphs to fit the way the protagonist interacts with the world around him, changing both graphical and gameplay style on the fly, looks incredible and makes this game well worth considering. A stealthy high pick from us at UGP!
Some games are meant to be irreverent fun, and Helldivers II looks to fit the bill – there is more than an unsubtle nod to Starship Troopers in this trailer, and that’s no bad thing. Blasting aliens with extreme prejudice seems to be the thing in this co-op third-person shootfest.
Like many of the other games on show, the graphics are impressive and there is a wide range of ways to kill things. Mindless, undoubtedly, but entertainment doesn’t have to be cerebral.
It’s been a long time coming, but Final Fantasy XVI is just around the corner and sits in the middle of the showcase with sublime confidence. Fans of the series are going to be chomping at the bit to get their hands on this newest game that looks to have enough series-referencing touches to evoke memories of everyone’s favourite FF moments.
Classic summons takes centre stage in the showcase’s story-based trailer, as we see Ifrit and Shiva show off in ways only they can, while nostalgic sounds touch the ears. It’s not all about the old though – FFXVI really looks the part of a modern PS5-era action RPG with perfectly voice-acted characters, intense frenetic combat, and screen-filling monsters to fight. It looks to be more good stuff from a very trusted franchise.
There’s not enough space to mention everything worth pre-ordering here, honourable mentions go to:
