Sony’s E3 2017 showing has been all over the board in terms of different and interesting games. From AAA titles like God of War 4 to smaller new IPs like Days Gone. Look below to find short overviews and trailers for some of the various games Sony has shown.
God of War 4
While the combat in God of War 4 looks less insanely acrobatic than previous games, but it’s still just as bloody. The new over-the-shoulder gameplay perspective showed off the gory combat as Kratos hacks his way through legions of enemies. Kratos now uses a new heavy battle axe to accomplish this hacking, replacing his characteristic dual chained blades from the earlier games in the God of War franchise. God of War is due early 2018 on PS4.
Sony showed off multiplayer footage for the upcoming FPS Call of Duty: WW2. This time, developer Sledgehammer is taking over the COD franchise. And though the admittedly less popular franchise has seen less success in recent games, the franchise is still strong enough to push out more titles. And if the alleged gameplay footage in the multiplayer trailer is any indication, COD looks like it’s stepping up it’s game in terms of both frenetic action and graphical fidelity. It’s coming out on November 3, and those that pre-order can get Beta access as well.
Not to be caught with their pants down after Bethesda announced Fallout 4 and DOOM VFR this week, Sony have announced a possible PS4 exclusive, Skyrim for PS VR. Not many details are known at this time. Other than that Skyrim on PSVR is releasing this November, Bethesda said The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim VR will feature the content of the full game, including add-on packs Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. This makes it a direct comparison to the Switch release of the game.
Detroit: Become Human
The next game by David Cage and Quantic Dream is looking rather impressive in it’s current state. The newest trailer from E3 2017 showcases the third major character for the game, Markus. Markus is the leader of an underground android liberation group that is attempting to undermine the commodification and exploitation of androids by humanity. Androids are being used for every menial and dangerous task from hostage negotiation to construction, and Markus wants that to end. The trailer shows his attempts to infiltrate and destroy various CyberLife stores selling his fellow androids, all while freeing the androids themselves.
If the hints of gameplay we’ve seen so far are any indication, we’ll likely see a fusion between the previous narrative-driven gameplay of other Quantic Dream games, and the puzzle solving hacking minigames of Watch Dogs. Which is an interesting possible innovation of the Quantic Dream formula. And if the animations and visual effects look as good in the final game, the PS4 will deliver a truly stunning experience that may well sway even the more hardcore David Cage critics. Hopefully Detroit stays away from predictable plot twists like Markus betraying the cause, because that is something David Cage would write and you know it. Although with the branching story the trailer hints at, it may be possible for the player to force those kinds of conclusions.
Detroit: Become Human is an upcoming neo-noir thriller video game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4.
Until Dawn developer Supermassive has revealed a new, dark, crime thriller called Hidden Agenda.This game seems to blend the crime investigation mechanics of games like LA Noire with the scare tactics and gameplay mechanics of their excellent Until Dawn. Hidden Agenda follows detective and DA on the tail of a serial killer referred to as the Trapper. The trapper attempts to target first responders by booby trapping their crime scenes with deadly explosive or otherwise destructive contraptions.
The same mechanic that a series of game altering decisions exist has been carried forward from Until Dawn. This time the decisions the player makes at the crime scenes will have a direct effect on their attempts to catch the Trapper. Just like in Until Dawn, EVERYONE in Hidden Agenda can die in some way. But the biggest change in Hidden Agenda relies on a new addition by Sony. PlayLink, an app to bring phones into a gaming experience is being touted as central to the gameplay experience. It’s also been revealed that up to five people can play the game at the same time. It seems like PlayLink may even allow players to deliberately manipulate the course of the game, we’ll just have to wait and see how Hidden Agenda handles the horror it will deliver to players.
This post-apocalyptic zombie action game reeks quite a bit of the later Dead Rising games in terms of inspiration. The as-of-yet unnamed protagonist is shown biking through a forest track at night, in a storm. But he’s soon knocked off and is attacked by a group of thugs. Knifing one and strangling another with a piece of rope, then trapping yet another in a vicious bear trap. Combat looks violent and chaotic, and it looks quite fun.
Vampyr
Sony has released a new bit of gameplay for the upcoming 3rd person action game Vampyr on PS4. And it looks great, even for early, possibly Alpha, footage. The trailer explores the dialogue system of Vampyr a bit, as well as diving into the cold war that’s heating up between the various factions. Which will probably not surprise you, is basically vampires against humans.
There are two “golden rules” in Vampyr. One is that you can take any life to keep yourself alive, and as a vampire, you’ll have to make that choice eventually. The other is that every action has consequences. And one would expect that the Guard of Priwen will rain down those consequences upon the player and their allies at any time. Of course, you can choose to avoid killing humans entirely and just feed on animals, but you get no character progression beyond merely staying “alive”, so the game will much harder should you go the “peaceful” route.
The “Healthy” status we see at the beginning of the trailer refers to the overall health of the district the player is in, in case you were wondering. At all times during the game, the player is trying to help control a virulent sickness that is ravaging London. The more this sickness spreads, and the more people killed, the further this average drops toward a critical failure point. If health in a district drops below that point, the district ceases to be a viable hunting ground for the player. This means that you’ll have to carefully pick and choose your food. Over-hunting an area in the short-term can seriously harm your prospects long-term.
Vampyr is on the hunt come November 2017.