We’re just a few week into 2024 and that means we have an entire whole year of new games to look forward to! I was pretty eager for the most recent Sony State of Play as I was expecting some major announcements and, to be fair, there were a few notable notices given in the show. There were also a few surprises sprinkled here and there. Sadly, there were, as per usual, some announcements and reveals that were rather bad or just simply didn’t tickle my fancy.

So, let’s go through the most recent Sony State of Play and see what’s good, what’s bad and what’s meh that’s coming to the PlayStation 5.

The Good

Stella Blade is shaping up to the a good Nier: Automata clone

You know how Dark Souls and Bloodborne, despite these games being super difficult and somewhat clunky, garnered a very strong fanbase and following? And then, soon after, other companies started copying the aesthetic, gameplay and, surprisingly, the level of difficulty, leading to the so-called Soulsbourne genre? Well, the same thing may happen with Nier: Automata since it looks like Stella Blade is strongly following its path.

Even if Stella Blade may have borrowed a lot of inspiration from Nier: Automata, from its setting, basic premise and even having a tiny flying robot assistant, it still does seem to be trying a lot more. The graphics look outstanding and the character models look really well done. The combat also does look like it does quite a bit more than Nier: Automata, with QTE moves and actual finishers. Stella Blade also has something Nier: Automata doesn’t have: customizable outfits. That’s enough to sell the game, in my opinion!

Now, I’m not sure if Stella Blade is going to be stellar (pun intended). However, based on the trailer, I would guess there are more people who want to get the game when it finally drops in April. I can’t say it’s going to be a system seller but I do know a lot of PlayStation 5 owners will be getting the game if they’re all as hyped for it as I am, thanks to the latest trailer.

Silent Hill: The Short Message got me excited… until I saw the reviews

I can still remember all the hullaballoo surrounding PT when the free demo was released on the PlayStation 4. It was a revolutionary take on the horror game and you can kind of say Capcom saw it and said, “Well, I guess we should make Resident Evil VII a first person game” because it used the perspective so well. Well, Konami got in a tizzy after Hideo Kojima left but I bet they still wanted to capture the magic of PT when they ordered the development of Silent Hill: The Short Message.

Now, mind you, this is just a reaction to the stuff that was shown during State of Play. I’m not including what we know about the game and how people are reacting to the actual experience of playing Silent Hill: The Short Message. If you just look at the trailer, Silent Hill: The Short Message looks like a really trippy descent into madness and guilt, which is a central theme of the franchise. It looks atmospheric and, best of all, it’s free!

Sadly, as it is free, a lot of people have been bemoaning how The Short Message is short on scares. Sure, the atmosphere is adequate and the central theme is well-written. However, you can’t help but compare it to PT, which is essentially The Short Message is trying to emulate. I will probably play through it myself just in case Konami has the bright idea to remove it like they did with PT.

Judas looks intriguing but I need to see more

All the trailer had to say was “from the creator of Bioshock” and I was sold. I generally have an aversion to first person shooters. But Bioshock was different as, while the gameplay and the RPG elements are good, it’s the stories and world building that always draws me in. Ken Levine’s latest project, Judas, may be reusing a lot of themes and ideas from his other big franchise but it’s set in space!

Okay, so the central premise of a rogue causing a ruckus in a world that is seemingly peaceful isn’t all that new and Judas seems to be following this step-by-step. However, I can’t help but think there’s going to be this huge twist in the story, like the entire “would you rather” trick and the time travel gimmick from Bioshock: Infinite. It’s not a PlayStation 5 exclusive, which does hurt the hype for it. Still, I do want to see more of it, which is what a good trailer is supposed to do.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 sold me on the combat alone

I never did play the original Dragon’s Dogma. Blame that on the fact that 2012 was a pretty good year for video games, with releases like Mass Effect 3, Borderlands 2, Diablo III and Lollipop Chainsaw (hey! I love this cheesy game!) getting released during that year. Well, it does look like I was missing out because the combat of Dragon’s Dogma 2 looks phenomenal!

As I am familiar with the legacy of Dragon’s Dogma and how it has a significant following, I can’t help but think Capcom is pouring a lot of time and effort into making Dragon’s Dogma 2 a new franchise. It’s remained in the shadows for quite a while and fans are hungry for a sequel. So, I don’t think Capcom would want to disappoint them either. It’s not a Sony exclusive… but that just means more sales, right?

Thanks for “accidentally” revealing Physint during the State of Play, Sony!

They tried to be all sneaky about it. State of Play just gave us a long previous of Hideo Kojima’s current project, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. So, when the man himself was introduced, I was expecting him to talk about it a bit. It turns out he was plugging the game he was going to make, which was going to be an “action espionage” game with Konami! It’s not going to be a new Metal Gear, however. Instead, it’s a totally new project that will also have a movie? Well, Hideo Kojima always had some crazy ideas so here’s hoping this project works out better than the dumb Silent Hill interactive TV series and the failed Quantum Break game/TV show hybrid!

Sony could have just left us with that little teaser. But noooooo. They had to go overboard by having this drone show showing Hideo Kojima was in the Columbia Studios production lot and they just so happen to show Physint, which I, along with everyone else, is going to be the name of the game. Spoiler alert?

Still, I am excited for this. While previous movie and video game hybrids haven’t worked in the past, if there’s anyone who can make it work, it has to be Hideo Kojima. I mean, his video games are like movies already! I do wish they were a little more subtle with the name reveal. All the mystery is gone now!

The Bad

Silent Hill 2 isn’t about combat, Konami

Silent Hill 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. The instant I saw that very grainy Realplayer video (this was a time before YouTube was a thing) of the first trailer, I knew I had to get this game. Silent Hill 2 was remarkable for a lot of reasons. The story was deep. The characters were all very interesting. The themes of guilt and how it can taint your soul just worked well. The atmosphere of this foggy town turning into an even more nightmarish place to live and survive also enhanced everything.

Note that I didn’t mention the combat. That’s because the combat in Silent Hill 2 was, well, it wasn’t bad. It was just okay. It wasn’t the highlight of the experience. So when Konami decided to show a Silent HIll 2 Remake trailer specifically highlighting how boring the combat is, you know they messed up.

What makes it worse is the combat doesn’t even look all that good! The animation of James striking a Lying Figure with the board looks super stiff. The sound effects of bullets hitting a Mannequin is just a muffled squishy sound, leaving very little impact to the experience. The handgun sounds like it’s an airsoft pistol and the rifle has very little bang for something that’s supposed to be one of the more powerful weapons in Silent Hill 2. Hopefully, this is just alpha or beta footage and Konami can still rework the combat because, while the original game had just okay combat, the Silent Hill 2 Remake’s combat looks worse, if you can imagine that.

V Rising is… what is this again?

You know how a video game trailer is supposed to get you hyped up by giving your a preview of what the gameplay is like? Well, the people behind V Rising didn’t appear to get the memo as, after seeing the trailer, I was utterly confused with what I’m supposed to be doing.

The trailer shows a vampire rising from a grave and then… chopping down a tree. What? And then he builds a cabinet from the wood he got? Huh? When he started going around a killing various monsters and monstrous boss monsters, I understood that. But what was the deal with the woodworking skills?

I eventually did some digging and found out V Rising is a PC game where you do play a vampire and kill stuff. But you also have to build and upgrade you castles. Well, the trailer was just so jarring so my brain had a hard time putting these things together!

Metro Awakening and Legendary Tales are VR games so… yep. They’re bad in my eyes.

Is VR still a thing? Well, apparently they are. Sony is still producing games for their PlayStation VR, which does make sense as they still want gamers to pony up the cash for this expensive doohickie. I have yet to really see a VR game that would make me want to pony up the cash for one, though. Metro Awakening didn’t do it for me. Legendary Tales was close as I do think it’ll be cool to grab a skeleton by the neck and repeatedly bash its skull in with my fist. Close… but not cigar.

So, why am I putting these in the Bad category? Well, it’s because they aren’t really clicking for me, for one thing. They just feel like regular first person games but you have to spend more money to play them. I’m still waiting for that killer game to make me envious of people who have the VR setup. These aren’t them.

Did we really need a remake for Until Dawn right now?

Let me be honest here: I actually like Until Dawn. I never finished it because I had so many games on my schedule and it just dropped out of my rotation for one reason or another. I thought the game looked brilliant and the idea of how the story will change based on your choices, making it ideal for replayability, was engaging. But did we really need an enhanced version of Until Dawn?

I’m saying this with all the love I can muster. But Until Dawn wasn’t exactly the groundbreaking hit for Sony or the PlayStation 4. It wasn’t like Grand Theft Auto V or The Last of Us, games which have a lot of cultural significance and became huge moneymakers for Sony. Until Dawn was more like the plucky little game that could. Not something that needs the big Remaster treatment. Unless they rework the game’s controls to make it less clunky, then it’s a hard pass.

Surprise! I think Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is bad!

Ooh, I’m probably going to get a lot of heat on this. But I have to be honest: I didn’t think the first trailer of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach looked that hot. That’s mostly on me because I never did play the first Death Stranding. Oh, there were times when I thought of buying it and playing on my PlayStation 4… but I just had other things on my mind. So, when you have this Joker lookalike shooting electricity out of his guitar, it kind of makes me think I made the right choice.

Then again, maybe if I had some kind of attachment to these characters, I would be more inclined to get hyped up for the eletricity-shooting-out-of-guitar man and the lady with the neat robot hands who can use them for a facemask. Maybe I should play the first Death Stranding and that will change my mind. But right now, I can’t get hyped for its sequel.

The Meh

Let’s just lump them all together because why would I expend a lot of time and effort discussing about these entries I don’t care for.

First off, Rise of the Ronin. This is a game I’m amazed that I’m not excited for. It looks good and it’s an open world adventure set in ancient Japan after foreigners were allowed in for trading. There’s just something missing with, well, everything. The combat looks fine but nothing that really grabbed me. The world itself was okay but the traversing using kites and grappling hooks looked too much like Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Assassin’s Creed. Hopefully, they release another trailer featuring the characters and the story. Maybe then I’ll warm up to it.

I was initially excited when I heard the Godzilla theme song. But then I realized it was just a crossover announcement with Dave the Diver. Haven’t played Dave the Diver so, meh. Same thing can be said for Sonic and Shadow: Generations. Sonic fans should have a blast with it but I’ve never been a huge Sonic fans. So this wasn’t all that interesting for me.

Zenless Zone Zero is another game from the Genshin Impact team and I tried Genshin Impact. I just didn’t gel well with the game as well. Maybe if Zenless Zone Zero showed the story and more single player stuff, I might show more interest in it. The State of Play also featured Helldivers II and Foamstars and, since both games are online shooters, that’s a pass for me as well. I hope they get an audience. Yes, even Foamstars, the Splatoon ripoff. I’m oddly rooting for it because I just want to see a stupid game like it become a surprise hit.

So, that’s the entire Sony State of Play for February. Or so we thought. It turns out Sony still has another one coming out in a couple of weeks, completely dedicated to Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. I’m actually glad they didn’t show anything from it just so it could build up more suspense for what they can show then!

Overall, this was a better than average State of Play. It got me hyped for some upcoming games like Stellar Blade, Judas and Dragon’s Dogma II. Even the bad things weren’t all that terrible, if I’m being honest. But I’m more eager for the Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth showcase in a couple of days. It kind of puts a damper on what was revealed here. Still, good show all-in-all.

What did you think of the most recent Sony State of Play? Were there any games you got excited for? Let me know in the comments section below!