It’s a new year and a new year of looking forward to new games. I was going to do an “awards” post for the Xbox Developer Direct and the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase that happened previously. But I felt there weren’t enough “award worthy” moments to really discuss. This wasn’t so with Sony PlayStation‘s latest State of Play. There were more than just a few surprises as well as some games I’m really looking forward to.

But sometimes a Sony PlayStation State of Play is more than the games they reveal. I feel we do have to talk about the other stuff that happened during the show. I would like to recognize these moments and give them “awards” to show how much they made an impact to the show. So, let’s go through five “award worthy” moments that happened during the latest Sony PlayStation State of Play.

The “Rebuilding Burnt Bridges” Award

Sometimes, a gaming company’s reputation can get tarnished beyond belief. It may even come to the point where people will leave an expletive before that said gaming company’s name. While some gaming companies *cough* Ubisoft *cough* will try to play dumb and pretend nothing is the matter, there are others who will try to bounce back and actually try to be better and rebuild their reputation. This award is for that one company that showed they might be on that path.

And the “Rebuilding Burnt Bridges” Award goes to… Konami? Wait, Really?

Somehow, Konami returned.

Like a lot of other gamers, I have written off Konami a long time ago. It looked like they decided to say adios to the game development and publishing business. It seemed they were too busy whoring out their IPs to make pachinko games just a few years back. They seemed to revel in screwing people like Hideo Kojima from getting their flowers. Well, it looks like they’re, at the very least, trying to win back gamers. They have recently have displayed a newfound resolve with products like the recent Silent Hill 2 Remake and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.

They also showed off their renewed dedication to video gaming during the Sony PlayStation State of Play as they took off a hefty chunk of the show to reveal their upcoming projects. Although REV. Noir, didn’t really light a fire under most gamers and it did look like Konami was double dipping with Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, the idea of a new entry in the Castlevania series does have me a little hyped.

The “Rise From Your Grave” Award

Game franchises, despite being popular, can just die out for one reason or another. Gamers do tend to move on but will still wistfully remember the good old days when one of their favorite video games has a long line of games. Well, sometimes these dead games manage to find an extra life and select Yes on the Continue option. The “Rise From Your Grave” Award is given to that one game franchise we all thought bit the dust so long ago but apparently reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.

And the winner of the “Rise From Your Grave” Award is… Dead or Alive!

The Dead or Alive franchise has not been an integral part of the fighting game community for a good while now. But it looks like it just might reintegrate itself back! Not only did Team Ninja announce they were releasing the final version of Dead or Alive 6 with Last Round, they also announced that a “new chapter” in the Dead or Alive series is now in production!

While we do have some details on Dead or Alive 6: Last Round, such as how its slated to be released in June, we don’t have anything on this “new chapter” in the series. Still, it is nice to see that Team Ninja is bringing back the Dead or Alive series and, hopefully, fighting game fans will get it so it doesn’t die again.

Best Hype Man Award

With every State of Play, we usually get people to appear on the screen to try to sell us on the game. Most of the time, the people we get are the people who produced the game or are involved with its creation. The problem is, usually, these guys (and gals) have very little personality so they’re not exactly the most exciting way to promote the product. What they need is to get a real proper hype man to really plug the product! The Best Hype Man Award is given to that individual who actually gets you hyped for your new game.

And the winner for the Best Hype Man Award goes to… TC Carson for God of War Trilogy Remake and God of War: Sons of Sparta!

Okay, the actual reveal that Santa Monica Studios is not just remastering a God of War game but actually remaking all three of the original God of War Trilogy games was already exciting. But when you get TC Carson, Kratos‘ original voice actor from the original games, that shows you they mean business! They’re not just getting old recordings of his performance. No, they’re having him do a new performance!

Besides, there was just something about TC Carson and the way he presented himself. He was all smiles but his deep baritone voice made you feel all good inside. And his excitement was just infectious. So, while I was already hyped for this remake trilogy, he just put it over the top!

Weirdest Character of the Show Award

In the world of video games, it wasn’t that odd to see you playing as a weird character before. You could play as an android, an octopus, the wind and many more. However, lately, we have seen a decrease in these oddball characters. It seems like, as games try to be more mature and serious, the sense of whimsy is slowly being eroded away. The Weirdest Character of the Show Award is given to that one character who decided that video games should still retain that sense of fancifulness in this day of age.

And the winner of the Weirdest Character of the Show Award goes to… that muscular anthropomorphic rooster thing from Project Windless!

To be fair, the character actually has some really deep lore! The game is set in the world of The Bird That Drinks Tears, a fantasy novel series very popular in South Korea. From the very little research I’ve done, Project Windless story is set just before The Bird That Drinks Blood, the sequel to The Bird That Drinks Tears. In the game, you control a Rekon, a bird-like race, who establishes the Arajit Kingdom. So, it appears the game will have you control this buff bird in an attempt to control the region against hostile invaders.

As strange as it looks, Project Windless does seem to be in good hands. The art style is fantastic so, even though you’re controlling a humanoid rooster, it still fits well with the game’s overall aesthetic. Also, the action does look rad, with a mixture of crowd clearing Dynasty Warriors action, open world exploration and gigantic bosses to take down. Controlling a gigantic chicken is just icing.

Biggest Difference Between Cinematics and Gameplay Award

Remember the old days when game trailers would show off a pre-rendered cinematic and play it off as if it was actual gameplay? Well, those days are gone because, nowadays, we even see the trailers notifying us which footage is pre-rendered and actual gameplay. Then again, sometimes is just plain obvious what is a cinematic and what is actual gameplay. The Biggest Difference Between Cinematics and Gameplay Award is given to the game that makes it super obvious that you don’t even need them to tell you which is which.

And the winner of the Biggest Difference Between Cinematics and Gameplay Award goes to… Untitled John Wick game!

They just had to start out with a pre-rendered cinematic to really sell the look of the game. Honestly, that part looked really awesome as it captured a lot of the John Wick magic from the movies. From the camera angles to the gun-fu, things looked perfect.

Then we got to the actual gameplay… woof!

I’m not saying the action shown using the actual gameplay looked bad. It just came off as incredibly underwhelming because they put it right after the awesome cinematic. We’re simply not in that level where the actual gameplay can look exactly like the perfectly choreographed action of a pre-rendered cinematic. But it did make the game looked undercooked as a result.

What was your favorite “award worthy” moments from the latest Sony PlayStation State of Play? Let me know in the comments section below!