The post Trophy Talk: Oxenfree 2 Highlights the Tedium of Narrative Adventure Platinums appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>These Platinums mainly suffer because of how laborious it is to replay these types of titles, which often call for a few playthroughs. Running through games again to nab trophies isn’t a bad proposition — as shown by the Resident Evil 4 remake and the Dead Space remake — but it can be in this genre. Dialogue and cutscenes are often unskippable and walking speeds are usually incredibly slow. Having to crawl from story bit to story bit and listen to most of the same conversations again means trophy-related replays aren’t snappy. Even just going back to grab a single collectible can take far too much time.
Oxenfree 2 falls into this trap, too, since Riley’s movement speed is sluggish, and there’s no way to blaze past anything. Players have to hear about Jacob’s insecurities again and clamber up the same ropes with very little in the way of expediency. Trophy hunting would be significantly more tiresome if every game had these restrictions and forced players to hit credits at least a couple times.
Supermassive Games’ titles have had the same issue, not only contriving multiple trophies to encourage another run or two, but also getting players to sit through a lot of the same scenes. This approach doesn’t do this genre any favors since it points out how truly limited they often are. While The Dark Pictures Anthology and games like Oxenfree pride themselves on variability, second playthroughs often don’t differ too much.
Oxenfree 2 has a few splintering points, but many of the choices players are presented with are in regards to how they talk to Jacob. Some lines are different, but that doesn’t distract much from how similar the rest of it is. Few games are truly that unique each time, and the trophy list shouldn’t make that even more clear.
Oxenfree 2 is also full of highly specific and missable trophies. It’s easy to forget to ping Evelyn after every transmitter, not tune into Maria’s radio station, or even pick the specific dialogue choices in two scenarios in order to unlock the “3 AM Food Friends” and “Merry Scary Christmas” trophies. Supermassive’s titles are rotten with these types of trophies, and they’re not much better here. Having to deduce how to trigger certain events or closely adhering to a guide is also not the most ideal way to play these games, especially when ignorance or a slip up can force yet another run.
Detroit: Become Human also has a few scene-dependent trophies and 1979: The Revolution calls for players to not miss a single quick-time event, but those games, unlike Oxenfree 2, at least has a chapter select feature to mitigate frustration. It’s not possible to skip around and mop up collectibles or grab the aforementioned missable trophies in this sequel for some puzzling reason. Not even the game’s final autosave lets players pick the other endings; those who don’t back up their save right before that choice are completely out of luck.
There are some narrative adventure games with friendlier trophy lists, though. The Life is Strange series not only lets players skip around, but each entry also has a Collector Mode that strips out the story and makes collectibles easily accessible. Telltale Games, with a few exceptions, also takes the easy road and gives players the Platinum for reaching the end. Not every narrative-heavy title like this needs to be so simple, but they also show that a less prickly path is possible.
Games like Until Dawn, The Quarry, New Tales from the Borderlands, Heavy Rain, Last Stop, Beyond: Two Souls, and The Medium all suffer from many of the aforementioned issues, but Oxenfree 2 still is one of the most hostile to completionists when compared to many of its genre peers. Its glacial movement speed, inability to let players skip dialogue, nearly identical events, lack of chapter select, and very specific and highly missable trophies make it a true slog to complete. There’s even one completely bugged trophy on PS5 (which Night School Studio is aware of), but that’s not nearly its biggest problem. Its biggest problem is that it’s a multifaceted pain to complete that succinctly illustrates this genre’s trophy-related struggles.
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]]>The post How the AEW Fight Forever Roster Stands Out appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>This Georgia girl has a fat ass and a bad attitude, which translates to a rotten time for most of her opponents. The Queenslayer is fierce and not afraid to drop some serious offense in the ring or use foreign objects when the situation calls for it. Formerly of the Dark Order, Anna Jay A.S. has more recently allied herself with the Jericho Appreciation Society and tag partner Tay Melo, but it isn’t hard to imagine there’s ambition there for her own path. Her gear looks great and some people have announced publicly that they think she’s, “the hottest bitch in this place.” Gold is most likely in Anna’s future, but with a savvy player backing her, that’ll be sooner rather than later.
The Dark Order has had a lot of ups and downs since its debut, but one of the standouts in their ranks as faces or heels has been John Silver. The muscular mound may be of smaller stature than most wrestling icons, but he can certainly go in the ring and has always felt like somewhat of an underdog, which makes it fun to play him against larger opponents or in matches with seemingly impossible odds. Johnny Hungiee may not be one of the most-picked characters in the game at first, but his charisma spills through even in this digital form. This student of Mikey Whipwreck’s is pro-meat, all beef, and purely entertaining.
She isn’t just a former AEW Women’s World Champion, but the person to hold that belt the longest at this time, so let’s put a little respect on the name. Hikaru Shida is a woman of few words, a samurai on a mission, and as of late that has seen her facing off against The Outcasts. She’s a stylish person anywhere she goes, so it makes sense that her in-game model looks excellent, moves are fluid, and this Japanese warrior is a site to behold in action, especially when using her trademark kendo stick.
Will Hobbs lives up to the name Powerhouse. Everything he does is executed with raw strength and willpower. He is a dominant heel and his moves feel like any one of them could end a conflict right in the middle of the ring. The bigger guys aren’t usually my preferred combatants, but Powerhouse moves decently and I get a kick out of doing his Oklahoma Stampede finisher every time. Hobbs is a former member of Team Taz, associates with QTV, and held the TNT Championship, but his goal is to be the first African American AEW World Champion, and it seems like that chapter is already written in the Book of Hobbs, it’s just waiting to happen.
Her dominant reign may have hit a snag recently, but that doesn’t mean that Jade Cargill isn’t still that bitch. Cargill started out strong in the company, debuting in a feud involving Shaquille O’Neal, as well as Cody and Brandi Rhodes, and she’s continued to conquer the brand with the baddies and showed off her strength with an impressive TBS title run. She’s an imposing figure who sells the shit out of her moves, and it’s great how crisp that Jaded finisher looks in the game. Every piece of her assault feels like it’s going to hurt. Cargill has shown improvement over her time in the company and she’s the type to do stylish and nerdy entrances (Mortal Kombat, X-Men, and Thundercats – her gear looks good, but those would have been great to see here), leaving quite the impression. Jade is the brand of heel this game needs.
As a wrestler, it took a little time for Nyla Rose to grow on me. I was way more interested in her life as an actress, her work with Marvel Comics, and the path she is taking as a transgender athlete. Over the years, however, I came to respect the former champ’s in-ring work more and enjoy Rose’s matches, especially from a presentation standpoint. The Native Beast is a vicious heel and even in a loss, she comes across as a threat. Her model in the game isn’t perfect, but Nyla’s entrance with the mask and that song works very well. I was a bit surprised at how much I enjoy playing as Rose, as her moves can be a bit unruly at times and not connect. There’s just something satisfying about destroying opponents with that Beast Bomb.
Whatever.
I was first exposed to this duo in a fantastic promotion known as Lucha Underground and these two have never ceased to impress me since then. The Lucha Brothers are champions whether they’re currently holding belts or not, whether it’s AEW, ROH, or AAA, whether it’s together or in singles competition, both of these men are kings of the wrestling business. They have the look, moves, and off-the-charts showmanship even though they barely speak. This pair is also two-thirds of the dangerous Death Triangle group, which along with Pac, might be the most overall talented stable in the company.
The man who refers to himself as Absolute Ricky Starks is full of confidence, charisma, and interesting poses. He made his debut in an open challenge against Cody Rhodes and went on to join Team Taz, but everyone who took note of his NWA run knows that his path as a singles competitor is destined to be paved with more gold than just the FTW title. And his revolution will be televised. It’s just a shame that we don’t get to hear Starks more in the game.
This is a wrestler who has made a name for herself in other companies and stands out for a multitude of reasons, but the face paint certainly helps. Thunder Rosa has an excellent look, but she’s definitely had some better gear than what we see here — at least she gets her flag. This ferocious fighter from the graveyards of Tijuana has been a part of some brutal matches, especially against Britt Baker, and being able to recreate those encounters is a thrill. The former Women’s World Champion can be a force of nature, but she has sadly been dealing with injuries as of late. However, her absence may just inspire players to pick the unstoppable warrior in this game even more.
Sammy Guevara was one of the fresh faces in AEW that stuck out. He was a part of the first match to ever take place on Dynamite and as I read up on his training with Booker T, I was sure Guevara was someone to keep an eye on. Now, as one of the pillars of the company and a couple of titles under his belt, the ceiling for the Spanish God seems incredibly high. Playing someone with such spectacular aerial offense is exciting, especially since missing one or two high-risk maneuvers doesn’t take the player completely out of the match. And for those matches, I don’t want to feel like a daredevil I just hit that GTH, because it has such a satisfying crack when it connects.
He’s better than you (and me too).
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]]>Alan Wake Remastered is technically the oldest game on this list since the original came out in 2010, but it’s also the most well-regarded one of the three. Its successes, however, aren’t going to immediately be apparent. While this remaster looks good and has some noticeable improvements, it is still a 2010 game at its core. Alan Wake’s shooting mechanics are also not nearly as solid as the Capcom juggernaut it is clearly inspired by. Wearing down the shadow on an enemy with a flashlight before unloading a shotgun into their chest is novel at first, yet doesn’t grow much in complexity over time. At its best, combat is often just serviceable.
But its gameplay is not why it is still worth experiencing. Alan Wake’s storytelling has aged well and demonstrates why Remedy Entertainment’s titles are still coveted today. Wake’s artful monologues demonstrate how strong Remedy’s writers are while also reinforcing that Alan Wake himself is a talented writer. Reading manuscripts that foreshadow future events seems like it would spoil the best parts, but it manages to lay suspense and add even more tension. Like Twin Peaks and the Stephen King novels it was inspired by, the plot thrives on mystery and throwing the player for a loop, so it all fits incredibly well.
It’s a well-told story with memorable characters that somehow came together despite a rocky, elongated development cycle (it was supposed to be an open world and took around six years). There’s a reason requests for a sequel have persisted for over a decade and it all starts here in this remaster.
Alan Wake Remastered is also coming to PlayStation Plus at the perfect time, too. The highly anticipated sequel is dropping on October 17, which gives players plenty of time to get through this remaster and Control. Control may not seem related, but its second expansion delves into Alan Wake and connects everything together. Control: Ultimate Edition was included in the three PlayStation Plus games in February 2021 and is also currently part of PlayStation Plus Extra, meaning Sony has given players ample ways to prepare for Alan Wake 2.
Call of Duty’s yearly releases have made it difficult for any one entry to stick out, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is no different. It was neither panned, nor held up as one of the series’ best, as evidenced by its average score of 75.
Regardless, it’s a decent shooter with a brief campaign that’s produced well enough to see through to the end. Gunplay remains tight, if familiar, and is the glue that holds the expensive thrill ride together. The thrill ride repeats many of the same notes, like the stealthy sniping level and the Vietnam War level, but they’re done well enough here. There’s also even a predominantly combat-free section that lets the player infiltrate the KGB headquarters and another frantic map that takes place on a Soviet training facility modeled after a stereotypical American town, showing that the game still has some novel ideas. While its trippier sections that call back to the original Black Ops are uneven, it’s a mostly well-made shooter that sits squarely in the middle of the tier list of Call of Duty games.
The zombies and multiplayer modes are also rather typical and both dig into the series’ past. Zombies has players unlocking bits of a map and surviving for as long as possible — something Vanguard moved away from — and is more akin to Treyarch’s earlier games. It was also widely criticized for only having one map at launch, but that complaint has evaporated over time since it now has four.
The competitive multiplayer, which also got its share of free post-launch maps, strips out ultimate abilities and operators and brings back a longer time-to-kill. With these reversions and the zombies’ mode following a more traditional structure, both are safe, yet still engaging versions of the Call of Duty formula that stand out just enough from the last generation’s futuristic entries and Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare titles. Familiarity can only carry a game so far, which is what makes Cold War a worthy PlayStation Plus title worth casually exploring.
Endling – Extinction is Forever is the spiritual inverse of Call of Duty since it is a 2.5D survival game starring a fox and doesn’t have any sequels. It was received relatively well when it launched in 2022, garnering an average score of 79.
And while it looks like an emotionally charged platformer in the vein of Limbo, it’s more of a survival game since players are tasked with protecting their cubs and finding enough food for them. It doesn’t end when one of them dies, either, so players are pressured to explore different paths and keep them alive, which adds a decent amount of tension.
Its narrative also has an overt message for players to digest, something that’s quite refreshing after Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and its muddy morals. Endling isn’t the most conventional title of the three, but its unique qualities (along with a relatively quick and easy Platinum trophy) are exactly why it’s worth trying out.
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]]>The post Celebrate Secret Invasion With 5 Marvel Games That Feature Skrulls appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>Given the Fantastic Four is all about exploration and gaining knowledge, it makes sense that an alien species with wild powers like the Skrulls would frequently appear in media involving Marvel’s first family. This includes the 1997 PlayStation game.
The PS1 Fantastic Four game got pretty harsh reviews upon release, but it does feature the Skrull homeworld — one of the many times it would be threatened by Galactus across different mediums.
To this day, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is held in high esteem by Marvel fans and gamers alike. The game sees many of Marvel’s most iconic characters band together to take on a wide variety of massive threats, from the murderous Arcade to Doctor Doom. The game features a section on the Skrull Planet, as well as an appearance from Kl’rt the Super-Skrull as a boss. You can actually choose to save the Skrulls and their planet from Galactus, leading to a partnership between humans and Skrulls.
The game has been rereleased, though it was taken back down in some regions, assumedly due to licensing agreements. If it ever goes back up on sale on modern consoles to promote an Avengers movie, be sure to grab it while you can.
Lego games are always a straightforward delight to play through, especially when they feature characters from a franchise you enjoy. Lego Marvel Super Heroes brought together characters from every corner of the Marvel universe, from the X-Men to the Fantastic Four.
Amongst the 180 playable characters in the game is the previously mentioned Kl’rt the Super-Skrull, played by voice acting legend John DiMaggio. You have to melt a block of ice that has his character token in it to unlock him, but his Fantastic Four-based powers make him more than worth unlocking.
Marvel’s Avengers: Battle for Earth certainly isn’t the one that people typically think of when they hear “Marvel fighting game,” but it’s an interesting little game despite being quickly forgotten after release. The title is largely based on the Skrull-focused Secret Invasion comic storyline, so it makes sense for Skrulls to feature heavily.
Super Skrull is one again playable, while the antagonists include Queen Veranke and a variety of Skrull imposters disguised as Earth’s mightiest heroes. If you’ve ever read the 2008 Marvel Comics storyline, you’ll find a lot of aspects of this game to be quite familiar.
We talked a bit about Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 earlier, but it’s worth mentioning again. It’s one of Capcom’s finest fighting games, which is saying a lot given the studio’s pedigree when it comes to that genre. The wide range of characters from both companies make for an incredibly diverse roster, which once again includes Super Skrull.
The character shines here more than in any other game adaptation, as he’s able to utilize all of the Fantastic Four members’ powers with his different specials and super attacks. Plus, the quotes he has between different characters pay homage to plenty of great comic moments. A lot of care went into portraying all these characters well, making this a blast of a game for comic fans in addition to fighting game fans.
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]]>Inscryption’s description might repel some since it is a card-based roguelite and that genre can be a little niche, but it’s so much more than that. It starts out as an easy-to-grasp card game that calls on players to use every resource intelligently to progress, which is a satisfying loop and even some of the best roguelites stop there. However, Inscryption keeps going and becomes far more than a simple card game. Even though it is more than it initially seems, it never loses sight of what works and continues to build on those ideas in creative and unforgettable ways.
Rogue Legacy 2 builds on the, well, legacy of the first Rogue Legacy by being centered around going deeper into a constantly changing set of environments in order to cash in more upgrades. There’s a hook here that makes it rewarding to keep going; that was true then and it’s true now for the sequel even if it isn’t as unique. There are additional class types that add more variety to combat (although some are better than others) and more ways to customize each character through new types of equipment. It’s mostly varied enough to keep the runs from growing stale, but the unique traits that are meant to further mix it all up have just gotten bothersome since many of them twist the game in unfair ways.
Despite the irritating traits, Rogue Legacy 2 is able to slightly step over the original through a few key design decisions, mainly through its customizability and accessibility. Difficulty can be manually managed in the menu and touches elements like health and damage values, as well as turning off the ever-annoying enemy contact damage that plagued the first game. Rogue Legacy 2 is an exceptionally hard title that makes players earn their dodges and carefully plan attacks, so all of these knobs help keep the frustration down. It’s not as influential as its forebear, but it’s still one of the better roguelites.
Carto is simply an incredibly charming and unique puzzle game. It lets players shift around a paper map, which changes around the actual world. Map pieces have to be arranged in a way where the terrain matches the adjacent square, which leads to all sorts of possible combinations where players have to think critically about each piece in order to find the right combination. It’s a unique mechanic that leads to some thought-provoking puzzles that are subtle but rarely counterintuitive. The easygoing attitude and striking art style also round out the experience and make Carto one charming journey.
Dodgeball Academia has been unabashedly influences by sports anime and the Pokémon games, but it still has a charm all its own. Taking place in a dodgeball-centric school makes for a solid hub that naturally contains plenty of unique characters and lets players learn the mechanics alongside the protagonist.
Learning all of these new moves in school means there are all sorts of upgrades to grab and earn, which makes for a solid RPG, but its combat mechanics are where Dodgeball Academia excels. Instead of relying on turn-based battles, fights happen in real-time and use the simple rules of dodgeball as a base. Special moves, a customizable party, unique ball types, and perks add more variables to the fights and give players a choice in how their dodgeball student plays out on the court. These RPG mechanics are doled out well and make each battle thrilling, but the real-time skill-based mechanics at the center are key in ensuring Dodgeball Academia doesn’t deflate over time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge does not hide its affection for the past, but it is not thoughtlessly beholden to it. This beautiful brawler has plenty of contemporary features like six-player co-op, a leveling system, and multiple difficulties and modes that sand off the prickly, quarter-munching nature of the arcade originals and bring it up to modern standards.
The retro charm is still undeniably thick, though, with its focus on a form of 2D brawling that has mostly died out. Tribute Games and Dotemu have implemented a healthy variety of attacks that keep it from becoming mashy and overly repetitive, something this genre can be prone to. While the colorful visuals, numerous references, and killer music are made for those who love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s also designed well enough to be a great brawler in its own right.
3D platformers are rare in the modern age, especially ones not in established franchises. A Hat in Time is a new IP, but it looks like a lost PS1 or N64 game. However, more importantly, it plays like a contemporary title. Jumping around and gathering collectibles to unlock new abilities feels good because of the smooth controls, and the whimsical nature of it all makes all that much smoother to digest.
Its creative level themes also break new ground because it’s not just the obligatory mix of the water level, ice level, and fire level. Instead, A Hat in Time has fresher ideas that include a mafia town and movie studio world. It’s a cute platformer that has obvious retro inspirations, but isn’t just a careless retread. And as an added bonus, it even runs at a higher frame rate on PS5 as long as players tick the right box in the settings.
Tacoma didn’t seem to reach the meteoric heights of Fullbright’s last game, Gone Home, but it is still an enjoyable narrative-based adventure game. The AR recordings that make a big part of the game’s narrative let players dig into the Tacoma’s fleshed-out characters and is a more visually compelling way to dig into the lore than reading journal after journal. It makes room for the excellent performances to shine through and lets the game completely get away with its lack of faces or facial animations. Piecing together what happened through branching recordings is a great evolution of what Fullbright has done before and makes it one of the better entries in an increasingly crowded genre.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was initially hampered by its tacked-on multiplayer, gross microtransactions, and tacky pre-order campaign, but this immersive sim’s qualities have only gotten better with time since those aforementioned issues have faded into the background. Mankind Divided gives players all sorts of objectives that, in true immersive sim fashion, can be solved a number of different ways. Levels are denser and protagonist Adam Jensen’s upgraded suite of abilities means there are more ways to explore each corner, sewer tunnel, and apartment.
The game sticks out a few years later because immersive sims aren’t as prevalent now. Eidos-Montréal didn’t make a sequel and its following two projects, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Guardians of the Galaxy, were straightforward action games. Arkane Studios has also been inching away from its immersive sim roots with games like Deathloop and Redfall, with the former being a small step away from the genre and the latter being quite a large (mis)step. Its story is rushed and has some eye-rolling analogies to modern political problems, but it’s still an excellent and wonderfully realized entry in its underserved genre.
Far Cry 6 is definitely Far Cry, but it’s also the most streamlined and expansive version of that aging formula. Yara is one of the more interesting settings in the series and having a voiced protagonist helps bring out the personality of the many characters in that world that are fighting against the dictatorship oppressing them all. Giancarlo Esposito’s role as the villain lives up to some of the series’ best antagonists and isn’t just a retread of his past characters like Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring and The Mandalorian’s Moff Gideon.
The gameplay draws heavily from the Far Cry series, as players will still be clearing out camps and upgrading their gear, but the presentation makes it stick out. The vast array of customizable weapons, cast of silly animal companions, and handful of gadgets give players all sorts of ways to wreak havoc on Far Cry 6’s open world, even if not much of it is actually new. It still guides players by the nose from objective to objective and isn’t some bold take on the genre, but it’s a solid checklist game that’s even gotten better after launch through a few solid updates.
Killzone: Liberation is incredibly novel for a few reasons. It’s a Killzone game, a franchise that has been dormant for a decade. It’s a top-down shooter, which is a genre that is rare in the modern age. And it’s also a noteworthy PSP game that stands out in the lackluster crowd of its peers on Premium. It would be a decent artifact if that was it — and that is all part of the appeal — but Liberation is surprisingly still a solid game.
Knowing when to shoot, where to take cover, and how to direct around allies makes for a compelling loop that’s uncomplicated yet still engaging. The lock-on targeting can be a little finicky and its blocky visuals and dry art style mean it doesn’t look great, but it’s a unique title that is the type of game Sony should be putting on Premium.
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]]>The post Fights in Tight Spaces Is What John Wick Hex Should Have Been appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>Fights in Tight Spaces is a roguelite deck builder where actions are represented as cards. There are obviously straightforward attacks, but there are also abilities like countering, jump kicking, wall smashing, throwing, pushing, side kicking, blocking, and more. It’s all dictated by an energy system and can add to a combo meter, which certain cards take advantage of for huge damage. The combo meter depletes if players move, so being able to string attacks together while staying put becomes yet another aspect to keep in mind. It’s sometimes risky to stay put, but it can pay off with devastating attacks that can put even the strongest foes in a coma.
Taking advantage of each card’s various properties and working within their limitations is key to survival since it’s all about positioning and making the most out of the current hand. There are a lot of variables to think about, too, like the environment and unique enemy types that make thoughtful play a requirement. Manipulating foes to hit each other, kicking a guard over a rail for instant kill, using special cards to get around an enemy’s block, throwing a goon into another for extra damage, and deftly using every energy point to outmaneuver a death trap are just some of the satisfying stunts players can pull off. There’s always some way to manipulate its interlocking systems because the mechanics are so open.
Fights in Tight Spaces gets players to feel like an acrobatic martial artist through an unexpected expected genre in a way that was only slightly hinted at with John Wick Hex. Hex was horribly balanced and often required a level of perfection its flimsy mechanics just couldn’t support; deaths were frequent and unfair. This fragility made the Baba Yaga feel more like a Baby Yaga and failed to accurately gamify one the most recognizable modern film franchises.
Pulling off combos and barely scraping by in Fights in Tight Spaces is thrilling because the tools are more open, and that’s not only crucial for roguelites, but also for the fantasy of being an action star. Great action scenes in films have the protagonist overcoming insurmountable odds through wit and brawn, and knowing how and when to play each card in Fights in Tight Spaces evokes that feeling, but in a different context. Fights in Tight Spaces even has multiple difficulty options that make mistakes more or less punishing, which opens up that action movie star fantasy to even more players.
It’s ironic that Bithell Games, the studio behind John Wick Hex, helped developer Fights in Tight Spaces. According to James Parker, founder of Ground Shatter Games, Bithell provided a “huge amount of expertise, knowledge, and feedback” that enabled the team to “take the game up a level in terms of quality.” Given this crossover, it’s possible Hex’s failings helped make Fights in Tight Spaces a more well-realized version of strategic action. Regardless, Fights in Tight Spaces shows that a John Wick-esque video game doesn’t need to be an expensive shooter, but can instead be expressed differently through a card-based strategy game that cleverly reframes and recontextualizes the ass-kicking action.
Disclaimer: This Fights in Tight Spaces feature is based on a PS4 copy provided by the publisher. Played on version 1.02.
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]]>PS Plus Extra launched with a decent library of games, and it’s only gotten better. It came with a suite of first-party titles like Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Sony added even more of its own heavy hitters like Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Horizon Forbidden West in the months after. Of course, Sony’s games don’t launch on PS Plus, but the wait isn’t too long and many of these games are great enough to outright own.
The third-party games do a fine job of filling out the list, as well. Ubisoft’s beefy lineup has some highlights like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs Legion, and Far Cry 4. And these sit alongside titles like Resident Evil 7, Tekken 7, Dishonored 2, Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Doom Eternal, Mortal Kombat 11, Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade that serve as a small sampling of the relatively recent and notable third-party games. There’s a decent variety on display in enough huge franchises that mean most people will either be able to address one of their blind spots or experiment with a well-regarded game in a new genre.
The steady flow of Extra games has only gotten more diverse as time has gone on, which is the true value of Extra. While big AAA games in recognizable franchises are the big tentpole games to sell a subscription service on, the more obscure or unique games are often the most valuable since it’s sometimes difficult to buy into a completely new IP. Games like Thymesia, The Forgotten City, Slay the Spire, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Mortal Shell, Abzu, Blasphemous, Observation, The Gardens Between, and What Remains of Edith Finch fit that description and seeing them pop up on the monthly drop might entice players to give them a go, especially if they have positive word of mouth.
The lineup is generally solid and getting better, but it’s lacking in one area: new releases. Sony has offered a handful of games at launch like Stray, Tchia, and Humanity. And while Stray and Humanity are both great games, three brand-new games in 12 months is just not a great look, especially when compared to Game Pass’ many day-one launches. Catching up on older titles is fine and where PS Plus gets a lot of its value, but having a steady supply of brand-new titles would bring Extra to the next level.
Despite not having many day-one releases, Extra is still a solid deal. It’s got a healthy variety of genres from many types of developers, and seeing the lineup improve over time is promising.
While PS Plus Extra is a decent deal, Premium is a different story. The promise of having a tier dedicated to older games is incredibly smart positioning from Sony since it has a much richer and deeper history in the medium than Xbox. There are simply more PlayStation systems than Xbox and that means it has a unique selling point that Sony can leverage to differentiate Premium from its competition. However, this highest PS Plus tier has struggled to fulfill those ambitions in multiple different ways.
The library is the most striking issue. The PS1 section has classics like Ape Escape and Jumping Flash, but Syphon Filter is a quarter of the first-party offerings. Gabe Logan deserves to be remembered, yet his outsized presence in lieu of other PS1 classics doesn’t bode well for the variety that made the PS1 special. Third-party support is also weak, as there aren’t games like Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot, or many of the other non-Sony games that made the system what it was. There’s only one Resident Evil game and one Tekken, after all. It has only been a year, but the listing presents a severely incomplete picture of the PS1, one that implies that Syphon Filter was the ubiquitous system seller.
The prominence of Syphon Filter carries over to the PSP games, which are also incredibly underwhelming. Super Stardust Portable, Echoshift, and Locoroco Midnight Carnival are just inferior versions of existing games on other PlayStation systems, so there’s little reason to play these handicapped installments. Pursuit Force and Ape Academy 2 are apt examples of PSP games that Sony needs more of since they were unique and pointed out the strengths of the handheld, but these are such a small part of an already-small library.
The PS2 offering is somehow worse since Sony has refused to add any games that weren’t already PS2 on PS4 titles. Because of this frustrating limitation, the PS2 library hasn’t grown at all. Not even every PS2 on PS4 game made the jump, either, so the lineup is not only stagnant, but also short. The PS2 is a beloved console that has many fantastic and varied titles, and Sony has yet to meaningfully convey that through the Premium tier.
The PS3 section is similarly as stunted as the PS2 part of the library since Sony also is reluctant to add new PS3 games to the service that weren’t already on PlayStation Now. It’s boring since it pulls from an established pool and, once again, not a good indicator of the PS3’s library.
Being limited to only streaming is also a sad reality since it works well enough, but it is not a replacement for playing a game locally, something that’s harder to accept when Xbox players mostly don’t have the same restrictions when revisiting games from that era. Merely recycling games from the PlayStation Now (a lot of which are shovelware) and PS2 on PS4 libraries gives the impression that Sony is just half-assing it for these two generations.
Sony has attempted to get around these limitations by putting PS4 versions of games on Premium, but it’s a haphazard approach that doesn’t hide how shoddy this whole tier is. Trying to repackage existing parts of the service like they are new and just putting up old PS4 ports of PS3 games doesn’t cut it. The PS4 version of Limbo should not be in the Premium section, nor should Ghostbusters: The Game Remastered, Patapon Remastered, or any of the numerous remasters that pad out Premium.
These are PS4 games that Sony is trying to artificially shuffle over in a desperate attempt to make Premium seem like anything other than a huge disappointment. It’s even more confusing when some remasters (like the Kingdom Hearts, Skyrim, and Assassin’s Creed remasters) are added to Extra, which makes it all the more frustrating.
Adding trophies to some PS1 and PSP games was just about the only highlight, as Jumping Flash, Locoroco Midnight Carnival, No Heroes Allowed, Echoshift, and Super Stardust Portable all surprisingly got post-release trophy patches. This small change adds an extra incentive for players to check these older titles out and, like the rewind and save state features, is a meaningful way to modernize older titles. It’s annoying that trophy support is inconsistent across the board (and nonexistent for third-party games), but hopefully it becomes more of a standard going forward.
Extra trophies are nice, but they do not save PS Plus Premium because the library for each system is simply insufficient. A new PSP, PS1, PS2, and PS3 game every month would make the added cost more manageable, yet Sony can barely manage one or two “new” games a month and tries to recycle titles from past services or put up PS4 remasters instead. It’s the tier with the most potential, but it is easily the most disappointing and is a poor way to celebrate Sony’s storied history.
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]]>The post 5 Marvel Games to Play if You’re Looking Forward to Secret Invasion on Disney+ appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>As far as fighting games go, there’s nothing quite like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Originally released in 2011, the game still has a passionate following over a decade later thanks to its tight combos, varied character roster, and seemingly endless amount of reverence for both Marvel and Capcom.
The roster serves as a bit of a time capsule for that era, mixing MCU heavyweights like Iron Man and Hulk with (then) lesser-known characters like Rocket Raccoon, Iron Fist, and Nova. The fighting is snappy, the arcade endings are full of fun fanservice, and even the music is top-notch. If you like fighting games and Marvel, this is absolutely one of best Marvel games to play if you’re looking forward to Secret Invasion — especially since Super Skrull is one of the most fun characters to play as.
This one’s more of a Diablo-esque title, giving you control of some of Marvel’s most iconic characters as you navigate through the Civil War storyline of the comics. The game features different paths depending on where you stand on the matter of superhero registration, allowing you to side with either Iron Man and Mister Fantastic or Captain America and Luke Cage.
The selection of playable heroes is impressive, with even more fan favorites serving as bosses and NPCs throughout the game. Though a third Marvel Ultimate Alliance eventually released for the Nintendo Switch, the first two games have a different and more comic book-y vibe to them, making Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 a great choice.
This one’s a great pick for if you’re specifically a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though there are a few different Lego Marvel games, Lego Marvel’s Avengers is set in the MCU and follows the plots of some of the biggest movies from that universe.
Using a mix of new and archived audio from iconic Marvel stars, the game is filled with a variety of characters and bonuses to unlock and use. It has an open world hub that you can explore and do minigames in whenever you want, plus a decently easy Platinum trophy to boot. If you’re an MCU fan, Lego Marvel’s Avengers is one of best Marvel games to play if you’re looking forward to Secret Invasion.
The great thing about the criminally underlooked Guardians of the Galaxy game is how it meshes movie and comic book influences to create a new and exciting take on the space-faring Marvel team. Secret Invasion is all about Skrulls, so why not play on Marvel’s cosmic side?
This single-player action game takes you across the galaxy as Star-Lord. As you battle all sorts of extraterrestrial enemies and an intergalactic cult, the team grows closer and closer, cementing their status as one of Marvel’s most memorable teams. If you’re a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics or movies, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Now that all of the game’s DLC has been released, there’s no better time to jump onto Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Though this is focused more on the supernatural side of Marvel’s roster, it’s worth checking out for its impressive mechanics and characterization.
From big names like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel to fan-favorites like Blade and Ghost Rider, you can control a number of heroes (in addition to your own avatar, the Hunter) as you fight off enemies with a unique card-based tactics system. Then you can chill with your favorites back at your base between missions as you build up a friendship with them. Though it didn’t receive as much attention as it may have deserved, Marvel’s Midnight Suns is one of best Marvel games to play if you’re looking forward to Secret Invasion.
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]]>The post Trophy Talk: Street Fighter 6’s Trophy List Is Divided Up, But in the Wrong Way appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>Street Fighter 6’s three main modes are divided into three categories on the trophy list. But weirdly, the online modes are tied to the main one that contains the Platinum. This means that the multiplayer parts have the most trophies, and they are the hardest of the three. Players have to win a bunch of tournaments and multiple types of online matches to polish off that Platinum while progressing through World Tour only unlocks a scant six trophies. Fighting Ground, the suite of more straightforward and traditional modes, also only has six trophies.
This is backwards since the online trophies are harder, and they are the ones that are required for the Platinum, while the single-player trophies are far fewer in number, generally much easier, and, by and large, optional in regards to the Platinum. Even though the idea of sequestering each mode is interesting, the execution has made it more or less the opposite of what some have wanted for years.
Multiplayer also doesn’t need as much of the hook that trophies provide since playing against other people in a fighting game is nearly endlessly replayable (more so for a fighting game as great as Street Fighter 6). The appeal of getting better is the driving factor behind the grind, not the trophies. Games should all be intrinsically rewarding, obviously, but a quality trophy list can add some extrinsic rewards to fill in the parts where the intrinsic rewards aren’t as long-lasting as they could be.
Single-player modes in fighting games are inherently less replayable (and not always as rewarding as multiplayer), and they could use those incentives and trophies. World Tour has plenty of missions to complete and a ton of Masters to level up, but there’s very little that pushes players to engage with it all. Capcom has heavily advertised World Tour as a main feature, yet its small and forgettable trophy list makes it seem like hardly more than an arcade ladder and doesn’t push players to explore. Swapping the position of World Tour and the online Battle Hub in the trophy list would give more replayability to the less replayable mode and make the Platinum more accessible while still giving online warriors a small carrot to chase.
Street Fighter 6’s trophies have the annoying, overly long, and sometimes vague descriptions that Capcom has done multiple times, but, even with some inverted priorities, it is still the best and most even Street Fighter trophy list so far. While tournaments have yet to play out, almost every trophy is attainable and doesn’t require the maddening grind that the other Street Fighter games have. There’s no need to achieve a high rank online, beat a ladder on the hardest setting, hit high levels, finish hundreds of matches using certain moves, beat hundreds of opponents, or win 10 online matches in a row. Capcom took some unorthodox steps to split this trophy list in bold ways, and it’s an example other developers should follow. But hopefully those future teams know what trophies to prioritize and attach to the Platinum.
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]]>The post The PlayStation Showcase Was Good, but Sorely Lacked First-Party Flair appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
]]>PlayStation has been making some of the best games of the year almost every year for the past decade. Titles like The Last of Us, God of War, Spider-Man, Days Gone, Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Demon’s Souls remake have all been some of the unmissable first-party games that have defined PlayStation. They have been the standouts and why PlayStation has been so dominant over the last two generations.
They not only make the consoles great when they come out, but are also primed to make for memorable events. God of War made E3 2016 a fantastic show and the Horizon Forbidden West trailer was a highlight at the PS5’s reveal event. These are games that deserve a stage, and Sony knows that.
However, that knowledge didn’t come through for the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase since many of its first-party studios were either missing or presented lackluster trailers. Marathon has Bungie’s signature incredible art direction, but no gameplay. Fairgames’ debut was also flashy, but vague. Concord probably had the most vapid trailer of the whole show, as it provided next to nothing about the game.
Of the five first-party titles there, three had criminally obtuse trailers that were too sparse to justify being Sony’s marquee titles. Most CG trailers just don’t work because of this, as players have grown tired of these smoke-and-mirror, tone-setting teasers. It’s hard to get excited for a game when it’s not even clear what kind of game it even is. It also doesn’t when those nebulous trailers are for new IPs like Concord and Fairgames.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was a taste of what the whole show was lacking. It was the big, explosive showpiece that these streams are usually built around and what Sony has focused on in the past. It had actual gameplay, new mechanics, and, thanks to Venom, a surprise that was immediately attention-grabbing. People buy PS5s and watch PlayStation streams for games like this.
But Spider-Man 2 can’t be the only tentpole for a PlayStation Showcase, and it’s even stranger since given all the potential titles that could have been there to fill the gaps. Death Stranding 2 was announced almost six months ago and Hideo Kojima loves making trailers for big shows. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game is the most obvious exclusion since this seemed like a prime place to unveil what it has been teasing for multiple years.
That multiplayer spin-off seemed like a sure bet, but there are also a ton of surprises that seemed designed to debut at a showcase like this. It’s not hard to imagine that Ghost of Tsushima 2 will be out in the next two years. Bluepoint Games has also been working on a mystery game for a few years. Santa Monica Studio is, according to Cory Barlog, “spread out on a lot of different things.”
Housemarque probably isn’t ready to show what it has been developing since Returnal isn’t that old, but there are still plenty of wildcards like Team Asobi, Media Molecule, London Studio, and Bend Studio that have been toiling away in secret for many years. It’s surprising that none of these studios had something substantial to premiere, especially the teams that have crawled to the upper echelon of PlayStation Studios that would have dramatically improved the show.
A PlayStation Showcase is meant to show the future of PlayStation, and this recent one did technically do that, but didn’t fully utilize the “PlayStation” part of its namesake. That first-party panache is what has elevated previous Sony shows and why, despite a lineup of killer third-party games, this one was lacking. Peter Parker and Miles Morales can save New York’s doomed denizens from Kraven the Hunter and The Lizard, but they shouldn’t be the only big first-party heroes left to save this showcase.
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