What we learned during the Playstation Showcase 2021

It’s been almost a year since the Playstation 5 was first seen in action in people’s homes. Some people have been frustrated by how difficult it is to actually buy one during that period. Others have raised concerns about the lack of true next-generation games exclusive to the PS5. With its big 2021 demonstration, Sony attempted to address one of these issues. The concept: convert fan frustration into anticipation for upcoming games.

So, what did we learn over the course of the 45 minutes?

Knights of the Old Republic, a recreation of the original Star Wars Jedi roleplaying game, was teased at the start of the demonstration. For years, many gamers have wished for it to be reinvented for new systems. The event, which included remasters for Grand Theft Auto 5, Alan Wake, and the Uncharted series, demonstrated that this trend is not slowing down. In recent years, new graphics and revised gameplay have breathed new life into franchises like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil, and PlayStation is betting that this will be the case with these games as well. Some of the 18 titles showed off by Sony will be released before Christmas.

This year’s releases include Deathloop, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Vampire Blood Hunt. Others, such as Forspoken, a new action fantasy game, and the long-awaited return of Gran Turismo, will be released in Spring 2022. Many of the huge exclusive teases, on the other hand, are in jeopardy. Wolverine, God of War:  and Project Eve all received trailers with no indication of when they might be playable.

Is it going to be 2022 or later? We simply do not know.

Spiderman 2 fans will have to wait until 2023 for the sequel. From Lara Croft in Tomb Raider to Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn, we’ve seen a lot of strong female characters in video games. Female leads like these used to be rare and hard to come by until recently. The video game business has made a concerted effort to better reflect the demographics of the people who buy their goods. We saw this early on in the showcase, with games like Forspoken, Project Eve, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Tchia all featuring strong female protagonists. We learned that Radiohead is collaborating with Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite.

It’s unclear what the project is about, although it has something to do with Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac albums. In recent years, Fortnite has distorted the concept of what a game is; perhaps this could do the same? It’s billed as an exhibition, and it’ll open in November.