PlayStation held its first State of Play event of 2022 on March 9, and the vast majority of the titles we saw announced or teased hailed from Sony’s development partners in Japan.
Sure, the show was only 20 minutes long, but it was a pretty jam-packed 20 mintues – we saw big new games debuted, as well as more esoteric projects and even some retro revisits, too. Because we know you’ve all got very busy lives (and lots of Elden Ring bosses to beat up), we’ve taken the time to run through everything we saw at the show for your reading pleasure.
Don’t forget to hit the links to the dedicated stories for more details, more context, and more sass (where applicable).
Capcom Reveals Exoprimal, launches on PS4 and PS5 in 2023
At Sony’s State of Play 2022 showcase, Capcom announced Exoprimal – a new game about saving a city from dinosaurs literally falling from the sky. It’s as delightfully dumb as it sounds, and seems to fall somewhere between Anthem and Dino Crisis. Yes, really.
“Let’s set the stage, first: The year is 2043. For reasons unknown, mysterious vortexes have been opening up, unleashing endless swarms of dinosaurs upon the modern world,” reads a description of the title. “We’re about to see a vicious fight for survival between the brave Exofighters of the near future, and ferocious creatures from the distant past who threaten to drive humanity toward extinction.”
The game is coming top PS4 and PS5, and no other platforms have yet been announced.
Ghostwire: Tokyo gets a new trailer
Ahead of the launch of PS5 exclusive, Ghostwire: Tokyo, on March 25, Bethesda furnished us with another trailer for the game that examines the funky goings-on in the Japanese capital once it gets overrun by ghosts and yokai.
If you want to learn more about this game, you can check out our various bits of coverage. There’s our preview – which discusses how Tango Gameworks’ interpretation of the Japanese capital is mouth-wateringly beautiful, and drenched in eerie charm – and there’s our profile of Shjini Mikami and his wonderful studio, too.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin got a new demo
Another demo for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin was made live last night, as Sony showed off more of the game ahead of its launch next week.
This is the third demo for the game: Square Enix unveiled the first Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin demo at E3 2021, and another was released in October last year. Will it convince you to buy the game? Let’s hope so, at 35GB in size. Any progress that you make in the demo can be carried over to the main game when it launches.
Forspoken got a new trailer
Luminous Productions’ Forspoken was delayed to October 11 earlier this week, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t get a showing at State of Play. And this is probably the best the game has looked to date, too – maybe that delay is going to be a good thing for the game, after all.
Formerly known as Project Athia, Forspoken is in development with Luminous Productions. It will be made available for PC and PS5.
Gundam Evolution is coming West
Gundam Evolution is coming to our shores – before tonight, it was only promised a release in Japan. The game is a 6v6 competitive online FPS, brimming with giant mechs, massive guns, and everything else you’ve come to expect from the series. A network test will be going live in the US and Japan in Spring.
TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection is coming this year
Get your pizzas ready, because this newly-announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection is a stonker: the game features no less than 13 classic TMNT games. And yes, that includes Turtles in Time. The game is coming to PS4 and PS5 this year.
Some other highlights include, but are not limited to: Tournament Fighters, The Arcade Game, Back from the Sewer, Fall of the Foot Clan, The Manhattan Project, Radical Rescue, and The Hyper Stone.
GigaBash gets 2022 release date on PS4/PS5
GigaBash is a four-player arena brawler, featuring tokusatsu-inspired kaijus and heroes from a Malaysian indie game startup.
“We drew inspiration from classic tokusatsu characters such as Godzilla, Megazord, and Ultraman, as well as games like War of the Monsters and Power Stone,” says the developer when talking about the title. “This led us to create a roster of 10 unique Titans, each fitting a certain kaiju or hero trope and having their own playstyle, skillsets, and combos to master. Who will be your favorite?” It looks pretty fun!
There’s a new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fighting game coming in 2022
Coming from mainstay anime fighting game developer, CyberConnect2, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R is a remake of the PS3’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle. But this time it’s got 50 characters in it. Including Joleyne from Stone Ocean. It’s coming to PS4/PS5 this fall.
Trek to Yomi gets a new trailer
Devolver Digital released the latest trailer for feudal Japan-themed samurai game Trek to Yomi, a cinematic action game with a striking art style and perspective. It’s no secret that we like the look of this one.
Devolver says the game is all about “patience and timing” – they’re key to success in Yomi, using your enemies’ blows against them. Most of the enemies in the trailer are human, but the description hints at “beings believed to be nothing more than folk tales” as well.
Trek to Yomi will be released in Spring 2022 for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Returnal Ascension adds co-op and survival mode to the game later in March
Sony and Housemarque announced at the State of Play showcase that the game will be getting a huge 3.0 update in the form of Ascension.
The huge new update will introduce a slew of features, including co-op (though we’re still a little unclear how that will work) and a survival mode, as well as new story beats tied to Selene’s cursed existence.
Square Enix annuonced new strategy RPG, The DioField Chronicle
Ever wanted to play Fire Emblem: Three Houses on your PlayStation? This is the closest you’re going to get. Described as a “unique and beautiful world that blends fantasy, medieval, and modern-day influences with a deep yet innovative real-time battle system”, it even has members of staff from the Nintendo title on team.
The game is set to land on PS4 and PS5 later this year.
Valkyrie Elysium revives the series later this year
The final announcement of the show, Square Enix dropped Valkyrie Elysium on us all. It is coming to PlayStation 4 and 5 in 2022.
The game is a new entry in Square Enix’s Valkyrie Profile series – the first we’re seeing since 2006’s Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria on way back on the PlayStation 2.
The trailer features a brief look at the gameplay, some magic, a mysterious stranger, and a really weird artstyle that makes it look like a PS3 launch game. Huh.