The Next PlayStation 4 Games Could ALL be Amazing
The Last of Us: Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, and Death Stranding all revealed trailers at E3. They all look fantastic.
Sony told viewers that it would focus on four games this E3: The Last of Us: Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, and Spider-Man. True to its word, the entertainment giant rolled out new trailers and gameplay for each of the “big four” games. Sony had a mix E3 overall, with weird conference pacing and a Fortnite controversy that threatened to derail most of its announcements. If nothing else, all the extra noise is disappointing because it distracts from some fantastic-looking games.
I was extremely impressed by all four of the gameplay trailers. I’ve embedded each one below, and spent some time discussing them. My biggest takeaway is this: each one of these games has a chance to be truly special. The Last of Us: Part II is easily the best of the bunch, and has the best chance to be a truly transcendent title, but every game does something very well. More importantly, each game has the promise of excellence, and takes interesting creative risks. I applaud games that swing for the fences, even in failure, and each of the games below is worth following for their potential alone.
Sony isn’t a perfect company, but they deserve an immense amount of credit for the way they handle first-party games. Without further preamble, you can find my thoughts on each of the trailers below.
Death Stranding
One of the best parts of video games as a medium is the ability to create the weirdest possible stories, settings, and characters. With every trailer for Death Stranding so far, Sony and creator Hideo Kojima have pushed this concept to its limits. Perhaps even more impressively, the game somehow looks just as weird and incredible as it did two years ago when it was revealed.
Let’s start with the trailer. It’s hauntingly beautiful, combining incredible music that fits perfectly with the fantastical, science-fiction setting. The game flits between several different environments, all of which look deserted, colorful, and dangerous. This danger comes from some kind of monsters that apparently haunt these areas, beings that clearly scare the characters shown in the trailer.
I don’t want to break the trailer down any more than that. Several other outlets have speculated on what the gameplay might look like or how different mechanics will fit together. I’m struck most by the ambition behind this project. I don’t know what the story is or how it will be told, but it’s clear that Kojima and Sony have incredibly high ambitions with this one. The universe that this game creates feels real, largely because of the excellent performances by the actors in the trailer. I don’t know if the final project will deliver an amazing setting flanked by an even-better story, but I can’t wait to find out.
Even if this game flops, it’s clearly a risk worth taking, and I’m glad Sony chose to pursue it. The success of games like God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn give Sony room to experiment. In addition, the entertainment giant has other games lined up — Spider-Man and The Last of Us: Part II — that are virtually guaranteed to be commercial successes. Death Stranding is a good bet to succeed as well, but it’s heartening that Sony’s other successes provide enough of a cushion for this game to get the time and resources that it needs.
The Last of Us: Part II
I could write an entire book on how much I love The Last of Us. It’s my favorite game by far, and I know that I’ve built up its legacy in my mind so much that its sequel will inevitably fall short of my insanely-high personal expectations. I’ve been waiting five years now for Naughty Dog’s follow-up, and it’s likely that I’ll have to wait at least another one or two.
But, my goodness, this trailer is incredible. Naughty Dog created another incredible game with Uncharted 4 in 2016, taking motion-capture performances to another level with their depiction of Drake and Elena. It’s clear that they’ve built on this strong technological foundation with The Last of Us: Part II, and the tender depiction of humanity and intimacy in the opening minutes is jaw-droppingly good. The dialogue feels easy and natural as well, showing that Naughty Dog remains the industry standard for creating real, believable relationships in their games.
I also love the contrast between the tenderness in the beginning and the brutal violence that immediately follows. It isn’t surprising, since The Last of Us was one of the more violent games in recent memory when it released. What’s notable here though, is how well Naughty Dog uses the violence to create their world. The narrative power of the first game came from how the brutal world around Joel and Ellie helped shape their relationship. Whatever Ellie is trying to accomplish in the sequel, it’s clear that she’s doing so against the backdrop of a world that would like nothing more than to see her dead.
The Last of Us: Part II is one of a few games that I would pre-order and buy without seeing a single trailer or video of. With that in mind, I can’t really say that I’m more excited now than I was before. What I can say, however, is that this recent trailer shows everything that anyone could reasonably hope for from this game. The Naughty Dog polish is still there, the combat looks as desperate and visceral as ever, and what little we have seen of the narrative and dialog is incredible. This game is still at least a year (probably two) from its release, but the wait will surely be worth it.
Spider-Man
Sony is also publishing a Spider-Man game developed by Insomniac. The gameplay, which can be seen in the above video, looks fun and polished, and the studio’s reputation suggests that this game will be an incredible experience. Insomniac is most famous for making the Ratchet and Clank series (though that’s certainly not their only achievement). These games are typically bright, colorful, action-filled, and permeated with a quirky sense of humor. All of these attributes fit well with the Spider-Man tag.
From everything shown so far, Spider-Man should have a beautiful, vibrant open world. Even better, players should be able to move through the world freely and quickly using Spider-Man’s trademark web-swinging. Building interesting movement in video games is an underrated skill, but one that can make games infinitely more fun. It looks like Insomniac is hitting all of the right notes to that end, here.
Ghost of Tsushima
This game also looks incredible. It’s made by Sucker Punch, another one of Sony’s trusted first-party developers. Sucker Punch created the Infamous games — a pseudo-trilogy of superhero games. I’m interested to see them tackle a new IP and story. Despite a few showings at various conferences, a great deal of this game is shrouded in mystery. We know the setting — it’s a samurai action game that uses stealth and is somewhat grounded in history — but that’s about it.
Ghost of Tsushima is still far enough away from release that there’s a lot still unknown about it, but the details that have emerged are fascinating. Sucker Punch has already created interesting open-world experiences, and it’s been quite a while since their last release. Given several years to build a new world and combat system, and the fact that this is a veteran developer, there’s a strong chance that this game could be truly special.
The last time a Sony first-party studio released an all-new game that was a dramatic departure from previous efforts was Guerilla’s Horizon Zero Dawn, one of my favorite games ever. Given how well Sony’s studios have performed recently, it’s tempting to expect every studio to pump out a truly amazing experience. It’s worth remembering how difficult it is to make a truly transcendent video game, though. Experiences like Breath of the Wild or God of War are rare, even if they are starting to seem more normal. All of this is to say that Ghost of Tsushima is far from a sure thing. It has the potential to be a masterpiece though, and that’s worth following, at the very least.
If Sony hadn’t gotten embroiled in a huge Fortnite controversy, this E3 would probably have been a huge success. Their “big four” — Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, The Last of Us: Part II and Death Stranding — all have great promise. Statistically, it’s unlikely that all four of these games end up being amazing experiences, but the pedigree of each studio and Sony’s practice of allowing first-party studios enough time and resources to find success suggests otherwise.
Naughty Dog is one of the most acclaimed studios in the games industry. Even if The Last of Us: Part II falls short of the expectations set by the original game, this title is virtually assured to be at least a good game. Insomniac is a talented studio as well, and everything I’ve heard from people actually playing Spider-Man is positive. Death Stranding and Ghosts of Tsushima are a little less certain, but I applaud the creative risks taken here, even if the final products end up being disappointing.
Sony also has two other games, Dreams and Days Gone, that it’s publishing (supposedly) in the next calendar year. Taken together, these six games will likely be the last big, first-party experiences on the PS4. The PS4 era isn’t over soon though, as these games will likely last Sony until the end of 2019, which would set the company up well for a hypothetical 2020 launch of the PS5. If these games will round out the PS4 generation though, they will probably do so in style. Sony and its creative studios have taken great risks and created some of the best games in recent memory. I can’t wait to see how this next crop of titles turns out.
