It’s been a little bit of a tough 12 months for PlayStation exclusives and the studios that make them. Whereas The Remaining Form was usually lauded as a superb concluding chapter to Future 2’s present story arc, Bungie was confronted with every kind of setbacks together with canceled projects and layoffs. Elsewhere, Sony’s Firewalk Studios launched Concord, unlaunched it, then closed permanently inside the house of some months after the hero shooter failed to realize traction in a glutted market.
That mentioned, PlayStation nonetheless got here by way of this 12 months with a slate of wonderful video games that may hopefully show that there’s an urge for food for extra than simply live-service shooters.
Helldivers 2
XDefiant, Foamstars, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Harmony — 2024 has been affected by the bones of live-service shooters that got here, went, or are limping together with little fanfare and even fewer gamers. However Helldivers 2 was one thing particular. It might be the sport’s humorous over-the-top tackle political propaganda, the builders at Arrowhead Sport Studios absolutely leaning into the bit, or the common content material updates together with the brand new Omens of Tyranny update that launched in early December. However Helldivers 2 managed to be the one live-service multiplayer shooter this 12 months (that doesn’t have Name of Obligation within the title) that has the juice to compete in opposition to the large endlessly video games like Apex Legends and Fortnite.
Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
FromSoftware has managed to maintain the Elden Ring get together going with the discharge of Shadow of the Erdtree. The DLC is huge, filled with ass-beating enemies and a lot scrumptious lore, all going down over a map that’s a lot larger than what director Hidetaka Miyazaki known as “the size of Limgrave.” Really, Erdtree feels extra like a straight-up sequel to Elden Ring than a mere enlargement of it — which is probably what Elden Ring Nightreign is.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Dragon Age: The Veilguard took 10 years and a bunch of strife at BioWare to launch. There was no assure that it might reside as much as the fame the collection has established — but it did. Veilguard is exemplary of the Dragon Age collection’ strengths: characters you come to care for and choices that devastate both them and you. Layered on high of that may be a significantly detailed talent tree with a loot system that feels surprisingly like a Diablo sport. Veilguard’s fight empowers you to customise your class to a degree of specificity I’ve by no means seen in a Dragon Age sport earlier than, making it an fascinating iteration of the usual warrior, rogue, mage RPG system. There was a priority that Veilguard could be overshadowed by final 12 months’s Baldur’s Gate 3, and whereas Veilguard doesn’t appear to have that type of runaway success, I’m happy as hell that, in two years, I received two fantastic, life-absorbing RPGs.
Remaining Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues Sq. Enix’s try at adapting one of many best RPGs of all time to go well with fashionable consoles and gaming audiences. This second entry within the nice FFVII trilogy venture takes over because the gang escapes Midgar into the broader world, and rattling what a large world it was. Each facet from the unique Remaining Fantasy VII has been expanded and absolutely fleshed out, both with extra story or with a flowery new minigame. Talking of minigames, Rebirth is much less in regards to the occasions of FFVII Disk 2 and extra a Queen’s Blood delivery system, proving that Sq. Enix is actually only a collectible card sport developer in disguise.
Silent Hill 2
Remaking a traditional sport is at all times a tough factor. A developer wants to aim to seize what made the unique so beloved, whereas additionally updating it for brand new audiences. And that battle is very fraught whenever you’re coping with a genre-defining sport like Silent Hill 2. However Bloober Staff did a surprisingly strong job with this remake, making certain that the idiosyncratic survival horror expertise appeared and felt at dwelling on fashionable platforms, whereas nonetheless retaining many of the scares and tone of the unique. The remake is a bit cleaner than the PS2 sport it’s based mostly on, however it’s additionally much less irritating to play. And most significantly, it nonetheless largely nails these foggy vibes.
Astro Bot
There’s by no means been a sport I’ve immediately clicked with greater than Astro Bot. Going again to my first demo with the sport at Summer season Sport Fest 2024, I knew this had one thing particular. Astro Bot is a well-crafted platformer that has gamers touring by way of the galaxy to seek out the scattered items of a PS5 spaceship and its stranded crewmates. Although it pays tribute to the video games of PlayStation’s 30-year historical past and options actually neat homages to their gameplay, Astro Bot can also be a love letter to pleasure. Each facet of its design — from its music to its sound effects to its bright and cheerful graphics — is a reminder that there’s nonetheless a lot love on the planet that aches to be found. Astro Bot was my sport of the 12 months from the second I rolled credit, and its GOTY win at this year’s Game Awards was well-merited.