PlayStation has had a great combination of critical success, massive sales, and lovely indie products to celebrate in 2022, thanks to the releases of God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and Stray. That pattern will continue over the next 12 months as Sony looks to add to its growing library of amazing games. With a lot of exciting things to come, as well as the next step imminent in the realm of virtual reality, PlayStation looks set to be gearing up for a busy 2023.
Games of all shapes and sizes
Horizon Forbidden West is one of PlayStation’s biggest hits of 2022, and it’ll be back for more in 2023. The Burning Shores DLC launches on April 19 and takes Aloy to the submerged volcanic ruins. flood in Los Angeles. If Zero Dawn’s expansion, The Frozen Wilds, is anything to go by, we’ll have a substantial and action-packed addition to the Horizon story.
Forspoken exclusively on the PS5 console launches January 24, and Square Enix’s action RPG is a modern take on the classic Alice in Wonderland story, as Frey, the New Yorker finds herself in a world fantasy world full of magic, dragons and demons.
Almost six years after the last main game, Final Fantasy XVI launches exclusively on PS5 on June 22. It’s a return to the series’ high fantasy roots but that doesn’t mean a return. of turn-based combat, as fast-paced action takes center stage with Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon’s Dogma’s Ryota Suzuki serving as Battle Director.
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Speaking of top-notch combat, it’s not much more satisfying than Insomniac’s Spidey games. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a PlayStation 5 exclusive that will hit our screens in 2023. With rumors suggesting both Peter Parker and Miles Morales will be playable, plus the introduction. introduced Venom, all of which are pointing in a very interesting direction with the studio’s late confirmation. 2023 release window.
Marvel and Insomniac are also teaming up for Wolverine, but we don’t believe it’ll come out in 2023. So far, we’ve only seen a 50-second trailer, but you never know…
Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake is a PS5-exclusive remake after 21 years of development. While no release date has been announced, rumors about this bogus 5-part horror film have been circulating for years, and combined with the lengthy trailer released earlier this year, I am confident that we will return to Silent Hill in 2023.
And while Hideo Kojima won’t be returning to Silent Hill anytime soon, he will be returning for Death Stranding 2, which was just announced at The Game Awards. Who really knows when we’ll be playing this game, but one thing we’re pretty sure it will be quirky, beautiful, and unlike anything else.
Another PS5 exclusive that we know of is the Korean acrobatic action game Stellar Blade, formerly known as Project Eve. Aiming for a 2023 release, and with some Nier vibes going on, this is something we’ll definitely keep an eye on.
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Of course, there are also dozens of indie games in the spotlight as Sony continues its mission of showcasing games from all genres and developers. There are too many to list but the highlights include Tchia’s tropical open world, the narrative adventure Goodbye Volcano High, and Season: A Letter to the Future, a bike ride through a world on the brink of disaster.
As for Sony’s early parties, we really don’t have a big grasp of what PlayStation Studios is up to. On the one hand, that’s exciting – it could make some big revelations in the summer – but on the other hand, it’s likely that anything cooking is years away. At least we have a rough idea of what Naughty Dog is up to, with multiplayer game Last of Us coming at some point. But very few details are known, other than Neil Druckman saying it’s “as big as any of our single-player games” and a piece of concept art showing it taking place in San Francisco.
One thing we do know is that we’ll be watching an HBO adaptation of The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie when it begins January 15. Sony’s only game to be handled in real life, as David Harbor and Orlando Bloom will star in Neil Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo as PlayStation Productions looks set to spread its wings after Uncharted in 2022. Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, Gravity Rush, Jak and Daxter are also in the works, as are TV series for Twisted Metal, God of War and Horizon, but these are unlikely to release in 2023.
Of course, there are also third-party studios and a host of non-exclusive products coming to the PS5 in 2023, including the Dead Space remake, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Hogwarts Legacy, Street Fighter 6, Suicide Squad: Killing Justice League, Diablo 4, AND Armored Core 6 to name a few. There will certainly be no shortage of things to play in 2023.
New Year, New Technology
The PlayStation 4 Slim and Pro were released just three years after the original PS4 launch. At the end of 2023, we’ll hit that time frame for the PS5, so it’s not entirely possible that we could see a new version of the PlayStation 5 at some point in the next 12 months. A slim version will certainly not be suitable for those struggling to fit the current version into their TV. However, with the PS5 now only appearing more frequently on store shelves, Sony is likely to remain focused on ensuring a steady supply of its base models, rather than the effort of launching a new one. new version.
One thing we do know is that PSVR2 is on the way. Sony’s second foray into virtual reality will be in the hands of players and be prepared as soon as February 22. Packed with impressive technology, there’s optimism that it can make a splash in virtual world that its predecessor did not achieve.
Offering VR in 4K HDR, it features a 110-degree field of view with an OLED display, inside-out tracking using the VR headset’s built-in camera, and new Sense Technology that combines eye tracking, headset feedback, and Sound 3D bar. The PSVR2 also includes an integrated motor that provides physical feedback to the wearer. In our hands-on preview, we said, “Thankfully, PlayStation VR2 delivers everything equally. Room-scale VR is delivered here thanks to inside-out headset-based tracking, and the controller feels on par with Meta’s latest controller.”
While the PSVR2’s specs are on par with the Oculus Quest 2 and Valve Index, it’s still a wired headset and requires PlayStation 5 to use. Given the hefty price tag of $549.99 / £529.99 plus the cost of PS5 ownership, the series of games could prove to be a huge deciding factor for potential buyers.
PSVR2 is slated to launch with more than 20 games including Horizon: Call of the Mountain – an indie VR adventure that takes place in the post-apocalyptic world, full of machine monsters that Guerilla created. It will be joined by the likes of No Man’s Sky and The Dark Pictures: Switchback, a rails shooter of the horror series. VR versions of the original Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village are also coming. While Sony’s success in its next virtual reality plunge remains to be seen, its robust list of first-party referral programs and big-name exclusives can only help. for its goal.
With so many games to play, a new era of PlayStation VR, etc., Sony looks set to build on the successes of 2022. What are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments section.
Simon Cardy can’t wait to be stepped on by Thunderjaw in VR. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.
