Ahoy there! With June ahead of us, let’s take a look back at the biggest new releases of May 2022. It was a good month for high profile indies and other anticipated titles, featuring the likes of Salt and Sacrifice, Unpacking, Evil Dead: The Game, Trek to Yomi, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong.

Get your vote in before we close the polls Sunday night, then check this post again next week to find out which game claimed the Players’ Choice crown for May.

How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation.Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. Soon thereafter, we’ll close the polls, tally your votes, and announce the winner at PlayStation.Blog. PlayStation Store will also showcase some top Players’ Choice winners throughout the year.

What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? In keeping with our long tradition in the Game of the Year Awards, remastered or re-released games won’t qualify. Ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds and remakes like Demon’s Souls and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will.

How are nominees decided? The PlayStation.Blog and PlayStation Store editorial teams will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll. Write-in votes will be accepted.

The Gardens Between launches on PS5 this June 16! We’ve spent months specially crafting The Gardens Between for PS5 and it brings sharper details, verdant HDR colors, and bespoke sensations exclusively for the PS5 DualSense wireless controller.

To be honest we thought that after four years developing the game things would settle down. We thought we’d take it easy. But it’s been a huge journey and the reception has been beyond our wildest dreams. We were nominated for more than 30 awards including several Game of the Year awards, and it took us around the world!

Being the perfectionists that we are, every new platform has taken a little more time than we thought. We first started tweaking and improving the game for PS5 in early 2021, but we enjoyed the process so much that we just kept making it better at every turn. In this blog post I’ll detail what’s changed and why the PlayStation 5 is now the best platform to play The Gardens Between.

A quick recap

The Gardens Between is a surreal puzzle adventure that follows best friends, Arina and Frendt, as they fall into a mysterious world of beautiful garden islands. They wake up in a vibrant dreamlike world that represents their significant memories from an adventurous friendship since becoming next door neighbors. You control and manipulate time itself to help Arina and Frendt solve puzzles and unlock the secrets of the gardens. Together you explore their blossoming friendship through their memories, all culminating in a climactic ending that I won’t spoil for you. 

It’s a very unique game. The story is told without words or text. Instead the story is conveyed ambiently through the abstract and surreal environment, the characters’ emotive reactions and their growing friendship. Observation is key to understanding the story. It results in a welcoming, peaceful experience with no time pressure, fail states, or complex user-interface to learn.

The game has been described as “the simplest deep game possible”, and a “masterpiece of minimalist storytelling” – descriptions we’re very proud of.

Ok, let’s dig into what’s new!

DualSense wireless controllers 

The DualSense wireless controllers on PlayStation 5 are just fantastic. The new high fidelity haptics give a precise tactile sense, which inspired us to entirely rebuild the haptic moments in order to fully take advantage of the new technology. These new bespoke haptics are exclusive to the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller!

The haptics we’ve added are designed around the experiences of Arina and Frendt in the gardens. We asked ourselves “what sensations would they feel as they navigate the lush gardens?” The deep rumble of thunder. The ephemeral wisp of light floating into the lantern. The crunch of placing the lantern onto a stone surface.

We also support the responsive triggers of the DualSense controller. Push on any obstacle blocking your forward motion through time and you will feel time pushing back.

Graphical leap

Thanks to the power of PS5, The Gardens Between looks and feels better than ever before. The upgrade to HDR (on capable screens), combined with a true 4k resolution at 60 frames per second, and temporal anti-aliasing (shipping first on PlayStation 5) the game is both crisp and fluid. We then unleashed the full texture resolution where it was lacking, enhanced line rendering, increased shadow precision, and perhaps spent an unreasonable amount of time adjusting the water reflection shaders 🤓. It looks sublime!

This week, virtual photographers across Twitter and Instagram braved the Forbidden West to photograph the menacing machines encountered during Aloy’s newest adventure. Let’s dive in:

@ChowellCw gets dangerously close to a Stalker doing what they do best

@UYScuti10 witnesses the silhouette of a Tallneck bathed in sunset

@TheNanoWarrior is caught in this Watcher’s sights

@ArtofVP says “… It’s right behind me, isn’t it?”

@coalabr14 captures the burning rage of a rampaging Slitherfang

@i-am-the-z combines hunter and hunted to create this stunning composition

@MdeavorVP catches a Clawstrider in the midst of a chilling cry

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Horizon Forbidden West: NPCs

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on June 1

Let’s hear it for the supporting cast of Guerrilla’s latest! Whether it’s a sneaky candid or a posed portrait, capture your favorite NPC’s good side for a chance to be included in next week’s Share of the Week lineup.

Greetings to all the fans and supporters of Final Fantasy XI Online (FFXI)!

Earlier this week, the game celebrated its 20^th year anniversary, and we couldn’t be prouder or more honored by the support of all the fans and countless memories that we’ve built together during this time! To be able to say that we’ve continued to provide service for players around the world since May 16, 2002 is a remarkable achievement for us and we’ve been so happy to celebrate this moment with you all.

Continuing with the celebrations, a few of us from the FFXI development team shared our thoughts on the past 20 years.

Akihiko Matsui: I’m Akihiko Matsui, a “second generation” FFXI producer. I was part of what you might call the early team, and while working on the international version of Legend of Mana and thinking about our next project, Sakaguchi-san told me to do my research because we would be making an online game next. I joined the FFXI team in the beginning as a battle planner. 

Yoji Fujito: I’m the current director of FFXI. I have been supporting what can be referred to as “lifestyle” content, the best-known of which may be the mog gardens and chocobo raising, as well as system-related aspects such as the chat or storage systems. Originally, I joined as a planner for the development of Einhänder and Parasite Eve II at the SQUARE Osaka development department (currently the Osaka office). After that, I answered the call for developing FFXI, and have been involved in the development ever since. 

Masaru Taniguchi: My name is Masaru Taniguchi and I’m in charge of battle content. I have been involved in the development of FFXI since the Wings of the Goddess expansion. Before FFXI was released, I was in the QA department and worked on debugging the game.

Iori Watanabe: Hello, I’m Iori Watanabe. I joined the team as a tester during the beta version and got the opportunity to become involved as a planner from the second half of the Wings of the Goddess expansion pack. I oversee system modifications to enhance convenience with respect to fishing, mounts, and storage slips beyond Abyssea. Recently, I worked on storage expansion-related designs.

Yasushi Yamazaki: My name is Yasushi Yamazaki. As far as introductions, it would probably be easiest to understand my role if I say that I am in charge of Trusts, Ambuscade Chapter 1, and more recently, A.M.A.N. Trove. I was originally an FFXI player, but when I saw Producer Matsui’s passionate message to recruit development team staff, I applied for the position and joined the team.

Takashi Hisagi: I joined

We’re thrilled to announce our latest DLC for Jurassic World Evolution 2. Developed in close partnership with Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion is inspired by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World Dominion so you can bring all-new thrills, excitement and chaos to the ground-breaking management simulation game. The Expansion features an immersive campaign, new prehistoric species (including highly requested feathered dinosaurs), an original Chaos Theory scenario, innovative gameplay mechanics, and more.

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First up is Campaign mode. Immerse yourself in a thrilling new story expanding on Jurassic World Dominion. You’ll work alongside iconic characters from the franchise including Claire Dearing (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard), Dr. Alan Grant (voiced by Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (voiced by Laura Dern) and Lewis Dodgson (voiced by Campbell Scott). You will construct Biosyn Genetics new research compound, sending scientists to retrieve amber-encased DNA, synthesise and incubate stunning new species, and observe their diverse behaviours.

Develop the Biosyn Genetics Research Compound through multiple stages of construction and use a range of film-inspired buildings to build out the facility; dig deep into amber mines and unearth rare genomes to create all-new prehistoric species; instruct scientists to synthesise and incubate awe-inspiring dinosaurs such as new feathered species; and release them into your parks. In addition, there’s a faster way to move staff around your facility with the Hyper Loop transport network.

Next, is the thrilling new Chaos Theory scenario. Now, in Jurassic World Evolution 2: Dominion Biosyn Expansion, you can play through a gripping new scenario inspired by the epic events of Jurassic World Dominion. Build your very own facility to house dinosaurs in a diverse Sierra Nevada environment featuring majestic pine forests, snowy hills and sweeping plains. Use dinosaur-wrangling mechanics to corral herds of animals quickly without needing to tranquilise and transport them and ensure their safety with new security measures. When rustlers try stealing your dinosaurs, fend them off by blasting high-powered floodlights and speeding to intercept their vehicles. However you choose to manage the scenario, in the expansion’s new Chaos Theory mode, you’ll see how events unfold when you take control.

The Dominion Biosyn Expansion wouldn’t be complete without four spectacular new prehistoric species. These include eagerly anticipat

It’s been more than two months since our last State of Play – who’s ready for a new one? Tune in live next Thursday, June 2 for nearly 30 minutes of announcements and updates from the world of PlayStation.

We’ll have some exciting reveals from our third-party partners, plus a sneak peek at several games in development for PlayStation VR2. Watch over at Twitch or on YouTube starting 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern / 12:00am CET.

See you next week!

Regarding Co-streaming and Video-On-Demand (VOD)

Please note that this broadcast may include copyrighted content (e.g. licensed music) that PlayStation does not control. We welcome and celebrate our amazing co-streamers and creators, but licensing agreements outside our control could interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this broadcast. If you’re planning to save this broadcast as a VOD to create recap videos, or to repost clips or segments from the show, we advise omitting any copyrighted music.

Hello, Heckstars! It’s Sergey from tinyBuild here, and today I’m incredibly excited to tell you more about our upcoming fast-paced, physics-based, couch multiplayer brawler SpiderHeck.

So, how can I describe SpiderHeck to you? In all honesty, it’s so epic, it’s unexplainable. You need to play it for yourself to get where I’m coming from. Because if you put seven-legged spiders (does it make them spiders in this case?), particle blades, laser blasters, rocket launchers, lots of enemies and your friends together, and top that with the physic-based environments and battle mechanics, mind blowing web slinging parkour moves and close calls – that sounds like a crazy hectic game.

But it’s the chaos that makes SpiderHeck so much fun! As the saying goes – a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out the new gameplay trailer below.

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Seven-legged heroes

You play as one the awesome spiders and your main goal is to survive for as long as possible. Use your surroundings, a vast weapon arsenal and web slinging skills to overcome your foes (and even friends).

You can also customize your spiders by adjusting their colors and hats to battle in style.

Battle Arenas and Enemies

SpiderHeck features several maps and arenas to battle. Some of them are relatively simple and static, while others feature moving elevators, floating islands and lava walls all around the place! And let’s not forget that spiders can end up in zero gravity levels?!

As I mentioned before, your main goal is to survive and beco

Hey there! Tom from Media Molecule here, who’s very happy to announce the return of Dreams’ annual virtual exhibition show: DreamsCom. An event that puts the Dreams Community front and center, giving everyone in the Dreamiverse a chance to showcase who they are in Dreams from game developers to music makers to streamers to film makers and everything in between.

DreamsCom ‘22 opens its doors this summer, and as I type this the team are hard at work designing this year’s show. Of course, an incredibly important part of DreamsCom is the community booths and showcases. So today, we’re excited to kick-start the creation phase for anyone and everyone to get involved in. We’ll go into a bit more detail of what’s different this year, but if you can’t wait to dive in, head to our website to get started.

The creation phase for this year’s DreamsCom runs from May 26, 2022 – June 12, 2022. Creators will be able to submit their booths and game demos via indreams.me starting from May 26.

Not familiar with what DreamsCom is? Check out a few of the screenshots below of last year’s show to get a taste of what it’s all about.

Last year’s DreamsCom images

Last year’s DreamsCom images

One of the biggest pieces of feedback we’ve had over the last two years of DreamsCom is that the booth templates we give our creators aren’t as adaptable as they could be. For DreamsCom ‘22, we’re offering a few different options for folk to remix and play around with.

This year you can choose from:

• Booth – The more general DreamsCom booth from previous years.
• Stand – A smaller template for creators, perfect for smaller teasers or for filmmakers and streamers to promote their work.
• Listening Booth – A dedicated audio booth, giving the music makers of Dreams a chance to showcase their latest track.

Booth template image

Listening booth image

Stand template image

We’re confident these new templates will open up DreamsCom to even more community folk, filling out this year’s showfloor like never before. Of course, if you have any questions at all about DreamsCom and the creation phase of this year’s event, please let us know on social media or in our livestreams.

Most games you’ll find featured in Game of the Year lists revolve around fantasy, larger-than-life stakes, the far future, or distant past. These are places that want to transport players to completely different worlds, new experiences unlike anything you’ve ever had before. Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery, which releases for the PlayStation 4 on June 2, has its sights set on a different fantasy – one in which you can sink into the delightful routines of everyday life.

I’m Buddy, the community manager for Akupara Games and I wanted to take a little time breaking down why that core experience of Behind the Frame’s gameplay is so important to us. In Behind the Frame, you play as a young artist trying to exhibit her art at a big time exhibition. And while the game itself focuses on a mystery that she’s trying to solve, most of the time you spend in Behind the Frame will be in her quaint, lived-in apartment studio.

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Behind the Frame sports a number of animated cutscenes over the course of the game, which many players and critics have likened to the animation of Studio Ghibli, famous for films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Those films, as well as many like them from Japan, are some of Behind the Frame’s biggest inspirations. In particular, When Marnie Was There really helped orient Silver Lining Studios to the particular style of traditional animation they’d use in the game’s cutscenes. The bold earnest colors and crisp linework elevate the artist and her studio into something more beautiful.

For the gameplay, the goal has always been immersion. The developers at Silver Lining Studios wanted to get players oriented to the routine of that daily life. Waking up in the morning, fixing yourself coffee, cooking a quick breakfast, and putting on some music before you start painting for the day. Painting and solving the puzzles associated with it are the main gameplay mechanics of Behind the Frame, where the story is going to move forward and more of the mystery will reveal itself. But for players to really come to terms with Behind the Frame’s main character, they’ll need to see more of her than just what’s relevant to the plot. That comes from helping her cook some eggs and butter some toast.

For

Competitive racing returns to Gran Turismo soon as the 2022 Gran Turismo World Series gets going on Friday, May 27 and Saturday May 28 – the first rounds of the Online Season 1. Any player who has a copy of Gran Turismo 7 for PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 can enter the series by heading to Sport Mode* in the game. Once there, sign up for the Nations Cup, where you compete for individual glory on behalf of your home country, and/or the Manufacturers Cup, in which you enter a virtual contract to compete on behalf of your favorite car maker.

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We’re really excited that after two years where all the action took place with people playing online from home, the Gran Turismo World Series (formerly the FIA Gran Turismo Championships) will feature some live events in 2022 where the best players from all over the world gather to face each other down on stage in front of the cameras.

The best of the racers from the first online season will be invited to compete in a three-day World Series Showdown in July against the cream of the 2021 championship at the spectacular Red Bull Hangar 7 in Salzburg Austria.

The World Series then continues online with Season 2, with the fastest racers invited to challenge the established stars at the World Finals. After a two-year hiatus, the finals return to the prestigious Sporting Monte Carlo, which hosted the 2018 and 2019 World Finals events.

In addition to the two in-person live events, fans can watch the top racers go head-to-head in a series of six streams  that will feature the top racers from the Nations Cup and Manufacturer Cup. 

Italian Valerio Gallo (21) will be looking to defend his 2021 Nations Cup title while two-time Manufacturers Cup champions Toyota are the team to beat in that series. A new team will be hunting them down as luxury car maker Genesis joins the Gran Turismo World Series as an official partner – thus guaranteeing Team Genesis a spot in the Manufacturer Cup flagship events.

Genesis is joined as a new partner by Italian brake company Brembo. Both brands will add to the contributions of long-term partners Michelin, Toyota, Mazda, Alpha and BBS who have helped to enrich both the game and the championships.

The Gran Turismo World Series will be great to watch, but also provides a competitive platform for anyone that wants to try online racing. You’ll be matched in races with people of a similar level so you can race for fun. But if you are quick and determined enough, you can make it to the top level and joi