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This week, the team dives deeper into Elden Ring and returns to Atropos in Returnal: Ascension.

Stuff We Talked About

• Moss and Moss Book II
• Returnal: Ascension
• Elden Ring
• Ghostwire: Tokyo
• Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin

The Cast

Tim Turi –  Manager, Content Communications, SIE

Brett Elston – Manager, Content Communications, SIE

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Last week we asked you to share moments while in the swing of motion using #PSshare #PSblog. Here are this week’s moving highlights:  

justinphotomode shares Jin striking with his katana in Ghost of Tsushima.

Darkspeed14 shares a Shellsnapper launching itself at Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West.

KenKenVega1 is surrounded by a massive swirl of fish in Abzu.

JonPSindies zooms past in their car of choice in Gran Turismo 7.

Sefwick shares a charging enemy in Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order.

Steve_a_k shares the winds and rain whipping in Returnal: Ascension.

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: PS App
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on March 30, 2022

Did you know you can now share Create button captures straight from PS App? Next week, share an epic moment from the game of your choice uploaded through PS App using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Dear Gran Turismo Community,

Thank you for your continued support and feedback on Gran Turismo 7, your voices have not gone unheard. I would like to apologize for the frustration and confusion caused last week with our patch updates which resulted in, not only a server outage but also adjustments to the in-game economy which were made without a clear explanation to our community.

We know that this is not the Gran Turismo experience you expect and we will be making a goodwill gesture in the form of a non-paid credit pack of 1 million Cr. available to those players who may have been affected*. You will see this hit your accounts shortly. Make sure you log into the game before April 25 to claim the credits.

The patch update previously deployed was intended to rectify an issue with inconsistent reward payouts within a part of the World Circuit Events.  But, to re-establish the intended equilibrium and provide more accurate rewards based on time investment and completion, it was necessary to recalculate the rewards system as a whole.

To improve the player experience, we will be rolling out a considerable patch in the beginning of April.  The number of events will be increased, and we will reestablish the reward system with greater balance throughout the game to benefit all players.

Updates which will come into effect beginning of April:

• Increase rewards in the events in the latter half of the World Circuits by approximately 100% on average.
• Addition of high rewards for clearing the Circuit Experience in all Gold/All Bronze results.
• Increase of rewards in Online Races.
• Include a total of eight new one-hour Endurance Race events to Missions. These will also have higher reward settings.
• Increase the upper limit of non-paid credits in player wallets from 20M Cr. to 100M Cr.
• Increase the quantity of Used and Legend cars on offer at any given time.

Beyond this there will be a few additional patches deployed between now and the end of April which will add new cars and course layouts and make some other fixes.

Finally, we also want to take the opportunity to lay out some of the near-term updates we are working on. We can’t confirm an exact date or specifics yet, but will give advance notice via www.gran-turismo.com.

• Increase the payout value of limited time rewards as we develop as a live service.
• Further World Circuit event additions.
• Addition of Endurance Races to Missions including 24-hour races.
• Addition of Online Time Trials and awarding of rewards according to the player’s difference with the top ranked time.
• Make it so cars can be sold.

We want to thank you for your continued patience and valuable feedback as we grow and evolve GT7 to make it as enjoyable and rewarding for as many players as possible.  We always want to keep communication lines open with our community so that we can work together to build the best racing experience possible.

*Limit 1 per person. Must own a digital or physical copy of GT7 for PS4 or PS5 prior to the publication of this post  (Friday, 25 March at 1:00am PST)  and log into Gran Turismo 7 between Friday, March 25 at 5:00pm JST/8:00am GMT/ 1:00am PDT and Monday, April 25 at 5:00pm JST/8:00am GMT/ 1:00am PDT to receive the free credit pack.

Hello, Fighters around the world! With Capcom Pro Tour concluding another epic season just last month, we continue our tradition of opening the season by taking a fresh pass at Street Fighter V’s battle balance, further fine-tuning each character in the roster… But wait, there’s more! We’re also releasing a couple of extra fun features, including visual filters and the jazzy Cap-Jams remixes for the Season 5 fighters — all coming to Street Fighter V for free on March 29.

Battle Balance

This will be our first Battle Balance since the arrival of Season 5’s characters—Dan, Rose, Akira, Oro, and Luke—so we’re excited to tinker with the entire cast in this new context and, ultimately, see what you will make of it all. We feel the S5 crew is in a pretty good spot, but don’t worry—they’re also getting some tweaks. Here’s a quick preview of the diligent Akira and the colossal Abigail.

In general, our Battle Balance updates bring lots of little adjustments to each characters’ move sets and properties (some attacks become faster, while others do more damage or gain new special attributes). However, sometimes we got a little extra inspiration and added a few surprises too! So this coming Tuesday, you’ll have plenty to play around with and discover in the training room or, if you’re feeling adventurous, in online matches! Good luck!

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Tunche is an action rogue-lite game inspired by classic beat ‘em ups such as Final Fight and Streets of Rage with a bit of modern hack ‘n slash and RPG elements. All of that wrapped up in a beautifully animated hand-drawn world with a story set in the heart of the Amazon jungle.

You will be able to choose one of the five unique characters, including Hat Kid from the highly-acclaimed A Hat in Time!

Before talking more about the game itself, aren’t you wondering: What does Tunche mean?

Tunche is the name of a mythological creature, a being from folk tales told by many generations of peoples that live around the jungle and in many other places of South America. It is said that Tunche is a spirit that dwells deep in the heart of the rainforest and that when you get too close to it you’ll be able to hear it whistling. However, if you do, then it might already be too late for you.

In our story, things are a bit different. Tunche is still a fearsome magical being, but he is also the spirit lord of the jungle. One day, all of a sudden, the jungle is overrun by evil magical creatures. These aggressive monsters are attacking villages, kidnapping people. Tunche is considered by locals to be their master, and so everything points to him as the mastermind behind it all.

This is when four explorers, and a certain visitor from another world, each with a personal motive, decide to go into the wilds and find the beast. They will have to face many challenges, some of them born from other folk tales of Amazonian myths, and survive through four different worlds full of danger before they find out what the truth really is.

The studio

Leap Game Studios was founded in 2012 and is based in Lima, Peru. 

Tunche is a very special game for us at LGS. Although this is not our first title, nor our first console launch, it is a very important project for all members of the team.

The game

From the very beginning you will be able to use a simple melee three-hit with the use of the Square button. Each character has different attack speed and reach, so each is unique and everybody will find a playstyle to their liking. The more you fight the more your mana bar fills, and with that you get access to special attacks and Ultimate abilities. Characters specialize in different things: Rumi likes long-ranged magic attacks, while Qaru is good at aerial combos. Hat Kid is an all-rounder with some special moves that come right from A Hat in Time.

Mix different abilities, master Launchers, Air Combos, Power Attacks and Super Magic Attacks to defeat your foes.

While you fight, you will also see your “Stylish Meter” grow in power and go from a basic “D” to a Super Stylish “SSS”. The better the grade at the end of a battle, the better the rewards you will receive.

Rewards are a very important part of your progression. You see, Tunche is also a rogue-lite game designed to be finished in one sitting. Even though characters retain their experience points and become stronger with each journey into the jungle, there are also temporary rewards that can give you a very strong advantage in a single session.

The most important reward comes in the form of Spirit Cores, magical orbs that grant you extra abilities such as setting enemies on fire or calling down lighting from th

Greetings fellow indents! Everything you know is about to change. Your rewarding career of enforced servitude with The Ascent Group on planet Veles is coming to an end and the real adventure is just beginning. The Ascent mega corporation that owns you and everyone in it has just collapsed. Can you survive without it?

The Ascent’s cyberpunk world hits PS4 and PS5 tomorrow. Developed by our 12-person team here at Neon Giant and published by Curve Games, The Ascent is a solo and co-op action-shooter RPG set in a cyberpunk world. Based in a corporate-run metropolis stretching high into the sky and filled with creatures from all over the galaxy. You play as a worker, enslaved by the company that owns you and everyone else in your district: The Ascent Group. One day, you are suddenly caught in a vortex of catastrophic events: The Ascent Group shuts down for unknown reasons and the survival of your district is threatened. You must take up arms and embark on a new mission to find out what started it all.

The rich world on planet Veles has been enhanced even more thanks to the power of the PS5’s DualSense wireless controller. Hear and feel The Ascent’s dystopian Arcology with everything from the sounds of advert jingles to the feeling of your dynamic weapons in your hands. 

The power of sound

Thanks to the DualSense controller speaker, players can experience another level of sound within the game. In the heat of the action mid-fire-fight, just when you think you’re finished, players can hear health packs dropping from enemies. Each time you get hit or alert a group of enemies; you’ll hear the action coming from your hands. In the less action-packed moments, as you roam the neon streets of the arcology, you will hear the corporate propaganda and advertisements from the arcology trying to brainwash your indent mind.

The sound for The Ascent has been produced by award-winning studio Sweet Justice Sound, who have taken the experience to new heights. Using the power of DualSense controller in a unique way, Sweet Justice Sound has manipulated various synthetic sources, from modular synth sounds to EDM drum loops, to create unique sounds and pair them against the events in the game’s audio to enhance the players’ experiences, such as specific sounds for navigating the menu to make it feel tactical and drum kicks for reload to let the player know when the reload is complete. 

Our next PS5 and PS4 system software updates are rolling out globally today, so we wanted to provide a quick look at some of the new features. We’re also glad to share new details on Variable Refresh Rate for PS5 on HDMI 2.1-compatible TVs and PC monitors, which is planned to release in the months ahead. 

New features for PS5 and PS4

Thanks to support from our beta participants, we’re introducing some fan-requested features to our global community today, like the ability to create or join Open and Closed Parties on PS5 and PS4 consoles. On PS5, we’re also bringing UI enhancements to Game Base and Trophy cards, as well as accessibility features like mono audio for headphones.

You can read more about these system update features here.

For a refresher on PS5 features like how to apply game presets on your console, pin videos and apps to your screen while you play, or share your screen with friends, check out the new “Pro Tips” cards in the Control Center.

PS App and PS Remote Play enhancements

Starting later today, we’re gradually rolling out the ability for PS App users to create or join Open and Closed Parties through the app as well. We’ve also updated the PS App Game Base UI to make it easier to access the Friends, Parties and messaging features, delivering a consistent player experience with PS5.

When we talked about adding online co-op to Returnal at Housemarque, the biggest question we had was: how can we support co-op play in an experience that’s intentionally surreal, isolating, and finely-balanced to challenge a single player’s ability to survive?

The Chronosis 

It starts just with setting the mood: how do we get another player into Returnal? Well, through Chronosis of course.

Players with a PlayStation Plus subscription interact with a Chronosis and, suddenly, another ASTRA Scout enters their cycle, staring down and analyzing Selene as she emerges. It feels very surreal and uncomfortable — which makes it absolutely perfect for Returnal. 

Beyond that, we really built the multiplayer experience around the idea that players can get help to progress through the game. A hosting player invites another player to join their session to help them overcome their current challenge. The host keeps this progress, whereas the joining player increases their Scout Rank, Weapon Traits, and Databank. At first, we had Chronosis in multiple places in each of our biomes, but we ultimately realized it was unintentionally resulting in players just engaging in Co-Op before major boss battles. Now, Chronosis are at the beginning of each Biome, so players are encouraged to explore and see how the game plays and evolves with a partner and how divvying up resource scarcity is immediately a new dynamic.

Keeping the edge

Of course, we wanted to preserve the challenge, drama, and intensity that Returnal is known for so some of our new co-op mechanics went through a lot of iteration to ensure those crucial elements of the game were maintained.

Our most brutal example was our initial approach to handling a “downed” player; so long as one player is standing, a downed player can be revived and brought back into the fray. Reviving a downed player initially required the living player to sacrifice some of their health to revive their teammate.

Turns out: this was mean. Five minutes into a new cycle, both players would be down to bare minimum health and stuck in a vicious cycle of one-hit kills.

While playtesting one day, we realized that, really, reviving a downed player already had required a very valuable resource: time. Reviving your teammate mid-combat, especially against an Elite or a Boss where every millisecond matters, is all it really takes to maintain difficulty while ensuring both players can stay active in the game at once.

Another element of the game that we changed for the co-op experience are the House and Ship sections that are experienced from Selene’s first-person perspective. We ended up removing these sections while playing Multiplayer so we could keep the speed and intensity of the multiplayer sessions high throughout the experience. 

Finally, Returnal has also been rebalanced specifically for co-op play so Atropos remains the perilous planet brimming with deadly monsters that we all know and love — just now with some room for a friend.

The joys of networking

Integrating multiplayer logic into Returnal was not the simplest endeavor and is, largely, a significant technical engineering challenge and as we prepared for ship we certainly encountered more than a few “issues” along