Heavenly Bodies is now only a day away from launch! We’re in near disbelief that the time has finally come but are beyond excited to see our game in everyone’s hands.

To get everyone prepared for their inevitably troublesome time aboard the station, we’ve prepared a tips and tricks checklist. It’s a must-read for anyone aspiring to be an outstanding cosmonaut.

Tips and tricks for mastering Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies has a highly unique physics-based movement system unlike any other game. You must solely use your hands and arms to move your character and perform maintenance tasks in zero-g. Unsurprisingly, some find it tricky, so we’ve got some advice for those struggling to come to grips.

Choose your movement style

We’ve designed multiple ‘movement styles’ in Heavenly Bodies that present different ways for moving your character. Each offers a different challenge level, and we encourage you to find the one that works for you.

Classic: This default style provides a good combination of challenge and fun. You’ll need to keep a firm grip to move around effectively, but we’ve made some exceptions to physical realism which make it easier to spin and ‘swim’ through the air by swinging your arms.

Assisted: For players who may appreciate some ease of motion. Simply pointing your hands in the direction you want to travel will effortlessly move the character along. It’s fun… and rather liberating.

Newtonian: The ‘physically accurate’ style for those seeking the full zero gravity experience. None of this ‘space swimming’ nonsense. Every action has a punishingly equal and opposite reaction.

Hold on!

The best way to get the job done is by using your hands. Keeping a firm grip on solid surfaces will help you push and pull your body around and will give you the leverage you need when flicking switches or using tools.  

“It was important to us that players feel like Aloy has grown in her skills and confidence coming from her adventures in Horizon Zero Dawn and the Frozen Wilds,” says Richard Oud, Gameplay Animation Director at Guerrilla. “She gained a lot of experience and that needed to show in her animations. Our aim was to show that Aloy is more comfortable traversing her environment – without losing sight of the fact that she’s human, of course, so things don’t always go perfectly for her. The grapple mechanic is a good example of this: she is more agile and resourceful, but at the same time we show the physical struggle when she’s being pulled up on bigger inclines.”

The AI team has played a big role in improving the combat system, especially when it comes to increasing the challenge level. Lead AI Programmer Arjen Beij: “We wanted enemies to feel more authentic by improving the fluidity and continuity of motion, like making enemies (and companions) more capable of traversing rugged terrain. The AI in Horizon Zero Dawn already supported some dynamic terrain changes, but we wanted to take this further by adding jumping and climbing as a systemic part of their behavior. As you are playing the game, the AI will be searching for opportunities to take shortcuts, whe

Last week, we asked you to capture some glowing creations and share them using #PSshare and #PSBlog. From the setting sun, to vivid particle effects, to lunar light, here are this week’s highlights:

@mett981 takes aim in Kena: Bridge of Spirits

@mellydarkeyes gives Selene a well-earned moment to relax in Returnal

@kimchitraveler catches Star-Lord looking blue in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

@MdeavorVP captures a fetching action shot in Infamous First Light

@CaptureControl takes a shot in the dark in Control

@SindyJ_B prepares to enter fog in Demon’s Souls

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: Sanctuary
SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on December 8

Next week, we’re seeking sanctuary for our Photo Mode creation theme. Share moments that capture the spirit of sanctuary using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

What does it feel like to race the greatest cars in the world, on iconic streets and circuits, whilst dodging crashes and jaw-dropping moments around every corner? Well, in just a couple of months’ time, you’ll be able to find out…

The entire team here at EA and Codemasters are so excited to announce today that Grid Legends comes to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on February 25, 2022 – and you can pre-order it right now from the PlayStation Store. Head there to get full details on everything coming your way, including bonus content for pre-ordering, and a Deluxe Edition option for more add-ons both on launch day and beyond.

Oh, and make sure to Follow Grid Legends on PlayStation as well, to make sure you get all the latest news, gameplay and more content straight to your console, as we share more in the coming weeks.

Race in the moment

But hey, that’s for the future. We’re ready to give you more details right now on what makes Grid Legends a truly unique racing experience – starting with a simple question. When you play an exciting and enjoyable game, what do you remember most from it? Usually, it’s those unforgettable moments ­– those magical instances where the drama kicks in, the jeopardy amps up, and the element of surprise creates something you want to tell the world about.

The beauty of Grid Legends is that it’s designed to deliver those amazing moments race after race, time after time. Of course, you will play your part in those moments – getting behind the wheel of well over 100 of the world’s greatest machines and battling for glory against 21 other drivers, on over 130 stunning routes. Intense pack racing is what the Grid franchise is all about, and Grid Legends takes that up yet another notch. That, though, is just the beginning of how this racer consistently delivers those epic moments.

Thanks to hundreds of AI personalities, each with their nuances and differences, and a race choreographer working behind the scenes to conjure up some shocks, you’ll never know what’s coming around the corner in Grid Legends. Be ready to squint through the smoke of an engine blowout right in front of you. Keep an eye on the sky for a car launching into the air after shredding a tire. Look out for aggressive AI personalities intent on getting back ahead of your after you traded paint with them earlier. Everywhere you look in a Grid Legends race, there is unpredictability and drama unfolding. That means more surprises, and more of those unforgettable racing moments.

Spectacular racing variety

What also helps create those consistent instances of delight is the sheer variety of experiences on offer in Grid Legends. The Codemasters team have used their decades of racing game know-how to pack in more cars, locations, and ways to play than we’ve ever seen from this franchise.

Prepare to hit the loud pedal in anything from hypercars to big rigs, single-seaters, drift legends, iconic prototypes, and stadium trucks. Enjoy a wide selection of event types, including the tense Eliminator, electrifying Boost races, and the return of stylish, sideways Drift runs. Hosting those vehicles and events is a massive slate of global locations, ranging from revered real-world raceways like Indianapolis, Suzuka, and Red Bull Ring, unique street circuits like the new London and Moscow routes, or even the new sprawling, high-speed Strada Alpina. Hundr

Believe it or not, 20 years have passed since a certain courageous teenager and his plucky ottsel sidekick entered our lives. Naughty Dog’s Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy launched on PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001. True to the “precursor” moniker, this platforming debut predates the duo’s eventual forays into open-world exploration, desert-bound mayhem, and racing exploits. This first game focuses on satisfying platforming, power cell discovery, and the origins of Jak’s story, told with cinematic flair.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy inhabits a fascinating place within Naughty Dog’s gameography, fitting between the pure platforming goodness of the Crash Bandicoot trilogy on PlayStation and the blockbuster adventures of Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series starting on PS3. Despite this first title’s focus on platforming, it’s impossible to overlook Naughty Dog’s signatures, including fluid character animations, richly detailed worlds, and engaging cinematics. I personally have fond memories of collecting every last power cell and hovering in the fantastical Zoomer vehicle.

To mark the anniversary, we’ve invited friends from PlayStation Studios and other third-party studios to reflect on the milestone and share their first memories of jumping (and double-jumping) into the world of Jak and Daxter.

“The biggest thing I learned was the challenge of designing an open world game without using load times! We set out from the start to design a world and not levels like we were used to coming from Crash, and we made it a rule that if you could see it you could walk (or boat or fly!) to it and that when you reached a building or cave that you could go inside and that the inside would have to fit within the space that the exterior could support. It wasn’t easy!”

– Evan Wells / Co-President / Naughty Dog

“I remember being really excited about the physics that had been added to the rope bridge by the programmers, because we had rope bridges on Crash Bandicoot, but they did not have physics on them. We were just jumping up and down on the bridge and marveling about how it reacted to Jak jumping on it.”

– Charlotte Francis / Senior Technical Artist / Naughty Dog

Concept art for Jak, the courageous primary hero of the franchise.

“When Jak & Daxter first came out, it really broke a lot of ground. The graphics were top-of-the-line at the time and it allowed

PlayStation®Partner Awards 2021 Japan Asia

The PlayStation Partner Awards 2021 Japan Asia will present awards to hit titles sold for the PlayStation, recognizing the creative work of those who made them. This will be the twenty-seventh time for the event to be held since it started as the PlayStation Awards the year after the platform’s birth in 1994. Awardees will be presented with trophies based on the motif of the PlayStation controller’s trademark button icons (△○×□).

GRAND AWARD

PARTNER AWARD

Special Award

Awarded to the following three types of titles:

Titles developed by creators from outside the Japan / Asia region that have amassed the highest sales in the Japan / Asia region from October 2020 to September 2021*.
■ Apex Legends(Electronic Arts Inc | Respawn Entertainment)

Independent titles developed in the Japan / Asia region that have amassed the highest worldwide sales from October 2020 to September 2021*.
■ Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin(Edelweiss | Marvelous Inc.)

Titles developed in the Japan / Asia region with particularly noteworthy activity results** at the release of the PlayStation®5.
■ Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition(CAPCOM Co., Ltd.)

* Physical and digital sales through PlayStation®Store are counted in the calculation (including additional content and digital currency sales).
** SIE indices, which include player numbers, also factor into the determination of nominees.

GRAND AWARD

Genshin Impact

(miHoYo)

One of the best free-to-play titles today

Genshin Impact is an open-world RPG where epic adventure awaits in the fantasy world of Teyvat. Even before it was available, the game garnered significant attention with its appealing aesthetic and high-level of quality, becoming a world-wide hit almost immediately after its release. Genshin Impact redefines the level of quality possible with free-to-play games.

Genshin Impact was one of the three titles chosen that were developed in the Japan / Asia region with top-ranked worldwide sales between October 2020 and September 2021*
*Physical and digital sales through PlayStation®Store are counted in the calculation (including additional content and digital currency sales).

Download Genshin Impact from the PlayStation Store

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE

(CAPCOM Co., Ltd)

Experience the next generation of survival horror

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE is truly the next generation of survival horror game, leveraging the full performance of the PlayStation®5 to create a more immersive experience through both sight and sound, using graphics that seem almost real and true-to-life 3D audio that stirs the player’s fears. VILLAGE breaks new ground in the internationally celebrated RESIDENT EVIL series, with more than five million units shipped* at the end of October 2021.

RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE was one of the three titles chosen that were developed in the Japan / Asia region with top-ranked worldwide sales between October 2020 and September 2021**
*Includes digital sales.
** Physical and digital sales through PlayStation®Store are counted in the calculation (including additional content and digital currency sales).

Buy RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE from the PlayStation Store

eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE

(Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.)

The well established series and its new ambitions

eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE is, as its name suggests, a season update to eFootball PES 2020. Internationally acclaimed and with its popularity not limited to Japan and Asia, this ambitious title that bears eFootball’s name is the culmination of the series’ accumulated history, which started in 1995, and taking on new challenges.

eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE was one of the three titles chosen that were developed in the Japan / Asia region with top-ranked worldwide sales between October 2020 and September 2021*
*physical and digital sales through PlayStation®Store are counted in the calculation (including additional content and digital currency sales).

Buy eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE from the PlayStation Store

PARTNER AWARD

SPECIAL AWARD

PARTNER AWARD

Awarded to titles developed in the Japan / Asia region with top-ranked worldwide sales between October 2020 and September 2021, with particularly noteworthy activity results*.

Tales of ARISE

(BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.)

A Traditional and Innovative JRPG Masterpiece

Tales of Arise is the latest installment of the popular Tales of action RPG series that has portrayed the adventures and growth of unique and engaging characters in an anime-like style. Tales of Arise, which celebrates the series’ 25th anniversary, was developed around the theme of “inheritance and evolution.” It was the first title in the series to sell one million copies worldwide almost immediately after its release.

Message from the Recipient

Yusuke Tomizawa
『Tales of』series Brand Manager
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.

Thank you so much for this prestigious award. Tales of Arise marks the 25th anniversary of the series, and as part of its development we took on a variety of challenges to draw new fans

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