Nearly eleven months ago we showed you the very first glimpse of Horizon Forbidden West during the PlayStation 5 Showcase, and now we’re excited to show more! This Thursday, May 27 join us on a very special journey into new and uncharted lands.

Starting at 9AM Pacific Time / 5PM BST / 6PM CEST, please tune in at your leisure for a uniquely crafted countdown towards the main State of Play event, which starts at 2PM Pacific Time / 10PM BST / 11PM CEST.

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During this State of Play, we will debut the Horizon Forbidden West gameplay reveal! In this 20-minute exclusive segment, you’ll be seeing about 14 minutes of brand new in-game action featuring our heroic protagonist Aloy, all captured directly on PlayStation 5. 

This reveal has been a true team effort and we’re very excited to show you what we have in store. Whether you’ve been with us and Aloy since Horizon Zero Dawn or are only just getting to know this incredible world, we want to share this huge milestone with you and cannot wait to see your favorite moments and reactions.

Please join us on Twitch or YouTube at 9AM PDT / 5PM BST / 6PM CEST for the special State of Play Pre-Show, and at 2PM PDT / 10PM BST / 11PM CEST for the Horizon Forbidden West gameplay reveal.

We are excited to see you there!

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

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It’s an interview double feature! This week, Playstation’s VP of Global Marketing Mary Yee joins us to celebrate Days of Play. Then we touch base with PlayStation Studios Managing Senior Producer Sam Thompson to learn more about accessibility in gaming.

Stuff We Talked About

• ‘80s Action Heroes from Die Hard and Rambo in Call of Duty: Warzone
• Deathloop
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
• Days of Play (Interview with Mary Yee begins at 17:10)
• Accessibility in gaming (Interview with Sam Thompson begins at 28:19)
• The Last of Us Part II
• Returnal
• Resident Evil Village
• Mass Effect

The Cast

Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE

Tim Turi –  Manager, Content Communications, SIE

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Last week, we asked you to share moments that felt unforgettable using #PSshare #PSBlog. From breathtaking vistas to heart-pounding adventures, here are the moments you won’t soon forget: 

Photoingame shared Ellie remembering a birthday surprise from The Last of Us Part II.

FilthyRocker faces off against one of the unforgettable boss battles in Control.

GravityShifters found defending Hekseville as Raven in Gravity Rush 2 to be unforgettable.

tiagorafael99 shared this unforgettable scene from Uncharted 4.

Amianan_NiRaGuB shared the unforgettable journey into Jormungandr’s belly in God of War.

TheOnlyGurey shared the unforgettable view from the top of a Tallneck in Horizon Zero Dawn.

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: Challenges

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on May 26

Nothing feels better than getting that last trophy, or finally beating an intense boss. This week, celebrate Days of Play by sharing a moment you overcame a challenge in the game of your choice with #PSshare #PSblog for a chance to be featured.

Hello Miners! We at Code Horizon and Discovery are proud to announce that Gold Rush: The Game will be available on PlayStation 4 May 28. This original gold-mining experience is based on Discovery Channel’s #1 show Gold Rush. On launch day, you will get access to all the playable content released so far (including DLC). The objective is: work hard, dig deep, explore the world, to become the wealthiest person in Alaska.

Gold Rush: The Game is a realistic gold-mining simulation game. Start with a simple bucket, hog pan, and lease your first claim as you begin to mine gold. You will be able to sit behind the wheels of multiple, highly detailed vehicles (such as bulldozer, drill, front-end loader or excavator) and dig gold on one of four unique mining areas with fully deformable terrain.

Your plan is simple: scout and plan your operation, buy new tiers of mining equipment, and let your gold business grow. But remember – every real business will face some obstacles. Machines will break, weather will affect your operation and interest on leased property will grow. To make ends meet, you’ll have to embrace the four-season cycle and think about making some extra money. Harsh Alaskan winters impact prices and even decrease durability of your machines. Oh, and don’t be surprised if a bear steals some of your equipment.

Gold Rush: The Game is about digging gold by using advanced machinery and taking care of your mining company. Get familiar with the wash plant, gold nuggetator, or wave table. Manage the water pressure and power system to help machines work properly. And don’t forget to hire some workers and let them grow your business!

If you are a competitive player, we have a little something for you. Ranked mode (leaderboards) will pit you against other gold prospectors – who will come on top this time? One season typically lasts about a month in real life, so there’s plenty of time to compete. Each time we add a unique buff or obstacle to make the experience more engaging, such as a discount on a particular claim rental or increased breakdown rate for specific items. If you manage to get into the top 10, we have special in-game rewards. So what are you waiting for? Let’s mine some gold.

You can choose your own playstyle – either explore Alaska with easy mode on (everything costs $1) or try your luck in the hardest ranked mode, with globally shared leaderboards. Regardless of your calling, be sure to grab the game on May 28. For price, availability, and additional details check your regional PS Store.

Work hard, dig deep – become a gold miner!

Welcome to the party, pals! The iconic Nakatomi Plaza from Die Hard is live now in Call of Duty: Warzone’s Verdansk ‘84 map. Warzone’s new tallest structure arrives as part of the ‘80s Action Heroes event, which also introduces new Operators Rambo and John McClane (available for purchase as limited-time Store Bundles).

It’s not everyday you get to step into the same hallowed ground where action movie icon John McClane foiled nefarious thief Hans Gruber’s heist plans. To mark the exciting occasion, I chatted with Amos Hodge from Raven Software, the lead developer of Warzone, and Matt Krystek from High Moon Studios, whose team led bringing Nakatomi Plaza from Los Angeles to the middle of Verdansk’s bustling downtown district.

The player’s view when diving into Verdansk around the new Nakatomi Plaza location

PlayStation Blog: At what point in the film is this map set roughly or did you take liberties for whatever complemented the map at the given location? 

Matt Krystek: It’s kind of both – I would say it’s probably closest to the middle of the movie. The thieves have controlled the building, it’s not destroyed yet, and they’re still trying to crack open the vault.

Is Die Hard truly a “Christmas movie?” The festive tree in the Nakatomi lobby thinks so…

What was the feeling at both High Moon Studios and Raven Software when you first found out that you were going to be bringing Nakatomi Plaza to life in Warzone?

Amos Hodge: Pure excitement across all the studios. Bringing Die Hard elements into Warzone was a perfect fit and everyone got really into it immediately, everyone was brainstorming ideas. It was just pure excitement.

MK: I remember the first time we saw the shell of the building in-game. Everybody just smiled because it was just so cool and it’s just this massive kind of iconic structure that we’re able to work on.

The dev team removed four city blocks to make room for Nakatomi

Where does Nakatomi Plaza begin on the map as a new location? 

With the upcoming release of Season 1 for Knockout City on May 25, now is the perfect time for a deep-dive into a new map coming your way: Jukebox Junction. I’m Jeremy Russo, the game director for Knockout City, here to talk to you about the design of Jukebox Junction and some strategies for using the map to your advantage in dominating your opponents.

All aboard

The theme for Season 1 is “Welcome to Knockout City,” and what better way to greet new arrivals than a dodgeball to the face as they step off the train? Jukebox Junction is an active, jukebox-themed train station that perfectly showcases our level design philosophy at Velan Studios. Each map is designed to be unique and memorable, by combining a distinctive theme with a fresh gameplay mechanic that opens up new gameplay strategies. Perfectly crafted audio and visuals immediately immerse you in the train station environment, mixed with jukebox-themed details like massive glowing archways and an arrival/departure schedule made to look like song cards. But the feature to really watch out for (literally) are the trains that come charging through the station!

Periodically, massive hover-trains  come speeding through the center of Jukebox Junction, temporarily changing the offensive and defensive options available to you in those sections of the map. Getting hit by a train is an instant KO, but because they hover you can ball up and roll under them to make a quick escape or sneak up on opponents. Watch out, though, because there are also bounce pads around that enable players to jump up and glide over the train, or they can even perform a Lob Shot with a ball from the other side if they have a lock on you. One of the most satisfying moves in the game, however, is to tackle an opponent into the train, earning your team an easy (and hilarious) point. And if you find yourself back up against a train about to be tackled yourself? Jump at the last second to trick your opponent into diving headfirst into the train themselves. 

Each unique map mechanic is meant to provide these types of strategic options. To avoid the possibility of random outcomes, these trains telegraph way ahead of time before they come barreling through with distinctive audio, visual, and rumble cues. Each train line (Red, Yellow, Blue) is also on a set schedule that means they’ll always pass through the station at consistent, reliable times.

See the sights

The layout of Jukebox Junction also demonstrates our approach to designing unique combat spaces with distinct landmarking. Each main location in the map contains a ball, and all spots feature unique geometry to fight around. Due to the high/wide trajectories that thrown balls can travel along due to our variety of Trick Shots and Ultimate Throws, each combat area features broad shapes in layouts we never repeat, to open up unique 1-on-1 and team-based strategies. 

Hey everyone! We’re very excited to be bringing Foreclosed, a slick, cyberpunk action-adventure to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on August 12. This is our first next-gen console release and we’re especially thrilled to take advantage of the features the PS5’s DualSense wireless controller.  

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To set the stage, Foreclosed is set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where your very identity is a commodity. The game stars Evan Kapnos, an everyman whose day goes from bad to worse – fast. Kapnos’ story is delivered in a stylish comic book aesthetic to pull you into the narrative. 

Haptics & Adaptive Triggers

The ability to leverage next-gen tech to elevate the experience was really cool, as it’s very much in theme with the futuristic cyberpunk setting of the game. For example, the Symbiotic Pistol is a multifunctional weapon with various upgrades available. To really give you a sense of the unique properties of the weapon, the haptics and adaptive triggers on the DualSense controller deliver different feedback and resistances depending on the modifications you have equipped. 

Wielding the Symbiotic Pistol, you’ll feel the difference from one weapon skill to the next through the controller. You’ll experience the simulated kickback of an explosive round, the air displacement of rounds leaving the pistol, and more to pull you into the experience.

In August of 2019, after psyching myself up by watching clips from Office Space, I quit my web development job of ten years to focus full time on game development at Reclamation Games, the small studio I started with my wife, Vanessa.  She is a talented musician and composer, and I had experience on small hobbyist gaming projects, a background in computer science, and had spent the last two years learning about Unity, game programming, 3D modelling, and animation. It was not veteran industry expertise – we tracked down people to help with that later – but it was a start.

I had a prototype of a 2D action-exploration game where the story was interwoven with the non-linear exploration and progression, but we had reached a point in development where finishing it would require a massive increase in time commitment.  I had to either walk away from it or go all in by quitting my day job and focusing entirely on creating the game I had always wanted to play. So I did.

Almost two years later, I am excited to reveal Reina & Jericho is coming to PlayStation 5. Let me tell you more about it.

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Meet Reina

Reina, the main protagonist, is a resourceful and scrappy young woman with a chip on her shoulder earned from a life of hardship. She lacks all but the most basic knowledge of what is happening and what she has gotten herself into, and she is completely unequipped to overcome the obstacles in her path – two problems she will have to solve on the go.

For Reina’s design we had the good fortune of working with Leandro Franci, a fantastic illustrator with a knack for the stylized aesthetic we wanted to achieve, and Dan Eder, a master of stylized 3D modelling who was able to bring Leandro’s sketches to life. Reina’s scars tell of her difficult life and her simple clothes speak to her working-class status.

Around her neck rests a powerful artifact called the Regret Device which allows her to revisit the recent past armed

So far 2021 has been incredible, and supremely humbling, as The Last of Us Part II has been recognized with over 300 Game of the Year Awards, an unprecedented achievement. We are super grateful to our community for your terrific support over the past year, including voting us the BAFTA EE Game of the Year and the Golden Joystick Ultimate Game of the Year. We’ve received a ton of fan mail letting us know how meaningful The Last of Us series has been for you and we’ve been astounded by all the excellent fanart, cosplay, and tattoos you have been sharing with us. 

One of the most requested items from our community has been to release a PS5 performance patch for The Last of Us Part II. 

Well, today is the day and you can download the free* patch right now!

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Once patch 1.08 for The Last of Us Part II is installed on your PS5, you will find a toggle in the Display options that allows you to choose between a Framerate Target of 30 FPS or 60 FPS. This allows you to choose your preferred framerate to complement the rest of the enhancements that are part of the PS5 backward compatibility with PS4 games, such as an enhanced resolution, faster load times, and more.

The team has been digging into the PS5 hardware and the possibilities it unlocks since launch last year and we’re excited about what the future holds. This patch is just the first step of working on the PS5. We’ll let you know when we’ve got more news to share!

*Internet connection required.

Hi everyone, Super Bomberman R Online and its unique Battle 64 mode launches on PS4 and PS5 as a free to play game on May 27! We’re thrilled for players of all ages to be able to jump into Bomberman for fun battles online with friends and family.

Before you blast off, we wanted to pass on a few tips and tricks straight from the game’s development team. Bomberman battles are quick and easy to pick up and play, but the game has hidden tricks and some surprising character and power-up abilities. To get a head start and increase your odds of becoming Bomber One, check out the following tips:

1. Safety first

A bomb exploding will trigger other close-by bombs to go off immediately and can cause chain reactions. If you try to place bombs in a row you could end up getting blasted by your own bombs, so focus on controlling and predicting the areas of explosion at first.

2. Clever bomb placement

Some soft blocks have power-ups hidden inside them, so use your bombs to release them.  Be careful though, you can trap yourself between a block and your own bomb. You can destroy up to three brown soft blocks with one bomb though, so keep that in mind and place your bombs in the best spots possible instead of placing too many.