At PS5’s launch, we introduced a brand new feature, Game Help, so players can quickly and  easily get help during their gameplay – without accidentally running into spoilers they might find elsewhere. The feature is supported in PS5 games like Astro’s Playroom, Maquette, Oddworld: Soulstorm, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart which just launched today, just to name a few. 

Many of you may be curious about how the feature came to life, so we wanted to share some insights about this PlayStation Plus* member benefit that’s available for supported games. 

Also, check out this Game Help video demonstration from Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. 

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How Game Help got started

During PS5 development, our research found that the majority of players told us they seek out help for their games. Almost half get stuck in a game on a weekly basis, and more than half said they encounter spoilers when they seek out help for a game, or spend too much time searching for the tip they are looking for.

This feedback really resonated with us, so we went to work to create a feature for players that provides them with an easy way to get hints on the specific parts of the game they are playing, without spoilers or spending a lot of time searching for tips on the internet. We worked closely with game developers to create this feature, and also incorporated key feedback from our user testing research. It’s great to see this feature implemented in supported games, to quickly provide hints to players directly from the PS5 console, so they can spend more time playing. 

Use Game Help to help Clank through a tricky puzzle

What players are using Game Help for

We’re seeing a lot of players seeking hints on puzzles. We tend to see more engagement with Game Help for games that include a lot of puzzles throughout, like Astro’s Playroom and Maquette.

We also see players seeking help when they get lost in a game, so videos that guide players where to go are very popular. Also, if they take a break for a couple of days in between their game play sessions, they may check Game Help when resuming their game session to get re

Last week, we asked you to land on Atropos (again and again) to share harrowing moments from Returnal using #PSshare #PSBlog. From glowing environments to hellish enemies, here are this week’s highlights: 

adambomb2mk shares Selene paused in a bioluminescent patch.

JRPyznar shares Selene in her space suit.

abrs0123 shares a haunting creature.

MattCyberpunk shares a moment between these illuminated figures.

Soradu78 stands Selene in the light of a crashed space ship.

NoomiPlay shares an ominous orb.

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: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on June 16

Next week, we’re stepping into another dimension to explore Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Share your most riveting moments using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.  

Well, it’s official! Two Point Campus is coming to PS4 & PS5 in 2022! The sequel to the beloved Two Point Hospital, Campus will task you with running your very own academic institution. But not your average academic institution – you see, this one has a Two Point twist!

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Gone are the stuffy subjects you remember from school, and in are extraordinary new courses like Knight School (ride horses!) and Gastronomy (bake giant pizzas!) – just a couple of the more grounded examples. You can be sure to expect a very non-traditional learning environment!

In Campus, you’ll be in charge of the whole shebang: able to build your own buildings (from frat houses to dormitories, from libraries to jousting arenas), customize the whole of your outdoor space with trees, pathways, picket fences and all kinds of other decorations. 

We’re making the creative tools powerful and easy to use. So whether you’re a maestro or a beginner, you’ll find ways to create a campus that’s beautiful. Or if you’re a functional manager, you’ll be able to place buildings in seconds and worry about making it pretty later (or never, it’s up to you!)

You’ll also be responsible for making sure your students have the times of their lives – getting everything they need from the academic side of life, but also making sure they remember the fun times. Build student unions, set up gigs and events. But don’t forget, too much partying and those grades might start to drop… (this definitely didn’t happen to the author). 

Rule 1: Know Your Enemies

The station is inhabited by many critters of all manner of shapes and sizes. Some may be small and numerous, others large and imposing, but most importantly they are all quite dangerous, so you would do well to stop them quickly. Whatever you’re facing, you need to remember the strengths and weaknesses of your enemies and bring the right tools for the job.

A big gun that shoots lightning bolts might slice through tough robotic enemies, but it might not do so hot against the countless creepy crawlers bearing down on you. So when the swarm comes knocking, you better put away the lightning gun and kill it with fire instead!

Rule 2: Defend Your Crystal

To unravel the secrets of this ancient space station and learn to escape its endless cycle, you will need to power its systems with a mysterious object known only as the crystal. While the Crystal is invaluable to your quest, it’s unfortunately not terribly robust, and it attracts a lot of attention. You really don’t want a h

Hi PlayStation community, I’m Julian Maroda, creative director at Norsfell. On behalf of all the team, I just want to express just how excited we are to reveal more about what you can expect to see in Tribes of Midgard!

Tribes of Midgard is an up to 10-player co-op action survival RPG developed by our team at Norsfell and published by our friends at Gearbox Publishing. You’ll play as an Einherjar – a glorious Viking hero who’s been residing in Valhalla, hand-picked by the Valkyries to descend from the heavens and protect the earth (aka, Midgard). 

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Now, let me set the stakes with my narrator cap: the Seeds of the World Tree Yggdrasil, that have protected and nourished Midgard since the dawn of the Nine Realms, are now scattered and hidden throughout the realm. Enemies of Asgard seek these flickering remnants of life and light to bring forth the end of the world – Ragnarök. That’s where you come in. There are two ways you and your friends can save Midgard: an Adventure mode where you will need to try and defeat our challenging seasonal boss, and a survival-based “how long can you survive?” style Endless mode. 

Thrive in the wilderness by hacking and slashing through enemies, and collecting the resources necessary to craft tools and gear to help you survive. You can of course explore the world on your own, but we recommend you bring along some friends along with you, as you can play with up to 9 others! The world of Midgard is full of treasures to discover – including enhancements that can have dramatic effects on combat, gathering and more.

But before you can slay Trolls and conquer enemy camps, every mighty Viking has to start somewhere – for you, that’s with a few sticks and some flint.

We are excited to announce Jurassic World Evolution 2 is coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 later this year and thrilled to share more information.

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Jurassic World Evolution 2 builds on its ground-breaking and immersive predecessor in ways you’ll love. Firstly, the game features a new and original Jurassic narrative campaign. The story follows from the earth-shattering events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and you’ll lead efforts to control, conserve and contain dinosaurs in the wild as you work alongside iconic characters from across the Jurassic World film franchise, including Dr. Ian Malcolm (voiced by Jeff Goldblum) and Claire Dearing (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard).

As well as taking you on a new Jurassic journey in the campaign, you can have just as much fun diving back into the past with an all-new mode. In Chaos Theory, you’ll relive iconic film moments from across the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park films in ‘what-if’ scenarios. Immerse yourself at the heart of the Jurassic World franchise and see how things turn out when you are put at the helm of managing new challenges with unpredictable outcomes.  In addition to these two modes, we also have returning favourites, Challenge mode where you can test your managing abilities and Sandbox mode which gives you full creativity to build your own Jurassic World.

And when it comes to the stars of the show, the dinosaurs, we are happy to be bringing more than 75 prehistoric species in Jurassic World Evolution 2, including all-new flying and marine reptiles, which will greatly expand the roster of species you can introduce into your parks. You will be able to see these prehistoric marvels seek out their own territory, fight and interact with staggering realism.

You’ll recognise many diverse prehistoric species from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World films in our announcement trailer, such as the Triceratops and the Stegosaurus. In addition, we are also happy to introduce  species in Jurassic World Evolution 2 that haven’t  graced the silver screen, like the Amargasaurus, a smaller sauropod featuring twin rows of distinctive parallel spines down its back. Whether it’s familiar species or ones you haven’t seen before, we’re looking forward to you showcasing each of the fascinating creatures on offer in your parks.

It was the year 2014, and my video game career to this point had been one as an unknown role player at larger studios and publishers. Hypnotix, EA, Petroglyph. I had been making my own game on the side for about three or four years at this point, and Sony placed a bet on me. They played an early build of Axiom Verge and saw some potential that others may not have seen, and that has made all the difference.

They showed Axiom Verge in their booth at E3, where it won Best in Show from IGN and GameSpot. They included the demo in their kiosks at major retailers. They lent me their megaphone to tell the world about my little game.

So as I was working on Axiom Verge 2, I felt I owed it both to Sony and all of the earliest fans of Axiom Verge to bring it to PS4 and PS5. I can’t imagine launching any other way. I am excited to confirm here and now that the PS4 version will be available on day one. I am going to try my best to get the PS5 version ready for launch, but that might take a bit longer since I really want to take advantage of that in-game hints system!

If you haven’t heard of Axiom Verge, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Axiom Verge is a 2D pixel art action-exploration game about a scientist named Trace who wakes up in an alien world called Sudra after a lab accident. I won’t spoil the story for those who haven’t played it (which begs the question: why haven’t you??) but suffice it to say the storyline includes themes of what makes us…us and questions of morality and reality. You can also shoot lots of creatures with tons of different weapons and find hidden areas in a labyrinthian map.

Most people assumed that the sequel would pick up that story where it left off; namely, about the relationship between Trace and the antagonist, Athetos. But fans of Axiom Verge also know to expect the unexpected. I’ve actually been hiding a secret from everyone. The story of Trace, Elsenova, and Athetos is just a small sidestory in a much larger universe spanning thousands of years and about seven or eight games. Axiom Verge 2 is about Indra, a mysterious billionaire/tech genius who winds up in an alternate version of Earth while in Antarctica. Although there are references to the first game, you won’t actually see how they relate until Axiom Verge 3. Because they are separate experiences, you won’t have to have played Axiom Verge 1 to enjoy Axiom Verge 2.

It would be boring both for myself as a developer and for fans of Axiom Verge if Indra interacted with the world in the same way that Trace did. I didn’t want Axiom Verge 2 to be Axiom Verge 1…only bigger. So although the core DNA of the game is intact—exploring a labyrinthian world map in particular—the majority of the gameplay and environments are quite different. 

First, since it is set on Earth, the world has a much more Earth-like feel with gentle slopes in place of the blocky alien landscape. You’ll notice from this early tileset how different the look and feel of the game is from the original:

And here it is in action:

It’s been a wild and crazy roller coaster ride this last year, building a new studio and hiring a ton of great talent amid the pandemonium of the COVID-19 lockdown. What an incredible journey so far and finally the day that marks the beginning of our next chapter has arrived! Today we are thrilled to announce a landmark deal for Deviation Games, working with Sony Interactive Entertainment to develop a brand-new original IP.

When my partner Jason Blundell and I first met decades ago, we often dreamt about having our own studio, making games our way with our own team of like-minded developers, and building a community where lasting friendships are created. That dream has become a reality today. We feel so fortunate to have this incredible opportunity – one for Jason and I to build something completely new from the ground up, to fearlessly innovate and forge an incredible community and legacy.

We call ourselves Deviators. And as Jason describes it, “Another way of saying Deviator is Renaissance mindset. Deviators are not only passionate about their own discipline, but they love others too. We believe that is what is unique and special about our studio, the culture, the team, and this project.  From experience, young determined studios need rock solid support to thrive. That’s why it means so much that PlayStation is partnering with us on our first game. As you all know–having enjoyed the amazing PlayStation Studios portfolio–they know what it takes to make great games. To have a partner like that behind us makes the road ahead simply breathtaking.”

I know what you’re thinking as you read this. What kind of game are we making? How long have we already been working on it? Is it story based? Multiplayer? Co-op? Or all of the above and more? When is it coming out? While I can confirm development is already underway, it’s really early for us to be going into specific details. We’re drawing on what we’ve learned over our collective decades making games, but we’re also out to make something fresh and brimming with innovation like you’ve never experienced before. We’re not afraid to say that our ambitions are super high: we’re setting out to make a huge, content-rich game with a focus on a lot of action and a lot of energy, but let’s leave it at that for now and hopefully it won’t be long before we can share more.

As for today, I’m here to say: keep an eye on us–we’ve brought on amazing talent from around the world, we’re over 100 Deviators and growing fast, and we have an incredible partner behind us in SIE.

 To our fans, particularly those who’ve followed some of our team members’ past work over the years: thank you for all your support, particularly now as we venture into creating something for ourselves. Follow our studio channels for all the latest and stay tuned. We might be quiet for a little while but next time we can talk specifically about what we’re working on; we’re confident it will raise a few eyebrows! 

Today I’m excited to announce that Salt and Sacrifice launches on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in 2022. 

I started working on the original Salt and Sanctuary nine years ago, and looking back, it still holds a lot of mystery to me. Development began after I’d already shipped a few games with what I’d humbly claim had adequate combat and gameplay. Like so many other indie devs, I’d recently become obsessed with the Dark Souls formula: its numerous seemingly inscrutable systems, its beautifully dark and imaginative world, and its tense moments where razor thin margins for error emerged elegantly. 

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I’d built some pretty competent combat systems in The Dishwasher series (which is now unbelievably two console generations old), so the idea of using that as a foundation for exploring an indie soulslike made sense. From there, it was a lot of world pieces, monsters, weapons, and more: all hand-drawn, hand-animated, scripted, and placed; a gradual journey to see if the bones of 2D brawling could animate the flesh of this dark fantasy RPG.

In hindsight, I’m certainly a little in the dark about what worked best for Salt and Sanctuary, not that there is a single right answer. For some, the lore stood out. For others, it was the elaborate skill tree. The fighter DNA resonated with some people. But to so very many people, the lack of online co-op was the most egregious omission, which brings me to Salt and Sacrifice.

Salt and Sacrifice expands on the world of Salt and Sanctuary by exploring a new era and region, as well as a new role: a Marked Inquisitor. A Marked Inquisitor is a criminal condemned, yet spared the hand of justice in exchange for a lifetime of service in the unending war against Mages: twisted, irredeemable creatures of elemental malice. Mages roam the world, summoning minions and wreaking havoc. Hunting a Mage is a multistage pursuit in which your quarry is just as likely to clash with rival Mages as it is with you. 

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Hello everyone! I’m Ryosuke Hara, lead producer of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. Thank you for your support of this game so far. And thank you very much for your patience while we’ve been hard at work developing the final DLC.

Today, I would like to give an overview of the upcoming DLC, Trunks – The Warrior Of Hope. In this new DLC, users will be experiencing a new arc based on the story of an extra chapter/episode of the manga/anime. This arc sets focus on an alternative future, where Gohan and Trunks fight the Androids to restore peace to a desperate world without Goku or any of the other Z Warriors. Regarding gameplay volume, you can expect just about the same length/content as the other arcs playable in the Main Story (Saiyan Arc, Frieza Arc, etc.).

The world is no longer what it used to be. As you travel through the utterly destroyed world, users will find ruins of iconic landmarks such as Orange City and Capsule Corp., and other characters such as Master Roshi who have been chased out of their original homes.

Nowhere is safe as there are countless drones created by the Red Ribbon Army on the lookout for any survivors. Being spotted by these drones can lead to a fatality, as they will set off an alert, automatically throwing you in a death match against Android 17 and 18. The androids are much stronger compared to the ones you’ve fought in the main story, and your only chance of survival is to find a way to escape by clearing specific conditions in battle.

I don’t want to spoil it for users who haven’t watched the anime, so I won’t go much further into the story, but I assure you that this will be a story you won’t forget. We will also have surprises and new discoveries for all of you who’ve already seen the show, so I really hope you’ll all enjoy that.

New skills will also be unlocked in the main story once you clear this DLC, so this may be your chance to replay the main game, or finish it if you haven’t already.

The final DLC, Trunks – The Warrior Of Hope is available tomorrow and is playable regardless of whether you’ve cleared the main story, so don’t be afraid to jump right in even if you just discovered the existence of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot through this article.