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Survive Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection with combat tips

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With over seven years since the last Ninja Gaiden entry, we are incredibly excited to bring back fan-favourite ninja, Ryu Hayabausa, to the PlayStation 4 (and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility) on June 10, with the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection.

With it being several years since the last game in the Ninja Gaiden series was released, we thought it would be a great opportunity to take a little walk down memory lane to see how Hayabusa came to be such a renowned character in the games industry. Along with that – a selection of combat tips to help you survive the challenges awaiting Ryu.

The Origins of Ryu Hayabusa

Hayabusa first graced our screens back in the 1988 arcade game, Ninja Gaiden, donning his classic blue ninja costume (which he also wears at the beginning of Sigma). In this first outing, he travelled across America in a side-scrolling beat ‘em up adventure to defeat an evil cult seeking to end the world. The game quickly became a hit across the world for its unforgiving white-knuckle gameplay, pushing players to bring their A-game. 

With the series’ success, Hayabusa would go on to star in a variety of different home-console Ninja Gaiden releases, as well as appearing in the Dead Or Alive series where he became an ass-kicking mainstay, further rocketing his popularity as the ultimate ninja in video game lore. 

Nearly 20 years after the arcade classic was released, Ninja Gaiden Sigma finally brought the brutally challenging gameplay to the 3D battlefield of PlayStation, making its long-awaited debut on the PlayStation 3. The developers of Team Ninja drew inspiration from popular action-adventure games and titles such as Onimusha, working by trial and error to come up with a unique identity for a modern 3D Ninja Gaiden experience. These games would challenge gamers with no-holds-barred fights, forcing them to improve their gameplay skills in order to progress – something very different from how the highly-difficult “masocore” style games of today (such as the Nioh series), which provide various options aside from full-on combat to empower yourself. These modern Ninja Gaiden games set the trailblazing standard for stylish action games thanks to their merciless but rewarding difficulty level!

Survive Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection with combat tips

Combat Tips

With the series requiring you to hone your skills to overcome the challenge, we thought it would be best to provide some tips and tricks to Ninja Ga

Players’ Choice: Vote for May’s best new game

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May has come to a close, which means it’s time to open up the Players’ Choice polls and decide which new release had the most players buzzing last month. 

We’ll keep the polls open until Sunday night at 11:59pm Pacific, so be sure to cast your vote before then. Want to defend your pick? Drop a comment below on why it was your favorite.


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 Shadow of the Colossus 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.


A look at Stonefly’s bugged-out art design, out today on PS5 and PS4

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Hey, hey everyone! I’m Adam Volker, creative director at Flight School Studio, the team behind the 2019 game Creature in the Well, a top-down, pinball-inspired, hack-and-slash dungeon crawler… or “pinbrawler” as we all lovingly called it.

Published by MWM Interactive, our next title, Stonefly, a mech adventure game launches today (woohoo!) and I want to pull the curtain back on some behind-the-scenes tidbits we’ve never shared before.

At Flight School Studio, we like to make things that feel a little weird and different. Storytelling and art are things that we love and we’re always trying new approaches to games to see what’s fun and exciting. Stonefly is definitely our next iteration exploring those ideas. 

You play as Annika Stonefly, a brilliant yet naive young inventor who sets out on her own journey after disappointing her father. The Stonefly family runs the local repair shop, working on mechs and because of Annika’s oversight, her father’s prized rig, Chrysa, is stolen by a thief in the middle of the night. Chasing the thief, Annika discovers a big fantastic world, that inspires her to invent new mech capabilities, all of which come in really handy when she encounters buggos out in the wilderness.

Inventing a world

Annika’s story was inspired by the journey that many of us on the development team have had. Sometimes taking on a huge journey can be paralyzing, and Annika not knowing everything she is about to undertake is just what she needs to get started. Her determination and directness is really inspiring. As she ventures out into the woods, she takes notes of the people she meets, the creatures, and fauna. She uses all of it as inspiration and she funnels that creativity into upgrades and abilities for her mech. It is in her curiosity that she finds knowledge.

In Stonefly’s world, tiny people travel in mechs that glide along the wind and are composed of a few upgradable components: the hull, legs, and antenna. Annika is no stranger to how these mechs function and is constantly upgrading her’s as you adventure through the game. Depending on how you play you’ll be encouraging Ann to invent wind abilities, upgrade the utilities of the mech or find inspiration for cosmetic upgrades hidden throughout the world. 

For example, after being slowed down by silken worm goo over and over Annika invents a similar ability for her mech that makes bugs move slowly while she gets the loot. And, for any fashionistas, you can also scan elements in the environment to change the color of your rig, or even come up with your own cu

Introducing the Evo Community Series’ PlayStation 4 Tournaments

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Since we announced the next chapter of our story with Evo in March, we’ve been gearing up for an exciting Evo 2021 Online tournament in August. Today, we’re thrilled to reveal even more opportunities for you to play, watch and learn your favorite fighting games as we help kick off the Evo Community Series, a global celebration of the fighting game community (FGC) starting on June 10.

Evo Community Series (June 10 – Aug. 3)

Starting next week, the Evo Community Series features more than 120 tournaments across the globe, $74,000 in total prizing, and more than 100 hours of broadcasts.

As part of this community celebration, PlayStation is hosting three tournaments from June 10 through August 3. Eligible PS4 players in select regions across the globe will be able to participate in these open-format competitions for a chance to vanquish rivals and win cash prizes (details below). Select matches will be broadcast on the PlayStation Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as Evo’s Twitch channel.

Whether you can perform frame-perfect inputs or simply enjoy watching the execution of a tricky combo, this culmination of fans’ commitment to the fighting game community brings together different scenes over a shared love for the genre. Look forward to a record-breaking number of upsets, underdogs, and unforgettable moments at these highly accessible events. Register today on the PlayStation Competition Center or the Events tab on your PS4 console.

Evo 2021 Online (August 6-8 and 13-15)

Ready to showcase your skills on a global stage? Registration for Evo 2021 Online opens today! Entry is free, and aspiring champions in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America* can sign up to compete in the world’s longest-running fighting game competition at evo.gg

PS4 Tournaments in the Evo Community Series

PlayStation Tournaments FGC Arcade: Evo Edition

DatesJune 10 – June 22
RegionsNorth America, Europe
Prizing$20,000 global prize pool
Featured titles$20,000 global prize pool
Granblue Fantasy: Versus, Guilty Gear Strive,
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, Tekken 7
Rules & eligibility Active PS Plus membership required. Must be 18+ and a member of an eligible country.**  Void where prohibited. See full rules

Fight for glory in this pro-am tournament celebrating newcomers and underdogs. Free open qualifiers then swiss rounds will culminate in the winner challenging a pro for bragging rights and cash winnings from a $20,000 prize pool. Gain valuable insight from interviews and enjoy round table talent starring the voices of the community. For details on how to participate and watch, visit: Compete.playstation.com

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Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown: Remaking a legend

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Hello everyone! My name is Seiji Aoki and I’m the chief producer of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown. I’m very excited to share the inside story behind development of the newest game in the groundbreaking Virtua Fighter series and delve into a few new features you can look forward to when it launches on PlayStation Plus tomorrow, June 1.*

Virtua Fighter holds a special place in Sega lore – many of us on the dev team can still recall playing the original 3D fighting game when it first launched in arcades nearly 30 years ago. Its strategic depth, balanced combat, and realistic martial arts gameplay have stood out within the genre for decades, and it’s long past time a new game entered the ring.  

   

Sega’s 60th Anniversary, a massive community project celebrating the most iconic games over our entire company history, finally provided us that opportunity. Sega put together a new team of developers from AM2, the original creators of the VF series, and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios – combining extensive console expertise with a deep passion for the franchise to kick off development on a definitive Virtua Fighter game for the new generation. 

Remade for a new generation

When development began in 2019, we knew there was an entire generation of gamers who had never seen or played Virtua Fighter. To us, 2012’s Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown represented the series pinnacle – the result of nearly two decades of fine-tuning and development. But many younger fans had never experienced the fluid 60fps martial arts combat, intricately balanced and grounded in reality, that game perfected in its day. We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to re-create that experience on modern consoles. 

Although Final Showdown was top of its class from a gameplay perspective, the graphics, UI, audio, and especially online play were due for an overhaul. Utilizing RGG’s Dragon Engine Technology, we dramatically upgraded the look and feel of the game, remaking character models and stages entirely from scratch. Visual effects like lighting and shaders received a significant rework, while modern CG expanded the range of effects we could produce. An entirely new opening cinematic added the final layer to the presentation.

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PlayStation Now games for June: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Virtua Fighter 5, Slay the Spire

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PlayStation Now’s June lineup features open world adventuring, 30th anniversary celebrations, the return of a fighting icon and a compelling combination of roguelike and card building. Starting tomorrow, June 1, you can hunt monsters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition (also known as the Complete Edition), celebrate Sonic’s birthday with a trio of fantastic titles starring the blue hedgehog, battle friends locally or online in Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown and attempt to Slay the Spire.

Let’s take a closer look at each game.

PlayStation Now games for June: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Virtua Fighter 5, Slay the Spire

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Game of the Year Edition

This story-driven open world role-playing game is set in a visually stunning fantasy universe, full of meaningful choices and impactful consequences. Play as a professional monster hunter tasked with finding a child of prophecy in a vast open world rich with merchant cities, dangerous mountain passes, and forgotten caverns to explore. The Game of the Year Edition includes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, all 16 DLCs, and two Expansion Packs: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available on PlayStation Now until September 6, 2021.

PlayStation Now games for June: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Virtua Fighter 5, Slay the Spire

Team Sonic Racing

The speeding ‘hog switches sneakers for wheels in this thrilling, competitive style arcade racer. Face-off with friends in intense multiplayer racing, race together across stunning worlds and work together as a team by sharing power-ups and speed boosts. Pick one of the Sonic franchise’s iconic faces,

Auto Chess Season 12 arrives May 31, with new Chess Pieces, 4v4, and more

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Get ready to make your move. Auto Chess Season 12 arrives May 31, along with new Chess Pieces, a new Race, and optimized PlayStation controls. You’ll be able to control the cursor anywhere in the UI, speeding up gameplay so you can focus on the exciting battles.

Auto Chess Season 12 arrives May 31, with new Chess Pieces, 4v4, and more

Introducing Horn, a brand-new race

Horn are northern nomads who worship the power of nature through their totems. The Horn are natural warriors who thrive in the frozen plains of the north, making them especially cold-resistant and physically strong.

Siblings Sunchaser Servant and Sunchaser Shaman grew up as poor orphans in the Horn tribe, taking care of each other to survive their tough childhood. Their fate changed when Sunchaser Shaman inherited the Sunchaser Totem and was chosen as the heir to the Great Shaman. Her brother trained hard as an elite warrior and was selected to become one of the Great Shaman’s guards earning the name, Sunchaser Servant. They have each other’s back both on and off the battlefield and have never lost a match yet.

Auto Chess

Medal System

You can now earn medals to boast your achievements with the Medal System. Equip them to your personal information interface to flaunt them in front of your friends and rivals. Collect four types of medals: Set Medal, Career Medal, Championship Medal, and Event Medal.

Auto Chess

4v4 team mode

Ready to dig into some multiplayer battles? Get ready for the new 4v4 team mode. Eight players are divided into two teams of four, and the team with the most points wins. Players earn match points based on their ranking, and team points are the sum of all members’ match points. Make sure not to get knocked out – if all your team members get eliminated, you lose!

Auto Chess

Season 12 Chess Pass and Senior Pass

S12 kicks off with the introduction of an all new theme: Sleepless Night.

Open the Sleepless Cube for the chance to get the Purple Skin Dark Musician or Orange Skin Rhythm Musi

Share of the Week: Challenges

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Last week, we asked you to take on a challenge, and face off against some of tough enemies in the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. From otherworldly foes to oversized monstrosities, here are this week’s challenging highlights: 

AscensionDawn shares Aloy facing down a Stormbird in Horizon Zero Dawn.

GameonFocus shares Amicia going against a whirling swarm of rats in this A Plague Tale: Innocence moment.

justinphotomode faces an oversized foe in this Demon’s Souls share.

tlou_captures shares a harrowing moment Abby faces in The Last of Us Part II.

AlfredoVasini shares this monstrosity from The Evil Within 2.

JRPyznar shares Selene facing down Nemesis in Returnal.

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: Resident Evil Village

SUBMIT BY: Wednesday 9 AM PT on June 2

Next week, we’re stepping in Ethan Winters’ shoes and facing our fears in Resident Evil Village. Share your most terrifying moments using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Returnal: the making of that unforgettable Hyperion fight

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Hey everyone, we’ve been very happy to see Returnal resonating so strongly with players, and this time we wanted to do a deep dive into one of our Bosses. In general, Boss battles have always been an essential test of skill for players in action games, and of course they’ve been a strong staple of the Housemarque formula in our past titles as well. With Returnal we really wanted to dedicate some time to create something special for our Boss encounters, and provide players with some powerful and memorable moments. We’ve been thrilled to see that players have been enjoying our Bosses so far, and today we wanted to share some notes on Hyperion, who seems to have quickly become a favorite among players!


SPOILER WARNING: this piece contains spoilers about the story of Returnal. It’s generally recommended that you read this only after defeating Hyperion, and ideally have seen credits roll. 


The inspiration 

From the very beginning, our goal with the story of Returnal was to haunt the player. On a personal level, many special and haunting moments I’ve experienced in games and film have often been accompanied by powerful music. In many cases I feel that music can be single-handedly responsible for creating the emotional impact and mood of a scene. This ability of music itself to express very complex, raw emotions in a unique way – to express the intangible – was the initial seed of inspiration here.

This importance of music was also directly woven into our story, along with our other central elements and themes early on. It started by envisioning our key story beats (beginning, middle and especially our end), and then consciously working backwards from there: identifying which puzzle pieces we would seed throughout the experience to get under the player’s skin, and create the feeling of an overarching, layered mystery for players to solve.

One of the crucial puzzle pieces was intended to be a specific piece of music, and throughout the game there are multiple clues that a particular melody is very important to Selene. (Note that I’m being intentionally vague to avoid spoiling too much here!)

In parallel, we also knew that we’d want to have some epic bosses in the game. These would need to be memorable highlights that would provide a challenge for players and serve as milestones of progress, but they would also need strongly resonate with players emotionally and be thematically tied to our story as well. In addition to the harsh, dark sci-fi elements of Returnal, we also wanted to explore some more psychological/surreal themes with our story. Our Bosses would serve as climactic manifestations of those themes. So from very early on we knew that we’d have one Boss that would play with this theme of musicality. This boss was simply codenamed “The Musician” internally, eventually this became Hyperion.

The idea for the Musician came first, and then the rest of the Echoing Ruins was built around it to support its presence.

“The Musician’s” visual design 

There were some keywords we used to guide our initial concepting for Hypersion: unsettling, musicality, tragic, dramatic, theatricality. Much like our other Bosses, we wanted to make this encounter feel majestic. And what could possibly be more majestic than using an alien Church Organ?

I’ve always found the church organ

Weaving replayable tales in the Griftlands, out on PS4 June 4

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Hey everyone, my name is Kevin and I’m a designer at Klei Entertainment. I’m really excited to give everyone a look at Griftlands which launches June 4 on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility. Griftlands is a narrative RPG featuring multiple branching stories to experience based on your actions and choices. It’s also a deck-building card game with deep interlocking systems driving both combat and negotiation through card mechanics. We think players are going to have a lot of fun fighting, lying, cheating, bribing, and smooth-talking their way to victory. Let’s dive in.

There are three main characters in Griftlands, each with their own problem to solve. Sal the bounty hunter wants revenge. Rook the spy is working on a mysterious contract. Smith is trying to collect his inheritance, and have a good time doing it.

Those high-level goals are the same every time you play, but the day-to-day obstacles that you overcome in their pursuit vary wildly. Different subplots and events get drawn from a pool each time. The cast of characters shifts as different NPCs get cast in different roles and react to your choices. Your friend in one playthrough, with their unique mechanical strengths and weaknesses, may be your enemy in the next. We even switch up the boss fights that you encounter at the end of each day, to keep things fresh.

Most problems in Havaria can be solved either with your words or with your fists. However, in Griftlands both are driven with unique card deck gameplay mechanics. You play out both physical and verbal battles by playing cards! Playing cards make them stronger each time they’re played and picking one deck over another will give you the option of adding a new card to it at the end of successful encounters. 

Succeeding comes down to having the right cards and playing them correctly in each situation. But you can’t always do exactly what you want – context matters. Your decks get stronger with use, so it’s important to balance your use of each, lest one of your skills falls behind and you get caught off guard by a powerful opponent. NPCs will also notice everything that you do and treat you accordingly. Saving someone from wild animals will earn their respect but killing someone’s best friend for example will have them seeking revenge and actively working against you. 

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