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Hey, everybody! Sid and Tim are back this week to discuss the foundation System Shock 2 laid for gaming generations to come, recap what the team saw at Summer Game Fest 2025, and their latest gaming adventures.

Stuff We Talked About

• Next week’s release highlights:
  • Ruffy And The Riverside | PS5
  • System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster | PS5, PS4
  • Black Desert | PS5
  • Death Stranding 2: On The Beach | PS5
• PS Store Promo: Mid-Year Deals —  Save up to 70% on select titles, now until July 2
• Ghost of Yōtei — Sucker Punch explores Hokkaido to learn ancient foraging skills and more
• Climate Station  — a new experience for PS5 and PS VR2 that transforms decades of climate science into an interactive story.

The Cast

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Last week, we you to dive in and share moments swimming from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

Couch_Gamer2k23 shares Nathan scuba diving in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

jobolts_ shares Ellie swimming in the Savage Starlight skin in The Last of Us Part II.

call_me_xavii shares Sam floating through a stream of tar in Death Stranding.

calisarah1998 shares Naoe leaping off a tree into a lake in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

xenobitz shares a hunter wearing a Palico helmet underwater in Monster Hunter Wilds.

vg_ryno shares Aloy peeking her head above water in Horizon Forbidden West.

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: Maximalism
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on June 25, 2025 

Next week, push everything to the max. Share crowded, busy, visually over-the-top moments of maximalism from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Hey Slayers – the wait is almost over! After a long journey, Undead Citadel is finally making its way to PS VR2 on June 26.

This game has been a long-time passion project for us. We set out to make something that really feels like you’re in the middle of a gritty, undead-infested world — where every swing, block, and stab actually matters. No button mashing, no floaty physics. Just you, your weapon, and whatever’s crawling towards you.

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What is Undead Citadel?

At its core, it’s a first-person action game where you fight through a plague-ridden medieval world overrun by the undead. You’ll be fighting your way through a plague-ridden citadel using over 75 different weapons — from swords and axes to bows and even war hammers. You’ll also find four wild potions — slow down time, supercharge your strength, or freeze enemies in their tracks mid-charge. It’s chaotic in the best way. 

The game features a full story campaign with handcrafted levels, puzzles, and lore to discover. We also included Horde Mode (endless waves, score chasing, chaos) and an Armory where you can test every weapon you’ve found in a sandbox environment.

Built for VR, optimized for PS VR2

We designed everything from the ground up for virtual reality. Combat is fully physics-based with 1:1 hand movement and almost zero delay — when you swing your arm, that’s exactly what happens in-game. Every impact has real weight, every parry matters, and every mistake has consequences.

PS VR2’s precise tracking and responsive haptics make a huge difference. Whether you’re dodging a sword, blocking with a shield, or nailing a headshot with your last arrow, it all feels smooth, immersive, and intense.

Smoother slashing, fewer headaches: thank you, 90Hz!

Undead Citadel will run at 90Hz, allowing players to experience more natural and responsive motion when turning or dodging. It makes the world feel more “real,”  especially crucial when the player is physically interacting with enemies in intense melee encounters. 

Dear Trailblazers, greetings from the Honkai: Star Rail development team. It’s been a while, we’ve truly missed you. Today, we bring you the latest news from Version 3.4, “For the Sun is Set to Die,” arriving officially on July 2. As the trailblazing expedition reaches its dramatic peak in Amphoreus, the Chrysos Heirs are pouring their last strength into securing one final, precious moment — so that you, the Trailblazer, and Phainon may deliver the last Coreflame to the Vortex of Genesis. Now, the path ahead has been revealed. Only one final step remains before Era Nova.

Let’s pick up where we left off — the fog shrouding Amphoreus’s skies gradually clears, revealing a cruel truth: this world is far more complex than it seems. As unveiled at the end of Version 3.3, the root of Amphoreus’s tragedy lies in an “Emperor’s Scepter” enduring to the present. However, the events that follow have transcended Amphoreus’s borders. The waves of “Era Nova” may sweep across the cosmic shores, and amidst this torrent, every choice the Trailblazer makes could determine the fate of the entire universe.

A new ally ignites the Galactic Trail

In the upcoming main storyline, the long-awaited Phainon will finally become a playable character and join the Trailblazer’s team. A native of Aedes Elysiae, he was one of the first Chrysos Heirs in Amphoreus to extend a hand of goodwill to the Trailblazer. Even in the darkest hours, he stood tall to shield others from harm. But behind his calm and gentle demeanor lies the weight of countless hopes and expectations. In Version 3.4, players will venture deep into Aedes Elysiae as the Trailblazer to uncover Phainon’s past — how he set foot on the Flame-Chase Journey, how he rose to become a warrior, and how those trials shaped who he is today.

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What if understanding climate change wasn’t a lecture – but a journey you could take yourself? We’re pleased to introduce Climate Station, a new experience that transforms decades of climate science into an interactive story.

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Developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, as part of our collaboration with the United Nations Playing for the Planet Alliance, Climate Station turns complex data into an immersive, interactive experience. Whether you’re a curious explorer, a data detective, or just looking for something totally unique to dive into, this free app available today on PS5 and PS VR2 is your gateway to understanding the forces shaping our world.

Harnessing the same tech innovations used in blockbuster games, Climate Station delivers a seamless, visually rich experience. On PS5, you’ll navigate a fully interactive globe, zooming into climate events and data layers with the DualSense controller. On PS VR2, the experience becomes even more immersive – reach out with your PS VR2 Sense controllers and manipulate the Earth itself.

You’ll interact with real scientific data, explore climate scenarios, and uncover the stories behind the numbers.

Climate Station kicks off with a guided tour. As you complete each section, new features unlock — opening up more ways to play, explore, and uncover the hidden stories behind the climate across four modes

Weather Year

Witness the breathtaking beauty of the Earth in motion. Weather Year is a visually striking timelapse of clouds and storms as the seasons progress, that feels like watching the planet from space. As the year unfolds, wildfires, tropical storms, floods, and droughts emerge across the globe, paired with human impact and cost data. But beyond the individual events, a deeper picture comes into view – clouds patterns, storm tracks, greenhouse gases, and shifting sea ice converge to show the Earth as a fragile, interconnected system.

Observations

Explore over a century of climate change using authoritative data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC). An interactive globe reveals temperature shifts from 1901 to today, with glowing 3D pins marking change – red

As we established in our previous article, visiting Japan was an important part of creating the world of Ghost of Yōtei.

The Sucker Punch reference gathering team from left to right: Nate Fox, Ryuhei Katami, Jason Connell, Ian Ryan, Joanna Wang, Rob Davis.

Sucker Punch is an American company and we are well aware that we don’t naturally come equipped with the cultural knowledge to bring feudal Japan to life. To do that, we need a lot of help. Thankfully we are also part of PlayStation, for Ghost of Tsushima we were fortunate enough to receive steady feedback from our colleagues in Tokyo. As you might have guessed, the same is true for Ghost of Yōtei. Only this time we’ve broadened our roster of advisers.

When setting a game in Hokkaido we knew a crucial element was doing our best to represent Ainu culture in a respectful way. Thankfully we’d connected with an Ainu cultural adviser before setting out on our reference gathering trip and she was nice enough to introduce us to her family. The group of us traveled up a nearby mountain and got to know each other while foraging for vegetables. It was great, all of us from Sucker Punch stopped taking pictures and got our hands dirty. We started really looking at the plants beneath our feet. It was a lovely way to make new friends and start our journey in learning about Ainu culture. That night we resolved to put foraging into our new game, we wanted players to be able to share the experience we were lucky enough to have experienced.

Yukiko Kaizawa leads the Sucker Punch team foraging for vegetables.

Yukiko Kaizawa shows Joanna Wang and myself how to sort the vegetables in preparation for turning them into lunch.

We also had the opportunity to explore the displays in the Nibutani Ainu Museum while talking with our adviser. This really helped us get a sense for sorts of objects we’d see in the game and how they were used.

Nibutani Ainu Museum.

Exploring the Oshima Peninsula also gave us a terrific look into the lives of the Matsuamae clan who were there in strength during the time period our game takes place. It was interesting to see the proliferation of cherry trees on the peninsula, brought there from Honshu, yet uncommon in the rest of the island. That really told the story of how sparsely settled Hokkaido was in 1603 by the Wajin people. We’ve tried to mimic that quality in the game, leaning into areas of wilderness between homesteads.  Of course down on the Oshima Peninsula clan Matsumae were very present, bringing with them a feeling of Honshu.

Mark the (near) halfway point of 2025 by picking a new adventure (or several) from an assortment of titles discounted for a limited time on PlayStation Store! The Mid-Year Deals promotion collects third-person combat in the form of Black Myth: Wukong (save 20%), first-person thrills in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Vault Edition reduced by 35%) and on the pitch action with EA Sports FC 25 (60% off the Ultimate Edition). These reductions, and many more, commence tomorrow, June 18 and are available until July 2*.  

• A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
• ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN
• ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN – TOP GUN: Maverick Ultimate Edition
• ACE COMBAT™7: SKIES UNKNOWN Season Pass
• AEW: Fight Forever
• AEW: Fight Forever – All Season Pass Bundle
• Age of Empires II + Age of Mythology Premium Edition Bundle
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Standard Edition
• Age of Mythology: Retold – Premium Upgrade
• Age of Mythology: Retold Premium Edition
• Airplane Flight Simulator : EVO
• Alien: Rogue Incursion VR
• Among Us
• Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
• Anno 1800™ Console Edition – Standard
• Anthem™ Standard Edition
• Arizona Sunshine® – Freddy’s Bundle
• Arizona Sunshine® 2
• ARK Animated Series 109-Costumes Pack
• ARK Fantastic Tames – Dreadmare
• ARK Fantastic Tames – Pyromane
• ARK: Astraeos
• ARK: Bob’s Tall Tales
• ARK: Survival Ascended
• Assassin’s Creed Legendary Collection
• Assassin’s Creed Mirage Master Assassin Edition
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Season Pass
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Complete Edition
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Season Pass
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök
• Assassin’s Creed® Mirage
• Assassin’s Creed® Mirage Deluxe Pack
• Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey
• Assassin’s Creed® Odyssey Ultimate Edition
• Assetto Corsa Competizione
• Assetto Corsa Season Pass
• Atomic Heart – Annihilation Instinct
• Atomic Heart – Gold Edition (PS4 & PS5)
• Atomic Heart – Trapped in Limbo
• Avatar The Last Airbender: Quest for Balance
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Season Pass
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora™ Ultimate Edition
• Batman™: Arkham Knight
• Batman™: Arkham Knight Season Pass
• Battlefield 4™ Premium Edition
• Battlefield™ 1
• Battle

Last week, we asked you to share stealthy moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s sneaky highlights:

call_me_xavii shares Aloy peeking through tall grass in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

crimsonashtree shares Connor sneaking up on someone in Detroit Become Human.

BBSnakeCorn shares the Cairn protagonist sneakily swimming up to a frog.

Lny_Trpr_EE7 shares Ashley sneaking through the mansion in Resident Evil 4 Remake.

xenobitz shares Rover preparing a sneak attack from behind a boulder in Wuthering Waves.

_xFenrir shares Naoe sneaking past a guard in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

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: Swim
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on June 18, 2025 

Next week, we’re diving in for a quick swim. Share moments swimming from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Things are warming up as Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak approaches its June 17 launch on PlayStation 5 as part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog. We chatted with Communications Director Thomas Puha, Lead Level Designer Teemu Huhtiniemi, Lead Designer/Lead Technical Designer Anssi Hyytiainen, and Game Director/Lead Writer Mike Kayatta about some of the fascinating and often hilarious development secrets behind the first-person shooter.

PlayStation Blog: First, what PS5 and PS5 Pro features did you utilize?

Thomas Puha: We’ll support 3D Audio, and we’re prioritising 60 FPS on both formats. We’re aiming for FSR2 with an output resolution of 2560 x 1440 (1440p) on PS, and PSSR with an output resolution of 3840×2160 (4K) on PS5 Pro.

Some of the DualSense wireless controller’s features are still a work in progress, but we’re looking to use haptic feedback in a similar way to our previous titles, such as Control and Alan Wake 2. For example, we want to differentiate the weapons to feel unique from each other using the adaptive triggers.

Going into the game itself, were there any other influences on its creation outside of Control?

Mike Kayatta: We looked at different TV shows that had lots of tools for going into a place and dealing with a crisis. One was a reality show called Dirty Jobs, where the host Mike Rowe finds these terrible, dangerous, or unexpected jobs that you don’t know exist, like cleaning out the inside of a water tower.

We also looked at PowerWash Simulator. Cleaning dirt is oddly meditative and really fulfilling. It made me wish a zombie attacked me to break the Zen, and then I’d go right back to cleaning. And we were like, that would be pretty fun in the game.

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Were there specific challenges you faced given it’s your first multiplayer game and first-person shooter?

Anssi Hyytiainen: It’s radically different from a workflow point of view. You can’t really test it alone, necessarily, which is quite a different experience. And then there are times when one player is missing things on their screen that others are seeing. It was like, “What are you shooting at?”

This month, join forces to tackle the paranormal crises of a mysterious federal agency under siege in the cooperative first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak, lead your team to victory in the iconic all-out warfare of Battlefield 2042, test your skills as a new Fazbear employee managing and maintaining the eerie pizzeria of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 or live for the thrill of the hunt in the realistic hunting open world theHunter: Call of the Wild. All of these titles and more are available in June’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup*.   

Meanwhile, PS2’s Deus Ex: The Conspiracy merges action-RPG, stealth and FPS gameplay in PlayStation Plus Premium.   

All titles will be available to play on June 17.  

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium | Game Catalog 

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