The PlayStation State of Play showcases have a bit of a mixed history in terms of quality. We’ve had some bangers, but we’ve also had a few duds in recent times, so it’s hard to set expectations. Announced a few short days ago, the January 2024 iteration was confirmed ahead of time to have over 15 games showcased over 40 minutes, which certainly sounds appealing. We know that we’ll be getting Stellar Blade and Rise of Ronin, but that leaves plenty of empty spaces to fill in, so strap in and let’s take a look.
Here are all of the announcements made during the January 2024 PlayStation State of Play:
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 is sitting just over the horizon, with the February 8 release date bucketing towards us at a terrifying pace. This “Report for Duty” trailer is a snappy, one-minute look at the co-op shooter, designed to get you hyped in the final lead-up to launch. It’s a banger, the game looks great, give it to me now.
Stellar Blade
The fast-paced anime-inspired action game, formally known as Project Eve, has consistently looked great and continues that trend here. The six-minute trailer gives us some story beats and sheds some light on the characters we’ll be interacting with, but the meat and potatoes is that flashy combat. As the trailer wrapped, we got the all-important info, a release date of April 26.
Sonic X Shadow Generations
When the world needed it most, Sonic Generations returned. And with it comes a supercharged updated version, resplendent with playable Shadow the Hedgehog – by way of Sonic X Shadow Generations. I thought we had seen the end of titles with X in the name after Street Fighter X Tekken, but given that the dark and mysterious adversary of Sonic likes all things broody – such a descriptor was absolutely necessary. Packed with everything from the original Generations, adding Shadow’s greatest hits seems like a no-brainer to make this re-release a banger. Expected sometime in Q3.
Zenless Zone Zero
Another entry into the HoYoverse, ZZZ keeps dropping new trailers that are positively oozing with style. Beautiful anime boys, gorgeous anime girls and the odd animal person pack massive weapons and engage in killer fights with epic cinematography – and that’s about it. If the game is even 10% as cool as its trailers, fans are in for something special.
Foamstars
Foamstars dropped a unique trailer to talk about how they will be handling seasonal content for their game – showing off unique rulesets and goofy gimmicks to make sure this weird and wonderful time remains as carefree as possible. Forcing gamers to play the same character? Turning everyone invisible? I mean, why not? Diversifying the Splatoon-established ‘Area Capture By Way Of A Giant Mess’ genre is not a crime, and Foamstars at least seems to be having a ton of fun.
Dave the Diver
The totally not independent indie title that took the world by storm last year is making its way to PS5. Not only is Dave the Diver hitting the PlayStation, but it’s bringing along the King of Monsters with a Gozilla DLC in May.
V Rising
Those who have patiently waited to play V Rising, hoping that it would make its way to console, rejoice. That person is me, it’s me. The vampiric action RPG has officially been announced for PS5, coming in 2024.
Silent Hill: The Short Message
Cheeky.
We all love a shadow drop, and when it’s connected to a beloved series it hits even harder. Silent Hill: Short Message is a first-person horror game that puts you in the unfortunate shoes of Anita, a girl drawn into horror as she follows messages from her friend that lead into a desolated apartment block (bad idea that is). Not only is it out on PS5 today, it’s also free, so go give it a whirl.
Silent Hill 2
We’re all crossing our fingers and toes, hoping this Silent Hill 2 remake scratches the same itch as the original, aren’t we? This short trailer zooms in on the game’s combat, which looks…alright. Those nurses will never stop being spooky though. No date yet, but it’s coming to PS5.
Judas
Revealed during The Game Awards 2022, Judas is the first game to come from Ghost Story Games, the studio led by ex-Bioshock dev Ken Levine. We’ve seen very little from Judas since then, but this new trailer tells us what to expect. Bioshock, we can expect Bioshock. Alright, that’s a bit reductive, but it shares the same vibe in a more sci-fi setting. No date for this one yet, but we’ll keep an eye on it as it bubbles away.
Metro Awakening
PSVR2 players are still waiting for Half-Life Alyx, sure, but another high-profile series is making its way into the VR space. Metro Awakening is a first-person shooter set within the atmospheric world created by author Dmitry Glukhovsky. Complete with gas masks, tense, tight spaces and heaps of post-apocalyptic nastiness, Awakening looks like an authentic Metro experience that will hit the VR platform in 2024.
Legendary Tales
Completing the VR corner of the presentation is Legendary Tales, an action RPG that seems to have all of the fantasy trimmings you could ask for. Physics-based combat and spellcasting look to be the game’s bread and butter, as you and up to three friends crawl through dungeons, power-bombing skeletons to your heart’s extent. Sign me up to play this when it drops on February 8.
Dragons Dogma 2
This. Game. Looks. Great. Much like the Helldivers 2 trailer, this is just here to drive up interest as we approach the March 22 release date of Dragon’s Dogma 2, and it certainly worked for me. A semi-sequel with improved visuals, expanded combat and a reworked world? Yeah, go on then.
Rise of the Ronin
I’ve stayed relatively quiet about Rise of the Ronin, as I didn’t want to get overly excited and set my expectations too high. But hot damn, this game looks cooler every time it’s shown off. This latest trailer focuses on the moment-to-moment gameplay, including traversal and combat. It’s safe to say, they both look the goods. Rise of the Ronin hits PS5 on March 22.
Until Dawn
This is one that we all pretended to be shocked by. Yes, it was leaked ahead of time, but a graphical and performance upgrade for Supermassive’s breakout horror title is welcome all the same. Until Dawn is coming to PS5 and PC later in 2024.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
This trailer was almost ten minutes in length. Some would say that’s indulgent, but I would say they’re wrong. I’ve gushed about the trailer in a standalone article already, so I’ll simply say that the game’s full name is Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, it’s coming out in 2025, and it looks bat shit insane. I can’t wait.
Unnamed Kojima Tactical Espionage Game (Physint)
Kojima couldn’t just drop a trailer and walk away, could he? A short little teaser followed, with the man himself announcing that Kojima Productions has a tactical espionage title in the works. Any fan of the Metal Gear series likely lost their mind with this reveal, but considering that Kojima Productions has Death Stranding 2 and OD on the schedule, I wouldn’t expect this until the next console generation.
No FFVII: Rebirth, but that will be coming later
The “one more thing” for this State of Play was the announcement of… another State of Play. Dropping on February 6, this showcase will focus solely on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, a short few weeks before the game’s release on February 29. So, if you’re fanging for FFVII, be sure to tune in.
Keen to watch the whole showcase? Well, you’re in luck, because you can watch it here:
For my money, this was one of PlayStation’s stronger State of Plays in recent memory. A few fun surprises, some great updates on games we’re keen on, and all done at a reasonable pace. I, for one, am a happy camper.
What did you think of the State of Play? Did anything stand out to you? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
