Come Back Stronger: PlayStation State of Play 2/12/25 Impressions

Hell is Us by Rogue Factor and Nacon

Expectations, especially in the game industry, are a dangerous thing. In this maelstrom of constant anticipation, I’ve begun to resort to reverse psychology. 

Silksong? No thanks. Bloodborne? Never heard of it. 

Joking aside, in a post “everyone gets their own event to show the same five trailers” world, it’s difficult for me to be truly disappointed in an event. I was optimistic going into today’s State of Play. Sony’s lineup is stacked and there were so many things that didn’t have announced release dates. Plus, while I do my best to avoid leaks and spoilers, there was more buzz than usual circulating online (recent copyright strikes, an anniversary coming up, etc.) that if Bloodborne was ever going to come back, now would be the time. 

I mean, ha ha, what is the old blood and why should I fear it? 

UPDATE: There was no Bloodborne. 

Here are my impressions on everything revealed at today’s State of Play. Let’s get to it because we have a lot to unpack. 

Monster Hunter Wilds

Future GOTY nominee Monster Hunter Wilds is releasing in two weeks. I’m not sure how much of the footage shown in this trailer is new–but it all looks fantastic. And while I’m not brought to tears with every new creature reveal like someone I know in one of my Discord groups, I believe Monster Hunter is one of the coolest franchises in video games right now. 

I have no doubt it’s going to be incredible. 

I’m still in love with the giant flower spider. 

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

With multiple Ninja Gaiden games already on the calendar, 2025 is stealthily becoming the Year of the Ninja. 

See what I did there?

This looks tough and the animation is gorgeous. I’m excited–and I would love a surprise rerelease of the weird Ps2 Shinobi game to go along with it.

Do Strider next.  

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Who doesn’t love a kart racer? 

I played one of these years ago and had a good time. I hope Sega gets weird and digs into their catalog for some of the crossovers–Shenmue, Atlus, and Jet Set Radio. If they’re planning to go up against Mario Kart 9 they’ll need to throw in everything, including Crazy Taxi and Phantasy Star Online kitchen sinks, to stand out. 

Digimon Story: Time Stranger

I’ve always been a Pokemon before Digimon person–but this looks charming. Plus the previous entry in this subseries (Cyber Sleuth) reviewed pretty well. 

Maybe it’s time to Digi drop some cash and Digi dive in. 

I’m sorry, I don’t know. Do they say that? 

Lost Soul Aside

This trailer checks a lot of boxes:

Strong environmental variety. Good movement. Combat that reminds me of Bayonetta. 

It’s out on May 30th. Hopefully it doesn’t get lost in the Summer Game Fest shuffle. 

Borderlands 4

I can tell I’ve been away from Borderlands for the appropriate amount of time because just seeing the gun crate fold open makes me want to play this. It’s getting its own State of Play before its September release. I guess I’ll need to make some friends at some point. 

Split Fiction

Speaking of needing to make friends!

I don’t love that the characters go through their entire arcs in the span of a two minute trailer, but the gameplay still looks fun as hell. 

I can’t believe this is out in three weeks. More games should schedule their launch less than six months after they’re announced. 

Directive 8020

I haven’t played one of these horror choose your own adventures since DPA: Little Hope. The Alien and The Thing (two of my favorite franchises) influence is front and center in this entry. It might be time to give it another shot. 

I’m hoping for the best. 

FNAF: Secret of the Mimic

While I have no insider knowledge, I assume Steel Wool Studios learned a lot from the troubled development of Security Breach. I’ll also be going in blind because the whole hubbub surrounding the Mimic is one corner of the FNAF lore I know nothing about. Regardless, it‘s a horror title, so I’m basically powerless. I’ll have to play it, eventually (probably with my siblings). 

Repeat as necessary, I’m hoping for the best. 

The Midnight Walk

I think it’s interesting that clay based graphics and stop motion are having a moment (there’s a handful of similar titles in the indie space and Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight is also attempting to imitate the look with its animation). 

It appears to have more first-person shooting than I originally expected (though that might be a side effect of it also being a VR game). 

It launches May 8th and I’m very intrigued. 

Darwin’s Paradox

A new 2D puzzle platformer from Konami. Think Inside or Limbo–but you play as a silly octopus. 

Onimusha 2 Remaster

Onimusha 2 is awesome and this remaster will be a convenient excuse to replay it. It’ll also help get you ready for…

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

This was my favorite reveal of the Game Awards and it’s crashing head-on into my most anticipated list. Way of the Sword is going to be so much more than samurai Resident Evil. The fact that we got fresh footage so soon makes me believe we’re getting a release in Q1 of next year (good, because I can’t wait). 

It was also later revealed that the main character’s likeness is modeled after Toshiro Mifune–one of the greatest actors to ever live. 

It’s almost enough for me to forget we still don’t have Dino Crisis or Resident Evil 9 news…

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

The original Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. For this to be a resounding success, all Konami needs to do is insert MGS 5 gameplay into that setting and story. If this is anywhere near as good as the Silent Hill 2 remake, we might have another GOTY contender on our face paint stained hands. 

Please, please, please keep all the weird intact–like the nightmare minigame. 

Hell is Us

This game is being positioned like it’s a big deal (and I’m beginning to believe that it will be). Aesthetically, I can’t help but think of Death Stranding (it’s the ponchos)–but there are far worse things to be compared to. 

I’m so ready to learn more, it looks extremely dark. 

Lies of P: Overture

We may not have gotten more Bloodborne–but we got more of the next best thing. 

I didn’t make it very far in Lies of P (my fault, not the game’s). I’m enamored with its art direction and somehow this expansion looks even better. 

I’ll definitely hit credits on the base game before this drops. Lock it in. 

Dreams of Another

Time to spray and pray with my trusty MP5 in bubble world. 

Dreams of Another is an experimental title that plays around with the concept of “there can be no creation without destruction.” I haven’t seen anything else that has this look. I just hope the gameplay is actually engaging. At the very least, it has my curiosity. 

Tides of Annihilation

I wasn’t sure how to feel about this new take on the legend of the Holy Grail during the first half of the trailer (the voice acting is probably to blame), but the boss fights in the back half brought me back in a big way. The combat reminds me of Final Fantasy XVI and that’s a very good thing. 

I’m not dying from excitement, but I’ll be more than happy to check it out when it gets here. This has basically become my stock reply for this State of Play.

Metal Eden

I don’t know. 

I’ve never seen a game try to present itself as being fast and twitchy–only to come off as sluggish. I didn’t form this opinion until my second time watching the trailer, but look at how clingy the wall running appears to be. 

It’s out May 6th, so I’ll reserve my final judgement until we get closer (game feel could make all the difference). Though I also worry about the choice of slotting it in a week before a new Doom. 

MindsEye

I’m so glad we got a separate, brief look at gameplay after the MindsEye’s reveal trailer because I had no idea what it even was after those first couple minutes. 

There was driving, sure. 

There was shooting, okay. 

But it could have just as easily been a new cinematic Detroit style adventure as the next GTA (the director previously worked on a bunch of Rockstar titles). 

I’ll always be a fan of designers trying to ascend to auteur status by sticking their names on something, though. For the record, I’m cheering for you, Leslie.

Saros

Returnal was a game of the year for me. There isn’t much to go on here (it’s a teaser, after all) but the image of the energy globes appearing in the protagonist’s eye gave me chills. 

I trust Housemarque as much as any other team in the industry. I’ll be there on day one. 

Miscellaneous Announcements 

-Stellar Blade is getting a PC release and Nikke crossover DLC in June.

-There’s a new Pirate Yakuza demo coming on February 13th and Dave the Diver is also getting a Like a Dragon crossover (so is Fortnite, but that wasn’t included in this State of Play). 

-WWE 2K25 has a new hub area with a focus on character customization. 

-The first three Armored Core titles and Patapon 3 are being added to the PlayStation Plus Classics catalog. 

-Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, Abiotic Factor, and Blue Prince (hell yeah, this game looks awesome) will all be on PlayStation Plus at launch. 

-A preview of Splitgate Alpha 2’s 8v8v8 mode will be available to play starting on February 27th. The full game will be out later this year. 

-Warriors: Abyss is a new, roguelite spin on the classic franchise. While probably not for me, seeing that amount of enemies and numbers onscreen tickles my brain. It’s out today. 

-Days Gone Remastered launches in April. If you own a PS4 copy, the upgrade to PS5 is available for ten dollars. I know it has a mixed reputation, but I enjoyed the original. 

With Xbox’s spring and PlayStation’s near future locked in, once again, we’re left waiting on Nintendo’s next move. Their big console reveal direct is scheduled for April, but there’s a good chance we’ll see something closer to Pokemon Day (February 27th, it commemorates the release of the original games in Japan). Though I expect the megaton announcements to be saved for during/after the Switch 2 Direct, I’m not ashamed to say I’m a TCG Pocket addict so that’s one small update I’d actually be thrilled to see. 

Until then, let’s get back to clearing our To Play stacks (or piles, or shelves, or warehouses). Avowed is out soon, and I’m fighting for my life–trying desperately to avoid dropping everything to play/review it.