août 2019 ~ PS4 games

vendredi 30 août 2019

Escape a planet brimming with deadly wildlife in sci-fi roguelike Risk of Rain 2, out now on PS4

15:25 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Those of us at Hopoo Games and Gearbox Publishing are stoked out of our minds to . If you’re hearing about Risk of Rain 2 for the first time, let’s play a little catch up!

Way back in the halcyon days of 2013, Risk of Rain dropped, quickly becoming one of the early titles leading a roguelike resurgence.

Now, Risk of Rain 2 marks the return of 2013’s classic roguelike, but adds a whole new dimension. While the first game was a 2D action game, Risk of Rain 2 is a fully 3D title. That means some things are pretty different, but one of our goals was actually to keep the core moment-to-moment gameplay feeling similar and authentic to the original title. Here’s what it’s like!

As one of a cast of sci-fi survivors, drop onto a beautiful but foreboding planet and blast your way to an escape. Enemies, loot, and mysteries abound in this multiplayer roguelike that’s absolutely stuffed to the seams with places to see, items to unlock, and baddies to blow up. Grab some friends in four player online co-op, stack up some items, and try to survive the wildlife.

When you land in Risk of Rain 2, the enemies will likely kick your butt, but in a fair way. Pay close attention and you’ll see patterns everywhere. You learn. You grow. You get better. Eventually taking down enormous bosses to push ever deeper into the planet’s mysteries.

In each randomised run, it’s essential to explore wide open stages, hunting enemies that turn into sweet, sweet EXP and gold. Once you’ve caused a mini-extinction event, use that gold to pop open some chests and gear up.

More than 70 items await your discovery, each one appearing on your survivor as you pick it up. Each item stacks and combines with the rest, scaling you from a regular shooter to an absolute god of destruction. For example, who doesn’t want a teddy bear who will literally take a shot for them? How about a ukulele that shoots lightning? A goat hoof? Yeah, it gets a little weird.

Seven different survivors are included on day one, each with a different suite of abilities and playstyles. The Commando’s a great place to start, which is why he’s the only character you have at the beginning of the game. He shoots, he rolls, he rocks. As you play you’ll unlock more survivors like the Huntress, a futuristic archer, the turret-happy Engineer, and REX, a puppy-like symbiote of a robot and plant.

Enjoy months of free additional content, already on its way to PS4. This includes new survivors, stages, bosses, items and more. Risk of Rain 2 is available NOW. Also, be sure to download the PS4-exclusive Dynamic Theme for free.

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Explore and colonise distant planets in Astroneer, out on PS4 later this year

15:25 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Hello! Joe from System Era Softworks here to share some news about something that many of you have been asking for! Our first game, Astroneer, is coming to PS4 on 15th November! We couldn’t be more excited to join the amazing PS4 roster, and we’ve just released a trailer to celebrate! Check it out above.

Creating space personalities

Now that the announcement is official, we wanted to take a look back at the creative process behind one of the most recognizable things in Astroneer: our space suits! The creation of Astroneer suits is a multi-step process, combining not only the art and visual presentation, but also animation, to give them all distinct personalities like this:

For suit creation, we worked very closely with an amazing Concept Artist and 3D artist, Heather Penn. After the first four suits in the game were decided on, she was tasked with creating a new round of suits for each planet type in the game.

She ran with that idea, and started to envision space suits for all the different environments that Astroneers might encounter on their travels. Heather put together this image of the overall workflow, starting from sketch to final in-game art:

Heather starts with sketches of variations to work out ideas quickly. After refining the sketches to the final version, she then moves to modeling a rough silhouette of the suit’s major features to make sure it works in 3D. Once that is done, she “paints over” the 3D shape, then models the final asset off of that.

The process

Some of the earliest sketches we saw of the new suits were mood boards with rough silhouette drawings. These mood boards always included really interesting images to show the inspiration and themes for the suits. One of our favorites incorporated the famous “water bear” photos from a few years back.

As you can see in the above photo, inspiration for Tundra suit came from microorganisms, diving suits, and military style safety armour, among other things.

Here is another one, showing that the Arid suit’s design is heavily inspired by real life space suits and astronaut clothing:

After a round of feedback and approval for the rough designs, the real fun began. Heather went to work modeling the suits in 3D from the concepts. She told us a little bit about that process:

“Because I am a concept artist and 3D artist, a lot of the magic happens when I actually convert it. I don’t have to get the (2D) designs perfect…Which is sort of freeing because in the translation from 2D to 3D, something always goes wrong.”

The best example of these happy accidents came during the modeling of the Exotic suit. The original sketches of it were super adorable and we loved them, but once they got to 3D, we realized something really important was missing: A head!

Astroneers need a head so they can move it around and shine their headlamp where they are looking when underground… and Exotic suit’s body was also its head. Heather then created an extremely scientific drawing to illustrate to the team how she would solve that problem:

After we all nearly passed out from immense adorable-ness of this masterpiece, she separated out the “dome” of the suit to be a head that could spin around, and that actually added some really cool options for when animation came into play!

Animating a lot with a little

After the 3D models are finalized, Gene, our animator, takes over and creates an animation skeleton that fits with the suit’s body shape, and then sets out to create unique versions of all of the animations that suits need, like walks, runs, waves, dances, and so on.

Creating distinct and emotive Astroneer suits is actually a big challenge because you never see their faces, and none of them talk (besides the occasional muffled exclamation). But, right from the beginning of the process, Heather often told the team about the head canons she developed alongside the creation of the suits.

In a lot of cases, Gene, our animator, took that guidance and then gave each of the suits distinct body language to reinforce that unspoken personality. For example, Heather told us that she pictured Exotic suit to be a clumsy, pigeon-toed scientist, and if you look at the final animations, that inspiration is unmistakably there:

Gene is also instrumental when making the animations we use in our trailers like the PS4 announce trailer we posted recently. The team loves when we get the opportunity to use out-of-game content to build on the personalities of the Astroneer suits, while also giving players cool moments where they can see their favorite suits interacting with one another.

Thanks for reading! I hope that was a cool look at some of the fun behind the scenes work that goes into Astroneer. We can’t wait to bring Astroneer to PlayStation fans while continuing to develop it for years to come. The game is now available for pre-order, both digitally and physically!

See you in the stars.

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A beginner’s guide to ruthless platformers La Mulana 1 & 2, coming soon to PS4

10:07 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

La Mulana 1 & 2 taps into the excitement of exploring the unknown and challenging your reflexes and puzzle-solving skills! Slay monsters and solve diabolical traps in this non-linear puzzle-platformer from indie superteam Nigoro, now available for the first time as a physical collection on PS4!

We’ve prepared a beginner’s guide for series newcomers who dare explore the ancient ruins rumored to be the origin of civilization itself.

1. Pay attention to your surroundings and take it slow!

Rushing into an area will almost always cause instant death; besides, there’s no need to be in such a hurry! Find the Holy Chalice as soon as possible for fast travel between points.

Also, don’t forget to save frequently through multiple save files. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did.

2. Read all the tablets and take notes!

The tablets provide hints for solving puzzles, some of which will definitely have your mind twisting and turning. And when we say scan everything, we mean it: things like mysterious glyphs, bones of past explorers, and tablets will give you hints and warn you about deadly traps.

3. Use your resources wisely!

Save your gold for buying different software and relics, and use ammo for your sub-weapons when fighting tough bosses or for solving puzzles.

4. Read your emails!

No, we’re not trying to call you out on your office work ethic. Xelpud, the Elder, and friends will give you advice through emails on where to go or what to do next!

5. Last but definitely not least, learn enemy and boss patterns!

It’ll take some practice but bosses all have strategies that can be utilized to fight them more efficiently.

Got all that? Now apply these tips in real-life with our special La Mulana 1 & 2 challenge at our booth (Level 6, Booth #7505) at PAX West this weekend! You can also test your mettle by joining our Stamp Rally, where you will receive a prize upon completion!

We also have a panel with the game designer himself, Takumi Naramura, on 30th August at 4.00pm PST in the Hydra Theatre. Witness some spicy shenanigans occur while learning about what went into designing this extraordinary platform collection. This panel will be streamed live via PAX’s secondary Twitch channel.

We hope you enjoyed our advice on how best to brave the numerous trials and tribulations you’ll encounter deep within the ruins. Look forward to the release of La Mulana 1 & 2 next year, and stay tuned for more updates!

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How to take more pictures of Spider-Man (in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4)

08:18 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Has it already been a year since Marvel’s Spider-Man webbed up our hearts? I’ve been a lifelong fan of the ol’ wall-crawler, so since Insomniac’s acclaimed adventure first point-launched onto PS4 I’ve been beside myself swinging through the city, putting a stop to crimes both big and small… and stopping every five minutes to bust out my camera.

Even after locking down the game’s Platinum Trophy, I’ve made quite the habit of hopping back in from time to time not only to let off some steam with a quick swing through NYC, but to flex my photographic muscles with the superb Photo Mode Insomniac baked into Marvel’s Spider-Man.

There are three broad ideas I try to keep in mind when getting into the Photo Mode mindset in any game, and they certainly apply here as well. Let’s call them Lights, Camera, and Action.

Lights

Photography, at its core, is the practice of capturing light. As such, understanding light and how it affects your subject is key to capturing a compelling photo.

If you’ve unlocked the ability to set the time of day at Harry’s Research Stations, set your game to nighttime and go for a quick swing around the city. Look for various sources of light and get up close to each one to see how they interact with Spidey. Some of my favourites are the lit glass skylights on top of some buildings, which can make for dramatic bottom-lit shots of our hero.

Use these…

… to do this

I also like to play with the huge electronic billboards you can find in the brighter parts of the city. Framing a well-timed jump or mid-air attack just right can make for a rad silhouette shot of the web-slinger. Setting the time of day to sunset can make for great silhouettes too, and that warm “golden hour” lighting is especially gorgeous.

Experiment with the different color filters in your Photo Mode menu here, too — but keep in mind that you can (and often should) decrease their intensity a bit to suit the photo you’re taking. The Spider-Chrome filter can blow out the details of a photo at full strength, but reducing its intensity can provide just the contrast bump you need to give your photo an extra kick.

Camera

Photo Mode in Marvel’s Spider-Man has plenty of menus to tinker with, but the first one I look to when setting up a new shot is the FOV (field of view). This behaves similarly to the optical zoom feature on a real-life camera, which means two things:

Setting it to 100 will give you an ultra-wide angle shot. This will add an element of distortion to the edges of your image, which can make for an especially dramatic shot if you frame it well.
Cranking it all the way to the other side of the slider acts similarly to a super-telephoto lens in real life, compressing the elements of your image together and letting you zero in on specific details. This makes for great portraits, especially given the extensive texture work Insomniac has put into many of Spidey’s suits.

Next, I usually adjust the aperture and focus distance of the photo. This emulates the behavior of the aperture setting on a real camera, which means it lets you adjust how much of a photo is in focus. You know that effect where a person’s face will be in focus, but the background is blurry? That’s called depth-of-field, and it’s what we’re playing with when we adjust these sliders. It’s tempting to just crank it all the way down to blow out the background of every photo, but don’t get too carried away. Sometimes it pays to keep a little bit of detail in the background to add a bit of context to your shot.

Tilting your camera is another technique that can help keep certain elements in-frame or make a photo feel more dynamic, so don’t be afraid to play around here. Additionally, you can rotate the camera 90 degrees to frame your photo in portrait orientation, which can make for some rather nice mobile wallpapers!

It’s important to consider the altitude of your camera in relation to your subject, as well. Generally speaking, shooting from a low angle can make your subject seem more powerful, but as with all things in Photo Mode (and in life!), moderation is key. Try taking the same photo with the camera at different heights and see how it affects the final shot.

Bonus tip: Watch Spidey’s eyes as you experiment with all of these points. Since they’re so large and expressive, they can be especially subject to these adjustments. Play with the different emotes when using the selfie camera, too!

Action

Since Photo Mode freezes time, it’s possible to capture positively striking images if you time things just right. Experiment with all the moves in Spider-Man’s repertoire — he has a far more tricks up his sleeve than swinging and punching. If you’re really precise, you can even see the details on all of his different gadgets as he fires them off at foes!

Keep playing with different moves to see how certain ones look when frozen; you’ll be surprised at the photos you can capture without even meaning to. Web Zips, Point Launches, various combat maneuvers, gadgets, and even simply wall-running can lead to surprisingly dramatic images.

You may have noticed the repeated use of the word “experiment” in this guide, and there’s a good reason for that. I’ve provided a few starting points here, but the best way to get pictures of Spider-Man is to get out there and take them! The more you tinker with the toolkit Insomniac has provided, the more familiar you’ll become with its various powers — you might end up developing your own tricks, too.

To get this shot, I froze the camera while wall-running up the side of a building, just as I passed a light mounted to the wall.

Finally, there’s a sweet suite of frames and stickers you can apply to put the finishing touch on your art. Don’t be afraid to get weird with it — you could create the next great comic book cover!

I’ve shared plenty of my own in-game photography on Twitter with the #SpiderManPS4 and #PS4share hashtags, and if you decide to boot up the game to take some photos I’d love to see you do the same! Got your own Photo Mode tricks you’d like to share? Drop ’em in the comments!

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Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s new beta will challenge veterans with a unique quest

08:07 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Hello hunters! We’re on the verge of the worldwide console launch of , and while I know most of you are already 1000% ready for it, we wanted to give you one more beta round and some juicy monster info!

Iceborne beta round 3 – Velkhana of the Frost

First up, get ready for one more epic challenge before launch. From 30th August at 08.00 BST until 2nd September 07.59pm BST, we’ll be hosting the third round of our beta, featuring a curated quest against the mythical Velkhana!

This legendary Elder Dragon is a key part of the mystery behind the story of Iceborne, but also earns its spot as the flagship monster by bringing in game-changing gameplay mechanics – watch carefully as it manipulates humidity in the environment into ice, seemingly out of thin air!

And part of what makes this beta quest special is its carefully balanced parameters: the quest itself is only 15 minutes, and you’ll have to choose from a preset selection of gear. So this will be a true test of your teamwork coordination, and your ability to adapt to new dynamic gameplay systems. Good luck, hunters!

The return of Zinogre

As the Iceborne launch draws near, we naturally start looking back at the journey thus far, starting with launch of the base game Monster Hunter: World back in 2018, and we really wanted to thank you for being a part of our community and playing a big role in shaping the game we have today.

If you’ve watched our Developer Diaries and recent trailers, you’ll see that a lot of what’s in the game was directly influenced by fan feedback, from small things, like a “Take All” button on the reward screen, to big things, like the return of the fan-favourite thunder wolf wyvern, Zinogre!

Seriously, this beast has been a fan-favourite since its debut in 2011. And for good reason: the thunderous howl, imposing stance, and dynamic gameplay mechanics paired with epic custom battle music, all add up to very memorable hunts. It’s a truly awesome combination that leads to an unforgettable first encounter, and consistent blood-pumping battles even many hunts later.

Additionally, because all the creatures in Monster Hunter are designed to feel grounded in some form of reality, Zinogre also has a very interesting physiology, which gives background explanation for its awe-inspiring electric powers.

It all starts from the yellow-brown carapace, known as “Zinogre Shocker,” that covers Zinogre’s body; they have lipids capable of generating electricity, which in turn is stored and amplified by the “Zinogre Shockfur,” the white fur you can see across its neck, chest and at the base of its legs.

And the final piece of this puzzle comes in the form of small bugs charged with thunder element: Fulgurbugs. These little fellas amplify the electricity stored on Zinogre’s Shockfur even further, lighting up the Zinogre Shockers with a blue and white glow, and allowing the fanged wyvern to reach its supercharged state.

It’s actually really cool to see this happen in real-time, changing the rhythm of battle and increasing risk of faints. Needless to say, watch out for that!

To complement this formidable creature, the Guild has built stunning gear blueprints from Zinogre parts. The classic armour set designs return with tweaks to their asymmetric silhouette, and abilities that will surely channel memories of hunting Zinogre.

The weapon designs also display a strong resemblance to the source material, featuring sturdy shells and fur that flows with electric charge… especially for weapon types with a charging gameplay mechanic, like this all-new Charge Blade. I’m definitely crafting that!

Now that our hype is fully maxed out, we’ll leave you with the reminder that Monster Hunter World: Iceborne launches 6th September on PlayStation 4.

The brand new story content starts immediately after the conclusion of the Monster Hunter: World base game (Hunter Rank 16), but if you’re still not there yet, look out for the Guardian Armor set, coming to all players as part of a free update on 4th September.

Good luck against Velkhana in this weekend’s beta, and happy hunting!

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Batman: Arkham Knight and Darksiders III are your PlayStation Plus games for September

08:37 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Don Batman’s cowl and stalk the rooftops of Arkham City or unleash your inner fury in the savage third chapter of the Darksiders series in your next batch of PlayStation Plus monthly games, available to download from 3^rd September.

Let’s take a closer look:

Batman: Arkham Knight

Descend into the besieged streets of Arkham City as DC’s most-iconic crime-fighting crusader in Rocksteady’s neo-noir action adventure and explosive finale to the Arkham series.

Pull on the legendary black cowl and explore the vast, neon metropolis, grappling up walls and vaulting across rooftops, gliding between buildings, or tearing through the streets in the super-powered Batmobile.

Go up against some of the caped crusader’s most iconic enemies, including Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc and more, using brutal hand-to-hand combat and an array of gadgets to liberate the over-run city once and for all.

Are you ready to become the Batman?

Darksiders III

A visceral hack-and-slash action adventure, Darksiders III places you in a dark fantasy world filled with diverse environments, dangerous foes, hidden secrets, and weapons and abilities to unlock.

Take on the role of Fury, the most unpredictable and enigmatic of the Four Horseman, as she returns to the scorched Earth to hunt down and destroy the Seven Deadly Sins. Track down each of the Seven Deadly Sins, slay their minions, and restore the balance between good and evil on Earth.

Let the apocalypse begin…

Both Batman: Arkham Knight and Darksiders III are available to download from PlayStation Store between September 3rd and September 30th.

In the meantime, you still have a few days left to pick up August’s PlayStation Plus titles.

WipEout Omega Collection is a lightning-fast, futuristic racing experience filled with death-defying circuits and cunning combat, while Sniper Elite 4 is a tense stealth shooter set at the height of World War II.

Both games are available to download until 2nd September.

Let us know how you get on with August and September’s titles over on Twitter and Facebook and we’ll see you again next month.

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Spyro glides into Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled this week in new Grand Prix season

08:07 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

Hello PlayStation players and CTR racers everywhere! We’re excited to be back with you with another blog post, right in time for our latest Grand Prix* season in – the Spyro & Friends Grand Prix!

We’re thrilled to be bringing together two icons from the days of PlayStation past… gaming legends who have been spinning, jumping, wumping, gliding, and flaming bad guys for over 20 years.

Now Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon will get the chance to take each other on . . . and no better place to do that than on the racetrack!

As always, the Grand Prix is available at no additional cost for anyone who’s purchased Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled**, so make sure to jump in starting on 30th August , as this Grand Prix season will bring new characters, new karts, and new items into the race, and introduce a whole new track.

What makes this season so exciting is the fact that this time it brings together two classic franchises into one and is the perfect way to celebrate both.

We at Beenox are huge Spyro fans and have not been able to keep our hands off of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy since its release last year. We are (obviously) also huge Crash fans, so being able to create a world where these two franchises can co-exist in all of their whacky glory has been an incredibly fun undertaking.

This season you’ll see Spyro showing up all over the place in CTR – – in the opening menu screen, in the Grand Prix cinematic, and of course, in the game itself. Spyro, Hunter, and Gnasty Gnorc will be added as unlockable playable characters with all of the personality that you come to expect from them.

You’ll also see some amazing new karts such as the Spyromobile and Gnasty Ride which give their namesakes some blistering rides to boast about:

In addition to these, you’ll have the opportunity to unlock amazing new decals, stickers and paintjobs to deck out your karts with, and a ton of awesome new skins for characters new and old, such as the Dark Spyro and Gnome Velo skins you see below:

Yet, our favourite part of this season is the track you’ll be racing on, which as you know by now is something that can be played online and locally from this season onward.

We know you’ve been asking for it and we can finally reveal some details behind the creation of our favorite purple dragon’s track: Spyro Circuit.

Your guide to Spyro Circuit

Spyro Circuit is a celebration of all things dragon. The design takes it inspiration from Spyro the Dragon all the way down to the gameplay ingredients themselves. We’re excited to give you the first deep dive, and the insider racing tips, for this scaled up course! With that said, let’s glide in!

1. Where is my Wumpa fruit?

You will notice immediately that some items have undergone a drastic cosmetic change in this track, as opposed to the other tracks in the game. Power-up crates have been replaced by chests. Wumpa fruit has been replaced by gems. Even the invincibility masks have been replaced by Sparx! We’ve gone the extra mile to make sure the track feels like it was truly part of Spyro’s world all the way down to the soundtrack itself.

2. Traveling places

Just like Hyper Spaceway, we saw an opportunity to travel to different places using Spyro’s magical portals. We asked ourselves, what if Spyro was racing on a magical campus of some kind?

You might notice a few dragon statues placed here and there along the track as a tribute to some of the dragons from the Dragon Realms in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy.

Starting with the first hub in the Artisans Homeworld as a base for the beginning of the track, we opened the doors to its main castle.

3. Entering the library

As soon as you hit the gas, you will be taken inside the main hall inspired by the Dark Hollow level filled with bookshelves and candles. No time to read though!

Players can take advantage of the base of the two statues to get a boost jump and smash some of the floating chests above, or go around them to strategically grab a power-up.

Some might decide to go straight down the middle, but they must watch out for the fireworks crate that’s been placed there! Good news for those who pass by right after the explosion as it will leave gems scattered around.

Following an S-curve, the library forks into what would look like an 8 shape from above. Players must plan before entering the first portal. Taking the left and right portion of the track will lead them to a boost pad with 2 power-up chests.

Players can also go right down the middle to be rewarded with a chest filled with gems (but at the risk of losing their boost if they hit the side walls).

4. The first portal

Taking the first portal will warp players into an area inspired by the High Caves level in the Magic Crafters Homeworld.

Players must take advantage of the straight line and prepare for two sharps turns leading to the next portal all while avoiding projectiles fired by a duel of wizards. Hit the second turn with enough speed and you should cut the corner shot by jumping over the grassy area.

5. The second portal

The second portal takes you inside the castle with architectural elements inspired by High Caves and Wizard Peak. The narrow pathway makes a sharp right turn to take you through a giant room filled with a magical vortex created by a group of wizards.

Don’t panic and bounce off the floating platforms held by these crazed magicians!

6. The third portal

The third portal leads us back to the Artisans Homeworld, but we’re not at the finish line just yet! The track ends with a loop followed by a jump in the end . . . this is where it can get messy. If you can manage to avoid the explosive crates in the loop, maintain your boost and hit the jump just right, you can maintain that momentum through the finish line.

But be careful – if other players are on your tail with just the right power-up, you could lose your position at the last minute!

We think this track is going to create some intense racing competition with new elements to watch out for (firework bundles), and fewer shortcuts than usual. We wanted Spyro Circuit to be a knock-down-drag-out, Bandicoot v Dragon fight all the way down to the finish line. There are no places to hide on this one so make each boost and power-up count!

See you in the Dragon Realms

So that’s the deep dive of Spyro Circuit, and a quick overview of the new content coming in this exciting Grand Prix season. We’re thrilled to be bringing Spyro into the CTR mix, and can’t wait for players to enjoy these retro gaming icons together on the PS4 for the first time!

The Spyro & Friends Grand Prix starts Friday 30th August at 3pm BST/4pm CEST.

You can pick up Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled here and the Spyro Reignited Trilogy here

* Grand Prix content and timing subject to change.
** Internet required for Grand Prix, Wumpa Coins, Nitro Points, online multiplayer (PlayStation Plus subscription sold separately), access to the Pit Stop and other features.

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Harmonix’s rhythm shooter Audica launches on PS VR later this year

07:12 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

When Harmonix first announced its VR rhythm shooter, Audica, earlier this year, we got one question more than any other: when is this coming to PSVR? Well, I’m excited to say that the wait is almost over!

This fall, PlayStation VR players will be able to enter the arena, raise their blasters, and shoot to the beat of a stellar soundtrack featuring some of the hottest artists in the pop and EDM space. Audica is a game about precision, about becoming one with the music, and about texting your friends to gloat when you leap past them on the leaderboards.

With the perfect combination of rhythmic timing and aim, you could even find yourself topping the global leaderboards.

At launch, Audica will include four visually stunning arenas, a variety of blasters, a suite of customisation options to personalize your gameplay experience, and a campaign to guide you through the 30+ song soundtrack.

You can spend your time seeking a trance-like flow state with the music, creating your own local target maps, or using practice mode in your pursuit of FC glory and that coveted #1 spot on the leaderboards.

Whatever your reason for donning the headset, you’ll quickly find the real world disappears, leaving only you, the ethereal world of Audica, and the music.

Audica has been a been a passion project created by a small team of dreamers within Harmonix who set out to answer one very important question: Wouldn’t it be awesome to feel like an action movie star with the coolest soundtrack choreographing everything you do?

The world of Audica itself is anything but a quick background to the action, though. Four arenas provide a fully immersive and musically-reactive environment, each one providing a little more insight into this mysterious world you’ve entered.

We can’t promise you won’t be left with some questions about where and who and what happened, but we do hope to captivate you along the way.

A music game worthy of the genre deserves a best-in-class soundtrack. In true Harmonix style, the soundtrack is carefully cultivated for the gameplay, including a blend of songs right off the charts and new songs crafted specifically for Audica. Here’s a look at what’s been announced so far:

We’re excited for our return to the platform with Audica later this fall, and will have more details about exact date, price, and full soundtrack in the coming months.

Stay tuned to PS Blog and Harmonix’s channels for all the latest!

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Marvel’s Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition available today

06:07 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

We feel privileged to be repeating the same thing over and over again – thank you for all of your amazing support of Insomniac Games and Marvel’s Spider-Man since the web-slinger landed on the PlayStation 4 system.

We’re a little over a week away from the game’s one-year anniversary on 7th September! We’ll be looking back at 2018 over the next few weeks – but we wanted to kick off the anniversary celebration with a loud THWIP.

It seems crazy that just about a year ago people hadn’t yet had a chance to swing around Marvel’s New York. We’ll always remember that first E3 in 2016, when our teaser trailer surprised fans that we had teamed up with Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel Games to put our own spin on one of the most famous fictional characters of all-time. From working to nail web-swinging and acrobatic Spidey combat, to imagining a brand-new Spider-Man universe and storyline, and getting to build our own version of Marvel’s New York – it’s been a wild ride for all of us here.

With that – we’re pleased to introduce the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition. We remain deeply humbled by the incredible critical response to the game last year and during awards season.

You might be asking – what’s in the Game of the Year Edition? You’ll find the full game, as well as the entire Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps DLC – a three-chapter narrative to the game that tells its own spectacular, post-game story. We’ve been blown away by your response to Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps and we’re excited the Game of the Year Edition will expose it to even more players.

It’s a great value, as you get the full game and all three story chapters of Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps. Find out how to buy it right here. Already have the base game? You can still get Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps on PlayStation Store.

We’re honored to mark the one-year anniversary of the game with this new Game of the Year Edition. We hope that some of you who maybe haven’t had the chance to experience Marvel’s Spider-Man can now swing into all of the amazing Spidey action with the complete package.

*Internet connection and an account for PlayStation Network required.

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These are your new PlayStation Store releases this week

10:38 PlayStation.Blog.Europe No comments

We’re back with a diverse mix of titles hitting PlayStation Store this week. Gain supernatural powers in Control, try to survive amidst the creeping terror of being lost at sea in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan or go on a quirky hand-painted adventure in Knights and Bikes.

Check out the highlights below and head over to PlayStation Store for more information.

Control

Why it should be on your radar:
Remedy Entertainment’s unique third-person action-adventure blends supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments. You play as Jesse Faden, the newly appointed Director of a secretive agency in New York following an otherworldly invasion. By exploring a vast Tardis-like environment with your trusty shape-shifting Service Weapon, you’re tasked with regaining control over your company. This probably wasn’t what you expected when you went for that promotion…

Pre-order Control on PlayStation Store

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan

Why it should be on your radar:
If you need a bit of suspense, mystery and good old terror in your life, you should pick up this narrative adventure by the team behind Until Dawn. Your decisions determine the fate of a group of five friends caught up in a storm during a holiday diving trip – which totally doesn’t sound sinister at all. If you get a bit lonely, there will also be multiplayer modes allowing you to share the horror and play through the story from different perspectives.

Pre-order The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan on PlayStation Store

Knights and Bikes

Why it should be on your radar:
This delightful hand-painted adventure for up to two players is perfect if you’re up for a quirky Goonies- inspired coming-of-age tale. Play as Nessa & Demelza, two imaginative girls exploring Penfurzy on their trusty bikes. Form the Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club along with the girls’ pet goose and the pickled-head of an undead knight – and pedal into dangers including water balloons, head-on Frisbees and even video game controllers as they search for a legendary lost treasure.

Pre-order Knights and Bikes on PlayStation Store

MXGP 2019

Why it should be on your radar:
Milestone is back with a new entry to its lively motocross sim. You’ll be able to take on the current MXGP World Championship for the first time in the series, along with all the official riders, bikes and teams of MXGP and MX2. There are also new game modes to explore allowing you to build your own tracks and paths to share with the community online.

Pre-order MXGP 2019 on PlayStation Store

This week’s new pre-orders

Final Fantasy VIII Remake

Why it should be on your radar:
From 3rd September you can dive back into Square Enix’s legendary RPG adventure that defined a generation. Final Fantasy VII Remake harnesses the latest technology to recreate and expand this adventure for the current generation – making it a perfect match for both new and returning players. Reunite with elite mercenary Cloud Strife, relive his captivating story and engage in fierce battles with a new combat system.

Pre-order Final Fantasy VIII Remake on PlayStation Store

ReadySet Heroes

Why it should be on your radar:
Make sure to keep an eye out for this multiplayer action title from Robot Entertainment releasing 1st October if you love quick high energy gameplay that’s easy to pick up. Hack, slash and spell-cast your way through a frenetic dungeon crawler filled with monsters, traps and incredible loot. There’s only one catch – you’ll have to race another team on the same mission! Only one squad will be left standing.

Pre-order ReadySet Heroes on PlayStation Store

Journey to the Savage Planet

Why it should be on your radar:
You’ve been left been left on an uncharted planet with minimal equipment in Typhoon Studios’ upbeat co-op adventure, releasing 28th January. Explore a colourful alien world filled with weird and wonderful creatures as you determine if this planet is fit for human habitation.