I like that video game announcement are a big event, and millions of people collectively watch a bunch of trailers online. But Sony’s State of Play that happened last week had a single game (trailer) that overshadowed almost every other game on their list, God of War: Ragnarok.
We finally have visible reason to believe and be excited about the game that is in fact coming out in November. Kratos and his now angrier son aside, I am beginning to think that historical Japan seems to be the theme of the era. I am personally excited for Rise of the Ronin; the trailer for this PS5-exclusive RPG was also displayed at the State of Play.
Now, the State of Play event was relatively small—but there were two other games that I am looking forward to next year. One of them is Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, for which an enhanced version is set to release on the virtual reality PSVR2. I also enjoyed the trailer for Pacific Drive, which features interesting car action in a dystopian world. My review of trailers at State of Play is now cut short by another event that happened last week—the Tokyo Game Show.
The Tokyo Game Show (TGS) is an annual event with a focus on games developed in Japan, with an occasional focus on international game developers.
While Tokyo Game Show is more than just a showcase of trailers, I only saw the trailers online—and that was exciting enough. Unlike the State of Play, TGS extends across game consoles. This was highlighted in the gameplay of Wuthering Waves, a story-based open-world game that will release on the PC and Mobile.
This may be potentially the least interesting game announcement to others, considering that TGS also showcased Street Fighter 6, Yakuza, and Sonic Frontiers, and other games from big-name developers like Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, and more.
Interestingly though, it did feel like the biggest news that hit social-media active gamers was not actually a scheduled announcement—footage leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 in development featuring their first female protagonist reached the wider audience. Take 2 Interactive, who owns Rockstar, are reportedly mopping up the leaked content.