Playstation 5 Console Discussion

[Julius]

Dunkey's PS5 Pro vid gave me a good chuckle 

[Julius]

New system update starts rolling out today: 

I'll always love how they just refer to the updated base PS5 model as "the slimmer PS5 model" in these updates 

[Hero-of-Time]

Finished Panzer Paladin this evening.

 

Cracking indie game. It was released a few years back and for some unknown reason its taken until this year to be released on PS4.

The game is a mash up of NES games. It takes elements from games likes Mega Man, Blaster Master and Duck Tales, puts them in a blender and spits of this platform game. The big difference with this game and the others that it borrows from is its weapon system.

Enemies drop weapons and they can be found hidden in secret areas as well. Each weapon breaks after so many uses but they also come with a spell. Using the spell will break the weapon and so it becomes a balance of knowing when to unleash the potential of a weapon and when to use it as a standard hitting device. You can carry as many as you want but the more you collect, the harder the game will become.

The game is pretty lengthy for the genre it's representing. There are 10 stages to get through and then another 6 that act kinda like the Dr. Wily levels in the Mega Man games. Couple all of these with extra modes and an unlockable difficulty level and your looking at meaty amount of game time.

I played it on easy difficulty at first so that I could learn the mechanics of the game. I then had to do another play through on hard difficulty in order to unlock a trophy. Beating the game then unlocked Remix Mode. This is a harder version of the game that I needed to play through (again, for some trophies) whilst carrying a stupid amount of weaponry to max out the difficulty level on each stage. I loved the challenge of this and it was here where I learned how best to keep certain weapons with certain spells for specific boss fights.

It's yet another indie game that I have bought, played and loved this year. It joins the ranks of Bat Boy, Tinykin, Vampire Survivors and Gravity Circuit.

Sadly, the game has gone pretty much under the radar.

Only 2 people have got the Platinum over on PSNProfiles, with only 47 owners.

I'm sure someone on here played it on the Switch a while back. I wanna say it was @Dufniall.

[drahkon]

20 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Finished Panzer Paladin this evening.

Nice.
Had this on my wishlist for quite a while now. It was on sale recently but it clashed with Astro Bot so I didn't get it.

Given your post, I'll probably buy it as soon as it's on sale again

[drahkon]

Started playing Tales of Kenzera: Zau.

Immediately made my heart drop. Did not know it's about a young man whose father died, which resonates with me. Seems like it's a story about grief and feelings associated with it.
Might make me tear up...

Gameplay is very basic so far and I doubt it'll change much. It's fine, though. Wish traversal would be a little smoother. A metroidvania (this one seems quite linear, weirdly enough) should have better movement. It's not too bad, but could be improved.

The voice acting is great, by the way!

[Julius]

1 hour ago, drahkon said:

Immediately made my heart drop. Did not know it's about a young man whose father died, which resonates with me. Seems like it's a story about grief and feelings associated with it.
Might make me tear up...

Not sure if you've seen it already, but if you haven't, Abubakar Salim's speech to reveal the game at the TGAs last year was genuinely one of the highlights of the show. 

I still remember the surprise that this game looked absolutely nothing like what I expected, I think just based on some of the other wonderful games others have put out in remembrance of lost ones a lot of people were expecting something different, which I found a really wonderful reminder of how we all grieve, process, and move forwards differently. 

Anyways, hope you enjoy it and that it handles its subject well 

Edited September 13, 2024 by Julius

[drahkon]

Well, that made me tear up

It's funny, my parents kinda introduced me to gaming, too. Not by saying: "Look at this, this is cool, this is a form of art.", but rather by buying a Game Boy with Tetris for themselves
And sure enough, 5 year old drahkon hogged that little handheld and it grew into his biggest hobby.

My parents eventually bought a SNES and my dad and I played Super Mario World a lot. I still play this game every year around Christmas.
My dad got into gaming more and more, my mom as well but not as much. They both entered the Nintendo DS phase and I remember my father playing Final Fantasy III (among other games) and being completely absorbed.

He died in 2009 and I obviously remember more about him than the occasional gaming session of his, but some of my fondest memories are seeing him playing games.

I'm sure he would've loved the Switch. Same as my mom does (for her, the device is basically an Animal Crossing and various farming games machine ).

[Ashley]

10 hours ago, drahkon said:

And sure enough, 5 year old drahkon hogged that little handheld and it grew into his biggest hobby.

And yet strangely you've not enjoyed a game since 😋

[drahkon]

While waiting for The Plucky Squire I've been jumping from game to game these past few days...

Managed to complete two more episodes with The Witch in Dicey Dungeons. Hope I can finish the last two with her soon, so I can move on to other characters

Also re-installed Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2. Always wanted to get the Platinum but it's a doozy. I've now collected all stat points for three pro skaters and will slowly but surely work my way through their challenges.
That's very tame, though. You need to reach level 100 which will take ages, and you need to do every single gap in the game. Gonna be a long one. TITLE OF MY SEX TAPE.

Been also playing MLB The Show 24 without really going for any trophies. It's actually quite enjoyable. I don't particularly enjoy watching baseball but playing a videogame based on it is fun Might look up the trophies soon and see what they're like. I assume there will be a myriad of online trophies which will rule out the trophy hunt for this particular game.

 

And in PSVita news: Started playing Resogun and after finishing up Nex Machina, the muscle memory is completely gone. Got my ass kicked during the final boss on Experienced. Guess the Veteran run will have to wait a little longer.

Edited September 14, 2024 by drahkon

[Julius]

Digital Foundry's deep dive on the PS5 Pro footage is up and ready for our consumption:

Looking forward to seeing what their thoughts are, but it's a long one! 

[Julius]

Per the ESRB, the long-rumoured Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (we first got word of this way back in October 2022) - native PS5, with all the bells and whistles that brings - has now been listed. 

Got to imagine there's a good chance that this might be ready for the launch of the Pro as a showcase? Game already looked great on PS4 Pro, apparently it's great on PS5 as it is, so I imagine the same game on PS5 Pro will be one of the stronger early showcases. 

 

Us: man, I'm really hoping PlayStation announce some big new first-party releases soon.

Meanwhile, PlayStation:

Edited September 18, 2024 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, this remastering stint they are on is getting tiresome.

[Hero-of-Time]

Grubb doubles down on a State of Play happening next week and mentions another remastered game.

Quote

Also reconfirms that the State of Play is happening next Tuesday September 24th earlier in the video.

The "less exciting" remaster could be the PC port of TLOU Part 2 Remastered which has reportedly been finished for a while. Or could be another first-party game with a PC version that they haven't brought forward to PS5 yet like God of War or Days Gone.

Be hilarious if Nintendo drop a Switch 2 Direct the same week.

[Julius]

7 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Grubb doubles down on a State of Play happening next week and mentions another remastered game.

Quote

Also reconfirms that the State of Play is happening next Tuesday September 24th earlier in the video.

The "less exciting" remaster could be the PC port of TLOU Part 2 Remastered which has reportedly been finished for a while. Or could be another first-party game with a PC version that they haven't brought forward to PS5 yet like God of War or Days Gone.

 

That other remastered game – there's got to be a pretty big chance that it's that Gravity Rush 2 remaster that was doing the rounds some while ago, right? I think the Gravity Rush film (don't get me started) got that teaser trailer at CES at the start of the year, I don't know why they'd remaster 2 instead of the first game (which, I mean, yes has already been remastered, but also, that was going from handheld to console?) but it sounds dumb enough that I believe it to be real. 

I struggle to see it being Days Gone just because of how Bend got shifted off the IP and onto something new, unless it's not them? But would seem a massive slap in the face either way. 

I'm praying it's not God of War, I know these projects can be solid for onboarding new hires but I don't want Sony Santa Monica wasting time the same way I feel Naughty Dog has been – and I'm saying this as someone who got all the ND remasters/remakes. 

If not Gravity Rush 2 I'm fully expecting something totally left field and equally/more stupid, like a remaster of Detroit: Become Human (seems like that could be a Pro showpiece). 

If it's a Shadow of the Colossus sort of facelift I'd argue that an ICO "remaster" in the same way would probably be considered less exciting, just because it's not that flashy. Okay I don't think it'll be this and I'm not expecting or even hoping for it, but I think it's the next remaster that I actually want, so I'm going to start manifesting. 

It won't be Bloodborne. That's either 2025 or PS6 launch. Bleh. 

I'm also curious if Horizon gets like a really solid block here then? There's the LEGO game, this Horizon Zero Dawn remaster, but the same leak way back when - and we've seen leaked footage of it if I'm remembering right - also mentioned that multiplayer Horizon game. It's a State of Play so I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but if there's a first-party block, maybe it's those three games? 

16 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Be hilarious if Nintendo drop a Switch 2 Direct the same week. 

Do it the same day just a few hours later, shadow-dropped out of the blue, and we have a deal 

If there's any truth to a Switch successor announcement next week and this State of Play dropping next week, next week is going to be STACKED in all the best ways. Those two events + TGS? It could be the best week of gaming news since pre-COVID E3s were a thing. 

[drahkon]

On 9/14/2024 at 12:54 PM, drahkon said:

Managed to complete two more episodes with The Witch in Dicey Dungeons. Hope I can finish the last two with her soon, so I can move on to other characters

And I did

Managed to win the Hard Mode Bonus Round with The Inventor, too. Now I got the, in my opinion, two most annoying characters done

Gonna play through the episodes with The Jester next. I don't particularly like that character either...

Edited September 19, 2024 by drahkon

[Happenstance]

 

[Hero-of-Time]

I don't need it but I want it.

[Julius]

12 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I don't need it but I want it.

Urgh, same. 

This has sold me on wanting a Pro more than ever before, apparently only 12.3k units being produced for the Pro performance the PS Blog: 

No announced plans for the plates to be sold separately and so the consoles will seemingly be the only way to get them.

Screw you Sony

In for a DualSense, maybe in for a DualSense Edge too (been thinking about picking one up anyways with how the first two DualSenses I had, my original white ones, went and got stick drift before I sent them to a farm). Not in for an Edge because I have no interest in having one but MAN it looks so much better in this colourway! 

I can't be in for a Pro or Slim, I just can't.

Which means as much as I want it... 

 

DAMN IT NINTENDO ANNOUNCE SWITCH 2 NOW SO I DON'T NEED TO KEEP LOOKING AT THIS THING

Edited September 19, 2024 by Julius

[Julius]

Just realised pre-orders are going up the same day as the pre-orders for the standard Pro on September 26th.

This is from the 30th anniversary blog post:

Quote

In regions where direct.playstation.com* is available, players with a PlayStation Network account can pre-order the following PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection products exclusively from PlayStation starting September 26. In regions where direct.playstation.com isn't available, pre-orders begin starting September 26 at participating retailers.

And this is from the standard Pro's blog post:

Quote

PS5 Pro will launch on November 7, 2024 and will be available at participating retailers and directly from PlayStation at direct.playstation.com. Preorders will begin on September 26, 2024.

Lol, good luck to anyone trying to nab one because the traffic was already going to be horrendous that day, now it just sounds like it's going to be an absolute living nightmare. 

Edited September 19, 2024 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

I hate that the standard PS5 is the digital only model.  Probably try to nab a Dual Sense and leave it at that.

[Ike]

The box art for these are great.

Might get an Edge.

That USB cable is hilarious though (in a good way) as well.

[Julius]

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I hate that the standard PS5 is the digital only model.  Probably try to nab a Dual Sense and leave it at that.

Same  I might grab at least two DualSense controllers so I have one to keep in the box and one to use. 

I was thinking for a moment I could trade my base PS5 in and upgrade but, eh, I'd feel like I'm betraying my launch experience a bit to do that  the digital version does come with a disc drive cover, though, so if you had a disc drive you'd be able to make it match? 

Reading into it more: the Pro bundle is a £1k+ investment before we factor in the limited availability and mark-up it'll get from that.

It has the Pro (£700), DualSense (£70), DualSense Edge (£210), vertical stand (£25), disc drive cover (no idea how much this would be), you'll want a disc drive to make use of the cover which is hilariously still being sold separately (£100), and there's the collectible stuff. 

Mental. 

 

@Ike those boxes you've posted are sexy as hell and me and my wallet hate you right now

Edited September 19, 2024 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

Sounds like Days Gone is going to be the rumoured remastered game.

 

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Also...

 

Sigh.

 

[Will]

That 30th anniversary hardware looks so good. I really wanted the PS4 they did but couldn’t get one and even though none of this stuff would be on my to-buy list I really want all of it. I’ll probably log in when it all goes available and just see if I can get something then.