Anthony DeVetis 
Well that was it. That was our look at what’s coming next for PlayStation, and it will probably be all we will get for the year. This was a strong showing, bolstered by an whiplash of a last 10 minutes, but I find it hard to put it on the level of Sony’s 2016 E3 showing, or even their PS5 blowout of last June. While starting out very solid with an exciting remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the show quickly fell into what seemed like commercial obligation, exactly what many of us were fearing might happen prior to the event *cough* 3 minutes of Deathloop *cough*.
Many of you will say that us hardcore Sony fans will never be satisfied. To that I say, I was satisfied E3 2016, last June, and even last September; hell, I’m not even saying I’m not satisfied! There is so much here to be excited about, it just wasn’t presented in the best way possible, or in a way we know Sony can pull off. With that being said, let’s get into the hits and misses of the PlayStation Showcase 2021.
Misses:
That Strange PlayStation Chess Commercial
Let’s start with the misses, and at the very beginning. Very strangely Sony started the showcase with what appeared to be a TV commercial, showing rich people playing chess, surrounded by murals of PlayStation mascots. More confusing than hype-inducing, I found it odd that this was even in here. They’ve never done something like that before, or for that long of a run-time. Weird, Sony, and not the good kind.
Another Tiny Tina’s Wonderland Trailer
This is when I started to get scared. We’ve seen and heard about this game so much already this summer and E3 and Gearbox’s cringy event that this was hardly needed. While the Borderlands spin-off does look fun to play, another trailer just to show off the release date was not necessary.
Another Trailer for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Extraction
Another title that we saw far too much screentime of in Ubisoft’s own showcase. This was an example of Sony’s commercializing of this event, and it felt very Gamescom/Geoff Keighley to me. These are hardly the show-stopping titles that fans showed up in the hundreds of thousands for.
Alan Wake Remastered
I feel guilty for including this one as it got leaked early, but unfortunately while it’s awesome the game is finally making its way to PlayStation platforms, its showing was a little weak and the graphics didn’t fair well in a live-stream setting. Thankfully it didn’t take up too much time.
Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online…Yet Again
Over a year after revealing the next-gen versions of Grand Theft Auto V and its Online counterpart, we get another trailer for an 8-year-old(!) game. I’m sorry to say it, but this is a pure money move, and the game literally looks no different than it has for the past 7 years. Again, maybe that was the stream quality, but come on Sony, this announcement is PS Blog material at best.
Yet Another Trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy and Nathan Drake on PS5
I’ll get this out of the way first: Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy coming to PS5 and PC is awesome news…again, for a PS Blog post. The games look great as always, but this announcement was not needed. Another Guardians of the Galaxy trailer after the, what, 5 or 6 we have already? Overkill Sony, absolute overkill, and I’m excited for that game. I don’t want to see one more second of that game until its release next month.
Deathloop. Once. Again.
Speaking of overkill, Deathloop. Another. Trailer. For Deathloop. That releases in a few days. The meme happened ladies and gents.
Hits
Insomniac Lives Up to Their Namesake
Now for the stuff that hit, and boy did it hit. First up is the studio that never sleeps, Insomniac, who, after releasing two-and-a-half games in the last year, followed up with two more announcements. Granted we probably won’t be seeing either of these titles until 2023 or beyond, but nevertheless we got our first glimpse of Spider-Man 2 and a tantalizing tease of Venom. Before that though, Insomniac tricked us with what we thought was the trailer for Spider-Man 2 and instead was a surprise announcement of a Wolverine game. This was my favorite announcement and I can’t wait to learn more.
Sony Announces Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake
This had been rumored for some time now, but hell if it didn’t hit hard. I’m sure the game is in early stages, but the question currently on everyone’s minds is if the game will truly be a PlayStation home-grown exclusive. In my opinion, this should have replaced that god-awful commercial to start the show off.
Project Eve Looks Awesome
Project Eve is the type of showcase announcement I like to see. Combat, gameplay, story, it has it all, and I have a clear picture of it coming out of the event. While a little overlong, this Bayonetta-esque game looks epic and I can’t wait to learn more.
Forspoken and Ghostwire: Tokyo
I’m putting these two together simply because they both achieved the same goal: Filling players in on what the game actually is about story and gameplay-wise. Knowledge of both titles had been a little muddied by this point, but both showed extremely well. Still no release window on Ghostwire: Tokyo is pretty ridiculous to be honest however.
God of War: Ragnarok
Yes, Ragnarok is finally the title, and man this game hit all the notes of a PlayStation showpiece moment. The trailer takes up through all the feels, shows some new combat styles, the semi-open world and of course our Norse Gods cast. All very exciting stuff, and I don’t think anyone left feeling like we hadn’t seen enough of Kratos and son.
So there you have it folks, not exactly the gargantuan blowout many were expecting, but a few honest-to-goodness surprises were sprinkled in among other exciting releases. Let’s hope Sony doesn’t wait another year to fill us in once again.
