The biggest news and trailers from the summer 2023 PlayStation Showcase
Now can you can actually buy a PS5, here’s what you’re going to be playing on it
It’s E3 season! Except E3 isn’t happening, and even if it was we’re a few weeks early. But none of that stopped PlayStation from deciding to host its big summer event on 24 May.
Sony’s 2023 slate had been pretty unclear, and in many ways it still is, but games are coming. Over the course of an hour or so we got a look at a lot (possibly too many?) of already announced and some brand new PS5 and PS VR 2 titles, both first-party and from outside PlayStation Studios, including the long-rumoured Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, a stunning new samurai action game and a long look at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. There were even a few new hardware reveals.
We won’t cover absolutely every announcement here. You can watch the whole livestream back here to see it all. But we have rounded up what we judge to be the highlights, and there were plenty. Read on…
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater
It’s been heavily rumoured all year, but we finally got confirmation that a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (AKA the best one) is coming to PS5, as well as Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is said to be a faithful remake of Hideo Kojima’s stealthy masterpiece, which is chronologically the first game in the series, with Konami promising “unprecedented new graphics”.
The debut trailer didn’t reveal any gameplay, instead showing us a jungle-based cinematic that culminated with Snake emerging from the swamp. We don’t have a release date yet either, but we’ll also be getting a Metal Gear Solid Master Collection in the autumn, which will include re-releases of the Metal Gear: Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and the original Snake Eater.
Release date: TBC
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Nailed on to be Sony’s biggest PS5 game of the year, we got an extended look at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for for the first time, which, as expected, will let you play as both Peter Parker, seen here in his new symbiote suit (and coming across as ominously moody), and Miles Morales.
The two Spider-Men have a lot on their now shared plate, including the new big bad, Kraven the Hunter, and Dr Curt. Connors, who has fully entered his The Lizard era and seems to be getting bigger by the minute. The gameplay demo showed us Queens, a new playable area, and how you’ll switch between controlling Peter and Miles.
There were several traditional (by which we mean very cool) Insomniac set pieces and all the gloriously elastic Spidey combat we’ve come to expect from these games. This one is on course for the second half of 2023.
Release date: Fall 2023
Phantom Blade Zero
You may well argue that at least 50% of new games announced in the last two years look identical to Phantom Blade Zero, and you may well have a case, but this hack and slash RPG looks very nice indeed, if more than a little self-serious.
The sword-based combat, which the developer refers to as “Kung-Fu Punk”, looks frantic and superbly animated, and would appear to incorporate some wall-running and vehicle sections to go with all the stabbing. The game will be semi open-world, and you play as an assassin who only has 66 days to live. No release date for this one, and we’d expect a bit of a wait.
Release date: TBC
Sword of the Sea
Sony has long promoted new and exciting indie games for its platforms, and there were plenty announced during this show. The one that really caught our eye was Sword of the Sea, the next game from Abzu and The Pathless developer Giant Squid. It looks a bit like SSX and PS3 classic Journey had a baby, or a 3D version of the excellent Alto’s mobile series, with vibesy sandboarding gameplay that sees you riding over dunes and even on what looks like a desert half-pipe.
Release date: TBC
Marathon
A brand new game from Halo and Destiny developer Bungie is always a big story, and Marathon already looks like it could be another giant of an IP in waiting.
Described as a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter, Marathon is actually a revival of a series of the same name from the 90s, but Bungie says that while the new game definitely belongs in the same universe, it’s not a direct sequel. There won’t be a single-player campaign here, but there will be an overarching narrative and plenty of opportunities for player-driven stories to unfold within it. Marathon is coming to Xbox and PC too, and will feature cross-play and cross-save functionality.
Release date: TBC
Resident Evil 4 VR Mode
If you’ve invested in a PlayStation VR 2 since launch then you might have been slightly concerned that Sony left its segment dedicated to the new hardware until just about the end of the show, and it wasn’t exactly the explosive set of reveals we’d been hoping for. But that doesn’t mean there was nothing to get excited about. We got the first proper trailer for the Resident Evil 4 remake’s VR port, and if it’s anything like as good as Resident Evil Village VR when we’re in for a treat.
Release date: TBC
Foamstars
We’re just putting this in here because a) it has a silly name and b) Square Enix appears to have just made Splatoon.
Release date: TBC
Sony Project Q
You can read more about the currently titled Project Q here, but the long and short of it is that Sony has made a new handheld gaming device.
This is not – before you get too excited – a PS Vita 2, but rather a DualSense controller with an 8in LCD screen sandwiched in between the two grips, to which you stream your PS5 games over Wi-Fi via Remote Play. Games will run at up to 1080p and 60fps, and you get all the features of the console’s excellent pad, including haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
With the gaming handheld market currently exploding, it’s no surprise that Sony is getting involved again, but time will tell if not being able to run games natively will lessen Project Q’s appeal, especially as you can already play PS5 games on your phone using an accessory such as the Backbone One, which even has a licensed PlayStation variant. We don’t know how much the device will cost yet, but it’s due this year. Sony also announced its first PlayStation wireless earbuds, which it says will deliver lossless and low-latency audio.
Release date: 2023
Everything else
We got our first look at Dragon’s Dogma 2, Assassin’s Creed Mirage got an October 12 release date, Ghostrunner 2 looks like more Ghostrunner (which is fine by us), and Beat Saber is finally available to buy on PS VR 2. About time, too.
Again, you can see every announcement by re-watching the 2023 PlayStation Showcase here.
Matt Tate
Contributor 
