Category: PlayStation

What started out as DLC for My Time at Portia, has become a much larger project now known as My Time at Sandrock. Coming this summer to PlayStation on PS4 and PS5, players will be exploring the town of Sandrock, a city-state located in the Eufaula Desert within the Alliance of Free Cities. Returning players will be satisfied with a fresh but familiar experience, while newcomers will be able to comfortably fall in love with the gameplay and people of Sandrock!

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Once players design their character, they will arrive at Sandrock as a recruited builder. Upon arrival, they will find what was once a well populated metropolis is now a dilapidated town where water and wood are scarce resources. The player’s job will now be to collaborate with the townspeople to revitalize the town of Sandrock. Take in the views of the mesas, deep canyons, vast deserts, and breathtaking ruins along the journey!

Farming is just one of the many activities in Sandrock

In order to progress through My Time at Sandrock, players must complete story missions. Story missions require the player character to build or rebuild something that has gone wrong in the town. Some examples are gathering materials to rebuild the water tower or fixing up the stage found outside the Blue Moon Saloon after a sandstorm passes through. Once a story mission is completed, players will find themselves with a few in-game days of free time. During this period, players can complete commissions to earn money, focus on building relationships with people in the town, or just exploring the world!

With the help of your workshop, saving Sandrock will be no trouble at all

The central focus of Sandrock will be found in the workshop, which serves as the player’s primary base of operations. Here, players bring materials and relics from all over the map to assist with accomplishing commissions from local townspeople and government. As players progress and complete commissions, they can upgrade machines in their workshop, customize the space with furniture, and even draw their own designs for decor. These things will help attract more industry to the town and in turn, contribute to the player’s workshop moving toward becoming the #1 workshop in the region!

The player battles a Geegler President and Geegler Manager

The battle system in My Time at Sandrock is fresh and feels much better this time around. Players will encounter several enemy types from monsters, robots, bandits, and more! Enemies behave intelligently with coordinated attacks, so players must anticipate their movements to successfully counterattack. Watch out for larger enemies, as they can send players flying through the air with one strong hit! Plan attacks with melee weapons or choose a ranged approach.

Enemies can be found in the hazardous ruins dungeon type, but there are two other dungeon types to experience as well. One is known as the Abandoned Ruins, which are dungeons without enemies and allows players to mine safely for minerals and relics. The third type is known as the Half-Explored Ruins, which consists of mining areas as well as enemies to fight. Dungeons will unlock as players complete story missions and can be used to gain massive amounts of character EXP and high value materials used for upgrading weapons and equipment.

Another standout feature of My Time at Sandrock is the ability for players to pursue romantic relationships with other characters in the game. Players can date, marry, have children, as well as go on a series of in-depth story missions for each character they wish to romance. Pursuing romantic relationships will open up more in-depth plot points, as well as character growth.

However, players must balance their building and restoration objectives with the constant threat of attacks from the nefarious Logan and his gang of bandits, which makes their task even more challenging. The game features a deep and compelling storyline with unexpected plot developments that’ll have players asking for one more day.

Message from the developer

“My Time at Sandrock builds upon the beloved gameplay mechanics of My Time at Portia while introducing new features and QOL elements that fans of the series will love,” said Aaron Deng from Pathea Games. “We’re excited for players to experience the unique storyline, characters, and mechanics of My Time at Sandrock, and we encourage everyone to dive in and start rebuilding the desert oasis.”

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

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This week, Head of PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash stops by to discuss adapting video games into TV and film and what’s next from PlayStation Productions.

PLUS: Resident Evil 4 spoilercast and next week’s new releases (Star Wars Jedi Survivor!)

Stuff We Talked About

• Interview with Asad Qizilbash (begins at 1:20)
• Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
• VR Skater
• God of War (2018)
• Humanity
• Street Fighter VI
• Resident Evil 4 (spoilercast begins at 50:00)

The Cast

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Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE

Tim Turi – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE

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Brett Elston – Manager, Content Communications, SIE

Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.

[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

Last week, we asked you to share awesome moments involving sports using the #PSshare and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:  

imroyank Kratos is ready to be quarterback of the year in Fortnite

Gurararala Playing a weird game of soccer in Ghostwire: Tokyo

AjGamingPics1 A close up of a speeding car in Dirt 5

shimo_ps Bunny mask skier going down the slopes in Riders Republic

soratobichan A colorful close up of a soccer ball in FIFA 23

RhodWulfLeon The Rock laying the smackdown in WWE 2K23

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

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THEME: Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider’s Thread
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on April 26, 2023

Next week we’re getting spooky with shots from the Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider’s Thread update. Share moments that capture the creepy spirit of Tokyo with #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Prepare those spray cans because we’re painting the streets with a fresh coat of news straight from the Street Fighter 6 Showcase – hosted by Lil Wayne! Our finished piece contains hues of detailed information on World Tour, battles with your customized avatars in Battle Hub, jaw-dropping features to brighten up your Fighting Ground experience, unveiling of the Year 1 Fighters, and a demo you can play today.

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A role-playing game around the world

World Tour is a single-player story mode where players can create their own custom avatar to experience an overarching mystery with support from the iconic Masters. The newest location in your travels is Nayshall, a developing nation tucked away in a remote corner of Asia.

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Throughout your adventures, you’ll meet each legendary fighter from Street Fighter 6’s roster. Use Flight Tickets to travel around the world to find each of the 18 fighters – some are more hidden than others. Become their student by Enrolling in their style and learn their Special Moves. Increase your bond with each Master by giving them presents and completing Missions. Combine all this to unlock new cutscenes as you form personal connections with these legendary fighters. Put that in your diary!

We built World Tour to redefine the scope of what a traditional fighting game is, so we took extra care in hand-crafting a personal experience by incorporating in-depth RPG elements. You can consume items and food to recover Vitality, provide buffs, or inflict debuffs. As you level up your avatar, you’ll earn Skill Points to spend on a Skill Tree to further customize your original move set.

Watch out for hot-headed enemies who will chase you down on the streets to initiate combat! Unique to World Tour, unlock Drive Stall in the Skill Tree to slow down time to avoid enemies or gain the advantage with a Master Action. During a fight, when the enemy flashes, you can hit them to induce Pressure Time to inflict more damage. Perfect to take out those pesky refrigerators and drones!

Create Chaos with Avatar Battles and Order with Clubs

You know all those avatars you’re going to make, each with their own customized looks and fighting style? Take them into the Battle Hub and let them loose in custom avatar battles against other players online where the limit to your fights is your own imagination. Use your avatar with Dhalsim’s style, Zangief’s Screw Piledriver, and Ken’s Hadoken or any other wacky combination, which could lead to ridiculous set-ups. Be wary because your opponent might have come up with an even crazier palette of moves. 

If order is more your thing, create a Club in the Battle Hub to find like-minded players. Customize your Club emblem and design a uniform that only your Club’s members can show off.

Top-Tier innovation in the Fighting Ground

As a celebration of the Street Fighter series, we’re introducing the Battle Damage Feature! During a fight, characters will get sweatier and develop cuts, bruises, and other telltale signs of a heated battle. This is only available in certain offline modes and can be turned off in Settings.

We’re committed to accessibility in Street Fighter 6 and have enhanced sound effects that will tell you how far away you are from your opponent, the height level of attacks, whether an attack is a cross-up, and to also indicate your remaining Drive Gauge.

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We also have a multitude of introductory tools for all skill levels. Fleshed-out Tutorials and Character Guides provide a solid foundation for each character, especially for those with little experience in fighting games or anyone that wants to try out new characters. Our third Control Type, to go along with Classic and Modern, is Dynamic, where players can unleash flashy moves with a single press of a button – yes, button mashers are welcome! Once you feel comfortable, you can try tackling Combo Trials, which include combos of varying difficulty.

Arcade Mode is a single-player mode in Fighting Ground where you’ll face off against the CPU and learn more about each fighter’s stories. Complete Arcade Mode for each character to unlock illustrations that can be viewed later in the Gallery. Your scores can also be uploaded to online leaderboards, so get out there and challenge the world. 

Besides the classic Versus Mode, Street Fighter 6 includes both Team Battle and Extreme Battle. In Team Battle, play with or against other players or the CPU by creating a team and selecting the appropriate parameters. Extreme Battle runs on a set of Rules along with fun Gimmicks like Running Bulls or our own special version of hot potato. Play in Extreme Battle to learn the basics of the game or to unleash pure havoc. 

Play online against other players by creating a Custom Room, separate from the Battle Hub. The four virtual cabinets in the room can be set to One on One, Extreme Battle, and Training. Custom Rooms now include up to 16 players at a time!

Ranked Matches return where you can fight against other players worldwide and earn League Points to rank up. We’ve taken steps to reduce the fear of losing a match in certain Ranks. First, there’s a one-time Rank-down protection feature for those ranked in Diamond and below. To encourage online play, Rookies will no longer lose League Points upon defeat. Finally, Iron-Gold and Master-ranked players will not incur League demotions. Each character also has their own individual Rank, so trying a new character in a Ranked Match is easier than ever. We hope you take advantage of these features to improve your gameplay! 

*Takes a second to breathe* If you’ve made it this far, you’ll see how much content is in Street Fighter 6. Our development team challenged themselves to create a title all players can enjoy. 

Year 1 Characters bring their style

Four fighters join the Street Fighter 6 roster in our first year after launch! Rashid, who debuted in Street Fighter V, returns in Summer 2023. The enigmatic A.K.I. struts into the roster in Autumn 2023. Ed, also from Street Fighter V, strikes back in Winter 2024. Finally, the legend, the beast, the transcendent Akuma will rage into Street Fighter 6 in Spring 2024! All four of these characters are incorporated into World Tour where you can learn their Special Moves and increase your bond. They’re also included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of Street Fighter 6, which you can pre-order now!

Your moment. Your demo.

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Play the demo for Street Fighter 6 today on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4! Hop in for a tiny peek at what the full game offers. Learn basic battle mechanics from the Tutorial and practice Luke & Ryu’s fighting style in the Character Guide. Dip a toe into the first moments of World Tour and experiment with the deep avatar creation feature. Custom avatars can be transferred over to the full game on the same platform once it releases!

If you haven’t already, watch the Street Fighter 6 Showcase to take in the cityscape because it’s almost your time to hit the streets. Street Fighter 6 launches on June 2 for PS5 and PS4! Pre-order now for Outfit 1 Color 10 for Chun-Li, Jamie, Manon, Dee Jay, Juri, and Ken – PlayStation Store pre-order offers an extra bonus of 18 Special Titles and Stickers.

The key to victory in this 4v4 competitive platformer is strategy. There are strategic advantages throughout the game from gameplay, to hero roles, powers, and more. 

To celebrate the start of Crash Team Rumble’s Closed Beta – here are some tips and tricks that can give you a leg up on the competition to lead your team victory:

Boosts are stackable depending on what map you’re on

• Gem pads boost your score, but there is huge boost potential by capturing all of the gem pad clusters on one map. 
• Pro Tip: Be sure you and your team collects and banks as much Wumpa as possible while the boost is active, to fully benefit from the boost. 

Fighting is only a means to an end: scoring is what counts

• The name of the game is scoring – so defense is just as important as offense.
• Victory is a much harder task without a blocker. The blocker’s main goal is to prevent the other team from scoring at their Wumpa bank. How can a team win if they can’t bank their Wumpa?!
• Pro Tip: The Gasmoxian Guard is a blocker’s best friend. Blocker’s should have their Gasmoxian Guard set up camp at the other team’s Wumpa bank, making it extremely difficult for the other team to score. 

Relic Stations can swing the match

• If a game is close, the Relic Station can make all the difference – rolling over enemies, catapulting around a map, and more. 
• Pro Tip: Collect as many relics as possible early to use on epic stations for game changing results later in the match when it becomes more crucial.

Use the whole map

• Don’t be afraid to explore and see what’s available in all of the corners of the map.
• Pro Tip: Don’t forget to explore the map vertically. Check out the views from a higher point, you never know, you may find a new way to help your team from a bird’s eye perspective.

Your hero’s powers matter

• Specific powers can take roles to the next level, choose wisely. Some powers are meant to compliment a hero – ie. golden Wumpa for a scorer, Gasmoxian Guard for a blocker, etc.
• Pro Tip: Placement of a power can make all the difference, be strategic.

Hi, I’m Bryant Cannon, the game director for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, and we’re so excited to finally share that the game will launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 12, 2023.

If you’re not familiar with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, then allow me to paint a picture for you. Welcome to Camena: a small coastal town that is currently experiencing unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves that are interfering with electrical and radio equipment. TVs turn on and off. Planes lose radar. Radio stations can’t broadcast through the static. You know, problems that every quaint town in the Pacific Northwest has to deal with.

Enter Riley Poverly, an environmental researcher who begrudgingly returns to her hometown to investigate these frequency signals and ends up taking on more than she bargained for. You, as Riley, will brave rigorous terrain, encounter mysterious cults, and discover strange supernatural phenomena that threaten to alter the world as we know it. How you confront these challenges is up to you, and your choices will shape Riley’s future – as well as the very fate of Camena. 

To take on the tasks at hand, you’ll need the right gear. Riley’s backpack is filled with just that: a radio, which tunes into supernatural frequencies; transmitters, which Riley will need to plant throughout Camena in order to understand more about these radio frequencies; a climbing kit to traverse some of the more treacherous terrain in Camena; and a walkie talkie, which will allow Riley to communicate with a few new characters along the way.

Let’s dive more into the walkie-talkie.

Hello, do you copy? 

Those who played Oxenfree are familiar with its dialogue system and the unique radio mechanic that allowed Alex – the main character of the first game – to communicate with mysterious specters and manipulate her world. ​In Oxenfree II, we wanted to evolve that idea. This new walkie-talkie feature puts the player in charge of when and how Riley will engage in conversations with off-screen characters.

So how does it work? Let’s say you’re trekking back from planting a transmitter up at Tootega Falls, and your old high school acquaintance and work partner, Jacob, isn’t feeling too chatty. You can use the left trigger at just about any time to open your walkie-talkie. Browse through the channels until you find who you want to talk to, and voilà!

To answer or not to answer, that is the question

In Oxenfree II, players will shape the story through Riley’s actions and dialogue choices, similar to how they did with Alex and the characters in the first game. Each decision impacts who Riley becomes, her relationships with other characters, and the story options available at every turn.

Radio and walkie talkie concept art

The walkie talkie expands on this and opens up a layer of player agency; you can choose to move the story along as you see fit, depending on how you engage with folks on the walkie. Unlike in the first game, where you were faced with dialogue choices with the people in front of you, you now have the option to initiate conversations with walkie contacts at any time. These interactions allow you to uncover useful insights about the mysteries of Camena.

Or you can completely ignore them. It has its consequences if you go that route – but it’s your call to make.

Who’s out there?

In addition to some of the characters you’ll encounter – like Jacob, and the members of the cult-like group Parentage (more on that another time) – the walkie-talkie introduces more local contacts. If you find yourself stuck at any point in the game, you can pull out the walkie and touch base with one of your contacts.

Not only will you learn more about Camena, but also the personal crises they’re currently facing.

One of those characters is Maria, the DJ for the student-run radio station at Camena High. When you tune into her radio show, she offers to give advice to listeners on channel eight. If you choose to contact her, she may even ask you for advice, and helping her may change what kinds of music you hear on Camena High Radio.

Another character you’ll make contact with (or rather, he’ll contact you) is Nick, a sailor who, in his own words, “has been all up and down the coastline.” If you decide to help Nick with a small favor, he’ll offer valuable insight into the strange occurrences around Camena. You might also need to help him down the road as he grapples with his own supernatural situation. 

A coming-of-age story

In the midst of the supernatural events surrounding them, Riley and her walkie contacts must also confront the seemingly ordinary impact of everyday life and the choices all of us make about who we want to be.

Were the life choices Riley made the right ones for her? Is she who she really wants to be?

Similar to the teens in the original Oxenfree, your walkie contacts are making pivotal decisions about their lives: Should Maria share a secret that could forever change a friendship? Should Nick take a leap of faith? As Riley, you’ll connect with them on the walkie and talk through it all – personal issues and terrifying ghosts and cults alike. Just like everyday life.

We can’t for you all to dive into the happenings in Camena when Oxenfree II: Lost Signals launches on July 12. Pre-orders are now live on PlayStation Store for 25% off.

VR Skater is a highly immersive street Skateboarding game coming to PlayStation VR2 this Summer! It’s a finely tuned mix of both arcade and simulation. Easy to learn but hard to master, the feeling you get after landing a difficult trick is like no other!

Today we’re talking new features, experiences, and everything PlayStation VR2!

One thing all Skaters need to experience in VR is the Mega Ramp! From a gameplay point of view, the mega ramp allows Players to catch air like never before, pulling off insane flip tricks and huge grabs over the iconic Mega Ramp, made famous by Skateboarding Legend Danny Way. Usually, the key gameplay dynamic of VR Skater is all about street skating. So, as well as being highly impressive and something the community wants, it offers a different gameplay mechanic in this separate immersive experience. Something completely new to the world of VR. 

Adaptive triggers

Announced first today on the PlayStation Blog, VR Skater will use the power of the PS VR2 to push immersion further! We plan to use the adaptive triggers to adjust tension when steering in-game. Giving the sensation of resistance you’d feel in a skateboard’s trucks and bushings in real life. VR fans and skaters will love this announcement as we’re trying to replicate even the most minor details of skating.

The controls replicate how tricks would be performed in real life. Swiping and scooping your hands as if they were feet to perform iconic skate tricks like kickflips, tre flips, hardflips, and many more! Feeling intuitive if you’ve ever stepped foot on a skateboard before. To perform grinds and slides, the player will hold buttons to apply rotation and pressure to individual sides of the board, giving players the freedom to skate how they want to. Whether it be tail or nose slides, 50-50 grinds, or many more. You can also work a series of grabs and the finger flip into your combos.

Customization

Skateboarding is a very creative outlet. From the tricks you perform, to the fashion and music embedded in the sport’s history. Customizing your board is an essential part of Skateboarding. Announced first here on the PlayStation blog, players will be able to customize their boards and grip tape using the Print Tablet! Reach a certain XP level and you’ll unlock the Print Tablet, allowing you to upload custom textures, and arrange them however you desire. This is a highly requested feature that we’re stoked to announce today!

But how does customization in VR Skater work? Head to the VR Skate shop where you can find all new decks, trucks, wheels, and grip tapes that you physically apply to create your perfect setup. You’ll be able to unlock new coloured decks, trucks, wheels & grip tapes by completing challenges and levelling up in-game. A feature that all skate fans are sure to love.

Who are Deficit Games?

Deficit Games is a small indie VR game studio from the Bavarian countryside founded in 2017. Before VR Skater, they released smaller mobile VR titles. Since founder and VR enthusiast Andi has strong roots in the skate and punk rock scene, looking at possible designs for a VR skateboarding game was a very organic decision. Then everything took its course and in 2022 the Early Access version of VR Skater was nominated for the German Games Award in the category of Technology and Innovation.

Both Perp Games and Deficit Games can’t wait to release VR Skater into the wild this Summer on PlayStation VR2!

You can Wishlist the game now on PlayStation Store.