The May 2023 PlayStation Showcase has officially concluded, and we’ve got you covered with the recap of every game shown. Naturally, Spider-Man 2 was the heavy hitter of the show, which went into the showcase as the most anticipated game for most PS5 owners. Here’s everything that you missed in the 2023 PlayStation Showcase.
May 2023 PlayStation Showcase: All Announcements
FAIRGAME$: The showcase started with the new game from Haven, a PlayStation owned studio. The trailer was cinematic, but portrayed a heist, Payday-like game with big “Eat the rich” vibes. No release date or window in the trailer.
We then got Jim Ryan who gave a little spiel about three years of PlayStation 5, insisting that there were many fan-favorite games released on the PS5, (despite there not being very many exclusives on the console.) Which then led to…
HELLDIVERS II: A comedic trailer that started as a mirror to modern military ads. Showed a mix of cinematics and co-op third-person shooter gameplay. Looks like it would be pretty fun with some friends. Coming 2023.
IMMORTALS OF AVEUM: A new game under the EA Originals banner, their initiative for indie-developed games published by them. A Magic-based FPS. Looked pretty fun but had some hints of the Forspoken dialogue that could get a bit annoying if it persists throughout. In fact, the whole thing looks pretty Forspoken-like. Releases July 20, 2023.
GHOSTRUNNER II: The next trailer was a gameplay trailer for a new game from 505 Games. A new game in the Ghostrunner series, which had an underrated first game that you should absolutely play. Releases 2023.
PHANTOM BLADE 0: Another mix of gameplay and cinematics for what looked like a new souls-like. Had a really cool aesthetic, though a lot of the gameplay shown seems super scripted. Maybe I’m just bad at games and can’t picture myself doing any of this, though. No release date, just text that read “Coming to PS5.”
SWORD OF THE SEA: Next up: sand. Sand that ends up being a new game from the artist behind Journey and The Pathless. As you could guess if you’re familiar with those games, it looks stunning. No release date.
The Talos Principle II: Opening on a robot, this trailer was nearly entirely cinematics. The world looked like an interesting mix of organic and mechanical. Never played the first game, so no idea what to expect here.
Neva: Next up, a new game from the creators of GRIS. A storybook-like cinematic portraying a person with a katana and two wolves. One of the wolves died (???) in the trailer. Not sure what the game is really supposed to be but a cool trailer. Releasing 2024.
Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean: Next was an animated trailer. Showed some sea exploration gameplay and 2D platforming. Coming 2024.
FOAMSTARS: Next up was a neon sign for Square Enix for something that looked… very unlike Square. An incredibly vibrant neon town that served as a backdrop for a multiplayer shooter??? I guess??? A cool setting for what might be a Splatoon clone? Hard to tell. There will probably be 500 players on this at launch, which is an unknown date.
The Plucky Squire: This might look a bit familiar to regulars of these conferences. A character who goes from a storybook to the “real world.” Both styles look great and blend together really well, and I’m not just saying that because Devolver sponsors Hard Drive, I promise. Coming 2023.
TEARDOWN: Looks like some sort of building game. My brother who I was watching this showcase with seemed pretty excited so this must already be around, but this is the first I’m hearing of it. Releases on PS5 this year!
METAL GEAR SOLID: SNAKE EATER: Then they showed ants. And a bird, and a snake? And yep… it’s a Snake Eater remake! Also came with a quick side announcement of a “Master Collection” containing the first 3 games coming to PS5 in “Autumn 2023.” No Snake Eater release window, though.
Towers of Aghasba: Next up, what looked to be a new city building game. Also showed rideable mounts, bow combat, and a Tears of the Kingdom paraglider. Looks pretty ambitious! Coming 2024.
FINAL FANTASY XVI: Square came back again, but this time with something worth getting excited about: Final Fantasy XVI. Pretty story-heavy this time around, but not much makes sense from an outsider’s perspective. The summons (Dominants?) look super flashy this time around. Pretty excited to play this one, personally! Releases June 22.
Alan Wake II: Next, the long-awaited sequel to Alan Wake. Showed off a lot of monsters, and the designs look pretty neat! I was 9 when the first one came out, though, so can’t say I’m too excited. October 17, 2023 release date set.
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage: Not one to save things for their own conference, Ubisoft showed off the latest in the Assassin’s Creed. Looks like a departure back to the classic Creed gameplay, based on the little gameplay they showed. Releases October 12.
REVENANT HILL: A new game from the Finji publishing label, perhaps best known for Chicory. Looks like a game in the same style as Night in the Woods. No release date, just an ambiguous “Coming to PS5.”
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Going to be honest with you, I tuned out pretty hard for this one. Releases Winter 2023.
Street Fighter 6: Honestly, not really much more you need to know about this. Looks fun! June 2 release date.
ULTROS: Seems to be a 2D platformer (Metroidvania, maybe?) with a psychadelic art style. Honestly worth watching the trailer for this one in my opinion. Set for a 2024 release.
TOWER OF FANTASY: Looks like another robot game (seeming like a theme, here) from Perfect World Games. And yep, they definitely just did the Akira bike slide. Mostly cinematic so it was hard to get a feel for what the game actually was. No release date.
Next up from Capcom: Dragon’s Dogma II! Showed a mix of cinematics and gameplay, which is hopefully a promising sign for a close release date. Unfortunately, though, no release date was given here.
2023 PlayStation Showcase Recap: VR Announcements
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2: The start of the VR block. This one opens on a poster with an animatronic on it: of course it’s Five Nights at Freddy’s. The narrator promises “we ain’t seen nothing yet,” which is technically correct because I never played the first game, and never will. And of course there’s a jump scare at the end. Late 2023 release window.
Resident Evil 4 VR: In continuing to try and sell us on PSVR 2, we got a taste of the Resident Evil 4 Remake in VR. All it said was “in development,” though, so don’t expect anything soon. You can play the VR version of the original game on Quest right now, though.
ARIZONA SUNSHINE II: Next, we got a taste of a guy smoking in VR. Wonder if we can develop nicotine addiction along with the protagonist. Showed some object interaction that will be pretty cool if it works in practice! Coming 2023.
CROSSFIRE SIERRA SQUAD: A co-op VR shooter from Smilegate Entertainment. No release window.
SYNAPSE: A VR game that seemed like some sort of roguelike shooter. Looked pretty good, but not good enough to fork over enough for a PSVR2. July 4 release date.
Beat Saber: It’s Beat Saber. You probably know everything about this one. New Queen music pack available now, though!
MARATHON: Now out of the VR woods, next up was a new game from Bungie. Maybe this is the game that convinced PlayStation to buy them or something. They say we can discover more at marathonthegame.com. Neat!
Destiny 2: A new trailer for the next expansion. The Final Shape, with more information coming in August.
Concord: A new game under the PlayStation Studios banner. That’s about all we found out! Coming 2024 to PS5 & PC.
A trailer for the Gran Turismo movie. Seems pretty weird to have a movie in a PlayStation 5 Showcase. Hope both people who were excited for this movie enjoyed!
Jim Ryan comes on to close, and talks about a new device. Project Q is a handheld to let you play PS5 games on the go using PS5 remote play. I’m a bit skeptical of Internet-required handhelds, but if this is your thing it might be up your alley.
Also, PlayStation earbuds are going to be a thing.
Then, a man shows up in a forest. Are they really not showing Spider-Man?
Okay, it’s Kraven. Makes sense. Seems like he wants to hunt down every superpowered being in New York, not just Spider-Man. Then a symbiote suit reveal, complete with gameplay. Surprise, surprise, it looks incredible!
Then, a switch to Miles. Cool new stealth abilities, gadgets, and electricity effects. The whole thing is an extended gameplay sequence that might be best to watch yourself. Though if you want to stay pretty spoiler-free on the game, this sequence is one that’s best avoided. Still just a Fall 2023 release window though!
And, of course, ended with a sizzle reel of all of the games shown.
That’s it for our 2023 PlayStation Showcase recap! Judging by the games shown, there’s plenty for PlayStation 5 owners to be excited about in the rest of 2023 and beyond. Keep an eye on Minus World for game news throughout the Summer Game Fest season!
