One week ago, Sony gifted its fans with over an hour of new games in a Playstation Showcase of first and third-party reveals. Rumors were swirling around this show of new Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, Persona 6, and possibly more Horizon. Gamers had high expectations for a first-party blowout of epic proportions but left a little disappointed because they didn’t get what they were hoping for. Sony supposedly held back, according to some industry insiders, but what they revealed was still awesome.

Here are my top five games from the showcase that I’m looking forward to!

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Revenant Hill (No Release Date)

At first glance, Revenant Hill shouldn’t inspire many people. That being said, those who have played Night in the Woods should recognize the amazing art style of Revenant Hill. First off, please go play Night in the Woods if you haven’t. It’s an amazing story-driven game with deep characters and a dark story. And now the co-creators of Night in the Woods are developing Revenant Hill as a PlayStation exclusive.

Here’s a story snippet from the Playstation blog post about Revenant Hill:

“The year is 1919. After the barn he was living in burns down, Twigs the cat takes up residence in a wet log near an abandoned graveyard. When the owl from the next hill over starts demanding rent, Twigs must find a way to make ends meet, and things just get more complicated from there.”

Coby West, Technical Director at The Glory Society

Did anyone play Stray? How fun was it to be a cat in a video game? And now we get to do it again with an amazing art style and fantastic writing behind it.

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Towers of Aghasba (Summer 2024)

No game in this showcase gave me a sense of curiosity and wonder more than Towers of Aghasba. The announcement trailer had everything you could hope for in a reveal. It had beautiful cinematics, gameplay, and exposition for the world. Not to mention giant sky whales you can ride. I’ve never wanted to ride something more in my life.

Here’s a little excerpt from the senior game designer on the Playstation blog post, if you want to read more.

“Open-world builder games are amazing, aren’t they? We definitely think so, which is why we set out to reimagine the genre. We fantasized about a game where you could shape the towns and the environments you encounter. A game where you don’t just experience pre-designed creations but become a creator yourself. This sowed the seed for our studio’s very first game.”

Saiprapanch Adloor, Game Designer of Dreamlit Studios

That sounds incredibly promising! I get more and more excited about this game the more I read about it. The creators of the game have a huge vision and this will be a day-one purchase for me.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (No Release Date)

Let’s just get this one out of the way. There was no gameplay, just a cinematic reveal trailer, but a full reimagining and remake of one of the best PS2 games ever is incredibly exciting. Snake Eater was groundbreaking in 2004 and I cannot wait to play it in 2030 when it comes out!

Konami confirmed that Hideo Kojima is not attached to this project and that’s a little scary. The Metal Gear franchise was his baby and the director and publisher split was messy, to say the least. Konami has only released one game without its mastermind, Metal Gear Survive, and let’s say it wasn’t well received. Hopefully whoever is remastering one of the best games in the Metal Gear series does it justice!

Phantom Blade Zero (No Release Date)

Phantom Blade Zero had me hooked from the opening line, “What’s your plan, knowing you only have 66 days to live?” Then the trailer unfolds with a dark, dingy world loaded with cyberpunk monsters and incredible combat sequences. The fast and furious sword swinging was fascinating to watch, as was the parkour. This game reminded me of a FromSoft game that meets Devil May Cry.

“In Phantom Blade Zero, you’re Soul, an elite assassin serving an elusive but powerful organization known simply as “The Order”. He was framed for the murder of The Order’s patriarch and gravely injured in the manhunt that ensued. A mystic healer managed to save him from death, but makeshift cure only lasts for 66 days. He must find out the mastermind behind it all before his time runs out, against powerful foes and inhuman monstrosities.”

Soulframe Liang, Founder and CEO of S-Game

So many questions arise from this quote. Why does Soul only have 66 days left? Is there a way to permanently cure Soul’s wounds? Who’s this Order? It feels like the developers of this game have a huge world and backstory to accompany the smooth gameplay. This one will be another first day purchase.

Marvel’s Spiderman 2 (Fall 2023)

Insomniac’s Spiderman was one of my favorite games of the last decade. Swinging around New York City has constant appeal and never gets old. The game has a fast travel system, but it never got used because of how fun the swinging mechanic was. And we got another juicy snippet when the Miles Morales side story was released on launch day of the PS5.

Now both Peter and Miles are together for a sequel and it’s NOT going to be on this list? Of course it is. This game looks to improve on everything the original did. Both Peter and Miles have more powers while still having that frenetic beat ’em up combat.

That gameplay trailer was ten minutes of Spiderman goodness. We see a couple antagonists, the new combat and swinging mechanics, and some story teases too. It raises questions too! How did Peter bond with the Venom symbiote? What is Kraven the Hunter doing in New York City? Will the Venom symbiote turn Peter against Miles? There were small excerpts that made it seem that Peter was a little angrier than normal.

Read all about it on the Playstation blog. This game looks amazing, but not having a release date was a little disappointing.

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What were your favorite games from the Showcase? Were you let down by high expectations not being met? It’s okay! Just remember that Sony can’t just rely on existing IP. They have to show some third party too.