I am an enormous fan of PlayStation’s first-party providing. They got here to embody the type of film-like adventures I used to be at all times searching for whereas sitting with my controller in my hand. However when the model’s shiny storytelling previously seems like new floor is being stolen, I am unable to assist however really feel that it has not too long ago develop into a worn-out highway. The entire main releases of PlayStation are extra than simply sticking to the styling of the movie, which is the present third particular person of Trademark. The developer’s secure seems to be engrossed in the very same theme, tales exploring disappointment and revenge. And I am beginning to get tired of it. As a rule, all of those video games are completely nicely made, however when the PlayStation vary feels extra widespread and issues really feel slightly extra “enjoyable” I am beginning to miss that period.
The belief that so many PlayStation video games have explored the identical harsh story themes stunned me when enjoying soccer punch’s new ghost Yotei. I completely get pleasure from it and admire the constant and thrilling method to fight and the true sense of discovery it creates via exploration, however I could not assist however really feel that the story had been instructed earlier than. As ATSU, you might be tasked with revenging the deaths of your dad and mom on a bloody journey via seventeenth century Japan. Sadly, the story just isn’t solely near the shadow of Murderer’s beliefs, nevertheless it was accomplished earlier this 12 months, however is a fiery mixture of revenge arcs, identical to the disappointment meditation that has develop into a trademark of PlayStation Studios lately.
The ultimate half 2 of the USA within the 2020s is an apparent pioneer, with a darkish descent into the raging embodiment of revenge on account of Ellie’s father determine, Joel’s loss of life. In fact, it was the unique sequel to 2013, which explored how Joel struggled to cope with the loss of life of his daughter. On the time, our final was thought of fueling the waves of “Unhappy Daddy” video games, together with the God of Struggle of 2018, however in hindsight these had been the preconceived constructing blocks of PlayStation’s disappointment.
The God of Struggle in 2022, Ragnarok, is a narrative fueled by the lack of his mom and son and the trend that comes with them. Insomniac’s Spider-Man sequence follows each Peter Parker and Miles Morales, not solely trying to beat the specter of supervillains, but in addition wrestling with demons derived from the looks of lifeless dad and mom. Returns within the 2020s are loop’s sci-fi nightmare born out of the household grief-related trauma of the protagonist Serene. After which there’s the opposite Large PlayStation Unique of 2025, Dying Stranding 2: On The Seaside, which is probably not technically a first-party sport, however definitely a verifiable east feast of maternal and paternal anguish.
Please do not get me fallacious. I’m a fan of all of the video games above, every in singular kind in character portrayals, every providing a really totally different gameplay expertise. However total, it is easy to listen to that their tales are all sung from the identical hymn sheet. Familial disappointment is on the coronary heart of all these tales and I definitely really feel that mature themes have a spot within the sport, however at this level I am starting to really feel like I am being hit round my head with the identical concept. The “cycle of violence” is at a really real looking danger of turning into a loop with decreased returns.
In fact, it is true that is not the case each PS5 video games observe this sample. Astorobots will not be a quest for generational trauma in deep house, however they catch my drift. I feel that coincidentally, I had loads of enjoyable with Group Asobi’s Orde to Previous of Previous. That felt uncommon. However it was by no means like this.
The PS3 gave us an unknown period of Naughty Canine. This finally challenged a extra melancholic territory on the finish of the thief, however firmly planted the flag on the journey theme with torn from the pulp fiction pages. I’ve at all times had a gentle spot for insomnia resistance and its WWII/SF battle mashup, and Little Large Planet, which praises creativity and neighborhood all the way in which throughout the tone spectrum. Sure, all of those video games contained totally different ranges of character nuance, however they had been all about essentially various things: treasure looking, alien invasion, private illustration. They weren’t all attempting to supply the identical story. And if a brand new Jak and Daxter sport comes out immediately, it will probably’t be helped that it is concerning the thirst of vengeance towards his blonde good friend’s assassin.
Even when Future PlayStation Exclusives chooses to sort out a extra “critical” topic, we hope that we are able to see this various, fascinating previous for inspiration. Group ICO’s PS2 Traditional Shadow of the Colossus gained a tragic tone, however discovered one thing actually distinctive and transferring when such an concept wasn’t that widespread within the sport. It tells its story via whimsical and minimal cutscenes as immediately’s distinctive masterpiece. What we did not have within the mid-2000s had been 5 PS2 releases that took exact contemplation about love and loss and instructed the identical story in a unique wrapping. Each time I performed one thing new from Sony’s studio on a console now 25, it felt like a complete new experiment that included a unique story in addition to a variation of the theme.
This may return you to Ghost of Yotai. This can be a higher sport than its predecessor in nearly each respect, aside from its central story. I join with Atsu greater than I did Jin Sakai, however she’s way more heat to spend a couple of dozen hours – the story of Ghost of Tsushima explores a unique, recent floor. The story stands out when it arrives hotly after the ultimate half two in 2020, balancing Jin’s private struggles, backing up the invasion of the nation, honour, betrayal, genus themes and chords.
Maybe the PlayStation’s curiosity in grief, nonetheless, displays the state of the world. The melancholy is considerably comprehensible when seen via PS5 unique lenses like Ghost of Yotei and Dying Stranding 2. The covid pandemic undoubtedly received our planet in 2020 and 2021, so the theme surrounding surprising losses and large trauma would have been on the forefront of many minds. Due to this fact, it is going to be fascinating to see if this sample continues even additional. Do the tales instructed within the challenge that started manufacturing after 2022 mirror one other state of the planet, or will they proceed to look inside ourselves in our darkest moments? These are in fact all of the legitimate tales to inform, and I’m an enormous advocate of artwork, a mirrored image of those that created it, however I’ve no selection however to need slightly extra selection sooner or later.
There’s a cause why Sony is hopeful and skeptical contemplating what comes subsequent. Wolverine from Insomniac seems to supply all of the gore and decapitation you wish to see, however does its mature ranking mirror that theme? Logan is definitely a personality consumed by his need for revenge. Will or not it’s seen as we take away the acquainted path of burying the demons of the previous via ultraviolet rays, or will we get a totally totally different story that takes benefit of one other a part of his thoughts? James Mangold’s Logan has already instructed the story that will have efficiently slotted the PlayStation “Unhappy Daddy” Canon, because the X23 was tapped on the softer aspect of his adamantium physique, so hopefully he will not re-run that concept right here.
We additionally know that Saros is on the way in which from Home Mark in March, and definitely seemed spectacular in his newest playstream. As for the Naughty Canine, in relation to Earth Zero on this lengthy interval of disappointment, we all know that the studio will tackle the territory of intergalactic prophets after which sci-fi. Its first trailer was promising and provided a extra pleasing tone than we had dreamed of seeing from the very finish. In fact, we barely broken the floor right here, nevertheless it’s nice to see a naughty canine rediscovering a few of this unknown attraction right here. Coincidentally, each of those upcoming PS5 video games are tales about folks investigating colonies of the misplaced world. Reasonably than reminding them of the disappointment they left behind, I hope for me that they are going to discover a vastly totally different story to inform about every of them.
Simon Cardy can discover himself in despair primarily round open world video games, indulging in Korean motion pictures, or despairing in Tottenham Hotspur and New York Jets. Comply with him on Bluesky @cardy.bsky.social.