This Week in Games

Himmel The Hero Would Have Liked the Sony State of Play...

Welcome back, folks! We hope you enjoyed last week's segment on American games getting censored in Japan; the segment was brainstormed by our colleague Jacki Jing, who will make a short video about the matter on Anime News Network's socials. Keep an eye out for it! It's my first time writing something for a video; I'm rather excited for it. I've got another feature I'm working on to tie in with this week's feature on isekai anime; look forward to it next week!

There are likely a million things behind the scenes that affect how any given game comes out. I've learned enough about the game industry to know that a lot of the big flaws in a game come from decisions made upstairs—not from "the people" at any given company being "lazy."

With that said: holy crap, a lot has to go wrong with your system for your entire platform's network to go dark for a whole day.

This past weekend saw an outage for the PlayStation Network that lasted almost a whole day. If you played anything with online features—Call of Duty, Palworld, Fortnite, Madden—you were out of luck. The features were dead. If you tried accessing digital games on your PlayStation 5's hard drive—you were out of luck. The console depends on a PSN connection to validate your license and ensure your copy is valid. To make matters far worse: physical copies weren't exempt from the outage. It turns out the PS5 requires a PSN connection to pair a disk drive with the console. If you bought the digital version and an external disk drive after the fact while PSN was down, your physical PS5 games have so many coasters. (Troubling, in the inevitable eventuality that the PS5's PSN is shut down.) Only if you straight-up had a PS5 with a pre-installed drive (or a drive that had been paired before the outage) could you play the games you paid money for. Hence why I'm such a stickler for physical games.

I say again, what the heck?!

This isn't the first time PSN has had such a major outage; there was also the 2011 PlayStation Network outage that lasted 23 days, which also saw a ton of consumer data leaked from the service. Possibly because of the backlash against that outage, Sony has (at the time of writing) kept mum about the details regarding this outage.

In the meantime, I'm pretty disgusted by the whole ordeal. I've always been firmly against online requirements for video games in any capacity—because those worked against me for a long time. My home in Puerto Rico was up in the mountains, where a reliable Internet connection wasn't in the cards for us. Any game with online components, or even DLC, was a tall order for me. I didn't have the means to play them regularly unless I was at college. Imagine my surprise when I would go home and try to play Blade Kitten on Steam, only to find it required an Internet connection for some dumb reason! (Thank God that was reversed sometime later.) When Microsoft announced their plans for the then-unreleased Xbox One to have an always-online requirement, I wasn't happy; such a decision would only lead to a future where I could potentially buy games and not be able to play them. I remembered a statement from Cliff Bleszinski wherein he defended the decision, claiming that any kind of situation that could backfire was just "an edge case." Since graduating college and moving to Portland, an Internet connection is a lot easier to acquire. Still, even now, there are likely a lot of other kids on American soil who can't take a broadband Internet connection for granted. I bet they don't feel like "edge cases"—they feel like they spent money on stuff they can't use.

The thing that sticks in my craw is that Sony was really proud of refusing the always-online system. That decision alone was a huge chunk of what ensured the PlayStation 4's dominance; Microsoft eventually recanted its always-online decision, but the damage was done. Sony not only went against that, but they've opened themselves up to seeing it all blow up in their face. It seems like avoiding the whole mess could've been easy! And in the years since, it's not like Internet services have gotten better to the point where always-online requirements are any more appealing. The FCC estimates that 94% of all houses have broadband connections—that still leaves a little over 7 million households across the country without broadband access. That's a lot of "edge cases."

With numbers like those, it's no wonder cloud gaming never took off. Eagle-eyed readers might have also noticed that one of the minor flaws I had listed in my review for AI2U: With You 'Til The End was that it also had an always-online requirement; no doubt because it requires a constant connection to the AI generators that power it—a very negative precedent to be setting. The need to tether our games to an Internet connection has no basis in convenience; it is only the desire to ensure that people who buy games only do so at the service providers' behest (and fees).

This recent debacle with PSN couldn't be a more appropriate egg on not just Sony's face, but any other game publisher—if it wasn't at the expense of people who paid money for games they couldn't access. It's a reminder that no matter how much consent the industry tries to manufacture regarding always-online, it is a net negative (hehe) for all of us. Anime fans know best that you cannot live off the whims of online platforms and service providers; game fans should take a few cues. Doesitplay on Twitter made a template for letters voicing their concern over the outage, which Sony patrons are encouraged to use in sending to Customer Support or other Sony venues. I urge people to follow through with sending a letter to Sony—respectfully. This is something that Sony needs to know people won't tolerate again and that always online is a can of worms nobody wants to open. We don't need to know how it happened; we need to know we won't have to go another day without being able to play the games we bought.

An anime has truly made it when featured in a collaboration with an MMORPG! But, uh, the choice in MMO can still be fairly surprising. We all know about the phenomenal Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, an emotional anime about a hot mess of an elf traveling the world with her student as she reminisces on her old journey with the fated hero of the land. It's a beautiful show with an amazing melancholic tone, but you don't need me to sell you on it.

Now Mabinogi? Yeah, that one might take a bit...

I'm at least halfway familiar with a lot of other MMORPGs, either because I've had to read about them in the news (TERA, Eve Online, the belated Wildstar) or because friends of mine have played them and I've learned about them through osmosis (Ragnarok Online, FlyFF, PangYa, Maple Story). But, uh... Mabinogi was a mystery to me. I've never known anyone who has ever played it, and outside of an advertisement for the game I once saw in Shonen Jump Magazine in 2008, I never saw much promotion for it.

For the uninitiated, Mabinogi is a free-to-play MMO published by Nexon. Loosely based on Welsh mythology and named after the Mabinogion, it's a game that focuses on accessibility and freedom in its gameplay. While you can raid dungeons and fight monsters, Mabinogi also gives you tons of options to live a fantasy life with a chesty white-haired magic woman as you see fit (translation: fishing and playing music are options). The game has quietly plugged away in the background since 2008; it's added a ton but still looks firmly of its era (which has come full circle into being charming). I can't find much information on how active Mabinogi's playerbase, but a game doesn't stay alive for 17 years without a fiercely loyal audience. With all due respect to the Mabinogi faithful: when I saw this news, I had to check myself at the realization that Mabinogi still existed.

At any rate, from February 6 to March 6, Mabinogi will feature some unique tchotchkes based on Frieren and her companions Fern and Stark (also, the smug Ubel is there). You can meet Frieren and her entourage in-game, gain special outfits based on Serie and Himmel The Hero, and play the Erinn-Go-Round to win figures based on them. Also, you can earn Himmel's commemorative statue because it wouldn't be Frieren without it. You'll also be able to pay actual IRL money to buy Adventure Boxes (read: loot boxes) with outfit components based on Frieren, Fern, Stark, Übel, Aura, Lügner, and Linie, as well as little dolls of them. While Mabinogi certainly looks dated, the cast fits the game's art style well (what with the round faces). Also, something about those models perfectly captures Übel's smug face...

If that's not enough to convince you, you can also earn an emote based on Frieren's "seduction technique."

I've got Sony and Nintendo alike on notice because announcing your Directs or State of Play's the day before they happen is crappy. Maybe I had an idea for a topic I could cover in a column that I have to push back now to cover your stream? It's definitely an annoying aspect of modern game announcements. Regardless, Sony held a State of Play stream this week. The chat on YouTube was as odious as ever (I apologize to community managers worldwide; you don't get paid enough), but we had some interesting games announced this time.

As usual, we'll gloss over the American titles. But real quick:WWE 2K25 is coming (looking forward to the Vinewrestle specials we'll get from that). Borderlands 4 is also coming; it's a matter of "when" and not "if" it'll feature a tired "hawk tuah" joke. It Takes Two creators Hazelight Studios are working on a new co-op game titled Split Fiction, about two writers working together to survive worlds based on each other's stories; I'm rather interested. Supermassive Games finally touches upon science fiction with Directive 8020, taking place aboard a spaceship where the crew must survive a shape-shifting alien. I'm somewhat indifferent, but I'm sure seeing the in-game acting will change my mind (The Quarry won me over with its stellar cast and characters).

Five Nights At Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic sure looks like a Five Nights At Freddy's game. The Midnight Walk looks like a fascinating claymation-based horror title, like The Neverhood by way of Oddworld, but I object to it being called "cozy horror." Let's stop brutalizing the word "cozy"; it's already on life support.

Hell is Us looks to have some interesting science-fiction vibes; it's got my attention. It releases on September 4. Days Gone Remastered launches April 25. Blue Prince is a fascinating game about rearranging the rooms in a spooky mansion, along the lines of an interactive Rose Red. Metal Eden and MindsEye [sic] are a pair of science-fiction shooters whose trailers felt a bit overstimulating to watch; I think I'm getting too old for trailers that are just images of nothing but guns shooting and reloading with some dramatic-sounding voice clips played over them. Saros has been revealed, promising to be a spiritual successor to Returnal with what appears to be an Indian man trying to survive on a planet orbiting a cursed eclipse. I'm excited for it!

Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth is a cult hit among not just Digimon fans but monster-taming fans alike and is considered by many to be one of the best competitors to Pokémon around. A combination of fun mechanics, great designs, and a great story (plus plenty of fun and unique systems for raising Digimon) gave it the nod from fans all over. It got itself an expansion with Hacker's Memory, and folks wanted more. Digimon Survive, while a great idea, was sadly poorly promoted and released right around the same time as Xenoblade Chronicles 3, leaving it in the dust. I'm stunned that Bandai Namco looked back and decided to give Digimon Story a third go.

The trailer itself managed to be a surprise for folks; right up until it showed off an actual Digimon and declared it as such, it was tough to parse what kind of RPG this would be (for a minute, I thought it was a weird Tales Of... game). What little I can gather about this title is that you'll be able to choose between a male or female protagonist, and you might be able to ride certain Digimon as mounts. Also, I'm seeing rumors from Digimon fans that this game might center around the Olympos XII: a collection of twelve Digimon based on the Roman pantheon. Depending on how long you've been playing Digimon, you might recognize one of them: Dianamon, who premiered in Digimon World: Dusk on the Nintendo DS ages ago. The basis for this is that you can see Aegiomon during the trailer—and Aegiomon can become Jupitermon (who represents Zeus/Jupiter). I've seen some folks theorize that further proof is found in the three "starter" Digimon on the cover (Patamon, Gomamon, and DemiDevimon), can also become members of the Olympos XII (Jupitermon, Plutomon, and Neptunemon). The trailer does mention that many of these Digimon have origins that reach into antiquity. At any rate, there's plenty of reason to be excited! Digimon Time Stranger will release on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam. No word yet on a release date, though Gamestop did spoil the reveal earlier in the day by listing it too early. Whoops.

CAPCOM was pretty busy during the State of Play. They opened the stream by revealing one of the returning monsters to Monster Hunter Wilds—the watery bubble master, Mizutsune. They also gave us a release date for the Onimusha 2 remaster: May 23. More importantly, we also got a nice trailer for the new Onimusha game, Way of the Sword. The game will star famed samurai Musashi Miyamoto, who is represented using the likeness of belated actor Toshirō Mifune. It's a brilliant fit: Mifune's quite dashing, he's got a great cocky smirk to him—and it's great to drop all pretense and skedaddle once he realizes he's in over his head. We also got a better look at how combat will work; the action is far too involved for it to be Souls-like, with all kinds of fancy parries and attacks. There's also a lot of focus on using the environment: we see Musashi do things like protect himself with a tatami mat (which he then kicks at a group of monsters), confuse a demon by tossing a blanket over his head, sending him flailing into a group of demons; and setting a demon aflame by kicking him into a brazier. It seems this game ties into the Onimusha anime, which details how Musashi came upon the Oni gauntlet. It's looking great so far! We'll see more of it in the lead-up to its release in 2026.

Sega was also pretty busy! They had a trailer promoting the Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii demo that comes out this Friday (which means it should be out as you're reading this column). They also had news about a new Dave the Diver expansion starring Ichiban, who will help Dave scrounge up fish while enjoying a bit of 2D side-scrolling beat-'em-up gameplay. Sega also dropped a new tiny miracle for us to put onto the board: a new Shinobi game! Shinobi: Art of Vengeance comes to us from Lizardcube, who also worked on Streets of Rage 4. It's a throwback to Shinobi as we last saw Joe Musashi in Shinobi III on the Sega Genesis (alas, poor Hotsuma...).

The new Shinobi does seem rather similar to Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, between the hand-drawn animation, the intense ninja action, and the stylized bloodshed. Now, there is room for two games about ninjas (who else is a ninja supposed to have a dramatic fight to the death against?), but it's still going to be interesting to see how these games differ in terms of their mechanics and play-styles. The bigger issue is that the new Shinobi is also leaning on being another super-intense 2D game. I know I harp a lot about wanting stuff that isn't Souls-like, but I also wish we'd get some 2D games that didn't require you to be Tokido to play through it. I love Mega Man Zero, but I don't want every 2D game to be Mega Man Zero. Even the original Shinobi games aren't this brutal. At any rate, I'm stunned Sega is dropping a new Shinobi for us. Look forward to Shinobi: Art of Vengeance on August 29.

Sega also gave us a new racing game to chew on: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. I'm excited for it! The Sonic Racing games are quite fun and breezy at their core, a phenomenal choice if you're a bit burnt out on Mario Kart. There's great technical depth, and it feels good to lick your analog stick to do stunts while jumping. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was a highlight for the series, featuring not only tracks from many beloved Sega franchises like Panzer Dragoon and Skies of Arcadia but also featuring a wide variety of Sega characters, like NiGHTS, Beat (from Jet Set Radio) and Amigo (Samba de Amigo). Also, for some reason, NASCAR racer Danica Patrick.

The major gimmick in CrossWorlds appears to be portals that transport you mid-race to other stages. It's an interesting idea, and if the stage choices are randomized, then it could force players to remain on their toes.t I hope it's enough of a shot in the arm for Sonic Racing. All-Stars Transformed was a ton of fun, and its "transformation" gimmick (wherein stages would change mid-race to boating segments and aerial segments) was a lot of fun; way more fun than the "team" mechanics in the follow-up, Team Sonic Racing. I hope we get more of that arcade excitement from CrossWorlds.

So, apparently, Lost Soul Aside has been in the oven since 2014; if it has been, I forgot it in the ensuing decade. And it looks like a game that's a decade out of time because it's rather obvious that this game is heavily inspired by Final Fantasy XV. Now, to be fair, Lost Soul Aside's dev has been open about being a huge fan of Final Fantasy. I'm not gonna hold that against him. This could be another Stellar Blade where it's very obviously (and heavily) inspired by another very visible game but holds up on its own. But Lost Soul Aside... painfully feels like Final Fantasy XV. China has been pushing its games worldwide lately. I really would like to see more Chinese games try to have their own aesthetic along the lines of Xuan Yuan Sword. Don't let me down!

I've shared my misgivings with the Dynasty Warriors going a bit more desaturated with its designs in its recent forays—that said, that new Dynasty Warriors game seemed to get a lot of love from my colleagues in the press, so it looks like my fears were for nothing. Regardless, Koei Tecmo gives us a rogue-lite spin on classic Dynasty Warriors: Warriors Abyss. The trailer promises 16 billion "fighting styles"; I'm assuming this means combinations of support characters and teams, given that it offers an expansive list of characters from both Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. It's out now for PS4 and PS5, but I can't help but feel this was intended for a mobile release...

Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater also got another trailer. This one with a release date of August 28. The game looks great, and fans will be excited that it goes so far as to include the Ape Vs. Snake minigame that had Snake going up against the loveable Apes from Ape Escape. On that note, a different version of this trailer exists for the Xbox port of Metal Gear Solid Δ, replacing the Ape with—of all things—Bomberman. Since the Apes are from Sony, Microsoft won't be able to have them in their version of the game. But instead of just yanking Ape Vs Snake out of the game, Konami offered Bomberman as a replacement for the Xbox port. It's a great idea and lets folks see Bomberman again after years of absence. Remember Bomberman? Man, those games were fun...

To wrap things up, we've got Dreams of Another, a curious third-person shooter from Q-Games. The central conceit behind the game is "There is no creation without destruction.” Players will equip themselves with machine guns and rocket launchers which, when fired into the void, will spawn doors and other objects to interact with. It's a concept that feels entirely on the nose while also being rather ingenious, forcing us to reexamine how we engage with shooters. The art style is also rather fascinating, evoking the art style of Pointillism.

Finally, we have news on some DLC. First up, the fantastic Lies of P gets a prequel DLC in the form of Lies of P: Overture, due out this summer. Stellar Blade is also set to receive DLC based on Shift-Up's mobile game, Goddess of Victory: NIKKE. It appears to be outfits based on several NIKKE characters, including Rapi, Scarlet, Anis, Alice, Dorothy, and Modernia. It also appears to include new areas. The Stellar Blade/Goddess of Victory: NIKKE collab is due this June, along with Stellar Blade's PC port.

That'll do it for this week. Currently, it's a very cold and stormy night in my neck of the woods. We're due for some snow and ice... but they're not closing the office at work. That's life, I guess. I lack pithy commentary or poignant anecdotes to sign out on, but as usual, I urge my readers to reach out to their favorite creators and offer them some support and gratitude. It's tough out there; you do good by reminding folks that they're not just shouting into the void. Be good to each other; I'll see you in seven.