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The PS5's Library Might Turn Out to be the Biggest and Most Diverse in PlayStation History

It's usually only at the tail end of a console generation where you can really get a solid feel for how that console's library turned out. Usually, the goal of every console's library is to have something for everyone. From driving games for racing fans, first person shooters, RPGs, fighting games, and everything in between. All the major genres, as well as as many shades of them as possible, should ideally be represented as much as possible. In fact, failing to have a vibrant, diverse library can often be the lead contributing factor leading to a console's life-span being cut short. Just look at the Atari Jaguar, 3DO, and other platforms that failed to really get any traction. Odds are, problems with their libraries at least in-part lead to their untimely demise.

On the flip side of that, you have the PlayStation ecosystem, which has, for the most part, successfully delivered exemplary titles and great libraries for all of their systems. Even their weakest example of this, the PlayStation Vita, isn't too bad in this regard. It shouldn't be much of a surprise to see that the PlayStation 4 also did a great job with keeping as many types of gamers as possible happy all at once. It was not by totally copying the approach to the PS3 though.

The PS4 definitely shook things up a bit for its library from what was offered on the PS3. A more friendly environment for indie developers, more of an emphasis on their top-tier triple-A studios, and special attention being paid to the third-person action adventure genre are all things that make the PS4 stand apart from the PS3 at least in terms of game selection. While it is true that both consoles are flush with pretty much all types of games, there was definitely more of a concentrated push in those specific directions. As such, the upcoming PlayStation 5 seems determined to ride the wave of the success the PS4 had with those ideas, but it also might be shaking things up again with some noticeable changes.

As the PS4 certainly did unearth quite a lot of interest in the action adventure genre, we can certainly expect that trend to continue. While Naughty Dog probably won't be the ones to make the next Uncharted game, it's definitely going to be a thing, eventually. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wasn't already being worked on. At a more macro level, though, there's no denying the success of the big third person action adventure games on PS4. Horizon, Spider-Man, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Ratchet & Clank, and The Last of Us Part 2 all had extremely good showings both critically and commercially. Even games that everyone didn't fall in love with like the The Order: 1886 and Days Gone still did pretty well, generally speaking.

We would be crazy to think that all of these major PS4 hits aren't candidates to be long-running franchises. In fact, we already know many of them are getting sequels. Knowing that, we can easily assume that the trend of these big-budget, heavily-marketed, high-production value marquee titles will continue. Perhaps at an exponential rate. One blind spot of the PS4 that did seem to emerge about half-way through the generation, was the sheer amount of time in-between these releases. Looking back on all of them now it might seem there were plenty of them, but keep in mind this was over a seven-year period. There were months and months between them many times, and it would make a lot of sense for Sony to look into rectifying that.

There's a lot of room between flooding the market, and given how PlayStation rolled out their first-party exclusives, and I think Sony will probably take a couple of major steps toward keeping a steadier, meatier stream of these sorts of games in the next generation. As games are taking longer and longer to develop, this will likely be addressed through additional studio acquisitions, like the fairly recent addition of Insomniac to the PlayStation family. The fact that Microsoft will soon be seeing the fruits of their acquisition spree from a couple years ago, also probably adds fuel to the fire under Sony to keep ahead of them in this area. This is a good thing for those of us who stick around on PlayStation for those big exclusive games.

One thing that Sony's first party studios have shown us over the last decade or so, is that they don't tend to like doing the exact same thing over and over to no end. Guerrilla moved on from the gritty shooters of Killzone to the ridiculously colorful world of Horizon, Naughty Dog moved on from mascot platformers to more grounded action adventures, and Sucker Punch moved on from Sly, to inFamous, to Feudal Japan. These teams are many things, but stagnant is not one of them. In light of that, I think we're going to see a little more experimentation from these studios on the PS5 than we saw on the PS4. While the third-person action adventure games are certainly going to remain a big part of PlayStations variety, I think we are likely to see more variety here this time around.

Will Naughty Dog make a first person RPG? Will Guerrilla end up making a multiplayer-focused SOCOM game? I can't say at this point for sure, but we are likely going to see a few rolls of the dice here and there this time around. Another reason I suspect this is because the PlayStation brand is in a much safer place now than it was at the dawn of the PS4. Back in 2013, PlayStation had barely cobbled together a razor thin lead over Microsoft, and they probably knew that Nintendo was going to come out swinging with something revolutionary in a few years. It was time to play it safe. It was time to find out exactly what developers and gamers wanted, and just do their damndest to supply as much of that as possible. With the success of The Last of Us, Assassin's Creed, and the like, it was obvious that large, sprawling action adventure games were what was in at the time, and so plans were put in place to give us over half a decade of them.

the last of us part 2

But that's not where we are now. Sony, on top of raking in record profits multiple years in a row, has also cut costs by dropping their laptop division, simplifying their TV department, and other decisions that have put them in a very comfortable position financially. If there's ever a time to experiment and try out new things, it's now, when calculated risks are least offensive, and occasional failures are most bearable. It's somewhat similar to where Sony was at the tail-end of the PS2, which was a nice time as we saw lots of interesting experimental games end up on the PS3 and Vita as a result. There's also the wild card of Japan Studio, who always seems to just do whatever they want. That's a studio we should all be very interested to hear from soon. They are completely unpredictable, and this is a perfect era for them to really stretch their legs.

With Guerrilla hiring more seasoned designers from the multiplayer world and PlayStation getting lots of new, interesting multiplayer games like Godfall and Destruction All-Stars on the PS5, it's also pretty apparent that Sony wants at least a couple big multiplayer hits in their ecosystem. This is something they've wanted for a long time, and have come pretty close with Killzone and SOCOM games, but never quite struck the level of paydirt that Microsoft did with Halo. I think it's safe to say you're going to see the biggest push from Sony, perhaps ever, to really get some major traction with a huge multiplayer title or two. So expect them to throw a lot of things at us in the coming years.

horizon forbidden west

Also, with less of a push for indie titles surrounding the PS5 than we saw around the PS4, we might end up getting less of them on Sony's newest console as well. Sony is likely more concerned with quality than quantity in that particular arena now, as many of the lower-tier indie games on PS4 did basically nothing for the platform other than gum up the store with games that didn't sell. You'll still have your Dead Cells, your Shovel Knights but you probably won't see nearly as many of those 3, 4, and 5-dollar games this time around.

With a greater focus on what worked about the last generation, and the ability to experiment that they currently have, we should definitely be ready for a very diverse library out of the PS5. As I stated, this is something that no PlayStation library is new to, but we may still see the greatest example of it yet on the PlayStation 5. There is plenty of evidence that PlayStation fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming decade.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

RIDE 4 Will Run at 60 FPS and "Up to 4K" on PS5

ride 4

Milestone's bike racing sim RIDE 4 will be coming to PC and current-gen consoles in less than a month from now, but like most other upcoming video games, it'll also be releasing on next-gen consoles. In a recently published update on the PlayStation Blog, Milestone producer Luigi Crocetta confirmed that RIDE 4 will be launching on the PS5 on January 21, 2020, and also detailed how the game will leverage the console's new hardware capabilities.

For starters, the game will run at 60 frames per second on the PS5, which it will be doing at a resolution of "up to" 4K (the wording of that might suggest that it'll be a dynamic resolution). Meanwhile, RIDE 4 will also use the PS5's SSD for not only "significantly reduced" loading times, but also "a better gameplay experience", with Crocetta writing, "The SSD will enable faster streaming of textures, allowing us to better immerse players in our environments while they roar around tracks at 300 km/h."

Meanwhile, like many other major upcoming releases for the PS5, RIDE 4 will also be using the DualSense's unique features. "Gas and brake levers will have their own resistance to transmit the same sensations as their real-life counterparts," Crocetta explained. "We are also leveraging haptic feedback to let players feel their vehicle's vibrations, just like when they ride on the streets."

RIDE 4 will be releasing for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 8.

Prince of Persia Remake to be Announced at Ubisoft Forward – Rumour

prince of persia the forgotten sands

A couple of weeks ago, a retailer listing popped up online for a Prince of Persia remake– which, of course, was surprising because no such game has been announced by Ubisoft yet. Ordinarily, most people would have waved that away as being nothing, but not long after that listing went up, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier said that it was an accurate leak after all, and that the "surprise announcement" would be coming very soon.

With a second Ubisoft Forward digital showcase coming next week on September 10, the assumption has been that that's when this game – if it is indeed real – will be announced, and Schreier recently said that that will be the case. Speaking recently during the Triple Click podcast (at around the 27:00 mark, as spotted by Wccftech), Schreier mentioned that Ubisoft are planning on announcing the Prince of Persia remake during the Ubisoft Forward show.

Of course, until such time an official announcement is made, it's best to tread with caution, especially with a franchise that has been inactive for as long as Prince of Persia has been. That said, Schreier's track record with inside info speaks for itself, and Ubisoft have a terrible history with leaks, so there's probably something to this after all.

You can also expect an official reveal (or re-reveal) of Immortals Fenyx Rising (previously known as Gods and Monsters) at the Ubisoft Forward showcase. As per a recent leak, the game is due out this December.

Mafia: Definitive Edition Map Changes Detailed, Countryside Open From Start

mafia definitive edition

Hangar 13 has been doing some significant work with Mafia: Definitive Edition, implementing a new lighting engine, recreating cutscenes from the ground up and adding new story sequences. It's also spruced up the open world of Lost Heaven quite a bit. You can check out how it looks in motion here but some new details have been revealed in a recent blog post.

According to the developer, the geometry of Lost Heaven from the 2002 original has been used to create the Definitive Edition's version of the city. Some names have changed but locations like the airport, race track and so on are all here. Perhaps the most significant change is that the countryside can now be explored without having to play through the story first. There's also no loading screen when transitioning these areas.

Other changes include the city center having more high-rise buildings; Chinatown having more fitting architecture and better representation; modified topography; and much more. With the addition of motorcycles, there now side-alleys that can be used when avoiding the police. You can also expect certain objective locations to be changed to mix up the variety of areas and neighborhoods.

You can check out the Lost Heaven map for Mafia: Definitive Edition below. The game is out on September 25th for Xbox One, PS4, PC and Google Stadia.

Mafia Definitive Edition_Lost Heaven

Madden NFL 21 Gets First Details On Franchise Mode Update

madden nfl 21

The latest entry in the annual football series is here with Madden NFL 21, and well, the reception is what it is, I suppose. The game has been criticized for being an even more barebones effort than usual outside a few key exceptions, though some still found enjoyment in it. You can see our take on that through here. But EA has promised some changes would be coming, specifically to the Franchise mode. Now they've detailed what to expect.

In a post from the publisher, they broke down what they plan to add to the mode. It may not be exactly the overhaul some want, but you will be able to customize X-Factor and Superstar abilities as well as edit players in both offline and online modes. It will also return the ability to see important stats for other players, such as what team they played throughout their career, as well as tuning development trait regression to help keep players balanced.

Madden NFL 21 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The update will come in November, most likely in time for the game's release on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

DOOM Eternal Shines In GeForce RTX 3080 4K Comparison Trailer

doom eternal the ancient gods

We'll finally be getting the excuse we all needed next month to return to the ripping and tearing of DOOM Eternal with the new The Ancient Gods expansion. The game was already quite the looker, too, so this revisit will be easy on the eyes, but with the newest Nvidia cards, it should be even more so. And today we have a new comparison trailer just to show you how much.

As revealed at the beginning of this week, Nvidia showed off their next generation of graphics cards, including the flagship GeForce RTX 3080. They released a trailer for the card running DOOM Eternal with some comparisons to the previous RTX 2080 Ti. You can see what you think of it below, but it does look to be quite the jump.

DOOM Eternal is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. The Ancient Gods Part 1 is set to release October 20th. The RTX 3080 will launch on September 17th.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Footage Leaks, VIP Escort Mode Revealed

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War_01

The Call of Duty series is no stranger to leaks and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War seems especially impacted by the same. Ahead of the game's multiplayer reveal on September 9th, footage for the same has leaked. You can check out the full six minute video here, though it doesn't have any sound. Head to Reddit for a worse quality version with sound.

A couple of things can be gleaned from the footage. First, there's a new mode called VIP Escort. Features like tactical sprint and mounting, which were synonymous with last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare are also absent. Both the player and opponents have health bars as well.

The loadout system seems to be a combination of the classic Pick 10 and last year's Gunsmith. Overall, the introduction scene looks pretty cool and 80's Miami as a map looks pretty atmospheric. The movement and animations aren't quite as crisp as Modern Warfare but this could be an older build.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is out on November 13th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and PC. Stay tuned for more details in the coming week when multiplayer is official revealed.

The Division 2 To Get New Endgame PvE Mode With "The Summit"

the division 2 warlords of new york

Last year we got the sequel to Ubisoft's live service shooter title with The Division 2. Much like the first game, it featured you as an agent in a crippled American society as you must battle warring factions to pick up the pieces. Since that release, there's been lots of updates for the game, and more are coming. And one of those is going to be quite the fight.

In the last The Division 2: State of the Game stream, it was announced a new endgame level mode was coming called The Summit. The Summit will see you tackle a 100 story skyscraper with boss fights at every 10 floors. The building will change with each visit. You can tackle this with a group or, if you're really looking for a challenge, you can do it solo.

The Division 2 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. The Summit did not have a date, but will come free with those who bought the most recent season pass. You can also revisit the first game free of charge on PC up until September 7th.

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Is Composed By Andrew Hulshult and David Levy

doom eternal the ancient gods

It was something of a long wait, but we finally got the reveal of the DLC for DOOM Eternal, The Ancient Gods. The first part of the expansion will come in October as both DLC for the original base release, as well as a standalone download for those who didn't play that or sold it earlier. And while the sound may be similar, the people behind it are different.

If you don't recall, shortly after DOOM Eternal's release, the game's composer, the somewhat legendary Mick Gordon, had something of a falling out with id Software and said it was doubtful he would ever work with the developer again. It was later confirmed that he would not be composing the DLC music. Instead, it'll be Andrew Hulshult and David Levy. Hulshult is known for his composing work on first person shooters such as Quake Champions and Dusk, and Levy is mostly known for his work on the Red vs Blue series.

DOOM Eternal is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia, and The Ancient Gods Part 1 will release across all platforms October 20th.

Nioh 2 Update 1.14 Now Available, Increases Rewards From DLC Bosses

Nioh 2 - The Tengu's Disciple

A new update is available for Nioh 2 in the wake of The Tengu's Disciple DLC launch in July. It adds slightly more content with the new Picture Scrolls having enemies and bosses from the DLC. These will drop in Dream of the Demon difficulty which seen some other tweaks.

Essentially, there should be an increase in appearance of Special Effects from equipment that drops from enemies. These Special Effects won't appear with the Blacksmith's Temper function so it's a nice change. You can also expect an increase in the minimum value of the Special Effects, which should eliminate too much deviance from the max value (which making the latter easier to appear).

Other adjustments include the "Deflect Bullets and Arrows (Timely Guard)" skill being able to deflect other projectiles. While Amrita and Gold rewards from Bakegani and Nuppeppo have been decreased, the amount obtained from bosses in the DLC has been increased. For more details on update 1.14 and it's changes, check out the patch notes below.