The journey of developing Cygni hasn’t been easy, especially as a start-up, with this being our debut game. Nevertheless, every step of this journey has been filled with passion.

Our inspiration was sparked by the enjoyment we found in playing shoot’em ups on arcade machines in our youth – a fun experience that brought joy to all, regardless of high scores. We aimed to recreate this exhilarating experience using next-gen technology, with the power of the PlayStation 5. This has allowed us to deliver a fresh take on the shoot-‘em-up, with an epic story, and innovative gameplay features for a new generation of gamers.

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Ava’s fight for survival

Cygni, a planet colonized by humans, thrives on ancient technology found in ruins left by an unknown civilization. These remnants serve as a vital power source and catalyst for technological progress. Our protagonist Ava, a recent recruit in Cygni’s Air Force, pilots the Orca in a desperate struggle against a sudden, potent attack by bio-mechanical aliens— potentially Cygni’s original inhabitants. 

Beyond the bullets

Energy Management: Switching between shields (health) and weapons (more firepower and missiles) on the fly. 

Combat: Air-to-air and air-to-ground combat includes a real-time crowd system—not just a background prop; they are gameplay-related, where players can interact with allied forces on the ground. This mutual assistance is not only crucial for gameplay but also aids in obtaining pickups and increasing your score.

Weapon Enhancement: Upgrade and prepare weapons – even equipping your ship with two additional side-drones – before engaging in battle.

Designer Mode: Allows players to create, save, and manage projectile patterns on the go. This feature adds a layer of customization and strategy, enabling players to toggle between saved patterns on the go.

Three Difficulty Modes: Easy (being more accessible, by having 3 lives per level) Normal and Hard. 

Hi everyone! We hope you are getting ready for a good summer and have enjoyed the last few weeks of gaming news. 

As we gear up for Astro Bot’s launch on September 6, we wanted to let you in on a few surprises we have been reserving for our community.

In Astro Bot, you and Astro go on a mission to rescue the 300 bots crew who got scattered all over the galaxies. Many of the bots making up the crew are cameo characters that have marked the PlayStation history. There are over 150 to collect, each with their own funny animations relating to the game they originally came from.

To add a spice of fun, we’ve been hiding 4 of these Special Bots inside Astro’s Playroom, which came pre-loaded in every PS5 console. By unlocking these 4 hidden characters in Astro’s Playroom, you will be able to take them with you into the new game, Astro Bot, and add them to your starting crew. Are you following so far?

On June 7, we dropped in the first of these 4 Special Bots. Being cheeky robots ourselves, we thought it would be fun to turn this into a treasure hunt riddle and see how long it would take anyone to figure it out. What a big surprise to see it took the community less than 3 hours to clear that riddle. That was quite incredible. If you have missed it, here is a quick rundown of what you have to do.

We hid a secret capsule in the first area of GPU Jungle (Render Forest). To make it appear, you must stand on top of a big plant near the edge of the level, just behind the Bloodborne Hunter Bot. Inside the capsule, another Special Bot (Lady Maria) appears to be trapped and needs rescuing.

On the capsule itself, we included a small hint showing the image of a clock. But what could that mean? Looking carefully around the level nearby, you will find a similar clock symbol carved into one of the trees up above. It takes a few jumps to get there. It is at the back of a tree, the furthest away.

That’s when things get trickier (or so we thought!). Standing on that spot, you have to pause the game by pressing the options button. Instead of the normal pause, that makes a special Astral Clock screen appear. By entering the number 24.11.2015 (or November 24, 2015, the original release date of the Bloodborne DLC featuring Lady Maria), the hands of the clock magically turn and…

The capsule opens, letting our Special Bot free. Well done, let’s celebrate with a trophy!

Once freed, Lady Maria will wait for you in the Mission Room, ready to be transferred to Astro Bot when you are ready.

Just a few days ago, we added a second Special Bot, Selene, from the PS5 title Returnal. Once again, working together, you were able to crack the riddle and free her to make it 2 out of 4.

Last week, we asked you to share fireworks bursting in games of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

clerence_1993 shares Cloud and Tifa sharing a moment with firework bursting in the sky behind them

secondcapture shares sparks flying behind Ratchet in a way that looks like fireworks in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

call_me_xavii shares Aloy in her Elisbeth outfit staring up at fireworks

xenobitz shares fireworks bursting in Naraka: Bladepoint

jdbolzan shares fireworks bursting over the Eiffel Tower and the not-yet-gifted Statue of Liberty in Assassin’s Creed Unity

GM04v shares a ronin posing in front of fireworks in Rise of the Ronin

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?

THEME: Tourist
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 10, 2024

Next week, we’re using games to travel the world. Share real world locations or landmarks that players can visit in the game of their choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

At Sony Interactive, we’re always looking for opportunities to bring our players closer to some of PlayStation’s most beloved games – and that includes bringing to life collections of physical products to add to your home decor.  Today we are pleased to reveal a new collaboration with Spin Master, a leading toy company, to introduce The Shapes Collection – a new line of collectibles, based on our hit PlayStation Studios titles. This includes iconic characters from God of War Ragnarök, Horizon Forbidden West, and Ghost of Tsushima.  

The highly detailed figures deliver the interactive storytelling element of these titles in an all-new way, extending the gaming experience from digital to physical. This creative line takes inspiration from details in each game, with interchangeable accessories and dozens of points of articulation to pose and display each figure in your collection of memorabilia.

The Shapes Collection 

Deluxe Figure 6-inch Aloy, Horizon Forbidden West