Wave after wave of enemy forces advance, seemingly without end. Attacks arrive from every angle at once. The lives of innocent Eliksni captives hang in the balance. In response, Guardians do what they do best: take up arms and run headlong into the fray.

One of the major features introduced in Destiny 2’s latest Episode, Revenant, is Onslaught: Salvation. A defensive wave-based activity that pits three-Guardian fireteams against increasingly intense waves of enemies, Onslaught also allows Guardians to purchase powerful defensive units to use against the invading hordes. In its original form (introduced in Destiny 2: Into the Light), Onslaught was a packed and intense mode, full of ratcheting tension and ‘Did you see that?’ moments. Now, with Onslaught: Salvation, the development team is raising the bar.

“There were a lot of great and constructive feedback from the community with the original Onslaught,” said Destiny 2 designer Clayton Kisko. “The one we heard most often was that they wanted Bungie to invest in the mode with new maps, new enemies, and new defenses, and that is exactly what we are doing with Onslaught: Salvation.”

From a thematic perspective, Onslaught: Salvation’s three new maps – Widow’s Court, Eventide Ruins, and Kell’s Grave – are leaning into the gothic horror that is fitting with Revenant’s chilling visual theme. If the original Onslaught was about protecting the Last City from the forces of the Witness, this time around the theme leans into slaying monsters, fighting evil, and saving the innocent.

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By their nature, Onslaught maps need to pack a lot of punch into some relatively tight spaces to provide maximum tension and action. The three new maps each have their own unique layouts, while also building on lessons learned from earlier Onslaught maps.

“This time around we were able to identify the design pain points early and got ahead of the enemy teleporting issues,” said Kisko. “We ensured that there were at least three wide lanes for each Advanced Defense Unit (ADU) location. For Eventide Ruins, the larger map, we took our learnings from Mothyards (from the original Onslaught) and set out to make sure enemy spawn locations were closer to the ADU to ensure a closer time-to-complete to the other two maps.” 

Alongside the new maps, Guardians will be pleased to know that they’ll have new defensive countermeasures available this time around. The new Air Strikes will rain down retribution on humanity’s enemies and, for those who want to get a bit more hands on, there’s the Rideable Turret.

“The Rideable Turret i

Anyone familiar with Atlus’s deep and involving role-playing games has been eager to see what the strange and magical Metaphor: ReFantazio has in store. And while it’s not directly connected to the popular Persona series, there are some intriguing touchstones across its aesthetics and mechanics to hook fans and newcomers alike. Let’s take a close look at some of these intriguing similarities and differences ahead of the October 11 release date.

Combat is unleashed

Fans of Persona’s fast-paced yet detailed turn-based combat will find themselves at home here, but Studio Zero has given it a little twist, too. You can engage in real-time combat with low level enemies, taking them out with a handful of targeted strikes or even a single blow if your current level totally outclasses them.

There’s a dedicated dodge button to avoid their attacks if they see you before you can act, which is also handy for foes which are too tough to take out in real-time. In which case, you can initiate a turn-based battle after you’ve softened them up with an action strike – especially handy if you can catch an enemy off-guard first, giving you a free hit during the turn-based Squad Battle.

Real-time combat can be used to any monster’s advantage, too. During one instance I thought some vicious beasts were blocked by some barrels, but they smashed right through them, initiated the Squad Battle, and got a free hit on my party in the process. Lesson learned – I used the protagonist’s Fae Sight a lot more often from that point to be more aware of nearby enemies and have Gallica assess their threat levels. But if things are going really badly, you can also press L3 to restart the battle.

Time management is key

As the game’s main plot develops, one of your aims becomes balancing tasks through the day to gain democratic popularity while completing other objectives to become more powerful, creating bonds with other party members or hitting certain story milestones. As in Persona, each of these consume time as you creep towards specific events, and not meeting deadlines for critical ones results in a game over.

So mapping out each day, knowing when to enter time-consuming dungeons and when to rest – or even kill time by doing more peaceful tasks – can make all the difference. Thankfully, all activities are clearly denoted with how much time they eat up, so you shouldn’t be caught off guard. 

Exploring the United Kingdom of Euchronia

Metaphor: ReFantazio wastes no time establishing that we’re not on our Earth… or in a particularly safe land. The game’s inciting incident comes from a savage act of regicide, and things only get wilder from there with its

Last week, we asked you to showcase the best Astro Bot levels using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:

NightmarexDoll shares a spooky level with a mansion and a smiling moon in the background. 

pavesoint shares a level in the clouds featuring a mechanical sun.

SoundwaveXP shares a level featuring a Japanese-style bathhouse and mountains. 

kanon06 shares a level in space with a giant meteor and space debris. 

Jeff_Bytes shares an aquatic level featuring a row of birds sitting on a wire. 

Boargs shares a snow theme level with a snow slide and frosty vistas. 

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: Spooky Settings 

SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on October 9, 2024

Next week, showcase where things go bump in the night with Spooky Settings. Highlight spooky settings for Share of the Week using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Hi everyone, it’s Samar Louwe here, game director at Vertigo Games. Just last week during State of Play, we were thrilled to finally announce that Metro Awakening is coming to PS VR2 on November 7. Today, we’re excited to share another glimpse into the game with a new video showcasing extended gameplay on PS VR2.

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We’ve crafted a journey that intertwines gripping storytelling with deeply immersive gameplay. In Metro Awakening, you’ll confront the mysteries and dangers of a post-apocalyptic world, where survival and exploration are more critical than ever. As you navigate both familiar and new locations, each filled with supernatural threats, you’ll uncover the origin story of Khan, one of the Metro series’ most enigmatic characters. 

Become what you fear…

At the heart of Metro Awakening lies the powerful story of Serdar—a doctor searching for his missing wife. Throughout his journey, Serdar undergoes a profound transformation that leads him to awaken as Khan, a mystic figure who plays a recurring role throughout the Metro series. Known for his deep connection to the supernatural, Khan appears at critical moments, offering guidance to Metro’s protagonist, Artyom, and all who dare to navigate the dangers of the tunnels.

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Undisputed launches October 11 on PS5, and has been in development for nearly five years, starting as the humble Esports Boxing Club and then evolving into the first major boxing game in over a decade. With over 70 of the most prestigious prizefighters on the roster, including Canelo Álvarez, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Roy Jones Jr. and Joe Frazier, it was our priority to make sure that they not only looked amazing, but that they moved in their own, unique, signature ways too.

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From scan to sculpt

How do you get the longest reigning super middleweight world champion, Joe Calzaghe, to look as authentic and life-like as possible? It all starts with the scanning process. We work with a variety of scanning studios all over the world to create the most accurate reference images for us to work from. The Steel City Interactive art team then use this to sculpt the in-game models, recreating every muscle, vein, hair, and bead of sweat.

For our boxing legends, we also have a de-aging process. Players want to experience these fighters in their prime, so we try to recreate exactly what they looked like at that time.

“One of the most challenging parts of bringing characters from the past to life is the de-aging process. Lots of things usually change with age: eye shape, lip volume, cheekbones, body fat, even ear size, but my aim is to get them back to their fighting shape, recreating the look of their greatest fights. First, I collect a lot of references from every possible angle to have an overview of what I want to achieve. Then, I check the model to understand what to keep and what to change according to the pictures and footage. I then work on the tone and symmetry, removing some fat, wrinkles, and imperfections from the body and face. After this, I sculpt the main muscles and tweak the facial features. Eventually I get to a point where t

The release of Silent Hill 2 is just around the corner on October 8. We’re honored to be able to share detailed information about Silent Hill 2 with PlayStation players. Konami and Bloober Team have focused on respecting the original 2001 Silent Hill 2’s storyline, emphasizing the emotional expressions of each character through the highly skilled performances of their respective actors, and modernizing the overall gameplay. We hope that this very clear comparison will show you which aspects of the original the production team has respected and emphasized, as well as which aspects have been improved upon.

Spoiler Alert: This article and video reveal some narrative and gameplay surprises within Silent Hill 2.

For this episode of PlayStation Underground, Bloober Team partnered up with the SIE crew to bring you an exclusive look at James’ confrontation with Flesh Lip inside Brookhaven Hospital, presented in a head-to-head comparison with the same boss battle as it appears in the original game.

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Caption: Join Bloober Team’s Mateusz Lenart, Creative Director, and Andrzej Mądrzak, Lead Writer, for a look inside Brookhaven Hospital.

In many ways, this boss fight, alongside its accompanying cutscene, exemplifies the approach we took when reimagining Silent Hill 2. It shows our reverence for the original game by staying true to its original design, while also expanding upon it using modern technology that allows players to feel more in control of James.

As you can see, the general set-up for Laura’s cutscene that predates the battle and the Flesh Lip encounter itself are quite faithful to the original game, but with a few key changes that enable us to take full advantage of current storytelling and combat design techniques.

Caption: Comparison between 2001 Silent Hill 2 and the 2024 Silent Hill 2 remake 

Familiar characters come alive

For Laura’s cutscene, the interact

Hi all – Luke Karmali here from the team over at Larian Studios, bringing you the exciting news that Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 7 is now officially available on PlayStation 5 today. There’s quite a meaty buffet that stands before us, and a lot of ground to cover, so let’s dive in.

First up, the dastardly-minded among you will be pleased to know Patch 7 brings a whopping 13 new cinematic Evil Endings, including unique ones for each Origin Character. Unsatisfied with how much The Sword Coast has suffered to this point? Well now’s your chance to set the world to rights…or wrongs, as it turns out.

Alongside this, we’ve revamped our split screen gameplay offering for couch co-op play. Dynamic split screen means each side of the screen will merge when you near each other and split back up as you head off on your own adventures. No more arguments over which direction to head in!

But the addition that we’re especially keen to talk about today is our brand new Mod Manager, allowing console players to experience a fresh brand of mutable mayhem authored by community members like yourselves.

With mods running the gamut from the mad to the macabre, we can appreciate it may be a bit overwhelming for some to know where to start. With that in mind, we’re here to offer a rundown of five of our favourites, showing just what’s possible with this latest toolkit.

Five game-changing Mods to get you started

1) Adjustable Party Limit by PixellBytes

If you’ve been suffering from choice paralysis when it comes to building your party, then rejoice! Our first mod adds spells that allow you to adjust the number of companions in your party, up to 16, and can even work in multiplayer. Not content with your fellows swearing just their swords, bows and axes to you? Well now you can add their daggers, flails, glaives, staves, salamis and even their lutes at the same time! Speaking of which…

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September had many games for the kid and the warrior in us all. What did you enjoy most about last month’s title lineup? 

How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. After the polls close we will tally your votes, and announce the winner on our social channels and PlayStation.Blog. 

What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? Note: re-released games don’t qualify, but remakes do. We define remakes as ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds such as Resident Evil 4 (2023) and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

How are nominees decided? The PlayStation Blog editorial team will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll.

On October 31, Starship Troopers: Continuum will be released on PS VR2. This multiplayer co-op shooting game is the first to recreate Starship Troopers in virtual reality. This blog will explain what the game’s name actually means. But first, please welcome a very special guest! The face of FedNet, hero of Klendathu, General Johnny Rico!

A word from Casper Van Dien

“I guess I’m the closest thing Starship Troopers has for a hero. My character, Johnny Rico, has been with me for nearly 30 years. He spends most of the first movie surrounded by death. He’s responsible for a death in training. He’s mistakenly K.I.A on Klendathu. He’s promoted when Troopers die around him, falling upwards through the ranks. 

‘A citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic, defending it with his life; a civilian does not.’

In the end, Rico’s changed. He takes that quote to heart and becomes willing – even keen – to die for the cause. He becomes harder, stronger, more pragmatic… but at what cost? 

In Starship Troopers: Continuum, Rico’s a figurehead for FedNet’s ‘Klendathu 25’ celebration. I’m helping recruit new meat for the grinder, and you’re the meat. You play Mobile Infantry Troopers as they battle the opposing Arachnid force. Thousands will die on both sides. You’re disposable. Mobile Infantry does the dying, and that’s what this game is all about. 

VR puts you right there, on the battlefield with your squad, facing big, fast, mean and lethal bugs. Like Rico, you’re surrounded by death. So eyes front, Trooper! It’s your duty to take responsibility and defend the Federation with your life! Or do you wanna live forever?” 

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Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

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Hello listeners, we’ve got a bunch to unpack! This week, the PlayStation Podcast team dives into some of the hottest reveals coming out of this week’s news-packed State of Play. Plus, Sid discusses his recent hands-on experience with PS5 Pro launching on November 7.

Stuff We Talked About

• Next week’s releases:
  • Until Dawn | PS5, PC
  • Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream | PS5
  • Spongebob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game | PS5, PS4
• PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for October:
  • WWE 2K24
  • Dead Space
  • Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
• Ghost of Yōtei
• Astro Bot new content announced
• The Midnight Walk
• Hell is Us
• Chroma Collection – PS5 accessories
• Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered
• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
• PS5 Pro
• The Plucky Squire
• Doom + Doom II
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

The Cast

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