He watched us silently.

This was sometime late in 2015, but he’s still there today. 7 feet tall. A larger-than-life and surprisingly accurate recreation of the psycho from Until Dawn, complete with blue overalls and the ghastly mannequin mask we’d spent months concepting to get as scary as we possibly could. We’re all used to him now, but he still gets a reaction from new hires and visitors.

The psycho watched everything. A group of us were sitting in the plush chairs of the cinema in the Supermassive offices, while CEO Pete Samuels laid out his plans for a new concept: the Dark Pictures Anthology. A series of branching cinematic games that would explore different sub-genres of horror. The games would be 4-5 hours, short enough to play in one sitting. Each game would feature two multiplayer modes – an online connected mode where you could play the entire game with a friend, and a couch co-op where a group of friends could get together and play a horror movie.

It was a simple, compelling idea. But it was also extremely ambitious. To create a new franchise from scratch is no small thing, but the two-player co-op was also really daunting – no-one had done it before.

I remember very clearly thinking, ‘I must work on that.’

And I did get to work on that.

I was lucky enough to be the game director on spooky ghost-ship story Man of Medan. And now I’m lucky enough to be the game director on brutal serial-killer story The Devil In Me. And it’s been a fantastic ride.

Between those games we’ve had the psychological and historical horror of Little Hope, set in the eponymous New England town, and we’ve had the pumping action-horror of House of Ashes, fighting hordes of terrifying clicking vampire monsters buried deep beneath the desert.

There’s another psycho in The Devil in Me. It’s the story of a crew making a documentary about the American serial killer HH Holmes, who get trapped in a ‘murder hotel’ by a serial killer who is inspired by… HH Holmes.

Looking back on our first four games, there are many series highlights and it’s difficult to pick a favourite. Is it Conrad being chased through the rusting corridors of the WWII freighter by a living manifestation of his worst desires and fears? Or the stunning character design of the demons in Little Hope, each inspired by a vicious, long-forgotten killing? Or maybe it’s the touching, charged relationship between Jason and Salim, mortal enemies finding mutual respect and brotherhood in the blood-soaked monster-infested caves? Or is it one of the gruesome and over-the-top deaths in The Devil in Me?

For me, the most exciting thing is that we found an audience for these games, and they found us. Cinematic horror with an emphasis on relationships a

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Hey y’all! We’re back this week interviewing Striking Distance Studio founder and CEO Glen Schofield on upcoming sci-fi horror thriller The Callisto Protocol.

Stuff We Talked About

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare II
• River City Girls 2
• Forspoken
• The Callisto Protocol (interview begins at 12:00)
• Castlevania
• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• The Quarry
• Gaming inspired Halloween costumes

The Cast

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Last week, we asked you to share moments from A Plague Tale: Requiem using #PSshare #PSBlog. From rat-infested alleys to emotional portraits, here are this week’s highlights: 

call_me_xavii shares Amicia and Hugo holding out a burning torch to protect themselves from a massive swarm of deadly rats.

CaliOcelot shares an extremely close-up portrait of Amicia.

MdeavorVP shares two figures walking along a path of red poppies inside an ornate church.

kaytanaa shares Hugo’s cursed hand with blackened veins reaching for Amicia’s.

Yuric83 shares Amicia holding up a smiling Hugo in her arms.

raphxander_ shares a portrait of Hugo with his eyes watering, cursed black veins stretching across his face.

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: Haunted
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on November 2, 2022

Next week, it’s time to celebrate the spooky season! Share haunting or haunted moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

Ahhh, November. A month associated with cooling temperatures, warm family gatherings, and red-hot doorbuster deals. This month’s indie lineup features a variety of unique concepts: overconfident adventurers on a big boat, self-discovery through mask collecting, and lo-fi bleats to cause chaos to. And since they’re all available to download at PlayStation Store, you don’t have to worry about camping outside any brick-and-mortar retailer doors on a Thursday night to get them. So say your thanks, gobble down some tasty eats, and get nice and cozy with some new indies.

Sable hits PlayStation November 29

We’ve also got a special announcement worth a Thanksgiving toast: At last, the critically acclaimed indie adventure Sable zooms onto PlayStation this November 29! Read on to learn more about this and the rest of this month’s featured titles.

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Goat Simulator 3

It’s time to step into the shoes–er, hooves–of one of the coolest caprinae around and cause all kinds of ridiculous problems… on purpose. This follow-up to the notorious Goat Simulator brings massive mayhem to the resort island of San Angora and beyond. In this big, colorful sandbox, you and up to three other goat players can get up to the wildest barnyard antics. Commandeer vehicles, discover weapons, dress up in the gaudiest and most ridiculous outfits, join a secret society of goats, and do everything you can to annoy the humans. There’s yoga, land sharks, and carnival games somewhere in there, too. Baaa-d boys, whatcha gonna do?

Release Date: November 17 | Publisher: Coffee Stain | PS5

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PlayStation players, the new era of Call of Duty is nearly here! Jump into an epic launch on October 28 featuring a gripping Campaign, innovative, world-class Multiplayer and an evolved, cooperative Special Ops game mode. Let’s dive into more details on what players can experience in Modern Warfare II.

Experience Modern Warfare II on PS5

Above and beyond some core details about the game that we’ll dive into later in this blog, PlayStation players should be excited about how immersed they will feel in the Modern Warfare universe by playing on PlayStation 5. Below are some of the features that elevate the Modern Warfare II experience on the console:

Adaptive Triggers

Experience the all-new weapon handling in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II in the ultimate way with the DualSense controller’s adaptive triggers. Adaptive triggers create the feeling of weight on the trigger with varying degrees of pressure. This weight creates a more accurate experience in-game with each weapon. 

For example, the SMG that you’re using in close quarter scenarios as you make your way through compounds will feel lighter on the trigger than, say, the hefty feeling of the LMG that you’re using to fend off large groups of charging enemies from a distance.

This adds to the immersive experience of the game, particularly in Campaign, but is an optional feature that players can use in Multiplayer and Special Ops as well. 

Haptic Feedback

With unprecedented global conflict, comes riveting and action-packed combat. With the haptic feedback in the DualSense controller, you’ll feel the blast and force of each moment, allowing you to experience the action in your own hands.

Whether you’re being slung from side to side in the back of a Cargo Truck as you dodge enemy fire and exploding vehicles, handling the powerful recoil of your weapon as you navigate high intensity combat situations, or sliding and diving out of site when trying to allude watchful enemy eyes, feel the impact of every move in-game.

3D Audio

Whether you’re fighting offshore to siege enemies as waves are crashing around you or breaching a highly fortified enemy base on land, you’ll feel like you’re in the middle of the action with 3D audio, supported by PlayStation 5.

Hear enemy bullets cracking through walls and flying past your ears with locational accuracy to intensify an already tense gunfight or listen closely for the sounds of approaching enemy footsteps to identify their position. 

Stunning Visuals

As your team is preparing for an ambush and scanning your surroundings, notice the breathtaking environment and stunning 4K visuals on PlayStation 5.

details in Modern Warfare II on PlayStation 5 will pull you deeper into your surroundings and deeper into the action, whether you’re looking up at a vivid starry sky disturbed by pops of orange and red explosions in the distance, daring death along a

When Frey Holland is transported to the mysterious land of Athia, one thing quickly becomes clear: this isn’t just her new home. It’s her playground.

The hero of Forspoken is capable of amazing magic-enhanced parkour, which lets her jump, flip, zip and leap around the world with astonishing fluidity. You can get a close-up look at how it all works in our new parkour deep-dive:

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So, what exactly was Frey doing in this video? Read on and we’ll tell you a little more about the parkour skills at her disposal – and how she can use them.

Flow

This is one of Frey’s core powers – and the beating heart of the parkour in Forspoken.

It’s activated by holding down the circle button – when in this state, Frey will dash through the world with stunning speed and amazing grace. She’ll automatically leap over small rocks and ledges, jump up small walls and do everything she can to keep pushing forward in the direction you tell her.

Of course, there are limits. Using Flow alone won’t let Frey scale a cliff face or climb up a tall building – plus it requires stamina. To really get around with style, you need to combine Flow with Frey’s other moves, and learn how to chain them together.

Think of it as the foundations of a system that puts you in control of traversal, rather than the game doing it all for you. The better you play, the better you move – and the cooler Frey looks.

Rush

The Rush ability lets you Flow even faster by working in well-timed button presses.

As you use Flow, you will occasionally see flames

We heard you loud and clear. You wanted more Blue Fire Void platforming levels, but instead of dropping only new levels, we’re also giving you a level editor to make your own Voids! Let your imaginations run wild by designing challenging, epic, or silly levels with Void Maker DLC.

Unleash your creativity!

Were you ever jumping around the Voids and wondering what it would be like if there were giant donuts, eyeballs, and dragons? Or maybe that was just us. The good news is all that and many other silly items are available in Void Maker for you to enjoy.

As we developed Void Maker, we realized the tool had so much potential beyond creating levels that were like the Voids in the main game. We ended up adding more content than what we had originally set out to include, like NPCs, enemies, themes, playlists, and much more. We feel all this allows you to create levels where anything is possible!

Get to know your tools

Void Maker has many assets from the main game, including NPCs, void models and more, but it also has a ton of new items that were made exclusively for the level creator itself (models, music, mechanics, and lots of other crazy stuff!).

This might sound overwhelming, but we developed Void Maker as a simplified level-making tool so that you can focus on creating fun and interesting levels rather than having to learn a complex piece of software and modding new content into the game.

Tips to make fun levels

There are many ways to start designing, the most obvious of which are either randomly testing things out and experimenting or having something specific you want to create. Either way is perfectly fine. Since we know a thing or two about making Voids, we’re sharing some tips to help you make amazing Voids.

• Determine what type of level you want to create. Do you want a straightforward platforming challenge, a puzzle-like adventure, or a story-driven level with NPCs? Knowing a basic idea of what you want the final product to be is a great start.
• Look at the art options and think about what you want your Void to look like. This helps you understand what items to use.
• Think about how difficult you want the platforming to be.

Not all these factors need to be pinned down from the beginning—and that’s both normal and okay! But the more that are defined, the better.

After or during the conceptual development of the level creation comes the execution. This is a slow and nonlinear process that can vary from level to level, but overall should look something like:

• Blocking out the basics with simple shapes and mechanics
• Iterating on that
• Adding art
• Polishing
• And finally quality testing

When the team at Firaxis Games was first approached with the chance to create a new game with Marvel Entertainment, we were obviously super excited! We knew we wanted to create a game featuring tactical combat as we had a lot of experience creating those types of games with XCOM.

However, we quickly discovered that designing a Super Hero game is very different from creating a game about soldiers combating an alien invasion. Today, I’m excited to talk to PlayStation players about our journey to design a brand-new heroic combat experience, why we landed on using cards to represent hero abilities, and how that system works in Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

The theory behind cards

To understand why we use cards, it’s important to break down what makes a tactics game fun in the first place. All tactics games are essentially puzzles, and our job as designers is to find the right balance between that puzzle being too easy and obvious, or nearly impossible and insanely complex. Our goal is to find the sweet spot where the answer isn’t immediately obvious, but the player understands the mechanics and tools to manipulate the game and reach the solution. However, over time seasoned players will learn the optimal way to use those tools and quickly overcome any obstacle. That’s where randomness comes in.

Randomization is an important design element in tactics games, as it offers a way to make the game unpredictable even when a player has mastered the core mechanics. It requires players to constantly adapt to new situations and keeps the puzzle fresh and surprising. And it’s how you end up with those amazing moments in XCOM, like hitting a clutch 25% shot… but also how you end up missing those 95% point-blank rounds!

Another critical element of tactics games is fulfilling the player fantasy. In Marvel’s Midnight Suns we have an awesome roster of heroes from across the Marvel Universe, ranging from the cosmic-powered strength of Captain Marvel and brilliant mind of Tony Stark to the mystic arts of Doctor Strange and vampire-hunting prowess of Blade. Our early prototypes put these characters into XCOM-style combat with elements like percentage hit chance and cover – And while the mechanics worked fine, the game didn’t feel right. These are Super Heroes, after all! Iron Man doesn’t miss shots with his Repulsor Blasts, and Captain Marvel isn’t going to take cover for protection when things heat up.

As we removed more of those XCOM elements, particularly the percentage hit chance, the game began to feel more heroic…but the combat puzzle quickly became too simple. It was easy to repeat the same powerful attack with a hero each turn until the mission was over. We needed to reintroduce randomness to keep the combat puzzle engaging while still making you feel like a Super Hero. That’s when we had the idea to represent our hero abilities as cards.

Cards are great because they are commonly used in games and players are familiar with key “mechanics” like a deck, draw, and discard. Drawing a hand of cards each turn gave us the perfect amount of randomness for our combat experience. Our heroes feel super-powered in combat because their abilities never miss and always do exactly what they say, but there is still strategy required to solve the combat puzzle based on which cards are in your hand.

Fight and think like a Super Hero

In Marvel’s Midnight Suns, every her

Today we’re happy to reveal November’s Monthly Games for PlayStation Plus. Take on savage foes with traditional weapons and supernatural abilities in Nioh 2, cast spells and solve puzzles in Lego Harry Potter Collection and take to the stars for physics sim Heavenly Bodies. 

These titles can be enjoyed by PlayStation Plus Essential, Extra and Premium members from Tuesday November 1.  The PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium Game Catalog lineup for October will be announced later this month. 

Let’s take a closer look at each of the Monthly Games.   

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Nioh 2 / Nioh 2 Remastered | PS4, PS5 

Master the lethal arts of the samurai as a mysterious half-human, half-supernatural Yokai warrior, in this challenging single player action RPG sequel. Take down a host of deadly new Yokai, seasoned samurai warriors and gargantuan boss monsters in Team Ninja’s stylized vision of Japan’s early Sengoku period. Unsheathe your deadly weapons and cut down all enemies in your path using a revamped combat system and the ability