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We might be in the midst of the regularly scheduled video game dry spell right now, and while that might apply to release dates, it certainly doesn’t apply to breaking news. With Summer Game Fest starting this week, now is the perfect time for all of these studios to let everyone know what they’re working on and how the previously announced projects are progressing. There were plenty of those last week, most of which happened during Thursday’s State of Play, making it the perfect place to start.
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Final Fantasy 16 is coming in 2023
It might seem a little unfair, but if something like a state of play is to be considered a success immediately after it ends, it has to end on a high note. Precisely for this reason, the first news of Final Fantasy 16 has been kept for over a year until the very end of Thursday’s presentation. This first proper look at the next chapter of the legendary series is definitely more than enough to get those who have been eagerly waiting for more information very excited. The trailer ended with the news that Final Fantasy 16 will be here in Summer 2023. Anyone who really thought it would be here before the end of 2022 was probably a little unrealistic.
Street Fighter 6 and its overworld
If there wasn’t anything from Final Fantasy 16 to brag about in this week’s State of Play, then perhaps ending with Street Fighter 6 would have been the right choice. The first real look at the game outside of the flashy first look at Ryu and that logo promises to be quite different from any Street Fighter game that’s come before it. The next game in the series appears to be unveiling an underworld for you to explore freely, and it appears that it will have a more detailed story mode than titles that have come before it. As for the roster, a next-gen version of Chun-Li was shown for the first time, as were Jamie, Luke, and even more Ryu.
Resident Evil VR
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Final Fantasy 16 may have successfully completed State of Play on Thursday, but it was up to Resident Evil to get things started. Confirmation that a Resident Evil 4 remake would indeed be coming to PS5 in 2023 got things going, as did the revelation that a VR version is also in development for PS VR2. This was followed immediately by the reveal that Resident Evil Village will also be getting the PS VR2 treatment. Many opportunities to immerse yourself in the Resident Evil universe are coming very soon. Perhaps the two VR games will be part of the 20-game launch lineup promised by Jim Ryan.
Scarlet & Violets four player co-op, Sexy Professors and Lechonk
No, not all of this week’s biggest gaming stories came from PlayStation’s State of Play. Before all of that went under, a brand new trailer for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet caused quite a stir on social media for a variety of reasons. Not only because it was announced that the game is cooperative for four players and will start on November 18, 2022. A few new Pokemon were also revealed, including a little pig named Lechonk, which has stolen the heart of every trainer planning to pick the game later this year. The two handsome professors who will guide you through the new region have also garnered a lot of attention, and their attire is just one of the reasons some believe Scarlet & Violet will take place in the same region but at different times .
Dragon Age: Dread Wolf
Dragon Age fans have been waiting for the continuation of the series for a long time. Eight years and actually counted. A long time considering there were only two years between the first two games and three years between the second and third. This week BioWare confirmed that the next game now has a name, Dragon Age 4: Dreadwolf. Yes, that means it’ll be mostly about Solas, something those who haven’t played Inquisition don’t seem to need to worry about, as he’ll be reintroducing himself to start Dreadwolf. As for when more Dragon Age will be here, there’s no release date yet, but late 2023 still seems like the earliest we can expect to get our hands on it.
Mixed reactions to Sonic Frontiers
Sonic Origins is coming to all major platforms later this month, and after that we’re getting a brand new Sonic game, Frontiers. A quick look at more of the game to whet our appetites this week has got those skeptical about a new Sonic game pretty excited. Then a full gameplay reveal the next day brought many of them straight back to earth. Sonic looks a bit like he’s been crudely modded into a world he doesn’t belong in, and while the idea of an open-world Sonic game sounds like a great idea, Frontiers doesn’t seem to have convinced many people now . There’s no concrete release date yet, which means what was shown this week may still be a long way from the final product.