Time for a workout

Sony’s tagline for the PlayStation 4 may be ‘For the Players’, but it’s definitely not ‘For the Poor Push Square Writers’. As excited as we are by the prospect of a bazillion new next-gen releases, we didn’t exactly want to see them appear at the end of a 14-hour or so marathon shift. Nevertheless, life often deals less than ideal hands, so we suppose that we’d best just suck it up and begin typing.

The news comes courtesy of an internal showcase anchored by developer relations executive Adam Boyes, and really reaffirms the Japanese giant’s system as the king of indie content. While the list will prompt an eye-roll or two from those only in the market for boxed releases, there’s some outstanding stuff here – and it’s the wealth of content that’s perhaps most impressive.

Talk is cheap, though, so what’s actually on the way? Well, for starters, the firm has confirmed that hardcore platformer Spelunky will be making the jump to next-gen, and will be free if you’ve already purchased it on the PlayStation 3 or Vita. It’ll be joined by procedurally generated role-playing game Chasm, which has some really slick 16-bit style visuals.

Less slick but no less addictive is Nidhogg, a side-scrolling fencing game that’s already caused quite a stir on other platforms. This wacky multiplayer title will be joined by the similarly zany Escape Goat 2, a puzzle platformer that puts you in the hoofs of a cunning kid. And if that’s not weird enough, we don’t even know where to start with neon-infused multiplayer brawler Starwahl: Just the Tip.

Alas, we’re not done yet. Jamestown Plus is an ace co-operative bullet hell shooter set on Mars, which will be joined by intergalactic side-scroller Axiom Verge and space sim Drifter. Meanwhile, the gorgeous Source is a Metroidvania-style title with a Tron-inspired art style, while Apotheon is more of a two-dimensional brawler with a very distinctive art style.

Finally, Skulls of the Shogun will be familiar to all three of you with a Windows Phone, but for everyone else it's a turn-based strategy title developed by Galak-Z creator 17-Bit Studios. If that’s not enough strategy for you, though, Ironclad Tactics is card-based game set in the American Civil War – with robots thrown in for good measure. No, we’re absolutely not meching this up.

And that’s everything. We have to admit, as far as late night Wednesday announcements go, this one certainly isn’t to be sniffed at. We’ll have a lot more about all of these games shortly, but in the meantime, feel free to check out each game's respective PlayStation Blog post and trailer, which we’ve hooked up below. Can we go to bed yet?

Apotheon

Axiom Verge

Chasm

Drifter

Escape Goat 2

Ironclad Tactics

Jamestown Plus

Nidhogg

Skulls of the Shogun

Starwahl: Just the Tip