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?
Comments 63
Jamestown Plus looks brilliant. Scarily, I will probably buy all of these. Well, apart from the card tactics one...
This is awesome news, especially Nidhogg and Source. PS4 seems to be getting new games every week, now they've basically just said "there's more where the that came from".
INDIE GAMES INCOMING!....WOOOSH! nicely done Sony.
After watching "skulls of shogun" trailer, I almost pee'd myself. That is to funny. LOL
@get2sammyb surprised you guys haven't mentioned Without Memory today . I had a post up about it earlier, Couldn't resist with the studio gaffer making mention of Beyond: Two Souls as one of its key influences.
@get2sammyb
Does Axiom Verge remind you a bit from the NES days of Rygar and Metroid mixed with whatever else from those 2D games. It looks gritty and I'm liking the looks of that game.
Nice, already found 1 or 2 out of that bunch I'll be picking up!
"What the heck just happened"-Lol
OMG ENOUGH INDIES SONY GIVE ME REAL GAMES
@ShogunRok I'm going to assume that was sarcasm, these games do look neat.
Why didn't they have a trailer for Source?
Jamestown is a wicked game if you're into that genre. Highly recommend.
Source seems like a game I could get into.
damn there is actually too many that i like
@get2sammyb
what about "chariot" I think it was announced too seems fun
Hey, if you like indies the PS4 is just for you. We may as well start calling it PlayIndie 4.
As for me, I'm just sticking with my PS3 until there's a game that justifies my purchase.
@ShogunRok Same here mate. No offense to everyone else, but I'm only interested in playing the AAA Blockbuster mainstream video games.
If I wanted to play indies, I'd bother to save up enough money for a newer PC.
HELL!!! I am so tired of indies!!! Want real games with big muscles!!!
JEEESSSUUUUSSSSS!!! My wallet....my poor, poor wallet!!
Chasm looks to be my fave.
Drifter and Axiom Verge are my other two fave looking.
scorewahl looks hilarious, but i'm SUPER pumped about Apotheon, it looks incredibly fun, great combat mechanics, set in Greek Mythology!!! and super unique visual style. i love it! man, keep em coming.
So tired of those indies. Where are real games?
@Gemuarto Your being sarcastic right?
@Heiki I would argue the indie games on PS4 alone justify the purchase but hay that's just me
I'll likely get a few of these. Axiom Verge. Chasm. Reminds me of the 2D Castlevania and Metroid games I have sitting on my 3DS, but I don't want to play them....because they don't have trophies.
Kinda off topic but...what happened to Shadow Warrior? Still waiting for that one. Passed up several $5 PC version sales......because trophies.
@TOMBOY25 That's awesome! Spanky FTW.
Super excited for skulls of the shogun. I am a big real time strategy and wutang clan fan. This is a RTS developed with and scored by the wu tang clan. It was a shame it was relegated to windows.
@Shellybird27
Source hasn't hit its Kickstarter goal yet, has it? I know I backed it, last I checked it was around $16k. Needs 50k for PS4 and 75k for Wii U.
Apotheon, Jamestown and Chasm are probably going to be on my list. Usually in any give group of two dozen indies, you're sure to find at least a couple that are worthwhile.
@DaftPlayStation
I wouldn't go THAT far, but they do play their part in modern day consoles. Indies, digital-only and PNS Classics/Virtual Console make up a good 25% of all my gaming purchases. Times are changing, and digital releases are offering alot more than they used to. Higher production values, better games, and certainly more of them.
Indies.... SONY i'm not buying a ps4 before you release an AAA 3rd person adventure... Waiting for Uncharted. Indies can be played on my vita or pc.
@Gemuarto i'm with you. Indies like rime <3 indies like that above i couldnt care any less..
The first one looks ok, but I won't buy it. The rest meh
Indie games are big at the moment and Sony know this. Cannot blame them for getting in with the revolution? E3 is around the corner, get ready for the big guns then!
I don't mind indie games but I don't want just that on the PS4. How are we ever going to push the system to its limits with low-tech games? I didn't pay £350 to just play games that a university graduate could create.
Oh boy, I want ALL of these games. That said, I'm a little concerned that they're releasing Spelunky on PS4. That's just going to feed my addiction.
Absolutely no interest at all.
Unless a mate has some I probably wont even bother.
I am however looking forward to Hover.
I already get enough free Indies on the ps4 so I don't have time of day for these, drifter perhaps interests me.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/04f87cdfa82d31a71a04901f7920ea55/tumblr_n4orzmslq01txf7i0o1_500.png
@ZeD The title of this article is misleading... I thought there where some triple A titles announced
Nothing to see here. Move along...
None of these really look my cup of tea.
@ZeD bu bu but da ps4 havs no gamez! only teh indiez n they aint propa gamez! sony cant aford propa AAA gamez! bwahahaha pauperstation 4 #StillAwaitingGreatness
...sniff...
It's my belief that people don't understand that the second gaming crash is happening. It just looks so different from the first one.
Traditional "triple A" games are taking a back seat because they are too expensive. They're part of the cause of this second crash. Triple A games have hit a critical mass and can't support themselves any longer. The money crunch is cutting all the fluff and this crash is taking everything back to basics. The bubble has burst. "Indie" gaming is the future because gaming has hit a new era. An era where a prominent "second" wave of talent powered by ease of distribution, and relative ease of "low" level funding, has emerged. A group of people similar to the talent that appeared in the 1970s and 80s who started the ball rolling in the first place.
Companies know they've hit this new era too. Bankruptcies, mergers, and layoffs, everywhere. They know they've hit the wall and can't support themselves on traditional triple As anymore. That's why they are scrambling for this new talent. These are the designers and talents of the future industry. These will be leading new companies, dev teams etc. of their time. Creatively, they are at the same place as when it all began.
Even though not everything they do looks 8-bit, I sometimes call this new era "8Bit2". They are starting new again at the beginning, and risks and creativity are starting to flourish again, like they did at the start.
All that being said, Chasm caught my interest. Looks like what a side-scrolling FFVI would look like.
The other side of the coin is the mobile industry. This is contributing to the second crash much in the same way Atari etc. did in the first crash. A marketplace flooded with thousands of low quality, free-to-pay, game "apps", all available on a myriad of devices. The consumers gave up then, and I can see them giving up again.
@ThreadShadow It's time to stop posting.
...okay...
@MadchesterManc You going Thug Life on me there!?
@ThreadShadow This guy knows what he is talking about. The lines will blur between indie games and the other one which is exactly the same as indie except a publisher takes most of the money. The tools to make AAA looking games have been made more easily accessible to the indies, i'm planning to start making a game using Unreal Engine 4 next month after I get my PSMobile version finished and released.
It's a sad day in gaming when people shrug off indie games. Without Indie developers, you wouldn't even see the AAA that you see today and that's because all developers start off as indie developers. Such a shame that so many are shrugging it off, tsk tsk tsk.
I'm just waiting for KH3, I couldn't care less about the rest of the PS4 games... I know it sounds harsh, but Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, Mario Kart, and X(enoblade sequel) are the only games in my sights as of now.
@Demi_God Can't speak for everyone, but personally I don't "shug off" indie games. Just not interested in these ones from what i can see.
Planning on buying Child of Light though.
@MadchesterManc Thanks for the heads up!
@Sanquine The Order will be a AAA third-person adventure.
To all the people complaining about the indies -
It's 40 days and nights until E3, how many AAA game announcements do you think we are going to get 40 days before E3?
I agree w/ the sentiment that indies aren't worth $400, which is why I still don't own a PS4 (and I already shelled out $350 for Wii U) but it's a month before E3. This time of year I am happy every time I see a game announcement b/c I figure that means they have more to show at E3 and they are just getting this stuff out of the way now. (Doesnt always turn out that way, but I hope.)
I luv INDIES! !!!!!! Drool ^_^
When blizzard or ea or square Enix first started, their games were simple and coded by a few peeps. Fast forward 5 years and I reckon some of todays indies will become 50+ people studios giving us gems on the future. Back on track - I reckon at E3 Sony will shower us with triple AAA goodness. Watch your wallets for Xmas everyone!
@get2sammyb You've got me... Welp, time to buy a Ps4 when that game hits:D
@ThreadShadow Exactly Sony realized this before everyone else did and now MS is realizing it soon Nintendo will as well all the weiners and complainrs just don't understand
Drifter looks the pick of the bunch for me, a stripped down version of Elite maybe but with excellent graphics. I like very much.
More indie hate I see, as I always say, please go ahead and sell your ps4 and we will all have a giraffe when the truckload of AAA titles descends on us hahaha
@Ginkgo Yea, it's mainly when people say "I'm sick and tired of indies, stop making them and bring the AAA games over. yet, those AAA games are from different developers and higher tier that can spend more money. I almost die a little inside whenever I read/hear that.
@DaftPlayStation I don't care about indies, really. And I am honestly getting tired of them. Every week there are a bunch of new indie games coming out.
Maybe I'll get a PS4 when we have a killer JPRG.
Might buy chasm
it would be good to get a really good game for the four,indies are so so but so much yesterday.why did we buy the four for...to be amazed not to get indie game that the three had years and years ago.I know what sir Alan sugar would say ....
I like the look of Jamestown+ and Drifter reminds me of Elite and more recently of Galaxy on Fire 2 that appeared on IOS & Android.
I thought ps4 was the next gen? I do like the odd indie game, but please enough already. Indie games remind me of sega mega drives and the Atari (both of which I still have) . I just wish there were more ps4 games available. All the good games seem to be out at the end of the year. There's only so many more lagging bf4 matches I can take. Anyway sorry rant over x
Most of them look pretty damn cool. In fact, I think Starwahl and Pantheon are the only ones I'm not interested in, though I'm still a bit iffy on Nidhogg and Ironclad Tactics...
Also, guys, good games are good games. Who cares whether they're AAA or Indie? Why do you need Super huge graphics? I thought games were supposed to be played, not looked at.
@CanisWolfred Agreed
I don't need super huge graphics, I would like a game that I can't wait to start playing and love playing it. Unfortunately these games for me are yet to be released. Granted some people love indie games but I don't. Take the last video starwahl, all I see in that video is some blobs of paint rolling around the screen. Not very interesting at all. To those who do like playing them, I hope you enjoy them. At least some people will be happy playing their ps4. As for me I need to find out what games I do like playing and the genre I fit in to
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