Old-Red

So you're telling me that the whole hook they were presenting and selling this game on in the PS5 showcase won't actually be in the game when you're playing it? How is this any different from a CG trailer? Why is this OK?

With the PS5 exclusive backtracking and the upgrade nonsense, Sony have really been applying some questionable marketing tactics recently.

Yeah, I call *****, this is mainly so they can keep a current flow of advertising and microtransactions in the game in my opinion. If it really was about cheating they would add an option to play a campaign completely offline.

That's no moon.

@naruball you're completely right, but it's our own fault at consumers who demand a constant stream of information and click on articles like this one. To be fair, this instance is slightly more than a rumour though.

I've always wondered what would change if we could take our clicks, engagement or views back as a show of disliking something.

It is interesting, but it's also a bit like saying:

Elders Scrolls 6
FIFA 2023
Fallout 5
Mario game
Assassin's creed monkdom
Far cry 7

You get the idea.

It's sad to see so many sequels, which probably make it all completely real. Aren't they're any new titles or were known ones only selected for this article?

Everyone and their dog knows this should have been a free update. They have finally become a meme and really should have just moved on, keeping some dignity.

@MakersMark I wouldn't feel too bad for us, ha ha. We've had Demon's Souls, Astrobot, Returnal and Ratchet and Clank which have all been excellent games. I was hoping for more innovative new titles though.

The Switch/PS5 combo is working for me pretty well with a bunch of great Nintendo games to tide me over until some of the future PS5 games drop a bit in price. But, if I'm honest I think Sony are making some arrogant and downright greedy decisions going forward and it's putting me off wanting to support them now.

I thought the £70 pricing was to cover the lower customer base, lack of PS4 versions and would eventually come back to earth after a while, but it appears not. Now they've backtracked on PS5 exclusive games it's obvious that they want to charge us a premium to use the features of a £500 console we've already paid for at £10 for every game we buy. I'm not OK with this at all.

I've just realised that this is so they can constantly update with adverts. Oh dear, if that's the case then the game should be free to play. It's one thing putting in ads for realism and taking advantage of that, but hobbling a game with online only so they can shove more and more ads into a £70 game. Gross.

Shame, I was quite excited for this when I first got the PS5. Now it's become an online only game it's lost all worth to me as something to look forward to and get on release. Now I'll wait until I see it cheap.

I thought that the whole Sony Studios thing was to offer solid, complete experiences that avoid all the microtransaction, online only nonsense. Wasn't this the whole base for the argument for charging £70?

@daveofduncan I did say personally and Ratchet and Clank wasn't exactly innovative. In my opinion Returnal is an exceptional game that I will continue to play throughout this generation. I was done with R&C after 25 hours and one playthrough. It simply doesn't compare in regards to gameplay depth.

I would bet that Returnal will still be spoken about in 5 years whereas R&C will barely be remembered.

At this point I fully expect GTA6 to be a game about a criminal in prison with nothing but GTA5 to play.

Whoever is in charge of things this generation clearly doesn't actually play video games. Every single decision is geared towards squeezing as much money from their loyal fans as possible, instead of genuinely trying to move the medium forward. I honestly think these decisions will come back to bite them in the a$$/ar$e.

If they try to charge for this... again... they really are taking the pi$$. I suppose this explains why the Lost Legacy was never given away on PS+.

I wonder if Sony regret ponying up for that sweet sweet timed exclusivity now. Neither game will make back the money they probably spent and it'll be Microsoft that benefits the most from them eventually.

With the relentless desperate marketing and the Bethesda buy out, the interest has really died and that deal to seal these games had seriously backfired. Part of me thinks that Sony should have brushed them under the carpet or given them away with PS+ as a little up yours to Phil and crew. I'm sure the contract wouldn't allow that though.

It was OK, but nothing mind blowing. One thing is for certain Sony first party really aren't going for innovation. All the games will be good though I'm sure.

If it wasn't for Returnal this gen would have felt very stagnant. I'm not sure I'll get a better first party Sony game this gen personally.

With Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild 2 (games of a generation) coming for me next year it really doesn't matter what they show. I've decided to leave all the £70 exclusives a few years going forward, until I can find them for a more reasonable price with patches and dlc included.

I guess I'm lucky that I get two games in one year which will pretty much do me for a couple of years. Anything else is a bonus.

Still, it would be nice if they did come out with some genuine surprises. A GTA6 reveal is the only thing that would cause a serious ripple in the industry. Especially if they get some kind of exclusivity.

Has anyone who doesn't own Hitman 3 got this to work? I think the previous entries require the 3rd game to start.

Thanks for the heads up! this is pretty neat, but I wonder if it's an oversight that will be rectified soon.

I still can't get over how confusing the way the Hitman trilogy is presented to the customer. I was waiting for a trilogy bundle with everything included, but now we've received 1 & 2 already I might as well just wait for 3 to come to + too. Their bizarre approach to selling games has meant they've got no money from me at all in the end and I was a big fan of the series in the beginning.

@Marquez Yeah, I don't think I'll ever agree with the points you make. They seem like standard progression to me and should come part and parcel with buying a new console.

I think the only people who are OK with this are the ones to gain from it by working in the industry, people who have money to burn or journalists who get games for free or can claim the costs back in tax. It's simply shafting everyone else.

Either way, they have soured my excitement for this game now. Instead of looking forward to its release, I'm now happy to wait for a second hand copy of the definitive version. Hopefully enough other people will do the same so they have to rethink the prices this gen. We've seen here how quickly they back track, it really wouldn't take much to make them do the right thing.

@Marquez so...

3D audio is also included with PS4 games.

The SSD and faster loading is something that comes with having a better console and we should not have to pay to use it every time we buy a game. The same goes for higher resolutions and frame rates.

Smaller files sizes? Really? You think it's OK to charge extra for that?

Which leaves dual sense implementation. Surely this is something that should just come as standard and be expected when you buy a PS5. You honestly feel OK having to pay an extra £10 to use it? As I've mentioned before, if it was a case of turning on dual sense in the settings menu took you to the store to pay £10 for every single game you buy, you'd be OK with that?

The way they're approaching dual releases has shown them up for the tosh they've been spouting. Fair enough, if it's only a PS5 release I can understand a slightly higher cost at the beginning of a generation, because of the lower customer base. But as soon as they try to get a piece of the PS4 pie they really should concede the extra charge as the game has inevitably been held back on PS5 in order to run on PS4 in the first place.

@get2sammyb so you feel that having to pay an extra £10 for a higher settings option is right?

If the game is a dual release it should be £60 on both platforms with a free upgrade from PS4 to 5. Why people seem to be OK with the new attempts to class different versions of the same game is baffling to me. As others have said, you would never get away with charging more for different settings on PC games. Imagine if you had to pay £10 to unlock 4k, 60fs in the settings. It's gross.

This is definitely the straw that broke the camels back for me. I will now wait for a definitive edition and only buy second hand a few years down the line. Their greed has left me feeling very reluctant to give them any more money directly.

Are Sony actually trying to push me towards Xbox and Gamepass? Talk about having your cake and eating it. If they wanted to go for the £70 version they should have made it a PS5 exclusive or made both versions £60. I am starting to develop a serious dislike for Sony this gen.

So everyone is just OK with them charging extra for the PS5 version for no good reason other than greed, huh? That's where we are now? It's all just become a simple classing system that can easily be abused going forward.

I'm definitely waiting for the inevitable directors cut second hand after feeling severely burnt by Ratchet and Clank. Good thing I'll have Elden Ring and BOTW2 next year, much better games at nearly half the price.

@AFCC I have to agree with you. After getting through it, the game was fine, but no where near good enough to warrant all this time and effort. I get that they want to get the next gen version done, but I really hope they have the sense to move on as soon as possible.

@get2sammyb "Can’t believe people still won’t buy a game if it’s not on a disc"... sorry, couldn't resist.

Ahhhh, so this is the cat bumhole photography game my friend was obsessed with a few years back.

As much as l am glad the first one was made, why on Earth would they want to make another one? It's not the kind of game that requires a sequel at all. Why not just make something new, it's not like Kojima wouldn't get the backing. Bizarre decision if true.

I hope it's an open world game where you have to survive and do runs for your camp etc. It would also be nice if it was possible to come across strangers and talk or trade without every encounter ending in bloodshed. This is my main hope for the progression in The Last of Us 3.

I enjoyed fractions a lot and I'll obviously give it a go if it's a free service game. But if they try to charge £70 for a multiplayer game full of microtransactions they can forget it.

I'll wait for it to come to PS+ 🤪

I refuse to look! Please stop putting images of the game in thumbnails, especially enemies and bosses, pretty please.

I wish they'd add an option to defer a month or even just give you an extra week for every game they offer that's already in your library. I bought Overcooked recently and I did enjoy it, but I can't help but feel a bit miffed. All it does is put me off buying any indie games or anything digitally. At least if I have the physical version I get the convenience of playing it digitally and have a long term copy to keep too.

I think that Returnal is the only game I've played on PS5 that would be massively compromised on the previous consoles. Not impossible, but it wouldn't be the same experience. All the others so far have essentially been a nice luxury.

After spending over 400 hours playing and loving it and managing the platinum trophy, I think it should be made law that Rockstar make sure I don't find out about a PS5 version.

Are these sponsored awards or something? Bizarre.

Whilst I enjoyed Hades, I found it to be grossly overrated. It's a very good game, but not nearly as amazing as everyone keeps saying it is.

At this point you have to wonder if GTA V has become sentient and is now buying copies of itself to stay relevant.

I would like this.

I know the journalists in the industry are desperate for a constant stream of click bait... bait and what's next info, but I've had a great year with the PS5 and I'm personally enjoying a bit of down time and the switch's turn to give out some new releases.

It would be nice to know more about new games, but with Metroid Dread, Advance Wars, No More Heroes 3 and Shin Megami Tensai 3, followed by Elden Ring in the new year, I don't really need to know anything else for the next six months at least.

As someone who does like anime I have no interest in this unless it's added to the existing sub. How much time do they think people have? It's at a point where they'll be competing with themselves for our attention. I barely have enough time to play one of the + games every month alongside the games I buy on PS4/5 and Switch.

I think they would need to lower advertising to a more reasonable level in the free version for me to even consider spending some of my time on Crunchyroll.

I'd like to see The Warriors and Manhunt get a lick of paint.

I hope it's not restricted to vr so more people can play it. They should at least be considering a non vr version.

It's all about the switch for the rest of 2021. It's crazy that Sony doesn't have anything on offer to look forward to for the holidays. Not that I'm complaining mind, I've got plenty to play and Deathloop should be about £20 24 hours after release.

I agree with others here, the game really needs weapons of some sort. It also needs to give the player a car they like, can keep and customise. The idea of switching random cars was novel, but in practice gives no ownership or feeling of progress.

Noticing these free to play online games are starting to creep in more often now. I'd rather they didn't bother to be honest.

I do wish Sony would offer a bigger selection over a year and let us pick a few games games each month or something. I just want a couple of small digital only indie games that look interesting, but I would never pay money for and I'd be happy.

A solid 8, a good game but it is very repetitive. After nearly finishing Days Gone the two games have a lot in common. They're almost the same game in lots of ways. It's interesting how one got dismissed and the other lauded.

@Rhaoulos I've already saved well over $100 ordering physical copies for my PS5 at £50-55 or even less instead of the £69.99 most have to spend for digital copies, so there's that to consider I suppose.

This has to be the first time where a console I bought less than a year ago is worth more than what I paid for it. Weird times.

@Blackjay Have you played Demon's Souls? You have to go back to your body to pick up your stuff lost on death and you are invaded by another player trying to stop you beating the boss. Tightly designed areas that have unlocking shortcuts each time you play. Sound familiar?

I suppose to your credit it is more that the design has been lifted and not the mechanics, so I changed my original comment to express this.

Not really, no. Deathloop looks like a frustrating soulslike wannabe. As much as I love the Soulsborne games can't anyone come up with anything new anymore? Why does everyone have to lift Miyazaki's decade old game design?