PlayStation Universe • 29th March 2022

Sony Reveals "All-New PlayStation Plus" To Launch This June

PlayStation Plus is changing, and though we’ve known a change was coming, today, Sony finally unveiled what codename Project Spartacus is, as this “all new PlayStation Plus” is revealed.

To be clear, it will still be called PlayStation Plus, and PlayStation Now as a platform will go away, after it is absorbed into this new PS Plus, with three tier levels.

The news was revealed in a PlayStation Blog post detailing what each tier will offer and the prices for each.

PlayStation Plus: Essential i

PlayStation Universe • 29th March 2022

"Emulation Of PS3 Is Absolutely Possible On PS5 Hardware" Say Developers, As PS3 Games Remain Streaming-Only In New PS Plus Model

Sony announced the details for their new PlayStation Plus model, which includes three subscription tiers, the final including a library of PS3, PSP, PS2 and PS1 games, but only PS3 games are available to “stream only”.

The reasoning behind PS3 games being available strictly over streaming is that the effort to emulate PS3 games is more involved due to the different hardware – but that doesn’t mean it is impossible.

Developers are already talking about this, with developer Dimitris Giannakis, w

PlayStation Universe • 24th March 2022

Apex Legends Warrior Collections Event Brings Back Control, New Arenas Map, And Crypto Gets His Heirloom

Apex Legends developer Respawn has announced the latest in-game event, the Warriors Collection, which brings back fan-favourite mode Control, adds a new map to Arenas, and Crypto fans have a day of recognition, as the latest heirloom is unveiled.

A new trailer for the event was posted today, which also showed off the new cosmetics and skins players will be able to purchase during the event.

Crypto fans rejoice! Crypto is the latest legend to be getting an heirloom, which was previously leaked.

PlayStation Universe • 1st March 2022

Ghostwire: Tokyo - Prelude, The Corrupted Casefile Visual Novel Officially Launches On PS5 For Free

Last week, a leak on the PlayStation Store implied that we’d be getting some kind of comic or visual novel before Ghostwire: Tokyo’s launch.

That leak has been officially confirmed, with Ghostwire: Tokyo – Prelude, The Corrupted Casefile being a new visual novel available for players on PS5 for free today.

It’ll act as a prequel for players, and is a necessity for anyone who’s thinking of grabbing Tango Gameworks new title at the end of the month.

While those on PlayStation will be able to ju

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Dungeons & Dragons Developer Continues To Address Racist Stereotypes In The Game

Last June, Dungeons & Dragons developer Wizards of the Coast announced they would be addressing many of the problems within the game and the source books, and we’ve now seen that effort applied to one of the most problematic characters in the game.

Originally released in 2016, one of the most popular books within the D&D franchise was the Curse of Strahd, infamously known for containing some of the most problematic and racially insensitive content in the series. This came in particular from a p

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Summer Game Fest Officially Begins This June

Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest last year was filled with announcements and reveals for what to expect from various publishers and developers, and it looks like this year’s fest will be even bigger.

It was officially announced today that Summer Game Fest will officially begin on June 10, 2021 starting at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 6pm GMT. The show will of course be hosted by the one and only Canadian gaming legend Geoff Keighley, and will also feature performances from Weezer, Green Day, and Fall Ou

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

The Last of Us Part II Finally Gets A PS5 Upgrade

The Last of Us Part II has now been given a performance patch for PS5, just ahead of a massive sale hitting the PlayStation Store next week.

Right at the end of the PlayStation 4’s time, Naughty Dog released one of the most seminal games ever to hit the platform, The Last of Us Part II. Since then, fans of the series now armed with a PS5 have been wondering when they’ll be able to enjoy a version of Naughty Dog’s magnum opus that takes advantage of the new console. That day seems to have arrive

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Just Die Already Launches With A New PvP Mode Set For This Summer

Just Die Already, the sandbox mayhem game that pits senior against senior in a bout for a coveted spot in a retirement home releases today, with a surprise announcement from the developers about a new PvP mode coming soon.

From developer DoubleMoose and publisher Curve Digital, Just Die Already is the game that tells the little boy offering to walk an old woman to cross the street to buzz off, because this old woman is actually looking to be hit by a car. More accurately, you playing the old wo

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

PS5 Estimated To Have Outsold Xbox Series X|S By More Than Double

Research from Ampere Analysis shows that the PS5 has bested the Xbox Series X in sales more than 2 to 1, while Nintendo towers over them both.

Leading up to the new console releases last year there were many questions fans had, speculation around what they would be like and how well they would sell, specifically during a global pandemic and chip shortages. While these issues have definitely affected the sales of these consoles comparatively to any other previous console launch when they didn’t

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Batman Calendar Reveals New Images From Upcoming Batman Film

Photos from a calendar for the upcoming The Batman film starring Robert Pattinson as the titular caped crusader have given fans a look at some of the other characters in the film.

An account called RobertPattinsonPhotos took to Twitter after being shown a preview of what a 2022 calendar for The Batman film is set to look like, filled with images of different characters and designs from and inspired by the film. While this may seem like a small tidbit of information, it’s the only information fa

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Destiny 2 Crossplay Beta Officially Launched

Destiny 2 fans have longed for the introduction of cross-play for the franchise, and now you can try it out for yourself before the week is out.

Last week, Bungie announced through its official blog that they would be launching their cross-play beta starting May 25-27, which means that you can now currently go try out the beta for yourself. Since it is just a beta for now, its not full cross-play across for all aspects of the game, to try out the new feature Bungie has created a new vanguard st

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Sony Is Looking To Make PlayStation More Social

During Sony’s corporate strategy meeting on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and SIE’s CEO Jim Ryan both emphasized how crucial expansion into mobile platforms is for PlayStation.

Originally reported by VGC, it looks like Sony will continue to push for a bigger expansion into mobile platforms and social services for PlayStation as a way to better serve and further expand the PlayStation audience. This push is also part of the push Sony has been making recently with adapting many

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

GUNNAR Optiks Unveils New Line Specifically For Kids

GUNNAR Optiks has expanded its line of blue light glasses with their new line titled “Rush” for kids ages 4-8, 8-12 and 12+.

We’ve all spent the last year looking at our screens more than we probably ever have for extended periods of time. It’s not exactly the best thing for your eyes to be constantly bombarded by the light emanating from your computer, phone, and your television screens. Harmful as it may be for you or me, it can be far more harmful for those eyes which are still developing, a

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Borderlands 3 Cross-Play Support For PlayStation Consoles Has Been Pulled

Cross-play support for Borderlands 3 has been pulled right at the finish line for PlayStation consoles, because of something that was “required by the publisher” for the update to pass certification according to Randy Pitchford.

Unfortunately, it appears that Borderlands 3 players who own the game on PlayStation consoles will not be able to join in on the cross-play fun once the update to add the feature goes live. This news came directly from Randy Pitchford on his Twitter account, where he ga

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Unreal Engine 5 Early Access Now Open

Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 is now available for developers to start playing around with in early access, ahead of its full release likely coming in 2022.

Back before we knew what a PS5 was going to look like, we knew that Epic’s next iteration of its popular game building engine Unreal Engine was going to play a big part in the future development of next-gen titles. After seeing initial footage of the engine running on a PS5, we now have not only much more footage of what the engine is capable of b

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Amazon Buys MGM Studios For $8.45 Billion

In Amazon’s second largest acquisition ever, they have officially purchased MGM Studios for $8.45 billion.

The studio behind James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky now has a new home, as reported by Variety. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will now be a part of Amazon Studios, bringing it’s storied history of filmmaking to compliment the tv focused programming of Amazon. There has been no word yet as to what this means for all the current films in the works at MGM, like the next upcoming James Bond film, but s

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Is Nintendo Getting Ready to Announce The Switch Pro?

We’ve been hearing rumours about a ‘Switch Pro‘ or a revision to the current model of Nintendo Switch since the hybrid console released in 2017, but recently the rumours have picked up a lot more steam, and we it’s possible we’re not that far away from Nintendo finally revealing the next addition to the Switch family of systems.

It was always going to happen. Eventually Nintendo would be releasing a better, upgraded model of the Nintendo Switch. They’ve already revised the console once with wha

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Destruction AllStars Forced To Add Bots To Make Up For Low Player Count

Destruction AllStars was one of the earlier announcements we received for a PS5 game, and despite releasing directly into PlayStation Plus, its low player count is now forcing the development team to add bots into the game to make up for the lack of players.

The decision behind releasing Destruction AllStars straight into PlayStation Plus for any current subscriber to download for free was most likely made to avoid this exact scenario. After a poor critical reviews and a lackluster player respo

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Minecraft ‘Caves and Cliffs’ Update Part One Set To Launch Soon

The biggest update that Minecraft has ever seen is almost here, and after being announced at last years Minecraft Live 2020, but it’s going to be coming in two parts rather than all at once.

Minecraft is one of the largest games ever to grace the gaming space, and will most likely continue to hold that title for many years, since it truly is an evergreen game that anyone from any age can get into and dedicate hours of their life to. Last year, fans got their first look at the biggest update to

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Nintendo Is Building A Museum For Their Own Products

Nintendo is one of the industry’s oldest platform manufacturers, and are responsible for some of the most influential games and consoles ever to launch. Now, they’re building a place specifically to commemorate all that.

Announced earlier June 2, 2021 on Nintendo’s official website, we’re once again seeing Nintendo branch out further into creating physical spaces that honour their long-standing legacy in the gaming world. Beginning with Super Nintendo World in Japan—and soon to come to Universa

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Nintendo E3 Event Date and Time Revealed

Nintendo has announced details of their E3 presence, which will be a Nintendo Direct followed by a Nintendo Treehouse event will be on June 15, 2021 starting at 9 a.m. PST/ 12 p.m. EST.

Announced via Nintendo’s official Twitter account, Nintendo’s E3 slot has been revealed to be June 15, and according to the tweet it will feature 40 minutes of game announcements and trailers, followed by a Treehouse event which will be three hours of unspecified gameplay.

The gaming world has been a-buzz with

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Battlefield 6 Reveal Date Confirmed

Fans who have long been wondering when EA will reveal the next installment in the Battlefield franchise need not wonder any longer, since EA announced Battlefield 6 will be getting a reveal on June 9, 2021 at 7 a.m. PDT/4 p.m. CEST.

EA made the announcement via the official Battlefield Twitter account. There was no follow up regarding how long the reveal will be or what exactly about the game will be shown, so the only information we currently have is the date and time of the reveal.

Though it

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Team Asobi Is PlayStation Studios Newest Addition

Team Asobi, the development team responsible for Astro’s Playroom and Astrobot: Rescue Mission have been established as their own studio under PlayStation Studios, making them the latest addition to Sony’s first-party lineup.

The announcement came via the official PlayStation blog, that Team Asobi has officially been made its own fully-fledged studio within PlayStation Studios rather than just a team under the JAPAN Studios wing. This announcement isn’t all that surprising, particularly because

CGMagazine • 6th June 2021

Bend Studio Announces A New IP Is In The Works

Bend Studio has announced that their next upcoming title will in fact be a brand new IP, rather than a return to an older franchise.

Bend Studio—who used to be known for the Syphon Filter games, along with Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Resistance: Retribution—but most recently are known for Days Gone have announced that their next project will be a brand new, never before seen IP.

This announcement comes at a good time for Bend, particularly after a Bloomberg article revealed turmoil behind the

PlayStation Universe • 26th October 2023

NHL 24 Review (PS5) - Finding A Balance

NHL 24 Review (PS5) – Every fan of annualized sports titles really just hopes that this new release, improves the game in a significant way. That this is the one that’ll step it up, because then that means we can expect a better standard for another couple years.

An extra dream I’d add on is that it’ll return to feeling as good as it felt back when you were a kid, and there was that one year you still think about, because it was just so fun.

While NHL 24 doesn’t exactly hit that dream mark, it

PlayStation Universe • 23rd October 2023

Ghostrunner 2 Review (PS5) - Ghostrunner 1.5

Ghostrunner 2 Review (PS5) – The first Ghostrunner released in the fall of 2020, and thanks to the state in which Cyberpunk 2077 launched, it definitely came out as the better sci-fi “cyber” game to pick up at the time, especially since Cyberpunk 2077 wasn’t really finished until this past September.

The first game was a fast-paced, one-hit-kill, cool as heck 3D action platformer that tested your reflexes set in a dystopian cyberpunk world that looked cool. While the story wasn’t perfect, it wa

PlayStation Universe • 5th October 2023

Payday 3 Review (PS5) - Making Money Moves...Eventually

Payday 3 Review (PS5) – Payday 3 is, for better or for worse a game where you always have to be connected to the internet to play, at least for now.

In 2023 that’s not as unusual as it was a decade ago, but Payday 3’s launch has been a shining example of why that’s still a bit of a problem. When I first began playing, across my first three days with the game I was only able to join two matches due to how awful the server issues were.

Now, at the time of writing things have been fixed, and I do

PlayStation Universe • 14th March 2022

Uncharted Film Review - Charted Territory

Uncharted Film Review – The furthering of movie adaptations from video games is something that clearly, platform holders, publishers, and any popular IP holder for that matter – alike, want.

Ever since people saw it could be done with Detective Pikachu and then, the first Sonic film. The race to create a great film franchise based off a video game was on.

SEGA has a bit of a head start, but PlayStation Productions is looking to catch up with Uncharted. A film adaptation of Naughty Dog’s classi

PlayStation Universe • 2nd March 2022

Elden Ring Review (PS5) - Emboldened By The Flame Of Ambition

Elden Ring Review (PS5) – Last week, when the embargo for Elden Ring hit I released a review in progress, which you should go read if you’ve not done.

This week, I’m ready to present the full review of Elden Ring, and give it a final score. Last week I spoke about what it’s like to explore Elden Ring and why calling the fantasy epic a “big Dark Souls” is correct, but it achieves this in more ways than just scale, and combat.

I’ll touch a little more on these again, but I’m going to talk more a

PlayStation Universe • 23rd February 2022

Elden Ring Review In Progress (PC) - Emboldened By The Flame Of Ambition

Elden Ring Review In Progress (PC) – The time that so many fans have waited for is here. Elden Ring is released to the public in just days, and soon everyone will have the chance to test their own mettle once more.

I’ve been playing Elden Ring for just over a week now and there’s a lot I feel I need to say about it. First however, some housecleaning.

This is a review in progress because this game is just so dense that I don’t feel comfortable calling this my full review. There are still major

PlayStation Universe • 21st February 2022

Razer Kaira Pro PS5 Wireless Headphones Review - Worth The Extra Effort?

Razer Kaira Pro PS5 Wireless Headphones Review – When you find the right headphones, your perception of sound can quite literally (in a metaphoric way) explode.

It’s incredible the difference they can make, and it’s why headphone prices can sometimes be higher than you’d expect. However after looking at the Razer Kaira headphones, it is clear that there are strong wireless options for those on a budget.

Their big sibling though, the Razer Kaira Pro’s, are a different story. That “Pro” adage pu

PlayStation Universe • 6th February 2022

Sifu Review (PS5) - Becoming Sifu

Sifu Review (PS5) – A properly balanced meta within a game that allows the player to not only be sunk in by it, but motivates the player to improve is the marker of a very good gameplay meta.

To say that Sifu has a good gameplay meta would be an understatement, as within the five levels you’ll play through you practice and learn to become a more deadly, more efficient fighter.

All wrapped up in a beautiful cinematic style, Sloclap’s executes on an incredible gameplay loop and meta. You’ll soon

PlayStation Universe • 3rd February 2022

OlliOlli World Review (PS5) - Achieving Gnarvana

OlliOlli World Review (PS5) – If you had asked me whether or not I ever believed we’d see a new OlliOlli game prior to OlliOlli World’s announcement, I would have said no.

Frankly, I was very happy to have played the first two, and to keep playing them as I still do. Now that we have a new OlliOlli game from Roll7 however, I couldn’t be more overjoyed.

OlliOlli World is without a doubt the perfect reboot this franchise could have asked for. It’s more accessible, more colourful, and most import

PlayStation Universe • 19th January 2022

God Of War Review (PC) - Here We Go Again Boy

God Of War Review (PC) – Developer Sony Santa Monica’s 2018 hit God Of War is not the first PlayStation Studios game to appear on PC.

In fact it’s the third, but there’s something different in the air about this port. God Of War coming to PC represents a step forward both for PlayStation and its community of players, and thankfully this port put its best foot forward.

God Of War Review (PC) – Here We Go Again Boy

Did You Change Your Hair, Kratos?

First off, since this game has been out since

PlayStation Universe • 5th January 2022

Razer Kaira PS5 Wireless Headphones And DualSense Quick Charging Stand Review - Rock Solid Sound

Razer Kaira PS5 Wireless Headphones And DualSesne Charging Stand Review – Just like how developers become more familiar with a console, and learn to push it further as time goes on, the same applies for accessories.

That’s seemingly the case with the Razer Kaira PS5 Wireless Headphones, which are without a doubt one of the best headphones any PS5 owner could pick up.

The Quick Charging Stand to match for your DualSense controllers is a great plus, and while both products are worth their price,

PlayStation Universe • 3rd December 2021

Chorus Review (PS5) - A Deep Space Adventure Mostly Not To Be Missed

Chorus Review (PS5) – Sometimes, to shake things up all you need to do is change a bit of scenery and setting. That’s a good way to think about Chorus, a game that follows a mostly linear and familiar feeling narrative, but instead of it being a third-person, over-the-shoulder adventure, you’re in space. In a ship. All the time.

It’s not really a bad thing, because being in this ship is really, quite awesome. What’s so bad about flying around in a ship that’s also your BFF shooting up tyrannica

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

NHL 22 Review (PS5) - Breaking New Ice In An Old Fashioned Way

NHL 22 Review (PS5) – Annual sports releases have a history of being at best, inconsistent from year to year. It’s difficult to be a committed sports games fan when EA sometimes shows a lack of care for some of their best selling titles.

NHL 22 however goes against that narrative, as it is honestly the best the franchise has ever looked, the best it’s ever felt, and overall one of the most fun NHL games to play in the history of the franchise. The newly introduced X-Factor players mechanic is r

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

EPOS H6Pro Open Acoustic Wired Headphones Review - They're Really Just Fine

EPOS H6Pro Open Acoustic Wired Headphones Review – Choosing a new pair of headphones is a difficult choice no matter how you plan to use them, though there’s another layer of complications when choosing gaming headphones. The EPOS H6Pro Open Acoustic Wired Headphones I should say right off the bat wouldn’t be a bad purchase for anyone with the available cash, but it might not be the best one either.

The long and short of it is that if you’re someone who wants a pair of gaming headphones that ca

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Riders Republic Review (PS5) - A Celebration Of Fun

Riders Republic Review (PS5) – As an interactive medium, there are video game concepts that can not only work extremely well, but are also almost inherently obvious to anyone as a good idea for a game.

Sports games fall under this category, since they’re already based on other kinds of activities, and through a video game, anyone can have a small taste of what the experience could be like while celebrating the sport itself.

That’s the ‘literal’ jumping off point for Riders Republic. A game aim

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

JETT: The Far Shore Review (PS5) - Out Running Oblivion

JETT: The Far Shore Review (PS5) – With every new gaming platform there’s always one title that can be identified as a turning point for how people view said platform, and for mobile gaming there’s a good argument to be made that Sword & Sorcery by Superbrothers is that game – or at least, it was for me.

As such, hearing that Superbrothers was working on a new game, this time a PlayStation console exclusive, meant I immediately wanted to check it out.

What I found in JETT: The Far Shore is a t

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

BPM: Bullets Per Minute Review (PS5) - Whatever You Do, Don't Lose The Beat

BPM: Bullets Per Minute Review (PS5) – Part of what I personally love in rhythm games is that they are either very literal in their definition of being a rhythm game, or something channels that experience, albeit in a very subtle way.

For example Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a rhythm game if you think about it, proven by the fact someone beat it using DK Bongo Drums – BPM: Bullets Per Minute is the former of the two, and it’s literal approach is part of what makes it so special, and so incredib

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Back 4 Blood Review (PS5) - A Deliciously Fun New Era Of Zombie Killing

Back 4 Blood Review (PS5) – Back 4 Blood is in every way a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, which is in turn arguably one of the best co-op series of all time. For yet another zombie killing game where they don’t call them zombies, Back 4 Blood is an excellent inclusion into the franchise, though not without its own personal hiccups.

Overall, the bloody time you’ll have with Back 4 Blood will consist of plenty of fun seemingly no matter what game mode you find yourself in. Just make sure you

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Hot Wheels Unleashed Review (PS5) - The Hottest Racer In A Long Time

Hot Wheels Unleashed Review (PS5) – If you had said to me that Hot Wheels Unleashed will be not just one of the best games to come out of 2021, but one of the best arcade racing games in a long time, then while I would have liked to believe you I’d probably be pessimistic. It’s the kind of pessimism that only comes when you imagine a childhood thing you love is being revamped for the modern era.

Thankfully I can report my pessimism was poorly founded. Hot Wheels Unleashed is in fact both those

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Aragami 2 Review (PS5) - The Only Things You Can't Sneak Around Are Bugs And Bad Pacing

Aragami 2 Review (PS5) – I’m convinced that the most difficult kind of review to write isn’t about a game you hate, or a game you love, but a game you really just don’t know what to think about, and Aragami 2 is that game for me. Other than annoyed, with brief moments of enjoyment, like having someone throw fries at your face but you still appreciate the odd one that makes it into your mouth – I don’t know how to feel about it.

Developer Lince Works presents a good, basic foundation for stealth

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Clid The Snail Review (PS4) - A Snail's Tale

Clid The Snail Review (PS4) – Euclidies the Snail, or Clid, is simply not like the rest of the snails in the Citadel. While they all seem content to live a peaceful life, choosing not to bother with anything in the outside world, Clid simply wants to be able to roam free, protect his people, and drink bamboo juice – for this, he’s banished. That’s the starting point for Clid The Snail, from developer Weird Beluga.

It’s the latest indie game sponsored by PlayStation after the developers won the

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

The Falconeer Review (PS5) - Soaring To New Heights

The Falconeer PS5 Review – The Falconeer, developed by Tomas Sala, originally released with the Xbox Series X/S as a launch title, and is only now making its PlayStation debut. I played it on an Xbox One S when it first launched, and despite some minor issues, I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the PS5 version, known as The Falconeer: Warrior Edition, is what I would call the definitive way to play, with a level of immersion that sends The Falconeer soaring to new heights.

You might not expect t

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Hades Review (PS5) - From Hell And Back Again, And Again, And Again...

Hades PS5 Review – Developer Supergiant’s smash 2020 hit Hades has finally made its way over to PS5 and PS4, after already being available on PC and the Nintendo Switch for some time. It seemed like everyone in the gaming community could do nothing but gush over Hades when it released out of Early Access last year, and for good reason.

Simply put, Hades is a once-in-a-generation game for its genre, the kind that not only exceeds the expectations it set for itself, but goes beyond them to evolve

PlayStation Universe • 18th November 2021

Eldest Souls Review (PS5) - An Important Lesson In Balance

Eldest Souls Review (PS5) – If you’ve ever doubted the impact that Dark Souls has had on the industry, consider the fact that the word ‘Soulslike’ is now used as a descriptive term to define many games, including today’s main topic, Eldest Souls. However, developer Fallen Flag Studios takes that term one step further by emulating Dark Souls both in name and somewhat in its visual inspiration.

What follows is an interesting indie game with a gripping world, but frustrating gameplay that often fe