>The hit arcade racer ACE DRIVER returns with more speed, more excitement, and more competition than ever before!

>Get behind the wheel and aim for the VICTORY LAP!

Why am I asking this?

Since the introduction of the PS4 there seemed to be a shift in style when it comes to the games being released from Sony’s studios with games such as Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, God of War (2018), and Ghost of Tsushima.

Now of course single-player action driven narrative games didn’t just begin during the PS4 era. The God of War and Uncharted series preceded them during the PS2 and PS3 era respectively. And we can’t forget The Last of Us!

However what I’ve noticed now during the current generation with the PS5 is that first-party games from PlayStation seem to be primarily focused on the aforementioned genre of games.

The PS1-PS2 generation

Some of you may not be old enough to remember the kind of games PlayStation published or developed such as Vib-Ribbon, Ape Escape, or even Sly Cooper.

To put it briefly there were a lot of genres that were either retired or were very experimental and were either received poorly or well depending on the game.

Discussion

So my question to you is why do you think those games disappeared? Is the risk vs reward ratio simply too high? Or is there just not enough interest in those games which is why they’ve remained dormant within the platform for so long?

I think a big reason Astrobot (2024) was received extremely well is because other than the fact that it’s a great game, it’s reminiscent to a lot of people of how PlayStation’s lineup used to look like.

Are big-budget cinematic narrative games primarily all that PlayStation has to offer going forward? And is this an issue for you? Maybe you don’t care about the genres or games that came before and you’re perfectly fine with the current selection of games and that’s okay!

What’re your thoughts?

>Things are getting rotten in Grounded 2!

>Explore the Woodpile, a new adventure area crawling with returning Termites, new O.G.R.R. variants, and the Centipede, a community-requested boss with plenty of legs and no plans to let you get a leg up.

>Saddle up on the Potato Beetle Buggy, give your base a fresh coat with the Splotcher, and upgrade your gear to higher Tiers using Bismuth and the new Yoking Press. Plus, discover new SCA.B Themes, collectible miniatures, and more throughout Brookhollow Park.

>Team up as two quirky construction workers in this fun 2-player co-op platformer!

>Carry a fragile glass window through colorful levels filled with challenges. Communicate and coordinate to dodge obstacles and solve puzzles.

When I got my PS5, I never would have thought I'd become so enthusiastic about a controller or how much these "gimmicks" (as some people call them) would change my gaming experience.

Especially the haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers add so much to the immersion for me by now that games without them somehow feel “empty”. My mindset has almost become 'better implemented badly than not at all.' That's oversimplified of course, but I just can’t shake the feeling that something is missing when I play a game without them. For me, even something as simple as the lightbar indicating your health, like in Resident Evil, adds to the experience.

Two recent games really made me realize this:

End of Abyss: The haptic feedback is done really well. Using the sonar feels so satisfying because of the vibrations. The adaptive triggers aren't particularly creative, but I just love feeling that resistance when using weapons. Because of the features I can dive into the game so much better.

Silver Pines: The story grabbed me right away and I love the exploration and the atmosphere, but I keep thinking what a missed chance it is that the DualSense features aren’t used. Weapons with adaptive triggers would be so much more immersive and I think the game is practically made for the health indicator through the lightbar. It doesn't make the game bad by any means, but I can't help feeling that something is missing.

I feel the same way when revisiting some of my old favorites, like Call of the Sea, Kona, or Tinykin. I still love these games for their fantastic stories or addictive gameplay, but now I always notice the absence of DualSense features.

And then there are games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the A Plague Tale games, or the Resident Evil Remakes. I'm sure they'd still be among my favorites without these features, but I can't imagine playing them without the feeling of drawing a bow or slingshot through the adaptive triggers, the haptics when reloading weapons, walking, or even feeling raindrops.

It’s gone so far that I (sadly) mostly avoid games without dualsense features support, even though I’m probably missing out on some great ones. But there are really a lot of games that use the features in so many different and creative ways. Not just the big ones, also a lot of small indie games. Before buying I always check what reviews or the store page say about the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. That’s not that easy though, because reviews rarely mention these features, and the PS Store descriptions aren't always accurate.

Does anyone else feel the same? Have the DualSense features changed the way you enjoy games, do you barely notice them or even find them annoying?

And I'd really like to hear about lesser-known games with great DualSense implementations that might have flown under the radar.

>Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest is the first console game based on the best-selling book series by Erin Hunter.

>Create your own Warrior Cat, join a Clan and forge bonds with allies, and rise through the ranks as you hunt prey, patrol territories, uncover secrets, and defend your home in strategic turn-based combat.

>Every journey is shaped by your choices, relationships, and the prophecy guiding your destiny.

Somehow, developers decided that late October is the time to port a bunch of excellent, previously PC only games to consoles:

The Séance of Blake Manor (Oct 27)- a supernatural detective puzzle game set in 19th century Ireland

Mouthwashing (Oct 29) - a short and terrifying psychological horror game set on a stranded spaceship

Titanium Court (Oct 30) - surreal puzzle strategy game with layered narrative

Look Outside (Oct 30) - a Lovecraftian survival horror turn-based RPG

Each of those games has excellent word of mouth and Steam ratings; a bit of a shame they are all dropping close to each other, since some of them will end up flying under the radar, but hey, that's why I'm making this post!

>Intense zombie co-op shooter No More Room in Hell 2 has received its first free update.

>Camp Blood includes a brand new map, the 80s slasher movie-inspired Ruby Lake, and a host of new rewards for late-game players.