Here's everything revealed as part of Sony's PlayStation Indie Spotlight event
Oxenfree 2! A Short Hike! Axiom Verge 2! More!
Sony's been having a bit of an indie shindig over on the PlayStation Blog, ushering in seven announcements and reveals that might just leave PS4 and PS5 owners slightly aquiver. And if you missed them, you'll find everything gathered up into one convenient digest below.
Adam Robinson-Yu's much-loved open-world exploration game A Short Hike, in which a small bird goes on a brief but thoroughly delightful mountain-climbing adventure, is coming to PlayStation consoles some time this autumn. We liked this one a lot when it released for PC back in 2019 - Christian Donlan called it "dreamy brilliance" in his Essential review - so it's definitely one to keep an eye out for.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, the sequel to developer Night School Studio's deliciously eerie 2016 narrative adventure, is also confirmed to be coming to PlayStation consoles. It's set to feature an "entirely new" cast of characters - players control Riley Poverly as she investigates strange electromagnetic signals in her home town of Camena - while retaining, as Night School puts it, "the weird, heartfelt, and personalised experience of the original". Previous word suggested Oxenfree 2 will launch later this year.
Axiom Verge 2, the sequel to developer Thomas Happ's acclaimed retro-styled Metroid-a-like, is coming to PlayStation 4 and PS5 - which we already knew. What we didn't know, however, is that the game won't just feature one explorable world, it'll feature two. As Happ explains it, there's the overworld and a second interconnected breach world in an alternate dimension layered beneath it. Players will be able to move between both layers throughout their adventure, significantly expanding Axiom Verge 2's non-linear exploration opportunities.
Here's another good 'un finally making its way to PlayStation later this year: Phobia Game Studio's acclaimed reverse-horror experience Carrion. Here, players are cast as an "amorphous creature of unknown origin" and set loose through the shadowy, claustrophobic corridors of a labyrinthine industrial complex. Unsurprisingly, much gruesome carnage ensues. Carrion has its flaws - Eurogamer contributor Edwin Evans-Thirwell called it a "squirming body horror labyrinth whose mix of ability-gating and backtracking slightly cramps its matchless creature design" - but it still earned itself a Recommended badge.
Sol Cresta - Platinum Games' sequel to classic vertical-scrolling arcade shooters Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta - also got another airing as part of Sony's indie showcase, with chief game designer Hideki Kamiya taking some time to explain the origins of the project in a new blog post. Sol Cresta director Takanori Sato has also detailed two of the game's core systems - known as dock-and-split and formations - over on Platinum's own website.
Next is the news that Wytchwood, from Capsized studio Alientrap Games, will be making its way to PlayStation consoles this autumn. Wytchwood, described as a "bewitching crafting adventure", puts players in the role of an old witch caught up in a dark pact she can't remember making. The ensuing adventure takes her all across a mysterious land inspired by classic fables, with exploration and hunting for spell ingredients said to be core to the experience.
"A weeping maiden awaits the return of her lost love," teases Alientrap, "a brutish bear loves nothing more than to knock some heads together, and a feline trickster in a smart pair of boots is plaguing the local market with her deceptions. Only with your magic and sharp wit will you be able to right these wrongs."
Last up is Hades, developer Supergiant Games' critically acclaimed dungeon-crawling rogue-like (with a Greek mythology twist), which, as previously announced, comes to PlayStation 4 and PS5 next Friday, August 13th. Supergiant didn't have much in the way of revelations to share, but it did discuss the origins of some of Hades' celebrated systems in a new blog post. And when I say celebrated, I mean it - Eurogamer (and many other publications) named it Game of the Year in 2020, so it's definitely worth checking out if you haven't already done so.
